NASA Space Station Status Report 1 June, 2022 – One Cargo Ship Leaves Another Set to Arrive
There are now four spacecraft parked at the International Space Station today after a Russian cargo craft undocked Wednesday morning.
A fifth spaceship will arrive on Friday to replace it and replenish the Expedition 67 crew with food, fuel, and supplies.
The ISS Progress 79 resupply ship undocked from the rear port of the Zvezda service module at 4:03 a.m. EDT today completing a 214-day cargo mission at the station. The trash-filled space freighter reentered Earth’s atmosphere just over three hours later for a fiery, but safe demise over the Pacific Ocean.
A new resupply ship, the ISS Progress 81 (81P), stands at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan counting down to a lift off at 5:32 a.m. on Friday. The 81P will dock three-and-a-half hours later to the same Zvezda port vacated by the 79P. The launch and docking activities will be broadcast live on the NASA app and on the NASA website.
Less than a week later, SpaceX will launch its 25th commercial resupply mission to the space station. The Cargo Dragon will launch atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Florida at 10:45 a.m. on June 9. It will arrive the next day at 1:30 p.m. automatically docking to the Harmony module’s forward port previously occupied by Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. NASA TV will broadcast both the Dragon’s liftoff and its arrival at the station.
Meanwhile, the seven station residents orbiting Earth started their shifts today with body mass measurements. The crew mates took turns attaching themselves to a mass measurement device that applies a known force to the individual with the resulting acceleration being used to calculate body mass. The measurements are based on a formula using Newton’s Second Law of Motion (force equals mass times acceleration).
Lab maintenance took precedence today for NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins as they worked throughout Wednesday on life support gear and orbital plumbing components. Lindgren and Hines also had time for blood sample collections as well as tending to the XROOTS space botany experiment.
ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti also worked on the space botany study as she checked and photographed the growing plants. The two-time station visitor from Italy also analyzed changes in her body composition for the NutrISS investigation then checked out a robotics control terminal.
Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev took turns today studying future planetary piloting and robotic control techniques. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov serviced power supply systems inside the Zarya module then replaced a laptop computer battery in the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.
On-Orbit Status Report
Progress 79P Undocking: Today, the Russian Cargo Vehicle Progress 79P, which provided cargo and propellent to the ISS, undocked from the Service Module Aft port at 3:08 AM CT. Following departure from the ISS the vehicle’s thrusters fired to maneuver 79P into a deorbit trajectory to send it into the Earth’s atmosphere where it burned up in re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.
Payloads:
NanoRacks Relocate: The crew removed Nanoracks Platform-2 from Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) rack 3 and trashed it. Following that, Nanoracks Frame-1 was installed in the old Platform-2 location. NanoRacks Platforms are multipurpose research facilities on board the ISS. NanoRacks Platforms support NanoRacks Modules in the CubeSat form factor by providing power and data transfer capabilities to operate investigations in microgravity.
Nutrition Monitoring for the ISS (NutrISS): The crew set up the NutrISS bioimpedance device and performed a measurement session. They also filled out a questionnaire related to the session. Long-duration spaceflight induces relevant changes in body composition and a loss of body mass. In the NutrISS investigation, a periodic assessment of body composition (body weight, fat mass, and fat-free mass) during spaceflight aboard the ISS is carried out using a dedicated bio-impedance analysis device to allow for the measurement of long-term energy balance modification over time. It is hypothesized that an adjusted diet maintaining a near-neutral energy balance, and/or increasing protein intake can limit microgravity-induced bone and muscle loss.
Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF): In support of the PCRF semi-annual maintenance activities, the crew relocated the maintenance units from locations 1, 5, 6 to locations 2, 3, 4. The PCRF is a JAXA subrack facility which investigates protein crystal growth in microgravity. PCRF is housed in the Ryutai (fluid) Experiment Rack, along with the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF), Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF), and the Image Processing Unit (IPU).
Phospho-aging Mechanism of Accelerated Aging Under Microgravity (Phospho-aging): Blood and urine samples were collected and inserted into the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for preservation. Phospho-aging examines the molecular mechanism behind aging-like symptoms, such as bone loss and muscle atrophy, that occur more rapidly in microgravity. Using analysis of human premature-aging syndromes (progeria) in mouse models, scientists identified CalciProtein Particles (CPPs) as a pro-aging factor in mammals. CPPs behave like a pathogen, inducing chronic inflammation and systemic tissue damage that could be the mechanism behind accelerated aging in space.
