NASA Space Station Status Report 8 April, 2022 – Axiom Space Crew Launches

Today – Axiom-1 Private Astronaut Mission (PAM) Launch: SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour successfully launched from Launch Complex-39A today at 10:17 AM CT on a Falcon 9 carrying Private Astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe for the Axiom-1 mission.
Crew Dragon Endeavour is planned to dock to the ISS on Saturday, April 9th, at 06:58 AM CT. This crew will be the first all-private crew to visit the space station.

Axiom-1 PAM Arrival Preparations: The crew continued with preparations for the arrival of Axiom-1. First, the crew relocated Station Support Computers (SSCs) throughout the USOS in support of Axiom-1 docking operations and crew SSC assignments. After configuring the SSCs in their new locations, the crew cleaned the Crew Alternate Sleeping Accommodation (CASA) blankets, vents, and ducts for handover to an Axiom-1 Private Astronaut. CASA is a crew accommodation to allow for long-duration stay, permanent shelter, privacy, rest and relaxation, and storage of personal items and must be cleaned following a long-duration stay.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Acoustic Tweezer: The crew reviewed the procedures, gathered the experiment hardware, set it up in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), and then performed an experiment session. The goal for the Acoustic Tweezer program is to determine the feasibility of using a single source traveling acoustic beam for the collection of droplets of fluid in a microgravity environment and further compare the beam’s collection capability in reduced gravity to what is possible on Earth. The apparatus consists of a fluid tank and separately enclosed electric-driving circuitry.

Cold Atom Lab (CAL): A visual inspection was performed of the CAL moderate temperature loop coolant hose, and any coolant or residue were cleaned up. The CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero – much colder than the average temperature of deep space. At these low temperatures, atoms have almost no motion, allowing scientists to study fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics that are difficult or impossible to probe at higher temperatures. In microgravity, researchers may be able to achieve even colder temperatures than what is possible on the ground and observe these cold atom clouds for longer periods of time.

Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKAM): Following the conclusion of the 5-day experiment session, the EarthKAM hardware was disassembled and stowed. As of the last report, EarthKAM Mission 78 had a total of 82 schools representing over 8,200 students from 22 countries participating. EarthKAM allows thousands of students to photograph and examine Earth from a space crew’s perspective. Using the Internet, the students control a special digital camera mounted on-board the ISS. This enables them to photograph the Earth’s coastlines, mountain ranges and other geographic items of interest from the unique vantage point of space. The EarthKAM team then posts these photographs on the Internet for viewing by the public and participating classrooms around the world.

Spacesuit Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE): Water samples were collected for subsequent analysis on the ground, and the used Contingency Water Container – Iodinated (CWC-I) was replaced with a fresh CWC-I. SERFE demonstrates a new technology to remove heat from spacesuits and maintain appropriate temperatures for crew members and equipment during space walks. The technology uses evaporation of water for cooling. The investigation determines whether microgravity affects performance and evaluates the technology’s effect on contamination and corrosion of spacesuit material.

Systems:

Brine Processor Bladder Remove and Replace (R&R): As part of regular maintenance, the crew R&R’d the brine processor bladder on the Brine Processor Assembly (BPA). The BPA utilizes the forced convection of dry spacecraft cabin air coupled with a robust membrane distillation process to recover water from brine. The added water recovery from brine contributes directly to NASA’s goal to achieve an overall water recovery rate of 98% for future water recovery systems.

SSC Swap: Today, the crew swapped the SSC located in Dragon with an SSC located in LAB. SSCs are swapped regularly to ensure that International Procedures Viewer (IPV) backups are applied to SSCs remaining in Dragon for emergency situations. SSCs are the laptops associated with non-command activities onboard the ISS.

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill Initiation and Termination: Today, the crew initiated a manual fill of the WHC E??-?? (Water Container) using a Post-Flight Analysis Bag to capture any pressure relief to protect the dose pump. The ???-CB is intended for short-term storage and manual water transportation between facilities. After successfully filling the E??-??, the crew returned the WHC to nominal use.

Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) Node 1 Rheostat Troubleshooting: The crew performed troubleshooting for the Node 1 Rheostat to determine if its position is susceptible to Electromagnetic Interference which can cause off-nominal readings. The crew rotated the Rheostat full range from full cool to full warm and back to full cool. The Rheostat was left in the full cool position for ground teams to monitor the data.

Completed Task List Activities:

Locate MSG Glove Port Plug
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Power Management Controller Unit (PMCU) Data Dump [In Work]
Video Distribution Survey (VDS) External High-Definition Camera (EHDC) Support of the Node Module Kurs Antenna Survey
Deactivation of Four Bead CO2 (4BCO2) Scrubber
Command and Control Software (CCS) Service Module Central Computer (SMCC) Data Dump [In Work]
Look Ahead Plan

Saturday, April 9 (GMT 099)
Payloads:

DCB Unpack
Ice Cubes Exchange (Axiom-1)
Systems:

Monitoring Tools Setup for Docking Dragon
Axiom-1 PAM Dock
ISS Safety Briefing
ISS Familiarization
PAM Facilitator Time
Sunday, April 10 (GMT 100)
Payloads:

Actiwatch Plus (Axiom-1)
Aging and Heart Health (Axiom-1)
EasyMotion
Ice Cubes (Axiom-1)
Monitoring Stress (Axiom-1)
NutrISS
Reflective Eye (Axiom-1)
Snowcone (Axiom-1)
Systems:

Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review
ISS Familiarization
PAM Facilitator Time
Monday, April 11 (GMT 101)
Payloads:

Aging and Heart Health (Axiom-1)
AstroPi
At Home in Space (Axiom-1)
BioMonitor (Axiom-1)
CAL MTL Jumper Check
Calliopeo
CRISPR (Axiom-1)
CRISPR (Axiom-1)
Earth Obs (Axiom-1)
ER7 Laptop T/S
ISS Ham (Axiom-1)
Ice Cubes (Axiom-1)
ISS Ham
MedChecker (Axiom-1)
Monitoring Stress (Axiom-1)
MTO (Axiom-1)
Nanoracks Mod-9 (Axiom-1)
NeuroWellness (Axiom-1)
NutrISS
Photocatalyst (Axiom-1)
Sleep in Space (Axiom-1)
Sidekick
Transparent Alloys Setup
Urinalysis in Space (Axiom-1)
Systems:

In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) DeWalt Battery Pack Testing Part 1
PAM Facilitator Time
Countermeasure System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Maintenance
Environmental Health System (EHS) Compound Specific Analyzer – Combustion Products (CSA-CP) Checkout Part 2
Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

EarthKAM Shutdown and Stow in Node 2
Intelligent Glass Optics Hardware Alternate Stow
SSC Swap
Acoustic Tweezer Hardware Locate
Acoustic Tweezer Procedure Review
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
Acoustic Tweezer Payload Operations
Extravehicular Activity Evidence Gather
Brine Processor Bladder R&R
Set Date and Time on D5 Camera
SSC Relocate
CAL MTL Jumper Leak Check
Vacuum System Lab Port 4 Swap Part 1
SERFE Water Sampling for Post-Flight Analysis
SERFE MELFI Insertion
Bio-Monitor Hardware Stow
SERFE CWC-I R&R
THC Node 1 Rheostat Troubleshooting
CASA Cleaning
WHC Manual Fill Initiation and Termination
Astrobee Off
Sleep Station Relocate [In Work]