NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 October 2017 – Final Spacewalk Before November Cygnus Launch

Four Expedition 53 crewmates huddled together and made final preparations the day before the third and final spacewalk planned for October. Meanwhile, NASA’s commercial partner Orbital ATK has announced Nov. 11 as the new launch date for its Cygnus cargo carrier to the International Space Station.
Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba are reviewing procedures and configuring tools before their spacewalk set for Friday at 8:05 a.m. EDT. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Paolo Nespoli from the European Space Agency will assist the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits and guide the duo as they work outside.

The spacewalk was originally set for Wednesday before mission managers replanned a new set of tasks due to a camera light failure. Bresnik and Acaba will now replace the camera light assembly on the Canadarm2’s newly installed Latching End Effector and install an HD camera on the starboard truss. The duo will also replace a fuse on Dextre’s payload platform and remove thermal insulation on two electrical spare parts housed on stowage platforms.

Orbital ATK is targeting the launch of its eighth Cygnus resupply mission to the station for Nov. 11. Cygnus will make a nine-minute ascent to space after launch, then begin a two-day trek to the station where it will be installed for a month-long stay after its capture by the Canadarm2.

On-Orbit Status Report

Circadian Rhythms: Yesterday a crewmember instrumented themselves with Thermolab Double Sensors and mounted the Thermolab Unit to their belt, which began 36 hours of monitoring for the Circadian Rhythm investigation. Circadian Rhythms investigates the role of synchronized circadian rhythms, or the “biological clock,” and how it changes during long-duration spaceflight. Researchers hypothesize that a non-24-hour cycle of light and dark affects crew members’ circadian clocks. The investigation also addresses the effects of reduced physical activity, microgravity and an artificially controlled environment. Changes in body composition and body temperature, which also occur in microgravity, can affect crew members’ circadian rhythms as well. Understanding how these phenomena affect the biological clock will improve performance and health for future crew members.

Fine Motor Skills (FMS): Today a 51S crewmember completed a Flight Day 85 FMS session which was executed on a touchscreen tablet, where the subject performs a series of interactive tasks. The investigation studies how fine motor skills are affected by long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. The goal of FMS is to answer how fine motor performance in microgravity trend/vary over the duration of a six-month and year-long space mission; how fine motor performance on orbit compares with that of a closely matched participant on Earth; and how performance trends/varies before and after gravitational transitions, including the periods of early flight adaptation, and very early/near immediate post-flight periods.

Space Headaches: The crew completed the weekly questionnaire for the ESA Space Headaches investigation. The Space Headaches investigation collects information that may help in the development of methods to alleviate associated symptoms and improvement in the well-being and performance of crewmembers in space. Headaches during space flight can negatively affect mental and physical capacities of crewmembers that can influence performance during a space mission.

USOS Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) #46 Preparations: Today the crew conducted a review of EVA procedures and a conference with ground teams. They also inspected tethers, configured tools, printed cuff checklists, and prepared the equipment lock in preparation for tomorrow’s EVA. The goals of USOS EVA #46 include Removal and Replacement (R&R) of the Latching End Effector (LEE) A Camera Lens Assembly (CLA).

Tablet Updates: As part of the ongoing efforts to update the operating system on the onboard tablets, the crew performed steps to update and configure those tablets.

Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) P12B-B R&R: Wednesday morning, ground teams completed the robotic activities to swap RPCM P12B-B with P13A-G. On Monday night RPCM P12B-B was extracted and installed into empty truss slot P11A-D and the replacement RPCM was removed from slot P13A-G, however it could not be inserted into the P12B-B at that time. Robotics activities resumed on Tuesday afternoon and teams were able to successfully install the replacement RPCM in the P12B-B slot after 47 wiggle and push attempts. The new P12B-B RPCM powered up nominally. Ground teams then removed the failed RPCM from the P11A-D truss slot and relocated it to the P13A-B slot successfully. The power up of the P13A-G RPCM was also performed nominally. This completes the RPCM swap activities.

