NASA Space Station Status Report 11 May, 2022 – Training for Boeing’s Starliner Arrival

The Expedition 67 crew is ramping up for the arrival of Boeing’s new Starliner crew ship due to launch next week to the International Space Station.
Meanwhile, the orbital residents continued their ongoing human research, cleaned spacesuits, and maintained lab hardware.

NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines trained on Wednesday for next week’s launch and docking of the Starliner spacecraft on Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2). Both astronauts spent part of the day familiarizing themselves with the OFT-2 mission and Boeing’s Starliner vehicle systems. The duo also reviewed Starliner’s post-docking procedures including leak and pressurization checks, entering the vehicle, and cargo operations.

Boeing rolled out its Starliner vehicle to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) launch facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday. It was attached atop the Atlas-V rocket from ULA later that day. The Starliner crew ship and its rocket now stand vertical at the launch pad counting down to a liftoff targeted for 6:54 p.m. EDT on May 19. The unpiloted Starliner vehicle will automatically dock to the Harmony module’s forward port about 24 hours later where it will stay for cargo and test operations for five to 10 days.

Flight Readiness Review Begins for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2

Lindgren ended his day disconnecting and stowing spacesuit components in the U.S. Quest airlock. ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti started the spacesuit work Wednesday morning swapping and resizing spacesuit components and cleaning suit cooling loops.

Hines and NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins focused their science activities on human research throughout the work day. Hines began his morning attaching sensors to himself to record data for the Cerebral Autoregulation study that examines how microgravity affects brain structure. Watkins processed blood and urine samples for later analysis and also conducted a regularly scheduled hearing test.

Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev partnered together replacing life support gear in the station’s Russian segment. Artemyev also serviced broadband communications equipment and packed obsolete hardware for disposal inside the ISS Progress 80 resupply ship. Matveev completed a 24-hour session that recorded his heart activity while wearing electrodes. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov worked on ventilation systems and video gear and synchronized a camera to station time which is set to Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Cerebral Autoregulation (CA): The crew attached the electrocardiogram (ECG) leads, set up other experiment hardware, and performed a CA science session. As the body’s most important organ, the brain needs a strong and reliable blood supply, so the brain is capable of self-regulating blood flow even when the heart and blood vessels cannot maintain an ideal blood pressure. The Cerebral Autoregulation investigation tests whether this self-regulation improves in the microgravity environment of space. Non-invasive tests measure blood flow in the brain before, during, and after a long-duration spaceflight, and provide new insights into how the brain safeguards its blood supply in a challenging environment.

Fast Neutron Spectrometer (FNS): The FNS systems was disconnected, moved from its Node 2 location to the US lab, reconnected and powered on. Neutron spectrometers are used to make a wide range of measurements, including studies of a planetary body’s composition and measuring the flux of high-energy neutrons that could be harmful to humans. The FNS investigation studies a new neutron measurement technique that is better suited for the mixed radiation fields found in deep space. Future manned and exploration missions benefit from clearer, more error-free measurement of the neutron flux present in an environment with multiple types of radiation.

Light Ions Detector for ALTEA (LIDAL): Following the completion of the Grip and GRASP science sessions, the LIDAL hardware was moved back to its nominal location. The capability of Anomalous Long-Term Effects in Astronauts (ALTEA) to measure the linear energy transfer (LET) of protons and helium and the kinetic energy of protons and heavy ions was upgraded by the addition of a new time of flight (TOF) system detector called LIDAL. LIDAL upgrades the ability of ALTEA to make measurements that can be converted, by dedicated software in real-time, into radiation risk coefficients – effectively enabling ALTEA to become the first ever dosimetric (risk meter) aboard the ISS.

Systems:

Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU) Resize: Crew stowed EMUs 3004 and 3015 in the crewlock and installed EMUs 3009 and 3013 on EMU Don/Doff Assembly (EDDA). Crew then installed legs and boots on EMU 3009 and swapped arms on EMU 3013.

EMU 3009/3013 Loop Scrub, and Iodination: The crew performed EMU water loop scrubs and then acquired and tested water samples for conductivity on EMUs 3009 and 3013. During the loop scrub on EMU 3009, the suit’s HECA unit received a software upgrade. Additionally, the crew installed the Hard Upper Torso (HUT) ORU Scrubber to spare HUT 2038 to scrub and iodinate the spare HUT water lines. EMU Loop Scrubs are required preventive maintenance needed to remove any chemical and biological contaminants from the EMU transport loop.

Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2 (Boe-OFT2) Mission Prep: Today the crew reviewed the OFT mission overview and the Boeing Starliner vehicle familiarization and conference in preparation for Boe-OFT launch, currently planned on 19-May-2022.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

C2V2 Checkout
Look Ahead Plan

Thursday, May 12 (GMT 132)
Payloads:

Acoustic Diagnostics
APM data transfer
Astrobee review
AWP
ISS Ham pass
Photocatalyst hardware remove and stow
Repository
rHEALTH review
Wireless Compose-2 BCG
XROOTS
Systems:

Cupola Acrylic Scratch Pane #7 Replace
O-OHA Test
Friday, May 13 (GMT 133)
Payloads:

Astrobee/ISAAC-SoundSee
BioMonitor config file upload
CAL MTL jumper check
Repository
rHEALTH demo
Systems:

T2 6-month, yearly maintenance
OFT-2 procedure review
OFT-2 Rendezvous CBT
SSRMS IDA2 Survey
Saturday, May 14 (GMT 134)
Payloads:

AWP
Systems:

Crew Off Duty
Reboost
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

HRF Urine Collection
HRF Centrifuge Setup and Frozen Blood Collection
Cerebral Autoregulation Data Measurement
HRF Centrifuge Frozen Blood Collection Conclude and Stow
On-Board Training (OBT) CST-100 OFT Mission and Vehicle Overview
On-orbit Hearing Assessment (OOHA) with Kuduwave Software Setup and Test
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Resize
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Scrub Initiation
Photocatalyst Filter Check
Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) Power Cycle
Cerebral Autoregulation Closeout [Deferred]
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) Scrubber Install
Fast Neutron Spectrometer US Lab Relocate
Nikon still camera sync with station time
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Waste Water Bag (WWB) Changeout
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Iodination
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
Urine Transfer System Offload EDV Swap
Light Ions Detector Return
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in JEM
On-Board Training (OBT) CST-100 OFT Operations familiarization
Health Maintenance System (HMS) – ESA Nutritional Assessment
EVA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Scrub Deconfiguration
In Flight Maintenance Cupola Shutter Close
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) Scrubber Deconfiguration
Acoustic Monitor Battery Swap
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
On-Board Training (OBT) CST-100 OFT OBT Conference