NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 5 February 2018 – Getting Ready for the Next Cargo Delivery
Fresh off a record-breaking spacewalk last week, the International Space Station program is preparing for its first docking of a cargo craft in just two orbits. Back inside the orbital lab, the Expedition 54 crew researched how microgravity affects muscles to help humans on Earth.
Cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Anton Shkaplerov wrapped up the longest spacewalk in Russian space program history at eight hours and 13 minutes on Friday. The two station residents worked over the weekend stowing spacewalk tools, cleaning the Pirs airlock and checking their Orlan spacesuits.
The Russian Federal Space Agency is now preparing for the launch Sunday of its unpiloted Progress 69 resupply ship at 3:58 a.m. EST. After its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the cargo craft will take two orbits around the Earth before automatically docking to the aft end of the Zvezda service module.
Astronauts Scott Tingle and Norishige Kanai observed mice on the space station being treated with a drug that may slow or reverse muscle atrophy. The rodents are housed in a special microgravity habitat for up to two months with results of the study helping scientists design therapies for humans with muscle-related ailments.
On-Orbit Status Report
Microbial Tracking-2 (MT-2): Over the weekend, a 53S subject completed saliva sample collections in support of the MT-2 investigation. The MT-2 series continues the monitoring of the types of microbes that are present on the ISS. It seeks to catalog and characterize potential disease-causing microorganisms onboard the ISS. Crew pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight samples and environmental samples from ISS surface and air locations are collected to identify any associations between the microbial content of the samples, as well as potential health effects.
NanoRacks DreamUp Xtronaut Crystal Growth (DreamXCG): To track the progression of the DreamXCG formation that was initiated last week, over the weekend and today the crew took photo and video images of each pouch to show any visible sugar crystal growth. This investigation teaches students about the effects of microgravity on crystal formations using near-identical flight kits flown and operated aboard the International Space Station (ISS). With access to crew member videos and data on the same experiment, students are able compare crystal formations in space to those in their classrooms. The investigation aims to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields to the next generation of students.
Lighting Effects: A 52S crewmember completed a Visual Performance Test by stowing the hardware in their crew quarters, setting the light to the correct mode, turning all other light sources in the crew quarters off, and performing a Color Discrimination Test. The Lighting Effects investigation studies the impact of the change from fluorescent light bulbs to solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with adjustable intensity and color and aims to determine if the new lights can improve crew circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance.
Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI)-1 Electronics Unit (EU) Operations: The crew installed the repaired EU into the MELFI-1 spare stowage location. The MELFI-1 EU failed in August of 2017 and returned on SpaceX-12. The MELFI is a cold storage unit that maintains experiment samples at ultra-cold temperatures throughout a mission.
Earth Imagery from ISS Target (EIISS): Over the weekend, the crew took images of Japan using the Nikon camera, and images of the Iberian Peninsula and Nile Delta using the RED camera. Today the RED camera was used to take images of the Himalayas and the snowfields of Asia and Kamchatka. EIISS is used to support creation of a series of videos showcasing Earth views taken from space. The videos are taken with cameras on the ISS in 6K hi-resolution and are integrated into videos for screensavers for public enjoyment, exploration, and engagement.
Rodent Research 6 (RR-6): To prepare for this week’s RR-6 operations, the crew participated in a crew conference, gathered equipment and cleaned the animal access unit. The crew also removed the mice and restocked both of the rodent habitats with new food bars in addition to cleaning the lids and interiors cages of the habitats. The Rodent Research-6 (RR-6) mission uses mice flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and maintained on Earth to test drug delivery systems for combatting muscular breakdown in space or during disuse conditions. RR-6 includes several groups of mice selectively treated with a placebo or implanted with a nanochannel drug delivery chip that administers compounds meant to maintain muscle in low gravity/disuse conditions.
Education Payloads Operations (EPO): To show children how astronauts conduct hygiene activities on the International Space Station (ISS), today the crew will demonstrate how astronauts clean themselves and wash their hair, highlighting the differences between doing these activities in zero-gravity on the ISS and in gravity on Earth. The video will also feature the European Space Agency’s mascot for young kids.
Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEM A/L) Valve Box Remote Controller (VB-RC) Installation: Today the crew attempted to install the JEM A/L VB-RC. Due to mechanical interference and alignment issues, they had to stand down on installation until ground teams are able to recommend a solution. Once installed, this new system will enable additional capability for ground controllers to perform JEM A/L operations without crew intervention.
Common Communications for Visiting Vehicle (C2V2) R2 Upgrade: Today ground controllers began the upgrade of the C2V2 system to version R2. The C2V2 system is used to communicate with and control vehicles as they arrive and depart from the ISS. This upgrade package is needed to interface with upcoming missions.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
RED Camera Setup.
Weekly cleaning
EIISS Crew Preference RED Camera Target Operations
Transparent Alloys Hardware Stow Alternate
JEM Airlock Valve Box Remote Controller Installation
Rodent Research Gather 1
RED Camera Deactivation.
LAB1D4 Hardware Relocate
Rodent Research Node 2 Camcorder Video Setup
Rodent Research Habitat 3 & 4 Restock
Photo T/V (P/TV) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Exercise Video Setup
EML High Speed Camera Lens Switch
MELFI 3 Ice Brick Insert 3
P68 (DC1) TORU test. Specialist conference
MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 3
ORLAN 825?3 unit 1 discharge term, unit 2 discharge init
??-2 position verify. Take picture of [??-2] position relative to the pullout roller by lifting BD-2 shield. Downlink the picture via OCA.
Downlink exercise data via ???
CWC-I to EDV transfer init
CWC-I to EDV transfer term
Rodent Research 5 Review
Rodent Research Crew Conference
Rodent Research Access Unit Clean
Rodent Research Setup
Robotic Workstation (RWS) Teardown
Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cylinder Flywheel Evacuation
HRF PC Battery Swap
Lighting Effects Visual Performance Tests Light Setting – Subject
MELFI 1 Electronic Unit Install into Spare Location
Record of EPO Paxi script
NanoRacks Rock Candy Imagery
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – JEM
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Airlock Unstow
JPM1F5 Hardware Relocate
JPM1A5 Hardware Relocate
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
[???] laptop antivirus signature base update
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Photo T/V (P/TV) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Exercise Video Stow
Prepare for ??? laptop anti-virus scans
Microbial Tracking-2 Reminder for Saliva Collection
Completed Task List Activities
Manufacturing Device ABS Print Removal, Clean and Stow
Amyloid Temp Logger Data Save
CHeCS M-03 Bag Cleanup
Crew Provisions Stowage Relocate
Arthrospira Medium Reservoirs retrieval from JSB
Photo/TV Lens Bumper Ring Deploy
Recorded Greeting Request
Russian EVA 44 Tool Stow
WHC-KTO-REPLACE
Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
C2V2 R2 load
Battery capacity tests
Standard commanding
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 02/06: Microbial Tracking, Veggie-03, EIISS, C2V2 Cable Install, ACME Controller R&R, RR-6, Emer OBT
Wednesday, 02/07: METEOR, Biolab, Emer Sim, Spaceborne Computer, NR Rock Candy, RR-6, EIISS
Thursday, 02/08: Neuromapping, EIISS, Plant Habitat, Plant Gravity Perception, RR-6, Amyloid, Lighting Effects, ESA EPO, Microbial Tracking
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – On
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Process
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off
