NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 7 November 2019 – Spacesuit Maintenance

The Expedition 61 crew serviced a variety of science and life support hardware today aboard the International Space Station. U.S. spacesuits are also being readied for a series upcoming cosmic repair spacewalks.
NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) will enter the vacuum of space on Nov. 15 to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). Christina Koch of NASA is preparing the U.S. spacesuits and cleaning the components ahead of at least four planned AMS repair spacewalks. The spacewalking duo will perform the complex repairs necessary to upgrade the dark matter and antimatter detector’s thermal control system.

In the meantime, Morgan focused on science hardware and set up experiment gear containing materials for exposure in the harsh environment of space. He installed three experiment carriers inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock before depressurizing it. Japan’s robotic arm will grapple the carriers and deploy them outside Kibo. The research is testing how cosmic radiation, extreme temperatures and other space phenomena affect a variety of samples.

Science freezers that preserve critical research samples for analysis had their systems checked today by NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Meir. She also replaced components on a 3-D bioprinter, also called the BioFabrication Facility. The device is testing the manufacturing of complex human organ tissue shapes in space.

Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov is packing trash and obsolete gear inside the Progress 73 (73P) resupply ship. The 73P will undock from the Pirs docking compartment on Nov. 29 for a fiery but safe disposal over the southern Pacific.

On-Orbit Status Report

BioFabrication Facility (BFF): The crew replaced the smart pump bracket and smart pump tip. This is a result of an anomaly during the first run that indicated a need to increase the bio ink flow during operations. The Techshot BioFabrication Facility (BFF) is dedicated to manufacturing human organs and tissues in space, primarily for use by patients on Earth. Besides printing tissue, the BFF also can help maintain the health of deep space exploration crews by producing food and personalized pharmaceuticals on demand.

MISSE-FF (Materials ISS Experiment Flight Facility): The crew has installed three newly arrived MISSE Sample Carriers (MSCs) onto the MISSE Transfer Tray (MTT-2) currently located on the JEM Airlock slide table. The slide table was extended out of the airlock and will be installed on the MISSE external platform tomorrow. The primary Materials ISS Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) platform provides the ability to test materials, coatings, and components or other larger experiments in the harsh environment of space, which is virtually impossible to do collectively on Earth. Testing in low-Earth orbit (LEO) allows the integrated testing of how materials react to exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV), atomic oxygen (AO), ionizing radiation, ultrahigh vacuum (UHV), charged particles, thermal cycles, electromagnetic radiation, and micro-meteoroids in the LEO environment.

NanoRacks Zero-G Oven: The crew took historical photos of the Zero-G cookie sample tin. Zero-G Oven examines heat transfer properties and the process of baking food in microgravity. It uses an oven designed specifically for use aboard the space station with a top temperature of 363.3° C. On future long-duration missions, fresh-baked food could have psychological and physiological benefits for crewmembers.

Systems:

Lab Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Scope Installation: Today, the crew installed a borescope into the Lab P6 CCAA Heat Exchanger (currently the inactive CCAA) in preparation for the eventual installation of the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) snorkel. The CDRA snorkel is designed to be installed in a CCAA to protect CDRA and Sabatier from water carryover from the CCAA.

Inflight Maintenance (IFM) Waste Hygiene Compartment (WHC): Recently, the ISS crew has observed multiple instances of a Pre-Treat Bad Quality Light (PTBQL). The PTBQLs is a response to the globules in the hose or high pressure on a degraded Dose Pump following flush tank fills. Partial tank fills are currently performed as a workaround in order to protect possible Dose Pump degradation. Today, the ISS crew completed a Waste Hygiene Compartment Pre-Treat Tank Remove and Replace (R&R) to mitigate the PTBQL issue and improve the WHC processing.

Extravehicular Activity Mobility Unit (EMU): In order to satisfy maintenance requirements, the crew powered up both EMUs 3006 and 3009 in preparation for a Loop Scrub and then performed a half dump and fill on EMU 3009 feedwater tanks using iodinated water. Iodinated water is used as a biocide to maintain the sterility of the EMU cooling system. The crew also used a camcorder to record audio of EMU 3009’s fan before and after start up. These recordings are analyzed by ground teams to monitor fan bearing health.

ISS Emergency Training: The ISS crew participated in the Emergency preparation On-board Training (OBT) as part of routine safety operations on the ISS.

Completed Task List Activities:
No Task List activities were completed.

Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Payload Operations Support
EMU Loop Scrub Support

Friday, 11/08 (GMT 312):

Payloads:
BioFabrication Facility Tissue Print With Cells Install (NASA)
Food Acceptability Survey (NASA)
Rodent Research Water Box and Light Check (NASA)
Standard Measures Cognition Testing HRF PC1 (NASA)
VEG-04B Plant Check/Watering for each Plant Pillow (NASA)
PK-4 hard disk Audit, PK-4 Experiment Campaign 8 – Familiarization (ESA)

Systems:
AMS EVA procedure Review
THC P6 CCAA Swap
ISS Emergency OBT
ISS Emergency Medical Contingency Drill OBT

Saturday, 11/09 (GMT 313): Off-Duty Day

Payloads:
Standard Measures Saliva Collection (NASA)
VEG-04B chk (NASA)
ADSEP Cassette removal (NASA)
EarthKam Node2 Shutdown and stow (RS Joint)
PK-4 Video Monitor install (RS joint)

Systems:
CDRA Snorkel Inspection

Sunday, 11/10 (GMT 314): Off-Duty Day

Payloads:
Veg-04B Plant Check/Watering (NASA)

Systems:
CDRA Snorkel Inspection

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

ARED Cable Rope Tension Check
Preparation of reports for Roscosmos website and social media
ECON-M. Observation and Photography
Recharging Samsung tablet in 61S
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes
UF-ATMOSFERA. PL Deactivation
KORREKTSIYA. Starting Accelerometry
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations
UF-ATMOSFERA. Closeout Ops
KORREKTSIYA. Log Entry of Liquids and Food (Medicine) Intake
MISSE-FF MSC Installation for JEM RMS Small Fine Arm Deployment
Photo/TV SAW and MAST Camera Setup
Cleaning В3 fan screen in MRM2
Photo/TV PORT SAW and Mast Survey
Photo TV Battery Charge Initiation
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Pre-Treat Tank Remove & Replace
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Experiment Ops (Individual Strategy Test) in lieu of exercise. PROFILAKTIKA-2. Operator Assistance in Preparation for the Experiment
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE) MTT Install
Photo/TV PORT SAW and Mast Survey
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
Photo/TV Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Configuration
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Closeout ops, operator
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
JEM Airlock Depressurization
Progress 442 (DC1) stowage and IMS ops
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Half Water Tank Dump and Fill
Photo TV Battery Charge Swap
PROFILAKTIKA-2. Hygiene Procedures
NanoRacks Zero-G Oven Sample Tray Photos
Photo/TV PORT SAW and Mast Survey
LAB1P6 Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) USOS Endoscope Installation
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Scrub Initiation
Setup and Activation of Crew Onboard Support Kit (КСПЭ) Equipment for MPEG2 TV coverage from SM
Diagnostics of FGB Power Supply System Filter Units (БФ-1М) and Main Bus Assembly (БСШ-1М).
BioFabrication Facility On-Board Training
Polar Desiccant Swap in Cygnus
VEG-04B Plant Check/Watering for each Plant Pillow
Photo/TV PORT SAW and Mast Survey
Photo/TV SAW and Mast photography equipment teardown
Deactivate camcorder, TV system monitoring equipment, close applications
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Iodination
Photo TV Battery Charge Swap
Crew Discretionary Event
JEM Airlock Vent
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
BioFabrication Facility Sensor Removal
JEM Airlock Vent Confirmation
Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Initiation
Waste & Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Water Container (ЕДВ-CB) Remove and Replace
KORREKTSIYA. Log Entry of Liquids and Food (Medicine) Intake
Weekly monitoring of video recording equipment performance on the ISS RS
Progress 442 (DC1) Stowage and IMS Ops
PROBOY. Cable Audit.
Temperature measurements of battery modules No.1-No.8 of ПТАБ case and connectors (before mating circuit connectors).
Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill Initiation
BioFabrication Facility Historical Photo 2
Temperature measurements of battery modules No.1-No.8 of ПТАБ case and connectors, assistance
Double Coldbag Ice Brick Stow
Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference
KORREKTSIYA. Experiment setup
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill Termination
EVA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Scrub Deconfiguration
USOS Window Shutter Close
AMS Cut/Swage Training
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
Verify shutter closure on SM windows 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14. Note 6
Temperature measurements of battery modules No.1-No.8 of ПТАБ case and connectors, assistance
Temperature measurements of battery modules No.1-No.8 of ПТАБ case and connectors (when ДПР3 responds).
Photo TV Battery Charge Deactivation
Review Emergency OBT Simulator Functionality
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Terminate