NASA Space Station Status Report 11 July, 2022 – Preparations for a Cargo Mission This Week

Preparations for a cargo mission this week and a spacewalk next week are keeping the Expedition 67 crew busy aboard the International Space Station.

The seven orbital residents are also staying busy with their ongoing research into human biology, space physics, and robotics.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft attached to the Falcon 9 rocket is due to roll out to the launch pad soon at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is scheduled to launch at 8:44 p.m. EDT on Thursday carrying 5,800 pounds of science experiments and crew supplies to replenish the orbiting lab. Dragon will orbit Earth for a day-and-a-half before docking to the Harmony module’s forward port at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday.

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins spent an hour-and-a-half Monday morning studying Dragon’s approach and rendezvous maneuvers. She will be on duty Saturday morning, along with NASA astronaut Bob Hines, monitoring Dragon’s automated docking to Harmony. NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website, will begin live coverage at 10 a.m. on Saturday of Dragon’s arrival at the station for a monthlong stay.

Watkins also took turns with Hines and fellow NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren participating in a fitness test on an exercise cycle located in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. The trio strapped sensors to themselves and pedaled for 60 minutes for the VO2Max exercise study that monitors an astronaut’s aerobic capacity.

Watkins began her day activating the Astrobee robotic free-flyers to test their ability to autonomously navigate inside the Kibo laboratory module. Hines swapped fiber optic cable samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Intelligent Glass Optics space manufacturing study. Lindgren finalized his day testing the new Butterfly IQ Ultrasound device for its mobile and remote medical capabilities.

A Roscosmos cosmonaut and an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut are gearing up for the year’s sixth spacewalk planned for July 21. Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti spent all day Monday activating and inspecting a pair of Russian Orlan spacesuits. The duo will work outside in the vacuum of space for approximately seven hours configuring the European robotic arm (ERA) for operations on the station’s Russian segment.

Artemyev started his day with Flight Engineer Denis Matveev for an hourlong assessment of their cardiovascular system. Matveev then replaced smoke detectors and checked sensors inside the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov worked on water transfers inside the ISS Progress 80 cargo craft then prepared the ERA for next week’s spacewalk.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Astrobee-Zero Robotics: The US LAB module was cleared of stowage and the Astrobee flyers were prepped for Zero-Robotics remote mapping operations which was controlled by the ground. For Astrobee-Zero Robotics, students write software to control one of the space station’s Astrobee free-flying robots. The first several rounds of the competition, co-led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Innovation Learning Center, and many collaborators, use an online simulation. Finalists have their code downloaded by NASA to the Astrobee platform and observe its performance. The experience helps inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers.

Butterfly IQ Ultrasound: Medical Technology Demonstration of the Butterfly Ultrasound Device was performed. Butterfly IQ Ultrasound demonstrates the effectiveness of a portable ultrasound device used in conjunction with a mobile computing device in the space environment. Such commercial off-the-shelf technology could provide important medical capabilities for future exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. The investigation also examines the effectiveness of just-in-time instructions for autonomous use of the device by the crew.

Cold Atom Lab (CAL): The Cold Atom Lab MTL jumper was checked for leaks and 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.

TangoLab-2: Card S/N 005 was removed from slot 6 and cube QUST_NNL05 was removed for photo documentation. Cube KENT_SAT02 was attached to card S/N 006 and installed into slot 6. TangoLab-2 is a reconfigurable general research facilities designed for microgravity research and development and pilot manufacturing in the ISS.

Universal Intelligent Glass Optics (UNIGLO): Two preform sample exchanges were completed by the crew and two sample runs were performed. UNIGLO tests the effects of microgravity on a glass optics module capable of processing various types of complex glasses. The module uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help adapt materials processing techniques to the microgravity environment and a sensor based on laser-Doppler interferometry to measure the effects of microgravity on processing complex glasses for a variety of applications in space and on Earth.

Systems:

Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Collect and Analysis: As part of regular maintenance, the crew performed periodic EHS water sampling by collecting water samples from the PWD for in-flight and post-flight analysis. In-flight samples were used to perform a TOCA analysis that measures the amounts of organic constituents in the potable water. The crew also tested the water samples for the presence of Coliform bacteria utilizing a Coliform test bag. These tests are used to determine if the drinking water is still safe for crew consumption.

