NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 26 May, 2020 – Anticipating Arrival of Two Astronauts on SpaceX Crew Dragon

The Expedition 63 crew is getting ready for the launch and arrival this week of two NASA astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade.
This follows Monday morning’s arrival of a Japanese cargo craft that delivered over four tons of food, supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX managers completed their readiness reviews and have given the “go” for the launch of Commercial Crew astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The duo will liftoff atop the Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday at 4:33 p.m. from Kennedy Space Center in Florida toward the station.

They will dock on Thursday at 11:39 a.m. to the Harmony module’s International Docking Adapter on the space station’s forward section. Two-and-a-half hours later the hatches will open, Behnken and Hurley will enter the station and the Expedition 63 crew will expand to five members to bring space research up to full speed aboard the orbiting lab.

The Crew Dragon will be docked adjacent to the newly-arrived H-II Transfer Vehicle-9 (HTV-9) from Japan. The HTV-9 was installed to the Harmony module’s Earth-facing port a couple of hours after it was captured Monday at 8:13 a.m. with the Canadarm2 robotic arm. NASA Commander Chris Cassidy began unloading the HTV-9 with help from Roscosmos Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner shortly after its arrival on Memorial Day.

The final mission of Japan’s expendable resupply ship will stay at the station until late July. Japan’s next version of resupply ships (HTV-X) will be returnable and reusable providing more cargo capabilities.

Veteran cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin swapped out more fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to maintain research operations inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. The refrigerator-sized research rack enables fuel, flame and soot research in microgravity.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads

Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME): The crew replaced Nitrogen/Oxygen manifold bottles in support of the continuing s-Flames investigation. The ACME experiment series being performed in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) includes five independent studies of gaseous flames. The primary goals of ACME are to improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant production in routine fuel combustion activities on Earth. Its secondary goal is to improve spacecraft fire prevention through innovative research focused on materials flammability.

Hourglass: The crew swapped out the SD data card from PL Control Box S/N 002 to allow ground teams to continue data downlink. Hourglass investigation examines the relationship between gravity and the behavior of granular materials such as regolith that covers the surface of planets and planetary-like bodies. Researchers observe various granular materials inside an hourglass and a measuring cylinder under different gravity conditions. Better understanding of the behavior of these materials supports the design of spacecraft for future missions landing on the surfaces of planets and other celestial bodies.

Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP): The crew replaced the hard drive inside the Multi-use Variable-g Platform 1 in preparation of Cell-03 operations. The commercially developed, owned and operated Techshot MVP includes 2 internal carousels that simultaneously can produce up to 2 g of artificial gravity. MVP is used to conduct research in space with a wide variety of sample types, such as fruit flies, flatworms, plants, fish, cells, protein crystals and many others.

Systems

HII Transfer Vehicle (HTV)9 Cargo Operations: Today, the crew began HTV9 cargo transfer operations by unloading cargo from the HTV corridor. The vehicle delivered four tons of supplies, parts, and experiment hardware.

HTV Rendezvous Hardware Tool Cleanup: As part of closeout ops from HTV9 capture/berthing, the crew returned the Centerline Berthing Camera System (CBCS) and Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK) today to their appropriate stowage locations. The CBCS supports Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) mating alignment operations necessary to berth a vehicle to Node 2. The VOK is a toolkit the crew uses during berthing operations.

Completed Task List Activities:

Vacuum Cleaner Set Up
PCS Laptop Relocate (Post HTV)
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

CIR Ops Ground Support
Look Ahead Plan

Wednesday, 5/27 (GMT 148)
Payloads:

ISS Experience Node 2 setup (NASA)
Systems:

Emergency Equipment Gather – Dragon
PCS Relocate
COL1O2 ZSR Prep & Transfer
Docking Dragon Monitoring Tools Setup
SSC Relocate for Dragon Docking
Thursday, 5/28 (GMT 149)
Payloads:

Food Physiology Brief (NASA)
ISS Experience Recording Demo-2 Dragon hatch open (NASA)
Systems:

Crew Dragon Docking
ISS Safety Briefing
Dragon/ISS IAS Audio Checkout
SODF Deploy
Friday, 5/29 (GMT 150)
Payloads:

RADi-N2 Deploy in NOD103 Rack Front (CSA)
FSL Soft Matter Dynamics container exchange (ESA)
ISS Experience Hardware Stow (NASA)
Systems:

OBT Dragon Debrief Conference
Dragon Emergency Review
Emergency Equipment Transfer
PCS Checkout
Dragon Cargo Ops
Dragon/ISS IAS Audio Checkout
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Check and Report the Results of Antivirus Scanning on Auxiliary Computer System [BKC]
Hourglass SD Card exchange on PL Control Box S/N 002 for data downlink
UV-ATMOSPHERE. Payload Hardware Powerdown & Closeout Operations
Monitor RSK1 Laptop Battery Charge
Node2 HD Camera Activation [ABORTED]
Monitoring and Photography of BD-2 Carriage Position
Life on ISS Photo and Video
Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #2 & #4 Bottle Replacement
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Preparation for 800A Unit R&R in the FGB Power Supply System (???) Battery Module 3. Work Space Setup
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
Centerline Berthing Camera System (CBCS) and Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK) Restow
Systems Operations Data File (SODF) Print
Monthly Inspection of Video Recording Equipment on the ISS RS
Vacuum Cleaning of the FGB ??
Transfer Operations – Unpack items from HTV
Multi-use Variable-g Platform Hard Drive Replacement
URAGAN. SOVA Hardware and Photo Equipment Setup and Activation
Countermeasures Systems (CMS) Exercise Equipment Gather
On-Board Training (OBT) Conference after CBT reviews