NASA Space Station Status Report 26 April, 2022 – SpaceX Crew-4 Poised for Early Morning Launch

Now that Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) crew is safely back on Earth it’s time for the SpaceX Crew-4 mission to depart to the International Space Station.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads: Dose Distribution Inside the ISS – 3D (DOSIS-3D): DOSIS passive detector packs (PDPs) were uninstalled from both the USOS and RS. ISS crewmembers are continually exposed to varying levels of radiation which can be harmful to their health. DOSIS-3D uses several active and passive detectors to determine the radiation doses inside the ISS. The goal is to develop a three-dimensional radiation map covering all sections of the ISS.

Metabolic Space: The Metabolic Space hardware and protocol were used during an exercise session. The aim of the Metabolic Space experiment is to perform a technology demonstration of cardio-pulmonary diagnosis in space during physical activities of astronauts living aboard the ISS while maintaining unrestricted mobility. This is achieved with a wearable measurement system that is directly worn by an astronaut.

Photocatalyst (Ax-1): Filter checks were performed on the Photocatalyst Device and Photocatalyst Control Device by the ISS crew. The Photocatalyst investigation was initiated by the Axiom-1 (Ax-1) Private Astronaut Mission (PAM) crew during their mission, and the ISS crew will complete the remaining on-orbit operations. Photocatalyst demonstrates using a photocatalyst device to clean the cabin air and remove odor caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The device converts VOCs into carbon dioxide and water. The device and a non-photocatalyst control device will operate for at least four weeks before returning to Earth for analysis of the photocatalyst device’s effectiveness.

Solid Combustion Experiment Module (SCEM): Valve operations were performed on gas- and air-line bottles in order to check for leaks. The SCEM is designed to investigate the oxygen concentration required to sustain a flame over solid fuels. It is also possible to obtain the limiting electric current caused by self-ignition of the insulated wires due to short-circuit. Combustion characteristics of solid materials in the microgravity environment where no buoyancy-induced convection occurs will be identified, as well as the effect of gravity on the combustion limit of solid materials, through studies by SCEM.

Systems:

Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Adapter Preparation: Today, the crew inspected a 3D printed OGS Velocicalc adapter for accuracy and defects before creating and placing a label on it. The crew then performed a fitcheck of the adapter on the Velocicalc Probe and installed Velcro to aid in the use of the adapter for OGS cabin air inlet measurements. This adapter will improve the accuracy of flow rate measurements of the OGS Avionics Air Assembly (AAA). After configuring the adapter on the Velocicalc, the crew used the tool to take air velocity measurements of the OGS AAA.

Nitrogen/Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Transfer Operations: Following yesterday’s NORS Nitrogen (N2) repress, the crew uninstalled the NORS N2 intravehicular activity (IVA) fill hose, internal N2 regulator, and N2 recharge tank and stowed the empty recharge tank onboard Cygnus (NG-17) for temporary stowage. The crew then configured the ISS Oxygen (O2) system, installed a NORS O2 recharge tank, and transferred oxygen to the ISS Airlock oxygen tanks via equalization.

RS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #53 Preparations: The crew gathered needle nose and vice grip pliers for the RS crew to use during RS EVA #53 and transferred them to the RS. The crew then inspected two safety tethers, two D-ring extenders, and twelve retractable equipment tethers (RETs) for structural integrity following their use during RS EVA #52. After the inspections, the crew installed Lithium-Ion Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (LREBA) batteries in the Orlan suits. RS EVA #53 is planned for Thursday, April 28th, and its main objective is to activate the European Robotic Arm (ERA) for operational use.

Crew-4 Arrival Preparations: Today, the crew gathered the four tablets assigned to Crew-4, turned them on, and plugged them in for charging. As the tablets charged, the crew connected them to the desired onboard WiFi network for the ground to push updates to them. Additionally, the crew prepared the campout location in the Endurance Crew Dragon for crew sleep. During a direct handover, some USOS crewmembers will sleep in designated campout locations due to the increased crew complement outweighing the available Crew Quarters (CQs). Crew-4 is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Wednesday, April 27th.

