NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 5 July 2017 – Microgravity Bone Loss Research

A pair of Expedition 52 astronauts from NASA aboard the International Space Station today explored how microgravity causes bone loss in space. The commander from Roscosmos also worked on life support maintenance tasks throughout Wednesday.
NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer studied a new drug therapy to determine its potential to prevent bone loss. The duo worked inside the Destiny lab module and used a bone densitometer to measure bone minerals in mice living in the Rodent Research habitat. The new drug may slow or reverse bone loss in astronauts during spaceflight and possibly help patients on Earth suffering bone loss syndromes.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin was on the opposite side of the station today doing plumbing work and transferring water from the new Progress 67 cargo craft into the Zvezda service module. The veteran cosmonaut also replaced water hoses and worked on air purification gear.

On-Orbit Status Report

Rodent Research-5 (RR-5) Systemic Therapy of NELL-1 for Osteoporosis: The crew completed injections of half of the RR-5 mice remaining on the ISS in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) and performed bone densitometer scans of each of those mice. Because spaceflight has significant and rapid effects on the musculoskeletal system it is important to investigate targeted therapies that could ameliorate some of the detrimental effects of spaceflight. The NELL-1 drug being studied in the RR-5 investigation has the potential to slow or reverse bone loss during spaceflight.The Bone Densitometer device measures the density of minerals in bone. Quantitative measures of bone loss in mice during orbital space flight provide data for the development of countermeasures for human crewmembers, as well as for bone-loss syndromes on Earth.

S-Band String 2 Space to Ground (S/G)-2 Audio Troubleshooting: Ground teams performed troubleshooting steps for distorted S/G-2 downlink voice experienced while on S-Band String 2. The distortion was first observed last Wednesday, June 28th. Since then, ground teams performed various troubleshooting steps to isolate the problem to String 2 of the S-Band System. Today’s troubleshooting focused on the S-Band Baseband Signal Processor (BSP)-2. BSP-2 built in tests were executed without errors followed by a power cycle of the unit and a repeat of S/G-2 communication checks. The distortion was no longer present after the power cycle. S-Band String 2 remains the active string.

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

50S Samsung Tablet Battery Status Check and Recharge (if it is less than 80% charged)
Nikon Camera Time Synch with Station Time
Test Video Recording for Russia Today TV Channel
VIZIR. SM Panels 114 and 116 Outfitting for C???-?? Payload
Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media
????. Deletion of Files from Onboard Memory Device (???)
ECON-M. Observation and Photography
Combustion Integrated Rack Alignment Guide Removal
RADIOSCAF. ??????-????-1 Nanosatellite Deactivation
Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) Cartridge ?2 (start)
Water Transfer from Progress 67P (SM Aft) Rodnik Water Tank ??2 into SM Rodnik Water Tank ??2 Water Conditioning Unit (???) Purification Column (??) and [C???-2?] Hoses R&R
Countermeasures System (CMS) Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) iPad Downlink
Water Conditioning Unit (???) Purification Column (??) and [C???-2?] Hoses R&R
Rodent Research Node 2 Camcorder Video Setup
Rodent Research Injection and Bone Densitometer 1B
Rodent Research MELFI Retrieve 4
Rodent Research MELFI Retrieve 6
Rodent Research Injection and Bone Densitometer 1A
Central Post Laptop Monthly Routine Maintenance
Copying of Log Files from Central Post Laptop after Monthly Routine Maintenance
Rodent Research Bone Densitometer Scans
Progress 67P (SM Aft) Water Tank Bladder Compression
Rodent Research Injection and Bone Densitometer 1B
Water Conditioning Unit (???) Purification Column (??) and [C???-2?] Hoses R&R
Rodent Research Injection and Bone Densitometer 1B
Rodent Research MELFI Retrieve 6
Rodent Research Injection and Bone Densitometer 2A
[????-2?] Water Conditioning Unit (???) Flush (start)
Rodent Research Bone Densitometer Stow
Rodent Research Injection and Bone Densitometer 1B
Reconfigure LAB camcorder and Dual Canon Li-Ion Battery Charger to nominal config
Progress 67P (SM Aft) Water Tank Bladder Compression – Closeout Operations
Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS) Nitrogen Manual Valve Open
RADIOSCAF. ??????-????-1 Nanosatellite Activation
Regeneration of Micropurification Unit (???) Cartridge ?2

Completed Task List Items
Photos of the EMCS HV20 Handle, the valve, and surrounding area

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
Rodent Research ops support
S-Band String 2 S/G2 audio troubleshooting

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 07/06: MSPR Group Combustion closeout, PWD water collect, JEM Camera Robot ops
Friday, 07/07: Fluid Shifts, JSSOD sat deploy, Meteor hard drive swap
Saturday, 07/08: Crew off duty, housekeeping

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – Off
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 – 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