NASA Space Station Status Report 18 May, 2022 – Boeing’s Starliner Scheduled for Launch Tomorrow

Boeing’s Starliner crew ship sits atop the Atlas-V rocket from United Launch Alliance counting down to its launch from Florida to the International Space Station on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Expedition 67 crew concentrated on medical training, exercise systems maintenance, and a variety of advanced space science on Wednesday.

Two NASA astronauts continued preparing for the arrival of Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spaceship on the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission. Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines reviewed Starliner systems and approach and rendezvous procedures ahead of the spacecraft’s automated docking to the Harmony module’s forward port at 7:10 p.m. EDT on Friday. The uncrewed spacecraft is targeted to launch at 6:54 p.m. on Thursday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The duo will be on duty Friday monitoring Starliner during its three-and-a-half hours of automated approach maneuvers.

Lindgren started his day servicing the advanced resistive exercise device which mimics free weight exercises in microgravity. Hines collected and stowed his urine samples in a science freezer for later analysis to understand the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body.

Flight Engineers Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) worked on a variety of orbital plumbing tasks during Wednesday morning. Watkins also wrapped up a blood pressure measurement session and prepared the health data for downlinking to doctors on Earth. Cristoforetti trained on a computer to increase her proficiency when commanding the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

The quartet also joined Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov, for a medical emergency training session on Wednesday. The four astronauts and three cosmonauts practiced cardiopulmonary resuscitation, reviewed medical hardware, and discussed coordination of care in the event of an emergency on the space station.

Artemyev, the commander of the orbiting lab, also tested using ultrasound sensors for more accurate Earth photography sessions. The veteran cosmonaut then studied ways to improve international coordination between space crews and mission controllers. Matveev joined Artemyev participating in the photography tests and the crew coordination study. Korsakov inventoried and stowed medical gear and also inspected and photographed windows in the Zvezda service module.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Acoustic Diagnostics: Acoustic Diagnostics Instrument hardware was deinstalled and stowed. The Acoustic Upgraded Diagnostics In-Orbit (Acoustic Diagnostics) investigation tests the hearing of ISS crew members before, during, and after flight. This study assesses the possible adverse effects of noise and the microgravity environment aboard the ISS on human hearing. The investigation compares the relationship between the detection of otoacoustic emissions, sounds naturally generated from within the inner ear, and hearing loss levels when exposed to noisy environments.

Vascular Aging: The 13-hour blood pressure collection session was completed, and the hardware was stowed. A specific meal was prepared for an upcoming Vascular Aging Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) session. The wearable Bio-Monitor was removed and disconnected from the Data Unit. Data was transferred from the Data Unit and the wearable Headband and Garment were set out to dry. Emerging data point towards linkages among cardiovascular health risk, carotid artery aging, bone metabolism and blood biomarkers, insulin resistance, and radiation. Data indicate that aging-like changes are accelerated in many ISS crew members, particularly with respect to their arteries. As part of the Space Environment Causes Acceleration of Vascular Aging: Roles of Hypogravity, Nutrition, and Radiation (Vascular Aging) investigation, ultrasounds of the arteries, blood samples, oral glucose tolerance, and wearable sensors from ISS crewmembers are analyzed.

Systems:

Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Maintenance: As part of maintenance activities after a cable came out of the right detent, the crew removed and replaced the left and right ARED detents, which are used to guide the ARED cables. After determining that the previously-removed Cable Arm Ropes (CARs) are viable for reinstallation, the crew installed the CARs and applied proper tension and inspected the cable-pulley system bearings. ARED was then operated to verify proper functionality and the crew and ground teams performed additional adjustments. ARED is currently No-Go for use.

Waste & Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Water Container (???-?) Remove and Replace (R&R): Today the crew built a new ???- ? and R&Red the existing ???- ? in the WHC. The ???- ? is intended for liquid waste collection.

