NASA Space Station Status Report 23 June, 2022 – Go Given for Cygnus Reboost Attemp Saturday

The seven-member Expedition 67 crew split its time with a variety of human research and lab maintenance tasks on Thursday.
A U.S. resupply ship is also gearing up for a test of its ability to reboost the International Space Station this weekend before its departure next week.

NASA and its international partners continuously explore how living in space affects the human body. Numerous experiments investigate how space station crew members adapt to weightlessness during their months-long missions. Scientists on Earth gain insights into how the human physiology changes and inform ways to sustain crew health over the course of a long-term space mission.

NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren explored how living in space speeds up aging-like symptoms in humans today. He collected and stowed his blood and urine samples for the Phospho-Aging study that seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms behind the rapid loss of bone and muscle mass that takes place in microgravity. Results may inform countermeasures to keep astronauts healthier longer in space and improve the lives of aging citizens on Earth.

Astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) and Jessica Watkins of NASA worked throughout Thursday on station upkeep activities. Cristoforetti replaced centrifuge components inside the BioLab, a research facility that studies the effects of space and radiation on single celled and multi-cellular organisms. Watkins rearranged computer hardware and installed new science computer software in the Destiny laboratory module.

NASA astronaut Bob Hines, along with Lindgren, trained on a computer to remain proficient in SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle operations. Hines also joined Watkins continuing to film and narrate station operations for downlinking to train astronauts scheduled on future missions.

Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov attached sensors to themselves today monitoring their cardiac activity. Artemyev then activated Earth observation gear while Korsakov unpacked Russian cargo and worked on hatch sealing mechanisms. Flight Engineer Denis Matveev configured radiation detectors and measured the radiation environment aboard the orbiting lab.

NASA and Northrop Grumman have given the go for Cygnus to try another reboost attempt on Saturday that would lead to Cygnus potentially departing the station on Tuesday, June 28. The reboost is designed to provide Cygnus with an enhanced capability for station operations as a standard service for NASA.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

BioLab: The Biological Experiment Laboratory in Columbus (Biolab) centrifuge rotor A and B belts were replaced, and reference Experiment Containers (ECs) were installed into the Biolab facility. The rotor belt replacement is a periodic maintenance activity. The multiuser research facility is used to perform space biology experiments on microorganisms, cells, tissue cultures, small plants, and small invertebrates. BioLab allows scientists to gain a better understanding of the effects of microgravity and space radiation on biological organisms.

EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments for Space Station (ExPRESS) Rack 3: A crewmember assisted in the ExPRESS Rack 3 Common Laptop Software (CLS) 14 load. The ExPRESS Racks can supports science experiments in any discipline by providing structural interfaces, power, data, cooling, water, and other items needed to operate science experiments in space.

Repository: Urine collections and blood setup were completed in support of the Repository investigation. The NASA Biological Specimen Repository (Repository) is a storage bank that is used to maintain biological specimens over extended periods of time and under well-controlled conditions. This repository supports scientific discovery that contributes to our fundamental knowledge in the area of human physiological changes and adaptation to a microgravity environment and provides unique opportunities to study longitudinal changes in human physiology spanning many missions. Samples from the ISS, including blood and urine, are collected, processed and archived during the preflight, in-flight, and post-flight phases of ISS missions. This investigation archives biosamples for use as a resource for future space flight related research.

Systems:

Waste and Hygeine Compartment (WHC) Urine Receptacle (UR) and Insert Filter (IF) Remove and Replace (R&R): The crew completed routine maintenance to replace the urine receptacle and filter. As part of the R&R, the crew cleaned the WHC power supply, reactivated WHC, and performed a functionality test to verify the WHC was operational following the maintenance.

SpaceX Crew Dragon Emergency Response Training: Today, the Freedom crew reviewed the emergency Deorbit Entry and Landing Contingencies Refresher as well as the free-flight depress and fire response for the SpaceX Crew Dragon Vehicle. The onboard reviews will make sure the crew’s training is fresh in the event there is an emergency on the space station.

Station Reorganization: Today, to decongest some of the clutter built up over the years, the crew organized stowage and crew preference items across station. The reorganization should aid the crew as they move though the station and work on science and maintenance.

Crew Handover Video: Today, the crew recorded videos for future crew handovers and pre-flight familiarization to help crew adjust to ISS daily life. In the recording, the crew gave tips for the life onboard, setting up Public Affair Events (PAOs), exercising, IT onboard, and any other topics at the crew’s discretion.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS) Thermal Amine Scrubber (TAS) Vacuum Leak Check
ARS Node 3 Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Zero Calibration
Payload Rack Officer Fluids Integrated Rack Activation Commanding
Look Ahead Plan

Friday, June 24 (GMT 175)
Payloads:

Astrobee/SVGS Test Ops
CAL MTL Jumper Leak Check
CBEF MHU Reconfiguration and Fan Checkout
CIR/SoFIE Troubleshooting
ExPRESS Rack 6 CLS Software Update
Phospho-Aging
Repository Urine and Blood Collect
Toilet Acoustic Survey
XROOTS Fluid Recovery, Harvest
Systems:

LOAC Procedure Review
D5 Camera Clean
Nanoracks Airlock Trash Audit
SpX-Crew Dragon Emergency Departure & Contingency Considerations
Saturday, June 25 (GMT 176)
Payloads:

Brine Processor Housekeeping
CEO Ops
Systems:

Off Duty Day
Sunday, June 26 (GMT 177)
Payloads:

Astrobee Off
Systems:

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

Biolab Rack Front Cleanup, Exchange, and Restore
Biolab Reference Experiment Container Installation
Recording of Handovers for Daily Crew-Life
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
TOCA Sample Data Record
TOCA Waste Water Bag (WWB) Change out
ExPRESS Rack CLS Software Start and Finish
ESA Weekly Crew Conference
Flight Director/ISS Crew Conference
ISS EveryWear (EVW) Nutrition Tracking
Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test
Holoportation Hardware Stow
HRF Generic Frozen Blood Collection Hardware Setup
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion and Retrieval Operations
HRF Generic Urine Collection Male
WHC Urine Receptacle (UR) and Insert Filter (IF) R&R
IMS delta file prep
Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference
JEM System Laptop Terminal 7 (SLT7) Activation and Troubleshooting
Laptop Cargo Transfer Bag Reorganize
SpX-Crew Dragon Deorbit Entry and Landing Contingencies Refresher
SpX-Crew Dragon Free-Flight Depress Response Refresher
SpX-Crew Dragon Free-Flight Fire Response Refresher
Robotics On-board Trainer (ROBoT) Setup
Phospho-Aging Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations
Phospho-Aging MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Social Media Event
Program Management/ISS Crew Conference
Station Reorganization
Swapping CWCs
CWC Fill from Waste Water Tank