NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 March 2019 – Expedition 59 Spacewalk 2 and 3 Update

With the first in a series of three spacewalks successfully completed at the International Space Station, NASA has updated astronaut assignments for the remaining two spacewalks and will preview the third in an upcoming news conference on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Anne McClain conducted the first spacewalk in this series on March 22. Hague and fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch now are preparing to conduct the second spacewalk Friday, March 29, during which they will continue work started on the first spacewalk to install powerful lithium-ion batteries for one pair of the station’s solar arrays.

Koch had been scheduled to conduct this spacewalk with astronaut McClain, in what would have been the first all-female spacewalk. However, after consulting with McClain and Hague following the first spacewalk, mission managers decided to adjust the assignments, due in part to spacesuit availability on the station. McClain learned during her first spacewalk that a medium-size hard upper torso – essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best. Because only one medium-size torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it.

Mission experts previewed the tasks for the first two spacewalks during a March 19 news conference.

McClain now is tentatively scheduled to perform her next spacewalk – the third in this series – on Monday, April 8 with Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques. Assignments for this spacewalk will be finalized following completion of the second spacewalk.

Experts will discuss the work to be performed on the April 8 spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, April 2, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Live coverage of the briefing and spacewalks will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Media wishing to attend the briefing in person must request credentials from the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 4 p.m. Monday, April 1. Media interested in participating by phone must contact the newsroom by 1:45 p.m. April 2.

Participants in the briefing will be:

– Kenny Todd, International Space Station manager for Operations and Integration
– Rick Henfling, spacewalk flight director
– John Mularski, lead spacewalk officer

McClain and Saint-Jacques will lay out jumper cables between the Unity module and the S0 truss, at the midpoint of the station’s backbone, during their April 8 spacewalk. This work will establish a redundant path of power to the Canadian-built robotic arm, known as Canadarm2. They also will install cables to provide for more expansive wireless communications coverage outside the orbital complex, as well as for enhanced hardwired computer network capability.

Live coverage of both spacewalks will begin at 6:30 a.m., and each is expected to last about 6.5 hours. The March 29 spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8:20 a.m., while the April 8 spacewalk is set to start at 8:05 a.m.

These will be the 215th and 216th spacewalks in the history of International Space Station assembly and maintenance. During the first spacewalk of the series, on March 22, McClain became the 13th woman to perform a spacewalk. Koch will become the 14th on March 29.

On-Orbit Status Report

Materials Science Laboratory (MSL): The crew opened the Gas Supply Drawer valve on the Material Science Research Rack (MSRR)/MSL which is used for basic materials research in the microgravity environment of the ISS. The MSL can accommodate and support diverse Experiment Modules. In this way, many material types, such as metals, alloys, polymers, semiconductors, ceramics, crystals, and glasses, can be studied to discover new applications for existing materials and new or improved materials.

Two-Phase Flow: The crew altered the valve settings for the Two Phase Flow-2 experiment. The valve setting has been changed to configuration of Low-mode (pump) of the Metal Heated Tube (MHT). Several runs of TPF experiment will be performed with this configuration. The Two-Phase Flow experiment investigates the heat transfer characteristics of flow boiling in the microgravity environment. This experiment provides a fundamental understanding of the behaviors of bubble formation, liquid-vapor flow in a tube, and how heat is transferred in cooling systems.

71 Progress ISS Reboost: On Saturday, ISS completed a 5 minute 42 second reboost using 71P thrusters. The purpose of the reboost was to start phasing for 72P rendezvous and docking in April and increase the ISS velocity by 0.685 meters per second (m/s).

LAB Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Failure: The LAB CDRA failed last Friday. Troubleshooting was unsuccessful so N3 CDRA and Amine Swingbed were activated to account for the additional CO2 produced during the Metal Oxide (METOX) regen. Teams agreed the failure signature was an Air Selector Valve 4 (ASV104) failure. Today the crew performed an ASV104 R&R to recover the unit.

