Space Stations

NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 March 2017 – Spacewalk on Tap

By Marc Boucher
Status Report
March 30, 2017
Filed under , ,
NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 March 2017 – Spacewalk on Tap
NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 March 2017 - Spacewalk on Tap.
NASA

Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson is set to go on her eighth spacewalk Thursday morning and surpass astronaut Suni Williams’ record for the most spacewalks by a female astronaut.
Whitson’s last spacewalk was on Jan. 6 with Commander Shane Kimbrough when she hooked up new lithium-ion batteries and inspected the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

Thursday’s spacewalk will see Whitson and Kimbrough finish cable connections at the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 just recently attached to the Harmony module’s space-facing port. The PMA-3 relocation gets the station ready for the new International Docking Adapter-3 set to be delivered on a future SpaceX Dragon cargo mission.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who conducted last week’s spacewalk with Kimbrough, will assist the duo in and out of their spacesuits and monitor the activities from inside the station. The spacewalkers are scheduled to exit the Quest airlock Thursday at 8 a.m. EST for 6.5 hours of station maintenance work. NASA TV will cover all the spacewalk activities beginning at 6:30 a.m.

On-Orbit Status Report

Dose Tracker Data Entry: The crew performed their weekly Dose Tracker data logging, responding to a questionnaire which asks if crew members have used medications since the last entry, what prompted them to use the medication, how well it worked, how frequently they repeated doses, and if the medication caused side effects. The Dose Tracker investigation uses an iPad app to collect information on members’ medication use during their missions. Results help determine whether medicines act differently on humans in space than they do on Earth.

European Space Agency (ESA) Active Dosimeter Swap: The crew swapped the currently worn Mobile Unit (MU) with a charged MU and initiated the data download to the ESA Active Dosimeter Personal Stowage Device (PSD). The European Crew Personal Active Dosimeter is an active device worn by European ISS crewmembers in orbit to measure the radiation exposure. This device, coupled with other dosimeters in ESA’s Columbus Laboratory, provides radiation dosage information that can be used to support risk assessment and dose management. The future goal is to enable the verification of radiation monitoring systems for future medical monitoring of crewmembers in space.

U.S. Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #41 Preparations: In preparation for tomorrow’s planned EVA, today the crew completed the following:

Configured tools required for the EVA.
Verified that batteries are installed in Pistol Grip Tools (PGTs) and EVA cameras.
Prepared the Equipment Lock, EMUs and ancillary hardware to support EVA prep activities.
Procedures review including detailed timeline, briefing package, tool config summary and planned get-ahead tasks.
Following the procedures review the crew participated in a conference with ground teams to discuss questions or concerns. The crew is scheduled to egress at 7:10AM CDT.

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

Recharging Soyuz 733 Samsung PC Battery (if charge level is below 80%)
Dose Tracker Data Entry Subject
[???1] Electrical Cables Checkout
SCENARIO. Observations and photography
ISS Crew departure preparation
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Pre-EVA Periodic Health Status Examination
Demating telemetry connectors
[???1] Electrical Cables Checkout
ESA Weekly crew conference
ELECTRONIC NOSE. Experiment Ops Part 1
Study of cardiac bioelectric activity at rest
Mating telemetry connectors
[???1] Electrical Cables Checkout
ESA ACTIVE DOSIMETER MOBILE UNIT SWAP
Separation and Pumping Unit [????-2] R&R
Recharging Soyuz 732 Samsung PC Battery (if charge level is below 80%)
Pille sensors prep for USOS EVA
Dose Tracker Data Entry Subject
Scheduled monthly maintenance of Central Post Laptop. Laptop Log-File Downlink via OCA
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Mating of telemetry connectors
Separation and Pumping Unit [????-2] R&R
Conference of Search and Rescue (????) specialists with returning crew
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Audit.
Private Psychological Conference (PPC)
ELECTRONIC NOSE. Experiment Ops Part 2
Terminate Soyuz 733 Samsung PC Battery Charge
Filling (separation) of ??? (???) for Elektron or ???-??
Program Management/ISS CREW Conference
ELECTRONIC NOSE. Photography
CCE Preparation
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) iPad Contingency Procedures preparation
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Verification of ??-1 Flow Indicator Position
PROBIOVIT. CRYOGEM-03 refrigerator Setup
PROBIOVIT. Glovebox-S Setup
CONTENT. Experiment Ops
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Terminate Soyuz 732 Samsung PC Battery Charge
Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation
SM windows Nos.6,8,9,12,13,14 shutter closure

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
EVA procedures review conference

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 03/30: EVA #41
Friday, 03/31: Crew departure prep, EVA debrief/cleanup
Saturday, 04/01: Crew off duty, housekeeping

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

SpaceRef co-founder, entrepreneur, writer, podcaster, nature lover and deep thinker.