NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 7 May 2018 – Spacewalk Briefing Tomorrow
International Space Station officials will preview a pair of upcoming spacewalks live on NASA TV Tuesday. Meanwhile, Orbital ATK is getting its Cygnus resupply ship ready for launch in less than two weeks while the Expedition 55 crew focuses on biomedical studies today.
Two NASA astronauts are going out for a spacewalk May 16 to swap out thermal control gear that circulates ammonia to keep station systems cool. Station experts will be on NASA TV beginning at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday to preview next week’s spacewalk including a second spacewalk planned for June 14. Both excursions will be conducted by veteran spacewalkers Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel.
Feustel and Arnold verified their spacesuits are sized correctly with assistance from astronauts Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Tingle also checked the batteries that power the U.S. spacesuits.
On May 20, just four days after the first spacewalk, Orbital ATK is planning to launch its Cygnus space freighter on a four day trip to the orbital laboratory. Cygnus will resupply the Expedition 55 crew with new science experiments, crew supplies, station hardware and gear that will be installed on the June 14 spacewalk.
Today’s science taking place onboard the station explored how microgravity affects blood pressure and blood vessels. Kanai started his day photographing his face to help scientists understand how the upward flow of fluids impacts intracranial pressure affecting a crew member’s eyes. He later attached sensors to his legs, scanned them with an ultrasound device and checked his blood pressure for the Vascular Echo study.
On-Orbit Status Report
SpaceX (SpX)-14 Dragon Departure: Saturday morning the Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to position the SpX-14 Dragon for release.
At 08:22 am CT the Robotic Controllers commanded the release of the Dragon and then backed the SSRMS away, while the ISS crew monitored and commanded the Dragon to depart. After Dragon had departed, the Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the SSRMS to a park position and then provided video support of the Node 2 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (ACBM) petals closure. Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday at 2:00 pm CT and arrived safely at port earlier today.
Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR): During activation of the CIR on April 27th, a hard drive for the Image Processing and Storage Unit (IPSU) failed. Today the crew removed the failed drive, which will allow the IPSU to boot up from a second hard drive. The final E-Field Flames run will be executed after verification of proper operation of the CIR. The ACME experiments being performed in the CIR include five independent studies of gaseous flames. The primary goals of ACME are to improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant production in routine fuel combustion activities on Earth. Its secondary goal is to improve spacecraft fire prevention through innovative research focused on materials flammability.
Intracranial Pressure & Visual Impairment (IPVI): A 53S crewmember took front and side profile view pictures of himself today to check for facial edema, followed by a conference with ground experts. The IPVI investigation studies changes to crewmembers’ eyes and optic nerves by analyzing arterial blood pressure and blood flow to the brain before and after spaceflight. This investigation uses non-invasive methods to measure intracranial pressure instead of the more common invasive methods.
Vascular Echo: Today a crewmember attached Electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes to himself, marked his femoral artery and then performed an ultrasound scan with remote guidance from the ground team. They also took a blood pressure measurement. The Canadian Space Agency Vascular Echo investigation examines changes in blood vessels and the heart while the crewmembers are in space, and then upon their return to Earth. The results may support development of additional countermeasures to help maintain crew health.
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: Today the crew initiated a charge of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Batteries (LLB) and also initiated an automated Charge-Discharge-Charge cycle on the EVA batteries in the Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) using the Battery Charger Assembly. After preparing the Equipment Lock and EMUs for suit donning, the crew completed an On-Orbit Fitcheck Verification (OFV) to verify correct EMU sizing for the upcoming US EVA Pump Flow Control System (PFCS) relocate EVA, currently planned on 16-May.
External High Definition Camera (EHDC) Troubleshooting: Last week, during the External TV Camera Group (ETVCG) assembly, the Ext HD Camera (EHDC) would not fully lock into place when installed onto the Color TV Camera (CTVC). After conducting additional troubleshooting, to include attempting assembly with a spare EHDC, the crew was unable to achieve a nominal mating between the two cameras. Pictures, video, and audio of the various locking attempts were captured for review by ground specialists.
Latching End Effector (LEE) Force-Moment Sensor (FMS) Characterization: Following the on-orbit R&R of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) LEE-A at the end of 2017, the FMS circuitry was characterized as part of checkout operations. New FMS Configuration Data Files (CDFs) were developed using this data and are ready for commissioning to ensure the parameter selection is appropriate and the system behaves as intended. This evening, Robotics Ground Controllers will perform these commissioning operations and gather data for post-processing. If required, additional FMS CDFs can be developed using this data in order to support the operations requiring FMS during the SpaceX-15 mission in July.
Today’s Planned Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Vision Test
iPad Air 2 Update Prep
Surface Sampler Kit (SSK) and Microbial Air Sampler (MAS) Analysis T + 5
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Vision Questionnaire
Intracranial Pressure & Visual Impairment (IPVI) Face Photo-taking
Vascular Echo – Echo Ultrasound Setup for Ultrasound Scan Session
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Initiate
Intracranial Pressure & Visual Impairment (IPVI) Medical Conference
Vascular Echo 125min Scan – Subject
Countermeasures System (CMS) Treadmill 2 System (T2) Monthly Inspection
Restow Node 2 Nadir Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK)
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Airlock Unstow
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Initiation
Vascular Echo CDL Holter Arterial BP Measurement – Subject
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Equipment Lock Preparation Part 1
Vascular Echo – Echo Ultrasound Stow
Columbus HD-VCA1 R&R
??? maintenance
MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 1
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Deactivate VCA1
Combustion Integrated Rack Rack Doors Open
Combustion Integrated Rack Optics Bench Translation Out
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) On-orbit Fitcheck Verification
Camcorder setup to capture ??-2 exercise
Combustion Integrated Rack Hard Drive Replace
Combustion Integrated Rack Optics Bench Translation In
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification
Removal of Video Equipment Used to Capture ??-2 Exercise and Downlink the file
Combustion Integrated Rack Doors Close
Portable CO2 Monitor Power On and Deploy
MERLIN 3 Desiccant Removal
Biomolecule Sequencer Surface Pro 3 Software Update
Checking ??-2 treadmill carriage position.
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification
MELFI 1 Ice Brick Insert 1
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
Troubleshoot and Install the External High Definition Camera (EHDC) onto the External TV Camera Group (ETVCG)
Completed Task List Activities
PMM Prep Part 1 [Completed GMT 126]
DATA Prep for Return – FE5
Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
SSRMS FMS commissioning
Three-Day Look Ahead:
Tuesday, 05/08: CBEF Config, JEMAL Depress, EVA Prep (Proc Rvw/Conf, Tool Config, LLB), COL VCA1 Camera C/O, AHIS Questionnaire, Radi-N handover, ELF Clean/Sample Exchange
Wednesday, 05/09: Crew Holiday
Thursday, 05/10: EVA Prep (SAFER C/O and Training, Go-Pro S/U, LLB, Camera Config, ROBO Proc Rev, ROBOT OBT), JAXA PAO, EDU imagery, AstroPi, AHIS Questionnaire, Eye Fundoscope
QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Idle
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
