NASA Space Station Status Report 28 April, 2022 – Cosmonauts Complete Spacewalk

Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev of Roscosmos concluded their spacewalk outside of the International Space Station at ?6:40 p.m. EDT after 7 hours and 42 minutes.
Artemyev and Matveev completed their major objectives during the spacewalk, which included monitoring the first commanded movements of the robotic arm from its grapple fixtures after removing thermal blankets and launch locks. The duo monitored the robotic arm as its end effectors translated one at a time to a new base points. The crew also installed more handrails on Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

Shortly after the spacewalk ended, cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov completed the grapple of the second of the two end effectors on the new European Robotic Arm to a grapple mechanism on the Nauka module to successfully wrap up the major tasks of the excursion.

This was the fifth spacewalk in Artemyev’s career, and the second for Matveev. It will be the fifth spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 250th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Additional spacewalks are planned to continue outfitting the European robotic arm and to activate Nauka’s airlock for future spacewalks.

On-Orbit Status Report

Crew-4 Dock: SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom successfully docked to the ISS at 6:37 PM CT on Wednesday, April 27th. The Endurance crew welcomed aboard NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. After participating in a live welcome ceremony with the ISS crew, the Crew-4 crew successfully completed the ISS safety briefing and were familiarized with living on station. The ISS crew complement has officially increased from 7 to 11.

RS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #53: During today’s EVA, FE-1 Oleg Artemyev and FE-2 Denis Matveev worked outside the MLM to activate and outfit the European Robotic Arm (ERA). FE-3 Sergey Korsakov assisted by commanding ERA from within the RS. The following tasks were completed and deferred:

Remove MLI Cover from ERA EEs [??1] and [??2] and jettison (with ERA Elbow MLI Covers from RS EVA 52)
Release Grapple Mechanism Launch Locks at ERA EEs [??1] and [??2]
Withdraw [???] Launch Grapple Point from ERA EE [??2]
Open [CKM] [M?1] Launch Lock at ERA EE [??2]
Release TRM (Torque/Force Sensor Rigidizing Mechanism) Launch Lock at ERA EE [??2]
Open [CKM] [M?2] Launch Lock at ERA Elbow
Open [CKM] [M?1] Launch Locks (2) at ERA EEs [??1] and [??2] Electronics Boxes
Install ERA Handrails #2, #3, and #5
Closing MLI blankets near elbow joint, and ERA EEs [??1] EE and [??2] Electronics Boxes
Withdraw [???] Launch Base Point from ERA EE [??1]
Open [CKM] [M?1] Launch Lock at ERA EE [??1]
Release TRM Launch Lock at ERA EE [??1]
Inspection of [4??-???] antenna on the Node Module
Get Ahead Task: Victory Day Greeting
This task is expected to be performed by IV crew before the end of the crew day:

Monitor safe ERA motion: ERA EE [??1] translation to ???2 Base Point
Not completed:

Monitor safe ERA motion: ERA EE [??2] walkoff from ???1 to ???3
The Phase Elapsed Time (PET) of this EVA was 7 hours and 42 minutes.

Payloads:

Actiwatch: Crewmembers donned Actiwatch plus devices last night for data collection. The Actiwatch is a waterproof, non-intrusive, sleep-wake activity monitor worn on the wrist of a crewmember and contains a miniature uniaxial accelerometer that produces a signal as the subject moves. The data is stored in non-volatile memory within the Actiwatch until they are downloaded for analysis.

eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS): Last night, a crewmember configured the Veggie hardware to interface with XROOTS hardware and installed XROOTS into EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack-1. The XROOTS investigation uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil or other growth media. Video and still images enable evaluation of multiple independent growth chambers for the entire plant life cycle from seed germination through maturity. Results could identify suitable methods to produce crops on a larger scale for future space missions.

Systems:

Crew Dragon Freedom Cargo Operations and Emergency Equipment Transfer: The crew continued unpacking cargo from Crew Dragon Freedom. The crew unpacked food kits and common bags, stowing some items on ISS and others in a temporary stowage location on Crew Dragon. Afterwards, the crew transferred emergency hardware from ISS to Crew Dragon Freedom. They setup a Portable Computer System (PCS), checked out a USOS ammonia filter fan, and then photographed the final vehicle configuration.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

RS EVA Support Commanding [In Work]
SM Central Computer (SMCC) Data Dump [In Work]
Starboard 3 (S3) Aft Wireless Video System (WVS) External Transceiver Assembly (WETA) Troubleshooting
Crew Dragon Freedom Quiescent Operations Configuration
Look Ahead Plan

Friday, April 29 (GMT 119)
Payloads:

APM Data Transfer (NASA)
AstroPi Move to COL, Lens Adjust and Stow, and Return to Node 2 (ESA)
Calliope Stow
CAL MTL Leak Check (NASA)
ISS HAM (NASA)
J-MPEP Stow (NASA)
Photocatalyst Filter Check (Ax-1/ISS)
Rhodium Crystal Preservation Preparation for Return (NASA)
Standard Measures Saliva Collect (NASA)
TangoLab Cardcube Replace (NASA)
WICO BCG Measurement (ESA)
XROOTS Facility Check (NASA)
Systems:

RS EVA #53 Tool Transfer, Tether Inspection, and EVA Battery Installation
Saturday, April 30 (GMT 120)
Payloads:

Phospho-aging Urine Setup (JAXA)
Photocatalyst Filter Check (Ax-1/ISS)
Standard Measures Saliva Collect (NASA)
VECTION Session (CSA)
Systems:

Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review
LoAC CBL Review
Cygnus Cargo Transfer
Sunday, May 1 (GMT 121)
Payloads:

GRIP Review (ESA)
Phospho-aging Urine Collect and Blood Setup (JAXA)
Photocatalyst Filter Check (Ax-1/ISS)
Standard Measures Saliva Collect (NASA)
XROOTS Facility Check (NASA)
Systems:

ISS Emergency Hardware Familiarization
T2 Maintenance
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

RS EVA #53
ISS Crew Handover
ISS HAM Radio Power Down in SM
Welcome Ceremony for Freedom Crew
Campout Sleeping Bag Deploy
Human Research Facility (HRF) Generic Saliva Collection [Aborted]
HRF Generic Minus Eighty-degree Laboratory Freezer for the ISS (MELFI) Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations [Aborted]
Endurance Crew Departure Preparations
Emergency Equipment Transfer
Crew Dragon Freedom Locker Removal
Polar 5 Dragon Un-install, Handover, Transfer, and EXPRESS Rack Install