Robotic Operations: Yesterday, the Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) from the Node 2 Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) to the Mobile Base System (MBS) PDGF 3 and then commanded the Mobile Transporter (MT) to translate from Worksite 6 (WS6) to WS4. At WS4, the SSRMS was used to survey International Docking Adapter-3 (IDA-3), which recently had Crew Dragon Endeavour docked to it. Early this morning, the MT was translated from WS4 to WS2 to be clear of Crew-4 Crew Dragon docking later this week.

JEM Stowage Reconfiguration: The crew consolidated stowage in the JEM in preparation for the Cargo Dragon SpaceX-25 (SpX-25) mission. SpX-25 is scheduled to launch to the ISS in early June.

Completed Task List Activities:

None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

LAB Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Zero Calibration
SM Central Computer (SMCC) Data Dump
NORS Tank Commanding
OGS AAA Flow Measurement Support
MT Translation
Look Ahead Plan

Wednesday, April 27 (GMT 117)
Payloads:

Actiwatch Donning (NASA)
Astrobee (Stowage Replace and Unpower) (NASA)
CAL MTL Jumper Check (NASA)
EML Gas Valve Configuration (ESA/Joint)
FLARE (SCEM) Gas Valve Ops 4 (JAXA)
J-FROST 2 CPU Checkout (JAXA)
Photocatalyst Filter Check (Ax-1/ISS)
Rhodium Crystal Preservation Preparation for CS Transfer (NASA)
Standard Measures Saliva Setup (NASA)
VEGGIE HW and Display OBT (NASA)
XROOTS HW Gather and Review (NASA)
Systems:

Crew-4 Launch and Dock
Crew Dragon Endurance Deorbit Paper Sim
JEM Stowage Configuration for SpX-25
Endurance Crew Campout Review and Initial Setup
Thursday, April 28 (GMT 118)
Payloads:

Crew Off-Duty
Systems:

RS EVA #53
Endurance Crew Campout Review and Initial Setup
Crew-4 Crew Dragon Cargo Transfer
ISS Safety Briefing
ISS Crew Handover
Friday, April 29 (GMT 119)
Payloads:

APM Data Transfer (NASA)
CAL MTL Leak Check (NASA)
J-MPEP Stow (NASA)
Photocatalyst Filter Check (Ax-1/ISS)
Standard Measures Saliva Setup
TangoLab Cardcube Replace (NASA)
WICO BCG Measurement (ESA)
XROOTS Facility Check (NASA)
Systems:

Emergency Equipment Transfer
RS EVA #53 Tool Transfer, Tether Inspection, and EVA Battery Installation
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

SCEM Valve Operations
ELF Item Gathering
Station Support Computer (SSC) 4 Shell Swap
ELF Sample Cartridge Cleaning
Metabolic Space Instrumentation
OGS IMV Adapter Preparation
Exercise Session for Metabolic Space Experiment
OGS AAA Flow Measurement
Metabolic Space De-instrumentation
Photocatalyst Filter Check
Crew Dragon Departure Computer Based Training (CBT)
NORS Nitrogen Transfer Termination
Stowage of Metabolic Space Electronic Belt and Mask
NORS Oxygen Transfer Initiation
Muti-Use Bracket Restow
JEM 120 to 28 VDC Converter Mesh Cleaning
RS EVA #53 Tool Gather and Transfer
RS EVA #53 Tether Inspection
Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth
Install LREBA Batteries on Orlan Suits
Ax-1 Tablet Connect
De-installation of 4 PDPs from RS
De-installation of 6 PDPs in USOS
DOSIS-3D PDPs De-Installation from COL
Ax-1 Tablet Stow
Crew-4 Tablet Gather, Charge, and Connect
JEM Stowage Reconfiguration
Dragon SSC Deploy
Dragon Sleep Station Preparation
Bose Headset Unstow