JEM Airlock (A/L) Reconfiguration: Today, the crew removed the MBSU from the JEM A/L where it had been stowed after the I-Level maintenance was performed in early September. The Kaber plate and adapter plate were then installed on the A/L slide table in preparation for installation of the KE2M satellite on Monday. After KE2M and SIMPL, another JEM A/L-deployed satellite, are deployed next week, the MBSU will be returned to the JEM A/L for transfer and installation externally at External Stowage Platform 2 (ESP2).

External Robotics Operations: Overnight, robotics ground controllers stowed the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) and configured the SSRMS to be in position for the EVA tomorrow. The SSRMS is now based on LEE B, at Mobile Base System (MBS) Power Data Grapple Fixture 4 (PDGF), Worksite 6. LEE A is ready to receive a new LEE CLA.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed as scheduled unless otherwise noted.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Reminder for EVA In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) Preparation
US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tether Inspection
Fine Motor Skills Experiment Test – Subject
ISS crew and ГОГУ (RSA Flight Control Management Team) weekly conference(S-band)
MICROVIR. Retrieval of Cassette-M No.3-3 and No.3-4 from ТБУ-В No.05 and setup on interior panel. Photography of upper cells. Tagup with specialists
Hardware Gather for Kestrel Eye 2M (KE2M) Installation on JEM Airlock Slide Table
iPad Air 2 Install Part 1
Installation of protective guard on ПН28-120 voltage converter on the RS. Note 8
iPad Air 2 Food Intake Tracker (FIT) Update
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cuff Checklist Print
MICROVIR. Photography of Cassette-M lower cells No.3-1, No.3-2 and stowage in ТБУ-В No.05 at +4°С
XF305 Camcorder Setup
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
PRODUTSENT. Removal from ТБУ-В No.02 (+29 °С) and Transfer to ТБУ-В No.05 at +4° C
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) Cover Build
PRODUTSENT. Deactivation and Removal of ТБУ-В S/N 02
Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) Removal from JEM Airlock Slide Table
Miscellaneous Hardware Cleanup
Progress 437 (DC1) Priority and US Cargo Items Transfers and IMS Ops
JEM ORU Transfer Interface (JOTI) from the JEM Airlock Slide Table
BIOPLENKA. Removal of samples from thermostat, fixation of Constanta cassette No.4-6 biofilm. Tagup with specialists
Collect SM and FGB air samples using АК-1М sampler
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
JEM Airlock Kaber Plate and Adapter Plate Installation
ИПД Air Sample Collection for Ammonia in SM
SM Air Sampling for FREON Using АК-1М Sampler
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
MATRYOSHKA-R. Deployment of Tritel P/L. Configure electrical connections. P/L activation.
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Audit.
ESA Weekly crew conference
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Environmental Health System (EHS) – Coliform Water Sample Analysis 44 +/- 4 hours post processing
Crew Medical Officer (CMO) On Board Training (OBT)
Replacement of СО filter unit in gas analyzer ГЛ2106
CONSTANTA-2. Cassette No.3-1 retrieval from ТБУ-В and setup on panel for 1-hour warmup
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Gathering and deployment of PILLE sensors prior to EVA
СОЖ maintenance
БПК condensate pump water fill.
IMS Tagup (S-band)
CONSTANTA-2. Preparation and Execution 1. Tagup with specialists
Test activation of Vozdukh Atmosphere Purification System Emergency Vacuum Valves
Growth Chamber Locate
EVA Lens Taping
Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference
24-hour ECG Recording (termination)
24-hour BP recording (terminate)
PILOT-T. Experiment Ops.
Space Headaches – Weekly Questionnaire
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation
CB/ISS CREW CONFERENCE

Completed Task List Activities
VEG-03 Plant Pillow Water

Ground Activities
All activities are on schedule unless otherwise noted.
Standard commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 10/20: USOS EVA #46
Saturday, 10/21: EMU Water Charge, EVA Debrief, Airlock Reconfig
Sunday, 10/22: Off duty

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off