NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 January 2018 – FemtoSat Assembly and Deployment

Two Expedition 54 astronauts continue preparing for Monday’s upcoming spacewalk to wrap up robotics repair work. The crew is also working on a variety of science gear to ensure the orbital laboratory is in tip-top shape.
Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei is going outside the International Space Station again for this year’s second spacewalk. This time he’ll work with Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai to finish maintenance on a Latching End Effector, or the robotic hand of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. That work was started Tuesday when Vande Hei partnered with NASA astronaut Scott Tingle during a seven-hour and 24-minute spacewalk. Monday’s spacewalk begins at 7:10 a.m. EST with live NASA TV coverage beginning at 5:30 a.m.

As usual, advanced microgravity research is ongoing inside and outside the space station. This morning, veteran station astronaut Joe Acaba tended to a pair of science freezers ensuring they maintain proper temperatures for the stowage of biological samples. Kanai checked out a 3D printed satellite deployer that will spring-launch four tiny satellites known as FemtoSats from the station.

On-Orbit Status Report

FemtoSat Assembly and Deployment: Using onboard components printed from the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF)-Manufacturing Device, today the crew demonstrated FemtoSat deployment trajectories. This experiment consists of a 3D printed deployer, four FemtoSats and a 0.050″ L-wrench. The four FemtoSats will be loaded in the deployer and locked in place with the L-wrench. When the L-wrench is removed the satellites will spring launch out of the deployer. This investigation tests the design of a Femtosat deployment in microgravity prior to a full scale mission where hundreds will be deployed from a satellite. The AMF enables the production of components on the International Space Station (ISS) for both NASA and commercial objectives. The AMF is capable of producing parts out of a wide variety of thermopolymers including engineered plastics.

Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEM A/L) Setup: In preparation for the upcoming Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) maintenance, today the crew extended the A/L slide table into the JEM pressurized module (JPM), removed the passive capture mechanism, and installed JEM ORU Transfer Interface (JOTI) on the slide table. Next week, robotics ground controllers will remove an MBSU from its location outside the station and place it on the JEM A/L slide table for transfer inside. Once inside, station crew will perform maintenance on the MBSU to recover its functionality and then pass it through the JEM A/L again for reinstallation outside the station.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Operations: In preparation for the next USOS EVA planned for January 29, the crew performed tether and bag inspections, tool configuration, battery charging, procedures review, and conferences with the ground teams.

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

In-flight Maintenance (IFM) Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) Hardware Gather
Photo TV Battery Charge Initiation
??? maintenance
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
JEM Airlock (AL) Slide Table Passive Capture Mechanism Removal
SSC-5 Logout
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Preparation and setup of ???? Equipment for MPEG2 video recording via Ku-band from SM
Gathering Equipment and Tools for EVA-44. ???? Equipment Deactivation
Structures and Mechanisms JEM ORU Xfer I/F JEM Active Mechanism Tether Loop Removal
Structures and Mechanisms (S&M) JOTI Installation for MBSU Transfer
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
MELFI 3 Ice Brick Insert 1
MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 1
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) Cover Build
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
iPad Air 2 Charge
MELFI 1 Ice Brick Insert 1
Update FIT Server Settings following the iPad certificate updates
Photo TV Battery Charge Swap
Charging EVA Camera D4 Battery
Drying Biolab Incubator Cold Spot Sponge
US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tether Inspection
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System On-Board Training
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Initiation
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Rivet Inspection
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Initiate
Photo TV Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Turnaround
EVA (???) Flight Procedures Study
Review Airlock Ops Procedure per RODF and R/G. Tagup with specialists
Microgravity Science Glovebox Laptop Computer Photo
Earth Imagery from ISS Crew Conference
Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference
Onboard Training (OBT) Robotics On-board Trainer (ROBoT) Setup
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Photography of ??228 mockup temperature sensors on the external surface of MRM2
PILOT-T. Experiment Ops.
Preventive Maintenance of DC1 Docking Assembly Hatch sealing Mechanisms and Progress 437 hatch before RS EVA
IMS Update
PILOT-T. Closeout Ops. Tagup with specialists as necessary
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – Lab
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
CB/ISS crew conference
Flight Director/ISS crew conference
Acoustic Monitor Data Transfer and Stow
FemtoSat assembly and deployment
Photo TV Battery Charge Deactivation

Completed Task List Activities
None

Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Standard commanding.

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 01/26: EVA Preps (Tool Config, DOUG Rev, Proc Rev, GoPro S/U, battery charge, ROBO Rev), EMCS Main, Plant Gravity, SLAMMD
Saturday, 01/27: Weekly Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 01/28: EVA cuff checklist config, tool config, procedure review and conference, Crew Off Duty

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
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