Recycle Tank Drain/Fill: The crew moved the Urine Transfer Compressor Hoses to a different Urine Transfer System (UTS) port, and then set up the recycle tank to drain via the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) Fill Drain Valve into a Brine EDV using the UTS. Following the setup, the ground performed the tank drain using the UTS. Once the ground specialists completed the transfer, the crew verified the recycle tank was empty, terminated the drain, repositioned the fill/drain valve to force fill the recycle tank using UTS, and configured for nominal processing operations. The crew also swapped the EDV in the offload EDV spot of the UTS.

Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2 (Boe-OFT2) Mission Prep: In preparation for the arrival of Boe-OFT-2, the crew completed an overview of Starliner vehicle monitoring including instructions for starting Rendezvous/Proximity Operations Program (RPOP) in a playback mode as well as several videos of Starliner approach. The crew then participated in a conference with key ground team members.

Emergency Health Maintenance System Contingency Drill Training: Periodic training was completed by the crew which provided the opportunity to review procedures, hardware, and communication methods necessary to manage a medical emergency onboard ISS. Emergency medical equipment was deployed and crew practiced CPR positioning to ensure familiarity with procedure execution should a medical emergency occur.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

Crew Dragon Quiescent Checkout
Look Ahead Plan

Thursday, May 19 (GMT 139)
Payloads:

ANITA-NL Sample (ESA)
LUMINA data transfer (ESA)
Standard Measures Blood, saliva, urine, body, fecal collect (NASA)
Vascular-Aging BioMonitor stow and Glucose setup (CSA)
WICO Ballistocardiography don and doff and questionnaire (ESA)
XROOTS fluid (NASA)
Systems:

Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations
EHS – Coliform Water Sample Analysis 44 +/- 4 hours post processing
IFM WRS Hardware Gather
OFT-2 Arrival Prep
WHC Stall Volume Cleanup
Friday, May 20 (GMT 140)
Payloads:

AstroPi Imagery ops (ESA)
CAL MTL Jumper leak chk (NASA)
ISS HAM pass (NASA)
MATISS-3 Install (ESA)
Standard Measures Blood, saliva, urine, body, fecal collect (NASA)
Vascular-Aging blood collect and Glucose measurement (CSA)
XROOTS Plant chk (NASA)
Systems:

LAB and CUP RWS Setup
Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations
Columbus Cabin photo audit
OFT-2 Arrival Ops
Saturday, May 21 (GMT 141)
Payloads:

XROOTS fluid (NASA)
Systems:

OFT-2 Arrival Ops
IFM OGA Spare Pump ORU Flush
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

HRF Generic Urine Collection
Standard Measures Body Sampling Survey
Standard Measures Body Sampling Collection
Standard Measures Body Sampling Stow
Measuring Hematocrit Number.
Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Detent Remove and Replace
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cable Arm Ropes Gather
Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cable Arm Rope (CAR) Install
Standard Measures Collection/Video Review
Remove and Replace (R&R) Waste Hygiene Compartment (WHC) ???-Y
Standard Measures Cognition Testing
Acoustic Diagnostics Instrument Deinstallation and Stowage
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
[Deferred] Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations
Moving Urine Transfer Compressor Hoses
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain/Fill
Urine Transfer Compressor Swap
Vascular Aging 13-Hour Blood Pressure Monitoring Conclude
Vascular Aging Meal Assembly
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in JEM
XROOTS Wick Photos
Bio-Monitor Wearables Data Transfer and Removal
On-Board Training (OBT) CST-100 OFT-2 Rendezvous Monitoring CBT 2
Treadmill MTL Hose Inspection
On-Board Training (OBT) CST-100 OFT-2 OBT Conference
On Board Training (OBT) ROBoT T&C Self Study
Crew Dragon Tablet Sync/Stow
COL PAYLOAD LAPTOP1 LAN DISCONNECTION
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion
Bio-Monitor Wearables Stow Second Performance
COL Payload Laptop3 Power Connection
HRF Generic Frozen Blood Collection Hardware Setup
CHeCS Emergency Health Maintenance System Contingency Drill Training
Urine Transfer System Offload EDV Swap