NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 24 December 2019 – Christmas Break and Greeting

Today – CIR/ACME (Combustion Integration Rack/Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments): In support of the continuing s-Flame investigation, the crew exchanged the ACME Bypass Controller and the ACME Fuel Controller.
These controllers allow different flow regimes to be used for the experiment. The purpose of s-Flame is to advance our ability to predict the structure and dynamics, including extinction and instabilities, of both soot-free and sooty flames. The results may contribute to the development of lean-burn engines for improved efficiency and reduced pollutant emissions here on Earth. S-Flame is one of five experiments hosted by CIR/ACME which is designed to study gaseous flames.

Confined Combustion: The crew and ground teams worked together to perform test burns on 2 samples. There was some initial difficulty obtaining the desired airflow, but this was corrected by the crew. Confined Combustion examines the behavior of flame as it spreads in differently-shaped confined spaces in microgravity. Flame spread observations are translated into mathematical models for use in understanding the results and applying them to areas with different shapes. In a recent NASA project (Saffire), a large-scale flame spread investigation shows that flames spread more slowly in a large confined space than in a smaller space even if all other environmental conditions are the same (oxygen, pressure, flow speed, etc). The faster flame spread in smaller chambers is suspected to be due to a combination of thermal expansion during combustion and tunnel flow acceleration. Radiation heat feedback from chamber walls may also be a factor.

Fluid Shifts: Day 2 of the Chibis ops was performed, closing out the science activities for this Fluid Shifts session. The ground team did experience a recurrence of the OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) system disconnecting from the software, but this occurred after data collection was complete and there were no impacts. Fluid Shifts is a NASA investigation, divided into Dilution Measurements, Baseline Imaging, and Imaging with Chibis. The Chibis hardware is used to perform the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) part of the experiment. The Fluid Shifts experiment investigates the causes for severe and lasting physical changes to astronaut’s eyes. Because the headward fluid shift is a hypothesized contributor to these changes, reversing this fluid shift with a LBNP device is being evaluated as a possible intervention. Results from this study may help to develop preventative measures against lasting changes in vision and prevention of eye damage.

Systems:

T2 Monthly Inspection: As part of regular maintenance to ensure that the T2 exercise device is in good operational condition, the crew inspected all four Snubber Arms for any sign of free play as well as make any necessary adjustments to reduce the free play.

Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Preparation: Today, the crew made an adjustment to the Supply Damper Valve to configure cabin airflow for dual CCAA operations.

Completed Task List Activities:
WHC-KTO-Replace

Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Payload Operations Support

Tuesday, 12/24 (GMT 358)
Payloads:
CIR/ACME MFC replacement
Combined Combustion
ER6 laptop CMOS battery
Fluid Shifts
Food Acceptability
Standard Measures

Systems:
CMS T2 Monthly Inspection
MDLT HDD R&R

Wednesday, 12/25 (GMT 359) Off- Duty (Christmas Holiday)
Payloads:
No planned utilization activities

Systems:
No planned systems activities

Thursday, 12/26 (GMT 360)
Payloads:
Advanced Nanostep
BEST MELFI retrieve/insert
Confined Combustion
Food Acceptability
Genes In Space-6
ISS Experience message review

Systems:
Dragon Transfer and Cargo Ops
ARED Cylinder Flywheel/Valve Foam
CCAA Maintenance Review
MBSU/BCDU Gather, Pack and Stow
Stanchion Tear Down
Regen – EDV Drain Initialize, Swap, Drain Term
OBT Emergency Mask Review
BEAM Ingress, H/W Stow and associated activities

Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Preparation of reports for Roscosmos website and social media
SCENARIY. Observation and photography of catastrophic events and their aftermath. Monitoring of fires in the south of Australia
ECON-M. Observation and Photography
Standard Measures Post-sleep Questionnaire
KORREKTSIYA. Starting Accelerometry
Biochemical Urine Test
URISYS Hardware Stowage
Checkout of Virus Definition File Update on Auxiliary Computer System (???) Laptops and Report
Fluid Shifts- Comm configuration for the experiment
JEM Airlock Press
On MCC GO Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) ?2 Cartridge, initiate
Fluid Shifts. Gathering and Connecting Equipment for TV conference.
Lab Dual CCAA Operations Configuration
XF305 Camcorder Setup
CBEF-L Configuration Change
Confined Combustion Operations
Fluid Shifts OCT2 Service Module Setup
Fluid Shifts. Opening RS SM panel 231?
KORREKTSIYA. Recording fluids and food (medicine) intake
Fluid Shifts. Connecting HRF PC laptop (in lieu of RSE1)
Vozdukh Atmosphere Purification System [???] Switchover to Mode 2 (Valve Group ???1, ???2, ???3). [???] Cycle =30 min, Vacuum Pump [??] = 1 min; Air Flow = 100%
Fluid Shifts Tonometry Service Module Setup
SEPARATION. Mixing in the [???-?-??] urine circulation loop.
Fluid Shifts DPOAE Service Module Setup
JEM Airlock Leak Check
Fluid Shifts. Chibis Setup
Fluid Shifts. Assistance with CHIBIS set and [KMA-01] Medical Hardware operations.
Fluid Shifts CCFP Service Module Configuration
Fluid Shifts Experiment Service Module Data Collection Operator
Fluid Shifts Experiment Service Module Data Collection Subject
Countermeasures System (CMS) Treadmill 2 System (T2) Monthly Inspection
Countermeasures System (CMS) Treadmill 2 (T2) Exercise Session
Fluid Shifts – Chibis Closeout Ops
Fluid Shifts CCFP DPOAE Service Module End
Equipment transfer to kit 17??.300? 9274?-0
Fluid Shifts OCT2 Service Module Power Off
EXPRESS Rack 6 (LAB1O4) Laptop Computer CMOS battery changeout
Fluid Shifts. Closure of RS SM panel 231?
Fluid Shifts. Connecting Laptop RSE1 (in lieu of HRF PC3)
Fluid Shifts Tonometry Service Module Stow
Fluid Shifts OCT2 Service Module Stow
Fluid Shifts. Disconnecting SSC1 from Ethernet
Fluid Shifts. Deactivation of ???? Equipment and Closing Applications on Central Post SSC
Fluid Shifts CCFP HRF PC Service Module Stow
Fluid Shifts. Restore nominal comm config
Fluid Shifts Hardware Final Gather
Fluid Shifts Hardware USOS Transfer
Fluid Shifts HRF PC Reconnect
Fluid Shifts Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 2 Setup And Power On From Cargo Transfer Bag
KORREKTSIYA. Recording fluids and food (medicine) intake
Filling (separation) of ??? [???] for Elektron or ???-??
Food Acceptability Survey
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Medical Accessories Kit (IMAK) Unpack from SpX-19
Fluid Shifts Hardware Stow
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config JEM Setup
Combustion Integrated Rack Doors Open
TV conference dedicated to Oleg Skripochka’s birthday
Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Open
??? maintenance
COSMOCARD. Closeout Ops.
ACME Controller Replace 2
Pille dosimeter readings download
Checkout of POTOK-150 Air Purification System.
Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Close
Delta file prep
Combustion Integrated Rack Doors Close
Equipment transfer to kit
Crew Discretionary Event