NASA Space Station Status Report 25 October, 2022 – New Cargo Resupply Mission Launches

The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 82 is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 8:20 p.m. EDT (5:20 a.m. Baikonur time) Tuesday, Oct. 25, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned on its way to meet up with the orbiting laboratory and its Expedition 68 crew members.

Progress will dock to the space-facing side of the Poisk module two days from now, on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 10:49 p.m. EDT Live coverage on NASA TV of rendezvous and docking will begin at 10:15 p.m. EDT.

Progress will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station.

Back in space, the four astronauts and three cosmonauts aboard the station concentrated on numerous state-of-the-art science experiments benefiting humans both in space and on Earth. Ranging from space botany, human research, and microgravity physics, the studies help crew members adjust to long-term missions in weightlessness and provide innovations enhancing products and services on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio spent Tuesday morning nourishing and monitoring vegetables growing inside the Columbus laboratory module. The XROOTS investigation explores soilless methods, or hydroponic and aeroponic techniques, to grow crops in space and sustain crews living off the Earth.

Rubio also joined his fellow flight engineers, Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, both from NASA, and Koichi Wakata from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for eye scans using the Human Research Facility’s ultrasound device. The optic exams give researchers insight into how microgravity affects the eye’s shape, pressure, retinas and vision.

Mann, who also cleaned and inspected U.S. module hatch seals, joined Wakata and pointed their cameras outside the station photographing the condition of solar array components. In addition, Wakata turned on an Astrobee robotic free-flyer to demonstrate its use of wireless technology, or radio frequency identification, to manage cargo inventory on the space station. Cassada worked inside the Zarya module to maximize storage space.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev configured research hardware in the Columbus module to explore plasma crystals, or highly-charged microparticles, to gain fundamental space physics knowledge and possibly improve the design of future spacecraft. Cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Anna Kikina took turns studying future planetary spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques. Petelin then went on and explored how the digestion system adapts to microgravity, while Kikina observed Earth’s nighttime atmospheric glow in the near-ultraviolet wavelength.

On-Orbit Status Report

ISS Predetermined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM): US tracking sources identified a debris conjunction of concern yesterday. As a mitigation step, ground teams opted to implement a PDAM using the Aft 81P R&D thrusters with a time of ignition (TIG) at 7:25 PM CT. The burn duration was 5 minutes and 5 seconds with a Delta-V of 0.5 m/s. There are no impacts to 82P launch and dock operations later this week.

Payloads:

Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4): The crew began the activities needed to remove and replace an embedded controller board from the Control and Video Unit (CVU). These activities will continue through most of the week and are in response to off-nominal signatures seen in this experiment hardware. 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: 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.

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) Recon Science 5: An RFID recon reader was installed on an Astrobee free-flyer, and RFID data was gathered for cargo moving from the Columbus module to the JEM. Although some issues were encountered with RFID reader configuration files in Node 2, the RFID Recon team was still able to get two of the three sets of science runs performed. RFID-Enabled Autonomous Logistics Management-2 (REALM-2) (RFID Recon) uses an RFID reader and antennas attached to a robotic free-flyer to identify RFID-tagged cargo on the ISS to determine its presence and location in order to help the crew find items quickly and efficiently. RFID tags are similar to barcodes, except they are electronic, do not require line-of-sight, and are able to respond through wireless communication.

eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS): The crew performed fluid management and seed cartridge/plant inspections. XROOTS is currently in the final week of the fourth and last planting for the experiment series. The large pea and tomato plants in Root Module 4 have multiple fruits visible, and one of the newer seed cartridges in Root Module 1 has a young plant visible. 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:

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan: Today, the crew performed eye exams using ultrasound equipment. Eye exams are performed regularly on-board in order to monitor crewmembers eye health. Eyesight is one of the many aspects of the human body that is affected by long-duration stays in a microgravity environment.

RS Water Transfers: Per documented agreements between the US and IP Russia, the crew continues to transfer water from the USOS to the RS. Surplus water in the USOS was transferred from the Contingency Water Container – Iodine (CWC-I) to an ЕДВ. An ЕДВ is intended for short-term storage and manual water transportation between facilities.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparation Activities: EVA hardware activities were performed by the crew in preparation for upcoming EVAs. Rechargeable EVA Battery Assemblies (REBA) charging was terminated, and REBAs were removed from the Battery Stowage Compartment. The crew also transferred tools from USOS to RS.

Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Functional Check: As part of regular maintenance, the crew activated the spare TOCA and cycled the Gas Mass Flow Controller to mitigate potential failure of the spare TOCA. TOCA primarily serves as a general indication of overall water quality of the Water Processor (potable water). The TOCA was restowed following the TOCA Functional Check.

Hatch Seal Inspection: As part of regular maintenance, the crew inspected the hatch seals, hatch plate sealing surfaces, crank handle mechanisms, hatch seal interlocking joints, and PMM hatch kicker pins for damage or foreign object debris (FOD) for a subset of open hatches. The crew performed minor cleaning steps and reported no significant findings.

Ultrasound Exam: Today the crew used the ultrasound device to perform a Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) scan.  This routine medical exam utilizes existing on-orbit eye exam ultrasound hardware for imaging of the neck, clavicle, shoulder, and behind the knee. VTE scans utilize a different frequency than the eye exams.

Solar Array Wing (SAW) Mast Port Survey: The crew completed a photo survey of the Port SAW Masts, SAW Blankets, and the Port IROSA SAWs by capturing a series of images from the Cupola Window 1. These images will provide the ground with an opportunity to review new and old damage to the mast structures.

Completed Task List Activities:

• None

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

• JCP Switchover
• Downlinking JCP Disk Information
• Deactivate IDA-Fwd Heaters
• MSS Maneuver
• MT Translation

Look Ahead Plan

Wednesday, October 26 (GMT 299)
Payloads:

• COSMIC Power Cable Connect
• HRP Saliva/Urine Collection
• ISS HAM Pass
• MSG Cleaning Part 2
• PK-4 T/S
• Snowcone
• TELLAS

Systems:

• Columbus ITCS Water Sample
• OBT Cygnus Rendezvous Review
• HMS VTE Scan
• REBA Powered Hardware Checkout
• EMU HUT Scrubber Lubrication
• JEM ITCS Sampling
• HMS OCT2 Exam

Thursday, October 27 (GMT 300)
Payloads:

• Food Physiology
• HRP Saliva/Urine Sampling, Blood Setup
• ManD Print Remove
• Plant Habitat CO2 Bottle T/S
• PK-4 T/S

Systems:

• EMU Cooling Loop Maintenance
• PLT3 BIOS Setting
• HMS VTE Scan
• CHeCS Emergency Health Maintenance System Contingency Drill Training

Friday, October 28 (GMT 301)
Payloads:

• ELF Sample Holder Exchange
• HRP Blood and Urine Sampling
• SABL1 CO2 Meter Swap
• XROOTS

Systems:

• IFM WHC Pre-Treat Tank R&R
• X2R21 Software Transition Review
• EVA Suit IV Review
• EMU Swap
• HMS OCT2 Exam

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

• Standard Measures Post-Sleep Questionnaire
• Nutrient Solution Mixing
• PK-4 Items Gathering
• Astrobee Prep
• COL Payload Laptop3 deployment
• HMS Eye Ultrasound Scan
• Water Recovery System CWC-Iodine Fill Initialization/Terminate/Teardown
• Disconnect EXPRESS-3 Laptop from EXPRESS Rack 10B
• EVA Battery Operations Terminal Charge Terminate
• EVA Battery (BATT) Remove
• Russian EVA Tool Transfer from USOS to RS
• XROOTS Water Refill
• XROOTS STATUS CHECK
• RFID Recon Science Run 5 Operations
• FGB Reorganization
• NG-18 Trash Gather
• ISS Crew Handover Questionnaire
• Nutrient Solution Fill
• RFID Recon Removal
• HRF Generic Urine Collection
• Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) PFU4 Functional Check
• HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion
• Hatch Seal Inspection
• COL Payload Laptop3 Power Deinstallation
• Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 2 Power On
• Resupply Air Tank Setup and Initiation
• HMS Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Scan
• Photo TV SAW MAST port Survey
• HRF Generic Saliva Collection