NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 9 November 2020
Space physics and biomedical research kicked off the work week as the Expedition 64 crew continued its spacewalk preparations.
Back on Earth, four Commercial Crew astronauts are in Florida counting down to their launch to the International Space Station.
NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins started Monday morning checking out samples exposed to extreme temperatures inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace. The advanced research facility provides insights into the thermophysical properties and the synthesis of new materials.
Rubins then serviced components on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device that helps astronauts maintain muscle strength and mass in microgravity. The two-time station resident wrapped up her science work today collecting and stowing saliva samples for the Standard Measures study. The human research experiment collects biological data from astronauts before, during and after missions to understand how humans adapt to living in space.
A spacewalk is scheduled for Nov. 18 for maintenance and science tasks outside the orbiting lab’s Russian segment. Commander Sergey Ryzhikov joined Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and conducted leak checks and valve tests inside their Orlan spacesuits today. The duo then partnered up with Rubins to review tasks and procedures planned for the six-hour spacewalk.
The next crew to visit the space station arrived at the Kennedy Space Center from Houston on Sunday getting ready for a launch on Nov. 14 aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon. The quartet from the United States and Japan is planned to dock about eight-and-a-half hours later the following day to the Harmony module’s forward-facing international docking adapter.
Commander Michael Hopkins, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi are in quarantine in Florida conducting final mission preparations. They are scheduled for a five-and-a-half-month research mission aboard the station.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads
Round Robin – The crew performed a Sample Holder Exchange #2 for the Round Robin Experiment in preparation for a planned return on SpaceX-21 after a 30-day run time. The Round Robin – Thermophysical Property Measurement investigation provides researchers with a better understanding of how to measure liquid metal properties to revolutionize how process modeling can support design, flight qualification and production of advanced spaceflight systems.
Standard Measures – The crew performed the Saliva collection setup in support the of the Flight Day30 sample collections for the Standard Measures Experiment. The aim of the investigation is to ensure consistent capture of an optimized, minimal set of measures from crewmembers until the end of the ISS Program in order to characterize the adaptive responses to and risks of living in space. Among other things, the ground teams perform analyses for metabolic and chemistry panels, immune function, microbiome, etc. These measures populate a data repository to enable high-level monitoring of countermeasure effectiveness and meaningful interpretation of health and performance outcomes, and support future research on planetary missions.
Systems
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Maintenance – The crew completed this regularly scheduled maintenance to inspect X-Rotation Dashpots, cycle Main Arm through full range of motion, and grease ARED VIS Rails and Rollers and Upper Stop.
Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) Activation and Checkout – The Ground Team powered both C2V2 units in order to complete telemetry and command checkouts in preparation for the upcoming Space-X Crew-1 Mission. The C2V2 Comm Units are two fully redundant radios (C2V2 A and C2V2 B) that are used to communicate with visiting vehicles to the ISS. The Space-X Crew-1 Mission is currently scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center on November 14th and dock to the ISS on November 15th.
Food Intake Tracker (FIT) Updates – Over the weekend, updates were made to the FIT database in order to correct an on-going issue with crew experiencing trouble accessing the app. Teams determined that the FIT database was corrupt due to issues within the data tables of old data. Ground teams uplinked a new blank database, and in turn were able to restore the FIT app access. Previous entries were provided to grounds teams. Crew is GO to use the FIT app under the new database.
Broken Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Water Dispense Volume Knob – Crew reported a broken Water Dispense Volume Knob on the PWD. This knob is used to adjust the amount of water dispensed from PWD with each use. PWD can continue to function with this knob broken, but will only be able to dispense the amount of water the knob was last set to. Crew developed a temporary workaround, while the Ground Team is currently working on a long term solution.
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Vacuum System (VS) Limit Configuration
Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) Activation
Communication and Tracking Backup Ku Comm Unit Activation and Configuration
Primary Power System (PPS) Longeron Shadowing Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) Inhibit [PLANNED]
Look Ahead Plan
Tuesday, 11/10 (GMT 315)
Payloads:
Radi-N2 Retrieve (CSA)
Space Organogenesis Microscope setup and Sample insert (JAXA)
HRF Saliva collect (NASA)
Systems:
SSRMS Direct Drive Test
Install IWIS RSU (Internal Wireless Instrumentation System Remote Sensor Unit) in SM-PRK
Radi-N Detector Retrieval/Readout
Video Distribution Subsystem (VDS) Robotics Ground Configuration
Wednesday, 11/11 (GMT 316)
Payloads:
Standard Measures Saliva Collect (NASA)
Standard Measures Cognition Test (NASA)
Plant Hab-02 Plant Thinning (NASA)
Systems:
Install Ammonia Cartridges on Emergency Masks for Crew-1
Station Support Computer Power Chain Build
Nitrogen/Oxygen Recharge System O2 Repress Part 2
Build Emergency Cargo Transfer Bags for Air Portable Breathing Apparatus
Thursday, 11/12 (GMT 317)
Payloads:
GRIP Hard drive Install (ESA)
Standard Measures Saliva Collect and fecal setup (NASA)
EKAM N2 85 lens change out (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
Plant Hab-02 Leaf Harvest review (NASA)
EML Program cable removal and installation (Joint)
Systems:
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Urine Receptacle (UR) and Insert Filter (IF) Remove and Replace
Dragon SSC Deploy Part 1
Node 2 Forward Hardware Unstow
SSC Client Troubleshooting for SSC 11
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
On MCC Go ??? ?1 absorption cartridge regeneration
Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) Procedure Review
Ops with Orlan ORU.
Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) sample Cartridge Retrieval and Exchange
Oxygen tank (??-3?) pressure check in ???
Oxygen tank (??-3?) pressure check in MRM2
Battery Installation in Orlan Telemetry Unit [????]
Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) Sample Cartridge Installation
Orlan height adjustment.
Orlan No.4 and 5 and Orlan Interface Unit (???) leak checks and valve tests.
Emergency Equipment Staging – Part 1
Auxiliary Computer System [???] Laptops Antivirus Update
??? Maintenance
Monitoring cover closure on SM windows 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 Note. 9
Review airlock ops procedure from ???2.
HRF Generic Saliva Collection Setup
Merlin Desiccant Swap
Exercise Data Downlink via OCA
Soyuz 747 ???? No.2 Test.
Preparation for replacing FGB Power Supply System Battery 800? (??4) module. Viewing the video
