NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 2 November 2020 – Celebrating 20 Years of ISS Human Presence

Twenty years ago, today, the Expedition One crew docked to the fledgling, three-module International Space Station beginning 20 years of continuous human presence in space.
William Shepherd of NASA, the first station commander, with Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko, would orbit Earth for 141 days before returning home in March 2001.

Now, the Expedition 64 crew inhabits the near-complete orbital lab with an internal volume of a five-bedroom house. The trio will be welcoming in November a SpaceX commercial crew mission and is also gearing up for a Russian spacewalk.

NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins reviewed rendezvous procedures today for the planned Nov. 15 arrival of four astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle. Three NASA astronauts and one JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut are targeted to launch on Nov. 14 from Florida aboard the Crew Dragon for a five-and-a-half-month research mission on the station.

Michael Hopkins will command the first operational mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft piloted by first-time space flyer Victor Glover. Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi are the mission specialists.

Rubins’ two Russian crewmates, Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, are getting ready for their first spacewalk set for Nov. 18. The Roscosmos duo spent Monday morning studying their planned spacewalk duties which include about six hours of external science and maintenance tasks.

The orbiting trio also spent Monday fulfilling a multitude of space science objectives. Rubins and Ryzhikov began the day collecting and stowing their blood samples for later analysis. Rubins then set up a small satellite deployer that will soon release a set of CubeSats into Earth orbit for governmental and educational research.

Ryzhikov joined Kud-Sverchkov in the afternoon for a long-running study that explores how crew members perform complex tasks on long-duration space missions. Scientists will use the data to gauge how operators might pilot future spaceships and robots on planetary missions.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads

NanoRacks Cubesat Deployer – Mission 19 (NRCSD-19) – The crew installed the Cubesat deployers onto the MPEP (Multipurpose Experiment Platform). The crew also took imagery photos of the hardware installation. For NRCSD-19, there are eight Deployers preassembled in two Quad Deployers, and a total of seven satellites will be deployed (SpOC, Bobcat-1, NEUTRON-1, LEMUR2 (v4.7), LEMUR2 (v4.8), DESCENT, and SAT-LLA). The NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer is a stackable, modular, ground loaded launch case. Each NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer accommodates up to six launch cases and are stacked for each JEM Airlock opening.

Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons (RADI-N2) – The crew deployed the eight Radi-N2 bubble detectors at JEM Panel FD3/JPM1F3 and provided photodocumentation of the detectors. The objective of this Canadian Space Agency investigation is to better characterize the ISS neutron environment, define the risk posed to the crew members’ health, and provide the data necessary to develop advanced protective measures for future spaceflight. It’s been recognized that neutrons make up a significant fraction (10-30%) of the biologically effective radiation exposure in low-Earth orbit. The bubble detectors used in the investigation are designed detect neutrons and ignore all other radiation.

Repository – The crew performed urine and blood collections in support of the Repository study. Repository supports scientific discovery that contributes to our fundamental knowledge in the area of human physiological changes and adaptation to a microgravity environment and provides unique opportunities to study longitudinal changes in human physiology spanning many missions.

Systems

Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation – The crew initiated an automated Charge-Discharge-Charge (C-D-C) maintenance cycle on all Helmet Lights, PGT Batteries, and two REBAs in the BSA via the Battery Charger Assembly (BCA).

SpaceX Crew Dragon Computer Based Training (CBT) Review – The crew continued familiarization training in preparation for Crew Dragon rendezvous operations. SpaceX Crew-1 Mission is currently schedule for launch on November 14th from Kennedy Space Center and is set to dock to the ISS on November 15th.

Completed Task List Activities:

WHC KTO Replace
SpX-Crew Dragon Rendezvous review CBT2
SpX-Crew Dragon Rendezvous review CBT3
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer Installation on the MPEP
JEM Airlock Depressurization Monitoring
Look Ahead Plan

Tuesday, 11/3 (GMT 308)
Payloads:

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Gas Bottle Unit (GBU) Replacement
Plant Habitat Water Refill & Plant Habitat Science Carrier Installation #1
SERFE Installation Procedure Review
SERFE-CWCI Gather-1 & SERFE-CWCI Degas-1
Systems:

Swap Lo P O2 Supply from HPGT to NORS
Acoustic Monitor Setup for Crew Worn Measurements
Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Avionics Air Assembly (AAA) Flow Measurements
Wednesday, 11/4 (GMT 309)
Payloads:

EML Gas Valves Opening
Rhodium Space Rhizosphere MELFI Sample Insertion
Rhodium Space Rhizosphere Science Chamber Ambient Stowage Removal
SERFE Hardware Installation
Systems:

Max CEVIS PPFS
Water Recovery Management (WRM) Water Balance
Environmental Health System (EHS) Acoustic Monitor Setup
Thursday, 11/5 (GMT 310)
Payloads:

NanoRacks CubeSat Deployment Photos
Food Acceptability Survey
Systems:

CDRA Selector Valve R&R
US EVA Tool Transfer
Regenerative ECLSS Recycle Tank Drain
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Reminder HRF Generic Urine Collection End
Reminder HRF Generic Frozen Blood Collection
HRF Generic Urine Collection
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Setup And Frozen Blood Collection Subject
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Spin Conclude
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion
Review of preliminary EVA timeline and ODF, watching video on EVA 47.
NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer Hardware Gather
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
Handhold Exp Platform Adapter removal.
NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer Installation on the MPEP
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Initiation
MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE dosimeter setup and activation.
??? Maintenance
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Conclude And Stow
HRF Generic Urine Collection Stow
On MCC-M Go Vacuum Cleaning of ??28-120 Voltage Converter for SM Printer (behind panel 231A). Visual check of GFCI and cable extension.
Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons Hardware Handover
MATRYOSHKA-R. Handover of BUBBLE-dosimeters to USOS
Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons
MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE-dosimeter initialization and deployment for exposure.
SpX-CREW DRAGON review CBT
PILOT-T. Preparation for the experiment
SpX-CREW DRAGON Rendezvous review CBT
IMS update
PILOT-T. Experiment Ops.
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
??1 Fan Screen Cleaning in FGB
On MCC-M Go ISS Repress Using Air from ??? 444 (DC1) ???? Section 2