NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 28 January, 2021 – Partial Crew Downtime

Four Expedition 64 astronauts are winding down today following Wednesday’s near seven-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
The other three crew members stayed focused on space research and lab maintenance throughout Thursday.

Spacewalkers Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover spent Thursday relaxing for a few hours before turning their attention to the next spacewalk set for Monday. Their assistants, Kate Rubins of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA, joined the duo Thursday afternoon to review next week’s spacewalk.

The quartet first called down to mission controllers Thursday and discussed the previous day’s spacewalk when Hopkins and Glover installed a science antenna and readied the station for solar array upgrades. Rubins, with Noguchi as her back up, operated the Canadarm2 robotic arm, and assisted the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits.

Hopkins and Glover will exit the station again on Monday after they turn on their spacesuit batteries about 7 a.m. EST. They will spend six-and-a-half hours finishing battery maintenance and installing high definition cameras as Rubins and Noguchi monitor the duo. NASA TV will go on air at 5:30 a.m.

In the midst of the spacewalk preparations, NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker has been conducting microgravity science. Today she worked on a technology demonstration that seeks to simplify life support systems using capillary action and fluid dynamics to separate liquids and gases.

Commander Sergey Ryzhikov worked on Zarya module power systems while continuing to pack the Progress 76 resupply ship ahead of its Feb. 9 departure. Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov started the day on Russian plumbing tasks then checked radiation hardware and measurements.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads

Capillary Structures: The crew performed the Capillary Structures Sorbent Contactor operations that demonstrates flow through two microgravity air-liquid contractors in series. Current life-support systems on the ISS require special equipment to separate liquids and gases, including rotating or moving devices that could cause contamination if they break or fail. The Capillary Structures for Exploration Life Support (Capillary Structures) investigation studies a new method using structures of specific shapes to manage fluid and gas mixtures. The investigation studies water recycling and carbon dioxide removal, benefiting future efforts to design lightweight, more reliable life support systems for future space missions.

Actiwatch Plus: The crew attached the Actiwatch Plus kit to the HRF Payload Drawer to allow ground teams to download data and to charge the units. The Actiwatch is a waterproof, nonintrusive, sleep-wake activity monitor worn on the wrist of a crewmember. The device contains a miniature uniaxial accelerometer that produces a signal as the subject moves. The data are stored in nonvolatile memory within the Actiwatch until they are downloaded for analysis.

Systems

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The crew continued preparations for the upcoming ISS Upgrades II EVA on Monday, February 1. They configured the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long life Battery (LLB) for charging and reviewed procedures for the EVA. The crew also took additional photos of the EVA gloves per Engineering request.

Post- EVA Periodic Health Exam (PHS): Today the crew completed a health evaluation. During the evaluation, vital signs are obtained and an ear examination is conducted by taking images of the tympanic membranes and the external ear. The data and imagery is then downlinked for review by a medical specialist. PHS exams are conducted within 24 hours of the conclusion of an EVA.

Completed Task List Activities:

Wanted WetLab-2 Gene Sampler Kit
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

JEMRMS Main Arm (MA) Maneuver to JEF GF1 Grapple
Reconfigure PVTCS to Modified Fluid DeadBand (MOD FDB) mode [ACTIVE]
PRO CIR Activation Commanding
Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Walkoff Maneuver
Look Ahead Plan

Friday, January 29 (GMT 029)
Payloads:

AC Touch (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
VEG-03J plant chk/H2O (NASA)
Astrobee Crew conf (NASA)
RFID reconfig and install on Astrobee/chkout (NASA)
AstroRad Vest Exercise and survey (NASA)
Food Physiology Diet Brief (NASA)
HRF Centrifuge tube carrier replacement (NASA)
Systems:

On-board Training (OBT) EVA Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Saturday, January 30 (GMT 030)
Payloads:

VEG-03J Plant Chk/H2O (NASA)
Systems:

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Cuff Checklist Print
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
Sunday, January 31 (GMT 031)

Crew is off duty today.
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Plug-In Plan (PiP) AC Inverter Secure
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Initiation
AstroRad Hardware Gather
Treadmill Station Support Computer Power Chain Relocate
Columbus Ham Radio Remate
JPM1O5(DMS1 Rack) Cable Reconfiguration
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – JEM
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Initiate
Return SSC (Station Support Computer) 5 and 4 to original LAB locations
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Debrief for US EVA
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
IMS delta file prep
Charging EVA Camera D4 Battery
Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software Review
Capillary Structures Sorbent Contactor Demonstration Ops
Actiwatch Plus HRF Rack 1 Setup
ISS HAM Columbus Pass Kenwood