NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 6 March 2019 – A Vice Presidential Call
Vice President Mike Pence and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine called up to the Expedition 58 crew today.
Astronauts Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques were on hand to talk about their mission success and the arrival of the first Commercial Crew vehicle, the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
The Crew Dragon is being packed and readied for its return to Earth on Friday. In the midst of NASA’s first Commercial Crew mission, the crew members continued more space research and practiced an emergency drill today.
Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency transferred cargo in and out of the Crew Dragon today. Over 300 pounds of science gear, crew supplies and station hardware will be retrieved from Dragon after it returns to Earth.
The Crew Dragon will undock Friday at 2:31 a.m. EST from the Harmony module’s international docking adapter. It will parachute to a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean around 8:45 a.m. EST. NASA TV will cover all the activities live.
McClain from NASA worked in the Destiny laboratory module today stowing science hardware after working on the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox. She then began collecting and readying more experiment hardware that will test ways to improve the production of higher-quality semiconductor crystals.
Both astronauts then joined Commander Oleg Kononenko from Roscosmos to practice an emergency evacuation of the International Space Station. The trio wore breathing masks, entered the docked Soyuz spacecraft and prepared for a return to Earth in the unlikely event of a critical emergency aboard the orbital complex.
On-Orbit Status Report
Plasma Krystall-4 (PK-4): Today a crewmember initiated three runs for the group 2 of the PK-4 experiment and performed a hard drive change out for data downlink. PK-4 is a scientific collaboration between the ESA and the Roscosmos, performing research in the field of “Complex Plasmas”: low temperature gaseous mixtures composed of ionized gas, neutral gas, and micron-sized particles.
Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument – Diffusion and Soret Coefficient (SODI-DSC): Today a crewmember stowed the Alternate Diffusion and Soret Coefficient (DSC) sample. The SODI-DSC experiment will study diffusion in six different liquids over time in the absence of convection induced by the gravity field.
57 Soyuz (57S) Emergency Egress Drill: All three 57S crewmembers participated in a training session today where they reviewed and practiced procedures that would be performed in the event of an emergency that required the crew to egress ISS and execute an emergency descent. This training is scheduled after the crew has been onboard for 12 to 14 weeks and every 2.5 months thereafter.
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Replacement: Following yesterday’s removal of the MCA Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU)-2, the crew successfully installed a new unit within the LAB1D6 location this morning. The failed unit experienced an ion pump short and failed in December 2018 and will be returned to the ground for refurbishment via SpaceX-17, currently planned for April of this year. The MCA is a mass spectrometer based system that measures the major atmospheric constituents on the ISS.
Completed Task List Activities:
Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2) Hardware Gather
Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
SpX Crew Dragon Data (1553 and Ethernet) Checkout
C2V2 RF Link Checkout with Crew Dragon
Look Ahead:
Thursday, 03/07 (GMT 066):
Payloads:
Standard Measures Questionnaires (NASA)
BCM Questionnaires (NASA)
SUBSA H/W Setup (NASA)
MELFI Ice-Brick xfer (NASA)
Microscope H/W teardown (NASA)
ISS Experience Lab setup (NASA)
PK4 data xchng and chamber gas xchng (NEON) and Runs 3/1-3 (RUS)
Systems:
Crew Dragon Cargo Operations
Crew Dragon Egress and Hatch Closure
Friday, 03/08 (GMT 067):
Payloads:
Standard Measures Questionnaires (NASA)
BCM Questionnaires (NASA)
LSG Power cable inspect (placeholder) (NASA)
PK-4 group 4 runs (RUS)
Systems:
Dragon Undock and Splashdown
EMU 3008 On Orbit Fit Verification (OFV)
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
SODI Hardware Stow Alternate
PK-4 data hard drives exchange
Disposal of ACCURO Drager Manual Pumps
Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position
PK-4 Experiment Run
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Mass Constituents Analyzer (MCA) Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) 2 Replace
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) LAB1D6 Ultrasonic Background Noise Test (UBNT) Removal
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Mass Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Closeout
Dragon MegaHEPA Seals Install
On-Board Training (OBT) SpX-DEMO1 OBT Departure Conference
??? Maintenance
Solidification Using Baffles in Sealed Ampoules Hardware Gather
Glacier Desiccant Swap
Power on the Adlink Mini PC
Preparing and connecting ???? camcorder in SM for MPEG2 broadcast of station simulator OBT “ISS Emergency Descent Drill”
ISS Emergency Descent OBT
SpX-Demo1 Departure CBT review
Deactivation of camcorder, TV system monitoring equipment, closing applications
On-Board Training (OBT) SpX-DEMO1 OBT Conference after Departure review