In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) Activities: The crew completed several IFM activities beginning with a monthly inspection of the Health Maintenance System (HMS) Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and associated consumables, followed by a reorganization of the Countermeasures Systems (CMS) Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) Cargo Transfer Bag (CTB). A USOS Common Hatch Window Cover Audit was also performed for installed Hatch Window Covers (Hyzod Covers) for Intravehicular (IVA) and Extravehicular (EVA) USOS hatch windows in multiple locations.

RS EVA ESA Preparations: Crewmember Samantha Cristoforetti performed multiple preparation activities for the RS EVA ESA. An arm muscle status assessment was completed, followed by activation and inspection of Orlan-MKS suits and degassing of the suits and БСС Interface unit cooling loop in MRM2. Also completed were the Orlan telemetry unit battery installation, Orlan height adjustment, and Orlan and БСС leak check and valve tests.

Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) Duct Smoke Detector Remove and Replace (R&R): Due to recent PMM Smoke Detector behavior indicative of degradation, the PMM Duct Smoke Detector was R&Red. The PMM Smoke Detector samples the atmosphere within the PMM to determine the amount of smoke using a light sensing sampling chamber or probe and forced air flow.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

PPS High Beta Operations
JEM Exposed Facility Unit 11 Motor Heater Activation
EFU 11 Activation and Safing Verify
EFU 11 Exposed Facility Unit Adapter 2 Unberth
JEMRMS EFU Adapter 2 Transfer to JEMAL
Look Ahead Plan

Tuesday, July 12 (GMT 193)
Payloads:

HRF1 Supply Resupply (NASA)
IGO Hardware Stow (NASA)
XROOTS Fluid Recovery and Plant Check (NASA)
Systems:

Lab MCA Mass Spectrometer R&R
RS EVA ESA Prep
Photo/TV Photos
T2 ITCS MTL Hose Inspection
Node 3 Port Endcone and NRAL Stowage Replace
Stow/Trash Miscellaneous Found Items
Wednesday, July 13 (GMT 194)
Payloads:

Battery and Controller Removal (JAXA)
ISS HAM (NASA)
LUMINA Reboot and Data Transfer (ESA)
WICO Don Ops and Questionnaire (ESA)
Systems:

T2 Bungee Swap
Cargo Transfer to Dragon
SpX-25 Dragon Rendezvous Review CBT
EVA Battery Ops
RS EVA ESA Prep
Thursday, July 14 (GMT 195)
Payloads:

Astrobee Remote Ops (NASA)
Biofilms Review (ESA)
KUBIK MPCC Setup (ESA)
Systems:

RS EVA ESA Prep
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Astrobee Stowage Clear/Replace
Environmental Health System (EHS) Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Collect
Intelligent Glass Optics Sample Exchange
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Inspection
Cupola PCS Log File Transfer
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Analysis
Arm muscle status assessment.
Setup for the Butterfly Ultrasound Device activity.
ISS Safety Video
SpaceX-25 Dragon Rendezvous Review CBT
Intelligent Glass Optics Crew Observation
Activation and inspection of Orlan-MKS suits #5, #4.
Cold Atom Lab Jumper Leak Check
Countermeasures Systems (CMS) Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) CTB Reorg
Degassing Orlan-MKS suits #5 and #4 and БСС Interface unit cooling loop in MRM2.
Environmental Health System (EHS) Coliform Water Processing
Astrobee Undock Operations 2
In Flight Maintenance USOS Common Hatch Window Cover Audit
Ops with ORLAN ORU.
Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) Duct Smoke Detector Remove and Replace
[deferred] T2 Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) Hose Inspection
AMOS Data Recovery
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
ORLAN telemetry unit (БРТА) battery installation
Orlan height adjustment
Orlan №4 and БСС leak check and valve tests
TangoLab-2 Card Cube Replace
Butterfly Ultrasound Device Operations/Stow
64GB USB Flash drive Insertion Into PLT3
EVA Battery Operations Terminal Charge Init
MCA Stowage Gather
[from GMT 194] T2 Bungee Swap