NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 4 February 2020 – CubeSats Deployer Setup

The crew aboard the International Space Station is preparing to split up while also getting ready for a U.S. space delivery.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch is packing up and cleaning her crew quarters today ahead of her return to Earth early Thursday. She will board the Soyuz MS-13 crew ship on Wednesday about 9:30 p.m. EST with crewmates Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency).

The trio will undock Thursday at 12:50 a.m. then parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan at 4:12 a.m. (3:12 p.m. Kazakh time). NASA TV begins its live coverage Wednesday at 9 p.m. when the departing crew says farewell to their station counterparts and closes the Soyuz hatch.

This will cap a 328-day-long mission for Koch that began on March 14. She is now in second place for the single longest spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut surpassed only by former astronaut Scott Kelly with 340 days during his final station mission.

Expedition 62 will officially begin when Koch and her Expedition 61 crewmates undock from the Poisk module. Continuing their stay in space will be Commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos and NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan. They will end their stay aboard the orbiting lab and return to Earth in April.

Meir and Morgan are getting ready for another mission that begins Sunday when Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft lifts off at 5:39 p.m. It will rendezvous with the station Tuesday where the duo will be in the cupola to capture Cygnus at 3:30 a.m. with the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Ground controllers will then remotely command the Canadarm2 to install Cygnus to the Unity module where it will stay for 90 days. Cygnus will be delivering over 8,000 pounds of new research gear and crew supplies.

On-Orbit Status Report

Cerebral Autoregulation: The crew performed a Cerebral Autoregulation data session using the Cardiolab Portable Doppler (CDL PDOP) and the European Physiology Modules Facility Continuous Blood Pressure Device (EPM CBPD). As the body’s most important organ, the brain needs a strong and reliable blood supply, so the brain is capable of self-regulating blood flow even when the heart and blood vessels cannot maintain an ideal blood pressure. The Cerebral Autoregulation investigation tests whether this self-regulation improves in the microgravity environment of space.

Bio-Monitor: The crew changed out the wearable body monitors as part of the hardware swap during a 48hr data recording session. The doffed garment was allowed to dry and then stowed. Although the ISS is equipped with health and life sciences research tools, the existing instrumentation for continuous and simultaneous recording of several physiological parameters is lacking. To tackle this issue, the Bio-Monitor Commissioning activity tests the Bio-Monitor facility; a wearable garment capable of monitoring relevant physiological parameters for up to 48 hours in a non-invasive and non-interfering way. The physiological parameters which can be monitored consist of heart rate, respiration rate, Electrocardiogram (ECG), skin temperature, peripheral blood oxygen saturation, etc.

NanoRacks External Cygnus CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD): The crew installed the NRCSD-17 mission CubeSats deployer onto the JEM MPEP (Multipurpose Experiment Platform) in preparation for next week’s deployment operations. Nine satellites will be deployed for this NRCSD mission. The quad deployer will launch SOCRATES, Argus-02, HARP, RadSat-u and Phoenix. The Triple deployer will launch SORTIE, QARMAN, CryoCube and AztechSat-1. The NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer is a stackable, modular, ground loaded launch case. Each NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer accommodates up to eight launch cases are stacked for each JEM Airlock opening. The NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer meets the growing demand to deploy CubeSat format satellites from the International Space Station for a variety of customers.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Protein Crystallization Growth (JAXA-PCG): The crew retrieved the PCG 17 samples and placed them in the FROST2 cold stowage facility in preparation for 59S return. The objective of the JAXA PCG investigation is to grow high quality protein crystals in microgravity. The crystals are returned to Earth to determine protein structures in detail; the structures are used to develop pharmaceutical drugs, and to explore the mystery of our lives. The protein samples are launched to the ISS by a Soyuz or Progress Vehicle, and crystallized at 20? using the counter-diffusion method.

Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL): The crew swapped out the CO2 incubator controller in the SABL-3 unit. The Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL) supports a wide variety of experiments in the life, physical and material sciences with a focus on supporting research of biological systems and processes. It has over 23 liters of temperature controlled volume with LED lighting for scientific hardware and experiments. It can be fitted to provide 5% CO2 for cell cultures and has 2 USB 2.0 ports and 2 Ethernet LAN connections. It also has switchable 28vdc and 5vdc power supplies for experiment use.

Systems:
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Crew Quarters (CQ) Port and Overhead Cleaning: A USOS crewmember cleaned the Overhead and Port CQ today. During this activity, the crew cleaned behind panels, intake and exhaust ducts, fans and airflow sensors as required.

