NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 26 February 2018
Expedition 54 Commander Alexander Misurkin handed over control of the orbital laboratory today to fellow cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov during a traditional Change of Command ceremony. Misurkin is returning to Earth tomorrow with NASA astronauts Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei after 168 days in space.
Landing day begins Tuesday when Misurkin, Acaba and Vande Hei say farewell, enter their Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft and close the hatches at 2:50 p.m. They will don their Sokol launch and entry suits, check for air and pressure leaks and undock from the Poisk module at 6:08 p.m. The Expedition 54 trio will then parachute to a landing in south central Kazakhstan at 9:31 p.m. EST (Wednesday at 8:31 a.m. Kazakh time). NASA TV will broadcast all the landing activities live starting at 2:15 p.m.
Expedition 55 officially begins when Misurkin and his crewmates undock. Shkaplerov of Roscosmos is staying behind as commander until June 3 with Flight Engineers Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
A new crew training in Russia is getting ready to replace the Earth-bound station residents in late March. Expedition 55-56 crew members Oleg Artemyev, Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel are preparing for their March 21 launch to the station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will greet their new crewmates March 23 after docking to the vacated Poisk module inside the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft.
On-Orbit Status Report
52Soyuz Landing Preparations: Crew and ground teams continued to prepare for tomorrow’s planned 52S Undock and landing. 52S is scheduled to undock tomorrow at 5:09 PM CST with landing at 8:31 PM CST. Today’s activities included packing 52S with return cargo, Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review, and Change of Command Ceremony.
Lighting Effects: Upon wake up the 53S subject completed the two week sleep session study by providing daily sleep log entries to track his sleep patterns and wakefulness. The Lighting Effects investigation studies the impact of the change from fluorescent light bulbs to solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with adjustable intensity and color and aims to determine if the new lights can improve crew circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance. Results from this investigation also have major implications for people on Earth who use electric lights.
Microbial Tracking-2 (MT-2): Over the weekend and today a 52S subject provided saliva samples to support the MT-2 investigation. The MT-2 series continues the monitoring of the types of microbes that are present on the ISS. It seeks to catalog and characterize potential disease-causing microorganisms onboard the ISS. Crew pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight samples and environmental samples from ISS surface and air locations are collected to identify any associations between the microbial content of the samples, as well as potential health effects.
Functional Immune: Over the weekend and today two 52S crewmembers continued to support a five-day Functional Immune session that began Friday by collecting saliva samples. The samples support the return minus zero day (R-0) compliment for the 52S crewmembers. The crew will also perform a dry saliva collection using the Saliva Collection Dry Book. The Functional Immune investigation analyzes blood and saliva samples to determine the changes taking place in crewmembers’ immune systems during flight. The changes in the immune system are also compared with crewmembers’ self-reported health information. Results are expected to provide new insight into the possible health risks of long-duration space travel, including future missions to Mars, asteroids, or other distant destinations.
Veg-03 Operations: The crew performed Veg-03 operations by watering each plant pillows and photo documenting the progression of the plant grow outs. The overall goal of Veg-03 is to further demonstrate proof-of concept for the Veggie plant growth chamber and the planting pillows. Future long-duration missions into the solar system, finally culminating on Mars, will require a fresh food supply to supplement crew diets, which means growing crops in space. Previous investigations focused on improving productivity in controlled environments, but the limited quarters of the space shuttle and International Space Station made it difficult to conduct large-scale crop production tests. Veg-03 expands on previous validation tests of the new Veggie hardware, which crew members will soon use to grow cabbage, lettuce and other fresh vegetables in space.
Device for the study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization (DECLIC): The crew removed the Directional Solidification Insert (DSI) from the DECLIC Experiment Locker (EXL), before installing and activating the ALICE-LIKE Insert (ALI) in the EXL. The crew also removed and replace the removable hard disk drive inside the EXL. DECLIC is a multi-user facility utilized to study transparent media and their phase transitions in microgravity onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
At Home in Space: The crew took photographs to document ISS culture. This Canadian Space Agency investigation assesses culture, values, and psychosocial adaptation of astronauts to a space environment shared by multinational crews on long-duration missions. It is hypothesized that astronauts develop a shared space culture that is an adaptive strategy for handling cultural differences and they deal with the isolated confined environment of the spacecraft by creating a home in space. At Home in Space also uses questionnaires to investigate individual and culturally related differences, family functioning, values, coping with stress, and post-experience growth.
Earth Imagery from ISS Target (EIISS): Over the weekend, the crew used the Nikon camera to capture images of South Australia and Tasmania. Today, the crew captured Australia at night using the light from the moon and took images of the Australia Desert, the Southern tip of India, the USA East Coast and Ireland during the day. EIISS is used to support creation of a series of videos showcasing Earth views taken from space. The videos are taken with cameras on the ISS in 6K hi-resolution and are integrated into videos for screensavers for public enjoyment, exploration, and engagement.
Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) Removal and Replace (R&R) – Today, the crew successfully R&Red RPCM N13B_A using the Hot Mate/Demate technique. This is the second Intra-Vehicular Activity (IVA) RPCM Hot Mate/Demate replacement performed on-orbit, made possible by the updated firmware load which increases the boot delay time to 3 minutes. Following the crew activity, ground teams recovered power to the External Stowage Platform -1 (ESP-1) Primary Heaters. Power to these heaters was lost due to a trip in October 2017.
LAB1P1 Rack Flow Control Assembly (RFCA) Reconfiguration – Today, the crew relocated the LAB1P1 Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) rack Bypass Jumper from the Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) to the Low Temperature Loop (LTL). This reconfiguration places the MTL ITCS lines on the RFCA to allow MTL rack flow control, which is required to support the Life Support Rack arriving on HTV-7 later this year. The Lab ITCS was transitioned to Dual Loop Mode during the activity to mitigate impacts in the event of a water leak.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Functional Immune Saliva Collection Dry Book – Subject
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes – Subject
Lighting Effects Sleep Log Entry – Subject
Microbial Tracking-2 Body Sample Collection
HRF Generic Sample MELFI Retrieval And Insertion Operations
Functional Immune Saliva Collection Dry Book – Subject
Microbial Tracking-2 Sample MELFI Retrieval Insert
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes – Subject
JEM Airlock Valve Box Opening
RED Camera Setup.
At Home In Space Culture Photo
Signing ISS RS Handover Protocol
JEM Airlock Valve Box Remote Controller Inspection Part 1
Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth
JEM Airlock Valve Box Closing
JEM Airlock Valve Box Remote Controller Inspection Part 2
Comm Check and Ops from Soyuz 734 via RGS
JEM Dragon 14 Stowage Reconfiguration Part 1
Sanitary & Hygiene Status Monitoring
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
Microbial Tracking-2 Saliva Stow
HMS Food Intake Tracker (FIT) Screenshots
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
HRF2 Drawer Audit
JEM Dragon 14 Stowage Reconfiguration Part 2
EIISS Crew Preference RED Camera Target Operations
LBNP Exercise (CLOSEOUT)
Station Support Computer (SSC) 9 Laptop Relocate
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire
Node 1 IFM-N13B RPCM-GTHR (RPCM) R&R Equipment Gather
EIISS Crew Preference RED Camera Target Operations
VEG-03 Dual Facility Watering for each Plant Pillow
RED Camera Deactivation.
Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review
Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth
Plug-in Plan (PiP) NOD1 Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) Power Down Prep
Microbial Air Sampling
Manufacturing Device ABS Print Removal, Clean and Stow
Node 1 Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) R&R Review Conference
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
DECLIC Directional Solidification Insert Removal
Access NOD1D1 Closeout Area
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
DECLIC ALICE-LIKE Insert Installation
N13B_A RPCM (Remote Power Control Module) R&R at NOD1D1 Location
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Terminate
DECLIC Removable Hard Disk Drive Exchange
Closeout NOD1D1 Closeout Area
POLYGEN. Video of fruit flies w/blocked access to food
Cleanup Operations from Node 1 Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) Operations
HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collection Setup
Soyuz 734 Return Hardware Stowage Ops (This includes additional stowage of P/L container, ?70, ?900, ??-II, ??-IV)
Trash Expired Disinfectant Wipes
Payloads Network Attached Storage (NAS) Vent Cleaning
Microgravity Science Glovebox High Definition Monitor Checkout and Stow
Rack Flow Control Assembly (RFCA) Reconfiguration from Low Temperature Loop (LTL) to Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL).
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System On-Board Training
Extravehicular Mobility Unit Helmet Cleaning Preparations.
Plant Gravity Perception/European Modular Cultivation System Procedure Review
LAB1D1 Rack Rotation Assist
Earth Imagery from ISS Nikon Target Operations
At Home In Space Culture Photo
Extravehicular Mobility Unit Helmet Cleaning
LAB1D1 Rack Rotation Assist
Plug-in Plan (PiP) NOD1 Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) Power Up
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Actiwatch Spectrum HRF1 Setup
Two-Phase Flow Experiment Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Video Compression And Recording Unit (MSPR VRU) Power Cycle
Communication and Tracking (C&T) On-Call Crew Quarters Configuration
Actiwatch Spectrum HRF1 Stow
Soyuz 734 transfer operations report
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
Change of Command
Completed Task List Activities
Data Prep Return
PMM1O4 Cleanout
Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
RPCM N13B powerdown and powerup
Lab ITCS transition to dual loop
Lab ITCS transition to single loop
Standard Commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 02/27: 52S undock, HRF fluid collections, N3 IMV cleaning and reconfig, ARED rope R&R, EIISS
Wednesday, 02/28: Crew Off Duty
Thursday, 03/01: Node3 MCA VGA R&R, PGP, EIISS, Two Phase Flow
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – On
[???] 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) – Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off
