NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 28 May, 2020 – SpaceX Crew Demo 2 Launch Set for Saturday
The Expedition 63 crew will wait a few more days to gain two new crewmembers after weather scrubbed the initial launch attempt of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Meanwhile, the orbiting trio aboard the International Space Station continued focusing on lab operations.
Rain and lightning around Kennedy Space Center kept Commercial Crew members Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on the ground Wednesday. The Florida weather violated launch rules and SpaceX scrubbed the liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket with the two NASA astronauts atop sitting inside the Crew Dragon vehicle.
NASA has rescheduled the Crew Dragon launch for Saturday at 3:22 p.m. EDT with a backup launch date on Sunday at 3 p.m. If Hurley and Behnken launch Saturday, they would dock Sunday at 10:29 a.m. to the Harmony module’s International Docking Adapter.
Back on orbit, NASA Commander Chris Cassidy was setting up Japanese network communications gear and science hardware during the morning. Afterward, the veteran astronaut spent the rest of Thursday exploring how planetary bodies might affect the density and dynamics of different materials.
The Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner started the day transferring cargo to and from the Soyuz crew ship and the two Progress space freighters. The duo then turned its attention to videotaping and photographing their station activities for an Earth audience.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads
Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL) Soft Matter Dynamics & Compacted Granulars: The crew exchanged Sample 04 with Sample 01 inside the Soft Matter Dynamics (SMD) Experiment Container in the Lower drawer (CEM Lower) of the FSL. FSL Soft Matter Dynamics – Hydrodynamics of Wet Foams (Foam Coarsening) aims to investigate bubble size and rearrangement dynamics for “wet foams”. Microgravity offers the opportunity to investigate such “wet” foams, which cannot be stabilized on Earth because of drainage. Moreover, microgravity conditions are essential to study rearrangement phenomena, such as coarsening and coalescence, disentangled from drainage.
The ISS Experience: The crew temporarily stowed the Z-camera to the side of the module until SpaceX Demo-2 arrival. The ISS Experience creates a virtual reality film documenting daily life aboard the ISS. The 8 to 10 minute videos created from footage taken during the six-month investigation cover different aspects of crew life, execution of science aboard the station, and the international partnerships involved. The ISS Experience uses a Z-CAM V1 Pro Cinematic Virtual Reality (VR) 360-degree camera with nine 190° fisheye lenses.
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Wireless LAN Demonstration: The crew removed the JEM Infrared (IR) camera, Ethernet extender, and associated hardware from the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) on the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) slide table. HTV Wireless LAN Demonstration (HTV WLAN Demo) demonstrates real-time wireless video transfer between the International Space Station (ISS) and a visiting spacecraft. Autonomous docking technology is important for future missions, such as to the Moon and Mars, that will be unable to rely on human operations the same way as current vehicle logistics. Stable and high-rate data transfer is critical to the real-time video monitoring required for docking.
Completed Task List Activities:
Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Bracket Fastener Install
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
JEM Airlock Ground Support
ATS PPL Uplink
Look Ahead Plan
Friday, 5/29 (GMT 150)
Payloads:
RADi-N2 Deploy in NOD103 Rack Front (CSA)
Systems:
Crew Off Duty
TOCA WRS Analysis & Data Record
Regen WSTA Fill
Saturday, 5/30 (GMT 151)
Payloads:
Crew Off Duty
Systems:
Crew Off Duty
Sunday, 5/31 (GMT 152)
Payloads:
ISS Experience Recording Demo-2 Dragon hatch open (NASA)
Systems:
Crew Dragon Docking
ISS Safety Briefing
Crew Dragon SODF Deploy
Crew Dragon/ISS Audio Checkout
ISS Crew Handover
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
JEM Airlock Pressurization
Checking cover closure on SM windows 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14
Temp Stow ISS Experience Z-CAM
Cardiovascular evaluation during graded exercise on cycle ergometer (with assistance)
PCS / SSC RPOP Troubleshooting
JEM Airlock Leak Check
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension/Retraction
WAP/Camera Unit, JEM IR Camera and JEM Ethernet Extender External Removal from MPEP
Replace urine receptacle (МП) and filter-insert (Ф-В) in [АСУ]. [АСУ] Activation after replacement
Air sample collection using Draeger tube air sampler (ИПД) in SM for CO
Air sample collection in SM and FGB using АК-1М sampler
Stow readily removable cargo in the PL container under Soyuz 745 middle seat
Progress 443 (DC1) stowage operations with IMS Support
Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) Removal JEM Airlock Slide Table
TERMINATOR. RSS2 laptop software update
Maintenance of quick-disconnect (QD) screw clamps on DC1-Progress 443 Interface
FSL Facility Core Element locking at the end of scientific operations
FSL SOFT MATTER DYNAMICS Experiment Container Sample Cell Unit Exchange
Life on the Station Photo/Video
FSL Facility Core Element release in preparation of SMD or RUBI operations
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Food Physiology Crew Diet Briefing
Moving Air Conditioner System 2 [СКВ2] Air Pressure Valve [ВН1] to Closed [3] position
URAGAN. SOVA (Auto orientation system for video spectral hardware) PL Installation and Activation