US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #53 Preparations: In preparation for this Friday’s planned EVA, today the crew performed the following:

Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) powered hardware checkout
GoPRO camera setup
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) METOX/Lithium Hydroxide (LiOH)/ battery replacement
EVA suit intravehicular (IV) review

Completed Task List Activities:
Friday
Toilet funnel ops

Saturday
Veggie plant check
WHC KTO replace
EVA tool config
Toilet funnel ops

Sunday
EVA battery ops
EVA tether inspection
CDRA valve R&R gather
EVA tool config
Toilet funnel ops
Veggie plant check

Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
EVA prep support
CDRA valve R&R support

Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 03/26:

Payloads:
RADIN Retrieval and H/O (CSA)
Myotones measurements and data xfer (ESA)
Actiwatch Plus chk (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
GLACIER1 Rack Relocation (NASA)
Cerebral Autoregulation Measurements (JAXA)
CIR Manifold bottle replace (NASA)

Systems:
EVA prep

Wednesday, 03/27:

Payloads:
Cerebral Autoregulation measurements and Closeout (JAXA)
Actiwatch (Donned) data xfer (NASA)
ISS Experience Node1 intro Recording (NASA)
GLACIER1 Tray and Left vertical support install (NASA)
Team Task Survey (NASA)

Systems:
EVA prep
WHC scheduled maintenance

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

US EVA Truss Jumpers Procedure Review
IMD Delta File Prep
Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media
Toilet Funnel Evaluation, Part 5 of 5
ECON-M. Observations and Photography
Photo TV Battery Charge Initiation
Screws Installation and tightening on connectors of Broad Band Communication System (???)
Cerebral Autoregulation Data Measurement Item Gathering
XF305 Camcorder Setup
Setup of a work station for Laptop RSE-Med
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Terminate
Two-Phase Flow Experiment Equipment Valves Setting
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Resize
VOZDUKH Deactivation
XF305 Camcorder Setup
Cerebral Autoregulation Maintenance Work Area setup.
Water Recovery Management (WRM) Condensate Pumping Initiation
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Experiment setup
Preparing for ???-95 Comm Panel Replacement in DC1 (R/G review, locating and gathering equipment)
Photo TV EVA Go Pro Battery Charging
Cerebral Autoregulation Equipment Setup
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Aisstance with ??-3 Test
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Experiment Ops on ??-2 Treadmill (MO-3 Test in Passive Mode).
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Closeout Ops. Tagup with specialists
Columbus cleanup for Myotones
Photography of [??228] thermal sensor models installed on MRM2 exterior
Myotones Big Picture Words reading
Myotones Kit Gathering for Session 1
Photo TV Battery Charge Swap
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Hygiene procedure
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Installation
Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Powered Hardware Checkout
Crew Time for ISS Adaptation and Orientation
Nikon Camera Time Sync
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
Food Acceptability Questionnaire
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
ISS Crew Orientation
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config JEM Setup
PAO Preparation
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – JEM
ISS Crew Orientation
Search for and photography of ??228 sensor adapter covers
Selecting and Viewing Soyuz 742 Neptune-ME Descent Module [CA] Display and Control Panel (????) Logs. Tagup with specialists
Photo TV GoPro Setup
Photo TV Battery Charge Swap
Material Science Laboratory Gas Supply Exchange Part 2
In-Flight Maintenance Lab CDRA Valve Remove and Replace – Part 1
Handover of Increment 59 Crew
Filling (separation) of ??? (???) for Elektron or ???-??
Filling (separation) of ??? (???) for Elektron or ???-?? (handover)
Handover of Increment 59 Crew
SM ventilation systems preventive maintenance.
??? maintenance
Progress 440 [AO] stowage for disposal and IMS Ops
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Termination
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB)/Metal Oxide (METOX) Installation
Extravehicular Activitiy (EVA) Suit Intravehicular (IV) Review
Photo TV Battery Charge Deactivation
In-Flight Maintenance CDRA Valve Remove and Replace – Part 2
Charging EVA Camera D4 Battery
In-Flight Maintenance CDRA Valve Stow
VOZDUKH Deactivation
Regenerative Environment
al Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill