NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 28 February 2017

Astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency cleaned U.S. spacesuit cooling loops and collected water samples for a periodic maintenance check today. Afterward, he began charging spacewalking gear including helmet lights and tool batteries.
Commander Shane Kimbrough and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson worked on life support maintenance today. They removed and disassembled valves and ducts to access old carbon dioxide filters that needed replacing inside the Destiny lab module. The duo will be back at work Wednesday installing newer generation filters.

One of the main objectives of the International Space Station is to provide an orbital laboratory to research how living in space long-term affects humans. New and ongoing experiments conducted today may provide benefits for humans on and off Earth.

Kimbrough checked on rodents being observed for a tissue regeneration study. Whitson continued researching stem cells with a new microscope delivered last week aboard the SpaceX Dragon. Cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko studied how viruses behave in space while his fellow cosmonauts, Sergey Ryzhikov and Oleg Novitskiy, explored non-invasive ways to monitor a crew member’s health and methods to keep their skills sharp on and off Earth.

On-Orbit Status Report

Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Maintenance: The adsorbent material (Zeolite) inside the CDRA beds breaks down over time and creates dust. This dust eventually reduces airflow through the beds to the point where CDRA can no longer operate. The Node 3 CDRA has newer generation beds that can be disassembled and serviced on orbit. The Lab CDRA, however, still has older generation beds that cannot be serviced on orbit and are near end of life. Today, the crew removed Lab CDRA from the rack, and disassembled it by removing all of the valves and ducting to access the beds. During the removal of the CDRA from the rack, the original power cable (P12) that connects the ASVs to the Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) was left mated in one location and the cable was severed. Teams are looking into the issue. The crew also removed the old beds from Lab CDRA. Lab CDRA will be left in this configuration overnight. Tomorrow, the crew will replace the beds with the newer generation beds, like those in Node 3 CDRA.

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Suit Maintenance: The crew performed routine maintenance tasks on EMU 3003 and EMU 3010 including a loop scrub, a post-loop scrub water sample, suit and ion filter iodination and an EMU conductivity test.

Rodent Research Status Check: This morning, the crew conducted a conference with ground teams then collected necessary equipment for tomorrow’s Habitat Restocking activities. The Tissue Regeneration-Bone Defect (RR-4) studies what prevents vertebrates such as rodents and humans from regrowing lost bone and tissue, and how the microgravity extraterrestrial condition impacts the process. Results could lead to tissue regeneration efforts in space and a better understanding of limitations of limb regrowth at wound sites.

Microgravity Expanded Stem Cells (MESC) Microscope Operations: The crew removed a BioCell from the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory-2 (SABL2) and placed it on the microscope stage configured outside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG). The crew worked with ground specialist to image areas of the BioCell plate. Following the focused imaging, the crew reinserted the BioCell back into the SABL. MESC will aid researches determine the efficiency of using a microgravity environment to accelerate expansion (replication) of stem cells for use in terrestrial clinical trials for treatment of disease.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Overnight, the Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) to stow the Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) on the SPDM Enhanced Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) Temporary Platform (EOTP). They then handed the Space Test Program – Houston 5 (STP-H5) payload from SPDM Arm 2 to Arm 1. This was done to switch from having Orbital Replaceable Unit (ORU) Tool Changeout Mechanism 2 (OTCM2) providing keep alive power to the STP-H5 to having OTCM1 grasping the STP-H5 Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism (FRAM) so that the STP-H5 could be installed on EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Logistics Carrier 1 (ELC1). After the STP-H5 had been installed, the SSRMS and SPDM were maneuvered to a Mobile Transporter (MT) translation configuration. MSS performance was nominal.

Space Test Program – Houston 5 (STP-H5) Activation: The STP-H5 payload was installed on ELC-1 and successfully activated, one day earlier than originally planned. Initial data indicates that the STP-H5 equipment is healthy. Activation of individual experiment packages is ongoing. STP-H5 is an EXpedite PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Pallet Adapter Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism (ExPA-FRAM) based payload consisting of 13 individual experiments ranging from technology demonstrations to space and terrestrial weather measuring and monitoring. The experiments are provided and operated by the Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA agencies.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

BIOPLENKA. Removal of Samples from the Thermostat, fixation of Constanta cassette No.1-2 biofilm.
MICROVIR. Removal of Cassette-M No.2-3 and No.2-4 from ТБУ-В No.04 and setup on interior panel. Photography
Virus Definition File Update on Auxiliary Computer System (ВКС) Laptops
MICROVIR. Photography of upper cell content. Squeezing out and photography of Cassette-M No.№2-3, No.2-4 bottom cells. Setup in Cryogem-03 at +37 deg C
Rodent Research Water Box and Light Check
COLUMBUS Bay 4 clean-up
ENERGY Big Picture Words Reading
Verification of ИП-1 Flow Indicator Position
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Scrub Initiation
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Troubleshooting Cable Deconfiguration
MICROVIR. Glovebox-S Closeout Ops
COSMOCARD. Closeout Ops
MICROVIR. Photography of Cassette-M lower cells No.2-1, No.2-2 and stowage in ТБУ-В No.04 at +4°С
Habitability Narrated Task Video Setup – Subject
ENERGY Equipment Pre-gather
Rodent Research Gather 1
Habitability Narrated Task Video End – Subject
MICROVIR. Photography of bottom cells
Microscope Hardware Unstow
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Post Scrub Cooling Loop Water (H2O) Sample
Scheduled monthly maintenance of Central Post Laptop. Laptop Log-File Downlink
Microgravity Expanded Stem Cells Microscope Ops
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Iodination
СКПФ1, СКПФ2 Dust Filter Replacement and MRM1 ГЖТ Cleaning
Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Removal for Dual Bed Replacement
MICROVIR. Photography of bottom cells
Microscope Hardware Temporary Stowage
BIOPLENKA. Removal of Samples from the Thermostat, fixation of Constanta cassette No.1-3 biofilm.
EVA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Scrub Deconfiguration
СОЖ maintenance
IMS Update
APEX-04 Petri Plate Photo
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Conductivity Test
Photo/TV JEM Camcorder to SSC
MICROVIR. Photography of bottom cells
Photo/TV JEM MPEG Activation
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Component Removal
CONTENT. Experiment Ops
Bringing ODF up to date using Progress 435 delivered files
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Initiation
MICROVIR. Photography of cell condition. Start Video.
Replacement of ПФ1, ПФ2 Dust Filters and Cleaning В1, B2 Fan Screens in MRM2
Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Bed 201 and 202 Removal
Onboard Training (OBT) Dragon Debrief Conference
Photo/TV JEM Mpeg Deactivation
Stow Syringes used in H2O Conductivity Test
MICROVIR. Photography of cell condition. Terminate Video. See note 8

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Capacity Test for Battery 1A2
MT Translation from WS7 to WS6

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 03/01: CDRA R&R, FROST-2, J-Microbe Install, J-Lan Monitor Install, EVA Tether Inspect
Thursday, 03/02: CDRA R&R, EVA Loop Scrub/H2O Conductivity Test, EMU Swap, PM3 H/W Gather, N3 Endcone Cleanout
Friday, 03/038: Node 2 Power Cable (HMU 220) Rerouting, PMA3 Ingress, ESA Energy, Node 3 IMV Valve Scavenge

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Standby
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Startup
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up