NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 6 November 2018 – Life Support RackGround Initial Activation and Checkout

Japan’s seventh resupply ship to the International Space Station is packed and readied for departure Wednesday morning. However, the Japanese cargo ship, H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7), has one more delivery mission before it burns up safely over the Pacific Ocean.
Station skipper Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the HTV-7 at 11:50 a.m. EST Wednesday. It will spend about an hour maneuvering safely away from the station on a trajectory to begin its next mission. Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor will monitor the vehicle until it reaches a point about 200 meters from the space station. NASA TV begins its live coverage of the departure Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

The HTV-7 will fire its deorbit engines Saturday for a fiery but safe ending to its mission after 41 days attached to the station’s Harmony module. Before the HTV-7 self-destructs in Earth’s atmosphere it will release a small reentry capsule loaded with test cargo for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near the Japanese islands. The capsule will be retrieved by personnel from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to test the space partner’s ability to safely return precious space cargo for analysis on Earth.

As the two Expedition 57 astronauts packed the cargo ship, cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev continued his space physics research, photo inspections and inventory updates. The cosmonaut explored how microgravity and the Sun impact plasma-dust crystals. Prokopyev also photographed the condition of the station’s Russian segment then updated the station’s inventory system.

On-Orbit Status Report

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Low Temperature Protein Crystal Growth (JAXA LT PCG): The crew retrieved JAXA LT PCG samples from the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER)1 unit and stowed them in the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Capsule Carrier. The goal of the JAXA LT PCG experiment is to produce high quality protein crystals in a microgravity environment at a low temperature.

HTV Small Re-entry Capsule (HSRC): The crew completed Parts 2 and 3 of the HTV Capsule Assembly. They also completed final closeout of the Capsule Support Plate on the HTV-7 bulkhead prior to vestibule demating. The HSRC is designed to return relatively small payloads to the ground. The HSRC is 840mm in diameter, 190kg in weight, and contains roughly 30L pressurized volume for sample return. Splashdown is scheduled to occur at 4:06 pm (CT) on Saturday, November 10.

Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4): The crew initiated the second of four PK-4 experiment runs with the start of Particle Trapping via the European Physiology Module (EPM) laptop commanding using Neon Gas. This will allow clouds of particles to be captured inside the PK-4 chamber. Between the two scripts, it is desired to perform four successful trappings. PK-4 is a scientific collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), performing research in the field of “Complex Plasmas” which are low temperature gaseous mixtures composed of ionized gas, neutral gas, and micron-sized particles. The micro-particles become highly charged in the plasma and interact strongly with each other which can lead to a self-organized structure of the micro-particles – so-called plasma crystals. Experiments in the facility aim to study Transport Properties, Thermodynamics, Kinetics and Statistical Physics, and Non-linear waves and Instabilities in the plasmas.

HTV7 Departure Preparations: The crew completed loading ~74 Cargo Transfer Bag Equivalent (CTBEs) of trash into the HTV vehicle. The crew configured the vestibule for demate by removing Air Revitalization System (ARS) jumper, Intermodular Ventilation (IMV) supply jumper, 1553/ENET A and B jumper, and disconnecting the Node 2 HTV channel 2 power jumper. They also installed the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Controller Panel Assemblies (CPAs). HTV-7 is scheduled to unberth tomorrow, November 7.

Life Support Rack (LSR) Ground Initial Activation and Checkout: The ground began LSR activation and checkout, which will continue throughout the next several days. LSR is an ESA technology demonstrator for closed loop air revitalization. It captures carbon dioxide from cabin air and recovers 50% of its oxygen for use by the astronauts. LSR operates for a minimum of one year on the ISS to demonstrate the robustness of the technology for future Exploration Missions.

Completed Task List Activities:
None

Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
LSR Activation & Checkout [In Work]
HTV7 Depart Flowchart
HTV7 GNC Activation
HTV PROX GPS Activation & Monitoring
N2N CBM Prep for Demate

Two Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 11/07:

Payloads:
HTV-SRC departure photo (JAXA)
VEG-03 Plant check (NASA)
BEST Sample retrieve and Experiment ops pt3 (NASA)
PK-4 Experiment runs (ESA)

Systems:
HTV Vestibule Configure for Demate
HTV/Node2 Vestibule Depress and Leak Check
HTV Departure/Release

Thursday, 11/08:

Payloads:
Food Accept (NASA)
Team Task Switching activity (NASA)
PK-4 HD and chamber Gas exchanges (ESA)
Meteor HD update (NASA)
ISS HAM (NASA)

Systems:
ISS EMER Sim OBT
Cygnus RNDZ OBT

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

Transfer Operations – Pack and stow items on HTV
Filling (separation) of ЕДВ (КОВ) for Elektron-VM or ЕДВ-СВ
JEM XF305 Camcorder Setup
JAXA LTPCG Transfer
HSRC (HTV SMALL RE-ENTRY CAPSULE) SAMPLE INSTALL FROM JPM
СОЖ maintenance
PK-4 Experiment Run 1/1
Node 2 Video Camera Setup
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup
TV conference with the participants of the theme-based tour Space vacation in the camp Voskhod (Ku+S-band)
HSRC (HTV SMALL RE-ENTRY CAPSULE) ASSEMBLY
Photography of SM interior panels 225, 226, 228, 234, 245, 246, 429, 430
Ghost Camera Relocate
Download Pille Dosimeter Readings
IMS Update
PK-4 Experiment Run 1/2
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
Photo/TV Ghost Camera Stow
HTV Vestibule Configure for Demate – Part 1
Node 2 Nadir CBM Control Panel Assembly (CPA) Installation
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record