Cygnus On-board Training: Today, the crewmembers scheduled to capture NG-13 (Cygnus) performed a Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) session. ROBoT is an on-orbit version of the ground-based Dynamics Skills Trainer (DST) that simulates robotics operations with graphical feedback. NG-13 is currently on track to launch on February 9th and be berthed to ISS on February 11th.

Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review: All 61S crewmembers participated in this required training. Some of the topics covered were crew accountability during emergency situations, escape vehicle readiness, ISS Commander responsibilities and safe haven plan.

Columbus (COL) Centralized Cabin Filter (CCF) R&R: A USOS crewmember gathered equipment and replaced the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) CCF in the COL Cabin Heat Exchanger (CHX) located in the COL1D1 Forward Rack.

Completed Task List Activities:
Standard Measures Cognition Testing HRF PC1
Station Support Computer (SSC) 16 Shell Swap
Crew Quarters Fastener Audit
AC Dry Vacuum Cleaner Debris Bag and filter R&R

Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
HTV PROX Activation & Checkout

Wednesday, 2/5 (GMT 036) – Midday Nap and 59S Departure
Payloads:
BioMonitor wearable removal and stow (CSA)
Probiotics Capsule stow (JAXA)
Standard measures ambient blood collect (NASA)
Confined Combustion Ops (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
JEM A/L depress for NanoRacks CubeSats (NASA)
Food Physiology sample collect and Processing (NASA)
Functional Immune Questionnaire (NASA)
AWP Watch Doff (NASA)

Systems:
59S Soyuz Undock/Landing
On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Self Study Session
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Scrub Maintenance
Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Filter Remove and Replace (R&R)
JEM Stowage Consolidation for NG-13

Thursday, 2/6 (GMT 037) – Off Duty Long Sleep
Payloads:
HRF urine collect (NASA)

Systems:
No activities scheduled

Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes
Functional Immune Saliva Collection Dry Book
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations
Standard Measures Body Sampling Survey
Standard Measures Body Sampling Collection
Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) ?2 Cartridge, initiate
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations
Probiotics Saliva Operations
Probiotics Saliva Sample MELFI Insertion
Filling (separation) of ??? [???] for Elektron or ???-?? (flush water container)
HTV PROX Switch ON
Probiotics Question
Photo TV Battery Charge Initiation
Recharging Soyuz 746 Iridium 9505A phone: setup, start charge
Cerebral Autoregulation Data Measurement
Recharging Soyuz 746 Samsung Tablet after OBT, end recharge
Recharging Soyuz 746 Iridium 9505A Phone, Battery Status Check
Recharging Soyuz 746 Iridium 9505A phone – Photography of configuration setup, disconnect the charge, disassemble the setup and stow
Standard Measures Cognition Testing HRF PC1
LBNP Training (CLOSEOUT)
Standard Measures Body Sampling Stow
ESA Crew Conference with two way Audio and video
Standard Measures Fecal Collection
Cerebral Autoregulation Closeout
Standard Measures Fecal Collection Stow
Bio-Monitor Data Unit Battery Replacement And Synchronization Using Bio-Monitor App
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Crew Quarters (CQ) Port Cleaning
Sanitary & Hygiene Status Monitoring
HRF Generic Urine Collection Setup
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config JEM Setup
Perform a Test of EDV 1257
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – JEM
Food Acceptability Survey
120 to 24 VDC Conv Cable Connection
HTV PROX Switch OFF
Space Automated Bioproduct Lab, CO2 Incubator Installation
NREP XF305 Video Setup
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
Microbial Sample Collection
NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer Installation on the MPEP
Private Medical Conference (PMC)
HRF Generic Saliva Collection Setup
COL1D1 cargo cleanup and stowage retrieval from COL1D2, PMM.
Columbus Centralized Cabin Filter R&R
ISS Crew departure preparation
COL1D1 restore Rack Front and stow items per Stowage Note
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Crew Quarters (CQ) Overhead Cleaning
Food Physiology Fecal Reference Material Review And Sample Collection Hardware Setup
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
HRF Generic Frozen Blood Collection Hardware Setup
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review
Bio-Monitor Wearables Change Out
On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Session 1
Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth
STRUKTURA. Deactivation of crystallization process
STRUKTURA. Post-deactivation photo
JAXA PCG Sample Retrieval B for 59S return
STRUKTURA. Pre-pack Luch-2 kit for return on Soyuz 746
JAXA PCG Sample Handover
KRISTALLIZATOR. Inspection and reception of PCG samples, pre-packing for return on Soyuz 746
KRISTALLIZATOR. Photo of PCG Kits Handover
Soyuz 746 Stowage Ops for Return
Signing ISS RS Handover Protocol
Bio-Monitor Wearables Stow
Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) ?2 Absorption Cartridge, terminat