Surface Avatar: The crew performed a Surface Avatar session, answered a questionnaire, took photos, and stowed the hardware. The broad objective in this experiment is to investigate how to effectively teleoperate robots on a planetary surface from orbit. Several properties of the orbit-to-ground scenario are also applicable to terrestrial operation. For example, a high-latency or lossy data connection, the mix of structured and unstructured environments, and the types of tasks (e.g., traversing, manipulation of mechanical parts) are characteristic to scenarios such as arctic exploration, search and rescue in disaster zones and under-sea maintenance. Insights from these studies will be also applicable here. For example, gravity and wind act on objects on a planet’s surface which are not felt on orbit. In a similar way, when operating an object underwater, buoyancy, lift and drag forces act on the object which are not found in the operator’s environment.
eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS): In support of the current growout, the crew performed the manual water recovery activity and checked the status of the plant growth in Root Modules (RM) 1 and 2. Microbial growth was seen in one of the seed cartridges in RM 1, and all six seed cartridges in RM 1 were trashed. No microbial growth was seen in RM2 and the wicks were opened to allow the seeds to develop. The XROOTS investigation uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil or other growth media. Video and still images enable evaluation of multiple independent growth chambers for the entire plant life cycle from seed germination through maturity. Results could identify suitable methods to produce crops on a larger scale for future space missions.
Systems:
Water Processing Assembly (WPA) Catalytic Reactor Remove & Replace (R&R): The WPA provides the capability to produce potable water from humidity condensate and urine distillate. As a function of the WPA, the Catalytic Reactor introduces Oxygen into the system and oxidizes the organics contaminants in the wastewater to break them down. Today, the crew R&R’d the Catalytic Reactor due to the reactor’s thermal instability in preventing the WPA from processing properly. Over time, the reactor degrades and loses the ability to maintain pressure and water in the thermal cover causing condensation in the rack. The bottom thermal covers were removed and inspected for water. The bottom cover had water between the seal and the thermal cover. The crew was able to wipe up the water and place the cover back on the reactor. The Avionics Air Assembly (AAA) filters were replaced because the screens tend to clog with Foreign Object Debris (FOD) restricting air flow and cause elevated temperatures within the racks. These screens are cleaned on an as-needed basis to return AAA temperatures to nominal ranges. Following the R&R, the crew performed WRS and T2 rack closeouts to return the racks to a nominal configuration. Later this week, the crew will reinstall the Urine Transfer System (UTS) and perform a crewed Activation and Checkout (ACO) for T2 to return Node 3 back to a nominal configuration.
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Newly Installed WPA Catalytic Reactor Flush and Activation
HRF Rack 2 Rack Power Down Commanding
Primary Power System (PPS) Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) Feather
RRM3 Payload Xenon Venting [Planned]
Look Ahead Plan
Thursday, June 2 (GMT 153)
Payloads:
EML Gas Valve Open and Lens Reconfiguration
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty Day
Friday, June 3 (GMT 154)
Payloads:
AstroPi
BCM Robot Test
Biolab EC Removal
CAL MTL Jumper Leak Check
CIR/ACME Pack/Trash
EPM (European Physiology Module) Test Link Connect
KERMIT software load
MSG/Transparent Alloys/CETSOL-1 Cartridge Exchange and Door Switch
WiCo-2 BCG Session and Questionnaire
Systems:
UTS Install
WRS-1 Hardware Restow
T2 Crewed Activation and Checkout (ACO)
Saturday, June 4 (GMT 155)
Payloads:
Iceberg desiccant swap
ISS Ham pass (x2)
Payload NAS Vent Clean
XROOTS
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty Day
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS) Oxygen Manual Valve Open
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Measurement
Crew Dragon Forward Monthly PCS Checkout
DOSIS Main Box LED Check
Emergency RS ISS VHF-1 Comm Checkout from USOS [Deferred]
Air Quality Monitor Vent Vacuum
ISS EveryWear (EVW) Nutrition Tracking
HRF Generic HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Activity
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion
HRF Generic Urine Collection
WPA Catalytic Reactor Remove and Replace
WRS-1 Filter Kit Installation
ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up
Items gather for European Physiology Module
MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 3
NanoRacks Platform-2 Relocate
Phospho-Aging MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations
Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) Maintenance Unit Relocation
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in JEM
Sidekick Setup and Stow
Surface Avatar Activities
T2 and WRS1 Nominal Configuration Operations
Transfer CST-100 Cargo Operations
WPA Process Line Disconnect
WRS1 Rack Closeout
XROOTS Fluid Recovery and Status Check
