NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 21 January, 2021 – ISS Reboost

DNA, time perception and combustion investigations filled the research schedule aboard the International Space Station today.
The Expedition 64 crew is also training for a pair of spacewalks set to start next week.

Researchers are studying how microgravity affects a human’s DNA and even time perception as astronauts spend more time living in space. Radiation and weightlessness can impact DNA while the lack of an up-down orientation and a day-night cycle may influence spatial and time perception.

Biologist and NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, the first person to sequence DNA in space in 2016, was once again preparing DNA samples for sequencing to learn how to monitor crew health and identify organisms in space. She also replaced fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to maintain safe fuel and flame studies aboard the orbiting lab.

Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA took turns Thursday morning helping researchers understand the subjective changes in time perception they may experience in space. The duo wore a virtual reality headset, used a trackball and performed tests to measure their timed responses.

All three astronauts then joined NASA Flight Engineer Victor Glover in the afternoon to practice robotics maneuvers they will use during a pair of spacewalks set for Jan. 27 and Feb. 1. Hopkins and Glover will be the spacewalkers for both excursions. The duo will set up European science and communications hardware on the first spacewalk and configure battery gear and high definition cameras on the second.

The orbiting lab slightly boosted its orbit this morning after the Progress 75 cargo craft fired its engines for nearly seven minutes. The new altitude readies the station to receive a new cargo craft, the Progress 77, when it docks on Feb. 17 to the Pirs docking compartment.

On-Orbit Status Report

ISS Reboost – Today, the ISS performed a reboost using the aft Progress 75P R&D thrusters. The purpose of this reboost is to set up the conditions for Progress 77P 33-Orbit rendezvous on February 15. The burn duration was 6 minutes 58 seconds with a Delta-V of 0.723 m/s.

Payloads

Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM) – The APM was removed from its US Lab location and relocated to Node 3. This hardware is routinely moved to different locations to allow monitoring of the particulate environment in those areas. Although requirements exist for maximum allowable concentrations of particulate matter, currently no measurement capability verifies whether these requirements are met. The Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM) demonstrates an instrument for measuring and quantifying the concentration of both small and large particles in spacecraft air. The data can be used to create a map of air quality in terms of particles and shed light on the sources of such particles.

CIR/ACME – The crew replaced a 40% O2/60% N2 gas bottle and a 100% CH2=CH2 gas bottle to allow the continuation of the BRE part 2 investigation. The Burning Rate Emulator (BRE) investigation is conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) on the International Space Station (ISS), as part of the Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME) project. In this fire safety study, the flammability of solid and liquid materials is simulated by burning gaseous fuels under key conditions corresponding to the solid and liquid materials. This technique has been demonstrated for a wide variety of materials in normal-gravity and could provide an efficient way to screen and select fire-resistant materials for use in spacecraft, if the technique is similarly effective in microgravity.

Time Perception – The crew set up the appropriate hardware and participated in a Time Perception science session. The accurate perception of objects in the environment is a prerequisite for spatial orientation and reliable performance of motor tasks. Time perception in microgravity is also fundamental to motion perception, sound localization, speech, and fine motor coordination. The Time Perception in Microgravity experiment quantifies the subjective changes in time perception in humans during and after long-duration exposure to microgravity.

Systems

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations – The crew continued preparations for next week’s Columbus Upgrades EVA on Wednesday, January 27th. The Columbus Ka-Band Antenna (COL KA) was prepared for EVA. EVA Mobility Unit (EMU) Helmet troubleshooting and installation for the Extra Vehicular Activity Helmet Interchangeable Portable (EHIP) Light was completed successfully this morning. Additionally, crew connected the Lab Ethernet Ext (W1985) cable associated with the External High Definition Cameras (EHDC) for Camera Port 3 (S1) and Camera Port 13 (Lab Starboard) to the Joint Station LAN (JSL) for the External Wireless Communication (EWC) system. Both CP3 and CP13 will have EHDCs installed on US EVA ISS Upgrades 2.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphic (DOUG) Review – The crew performed a visual review of the EVA using the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphic (DOUG) software. This session allows the crew to view the step-by-step sequence of a specific EVA. Entire translation paths can be highlighted and displayed for review by crew members prior to performing an EVA.

In-flight Maintenance (IFM) External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) Bulb Remove and Replace (R&R) – The crew R&R’ed and tested two metal halide lamps bulbs. These light assemblies are used to illuminate sections of ISS during periods of darkness and support continuous operations. After bulb failure, these assemblies can be removed and replaced during an Extra Vehicular Activity.

Completed Task List Activities:

WHC KTO REPLACE
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Attitude Control System (ACS) Motion Control System (MCS) Configuration for Reboost
PRO CIR Activation Commanding
Primary Power System (PPS) Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) Lock
JEMRMS Small Fine Arm (SFA) Installation to SSE
Attitude Control System (ACS) Global Positioning System (GPS) Accelerometer Management
Look Ahead Plan

Friday, January 22 (GMT 022)
Payloads:

AC touch, CBEF reconfig, Food Acceptability, HRF Veggie questionnaire, ManD print removal, MSG CTB audit, Story Time from Space, Veg-03J plant check
Systems:

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Scrub
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Powered Hardware Checkout
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review Columbus
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Robo Procedure Review
Saturday, January 23 (GMT 023)
Payloads:

Crew is off duty.
Sunday, January 24 (GMT 024)
Payloads:

Veg-03J plant check
Systems:

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) On-orbit Fitcheck Verification (OFV) Extravehicular (EV)
Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) Installation Practice
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Time experiment science
JEM Cell Biology Experiment Facility Alternative Reconfigulation A Part 1
COL1D3 rack outfitting wih pivot pins [ABORTED]
Virtual Reality Training (VRT) Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER)
Environmental Health System (EHS) Acoustic Monitor Setup
Environmental Health System (EHS) Biomole Maintenance Work Area Prep 2
Extravehicular Mobility Unit Helmet Troubleshooting
Lab External Wireless Comm (EWC) system External High Definition Camera (EHDC) connect to Lab Joint Station Lan (JSL) Router
BioMole MELFI Retrieve
BioMole Part 3: DNA Prep and Sequencing
Environmental Health System (EHS) – Coliform Water Sample Analysis 44 +/- 4 hours post processing
Clear stowage prior to ColKa Prep
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #2 Bottle Replacement
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #4 Bottle Replacement
MELFI Dewar Audit
Recharging Soyuz 747 GoPro HERO3 Batteries (8)
Airborne Particulate Monitor Data Transfer
COLKA EVA PREP
In-flight Maintenance (IFM) External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) Bulb Remove and Replace
Airborne Particulate Monitor Node 3 Install
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
IMS delta file prep
On-board Training (OBT) EVA Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
Crew Dragon Tablet Sync [Aborted]
DOSIS Main Box LED Check
ISS HAM Columbus Pass Kenwood