NASA Space Station Status Report 29 April, 2022 – An End to a Very Busy Week

Two Roscosmos cosmonauts went on a spacewalk to activate the new European robotic arm (ERA) less than a day after the SpaceX Crew-4 mission arrived at the International Space Station
The next mission event taking place will occur next week when four Expedition 67 astronauts complete their stay aboard the orbiting lab.

Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev exited the station in their Orlan spacesuits at 10:58 a.m. EDT on Thursday beginning the fifth spacewalk of the year. Fellow cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov assisted the spacewalkers from inside the station’s Russian segment as they released the ERA from its launch restraints on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module and monitored the new robotic arm’s first motion.

The day before, the SpaceX Dragon Freedom crew ship, carrying four Crew-4 astronauts, docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 7:37 p.m. EDT. Less than two hours later, NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, entered the station beginning a four-and-a-half month research mission aboard the space station. The 11-person crew will live and work together until next week when the SpaceX Crew-3 mission ends.

Station Commander Tom Marshburn along with Flight Engineers Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, all NASA astronauts, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, are packing up to end their stay on the orbiting lab. The four astronauts representing the Commercial Crew Program are finalizing a six-month science mission on the space lab. NASA and SpaceX mission managers are planning for the quartet to enter the Dragon Endurance crew ship and undock from Harmony’s forward port for a splashdown off the coast of Florida next week.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

AstroPi/Calliope: The crew transferred the AstroPi Infrared (IR) with attached Calliope Mini to the Columbus module, removed the Calliope hardware, and then transferred AstroPi Visible (Vis) to Node 2. The crew then performed a lens adjustment on AstroPi Vis. Two augmented Raspberry Pi computers (called AstroPis) were flown to the ISS and are both equipped with the mighty Sense Hardware Attached on Top (HAT) that measures the environment inside the space station, detects how the station moves through space, and picks up the Earth’s magnetic field. Each AstroPi is also equipped with different types of cameras: one has an infrared camera, and the other has a standard visible spectrum camera.

ISS HAM Radio: An ISS HAM contact was made with Istituto Comprensivo 1 Chieti, Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. Since the earliest space station expeditions, ISS HAM Radio has allowed groups of students in schools, camps, museums, and planetariums to hold a conversation with the people living in space. As the ISS passes overhead, students have about 9 minutes to ask crew members 10 to 20 questions.

TangoLab: The crew performed Cube and card replacements in TangoLab-2 and TangoLab-3. Space Tango’s TangoLab locker is a reconfigurable general research facility designed for microgravity research and development (R&D) and pilot manufacturing aboard the ISS.

Wireless Compose-2: The Ballistocardiography experiment was conducted using the sensors of the crew’s un-donned SmartTex-2 shirt. The main scientific goal of the Wireless Communication Network (Wireless Compose-2) investigation is to provide a flexible and adaptable wireless network infrastructure to conduct and execute low-power, lightweight, and wireless experiments on the ISS. For this demonstration, Wireless Compose-2 operates several experiments, including an experiment to examine the impact of the space environment on the cardiovascular system. Additionally, Wireless Compose-2 demonstrates newly developed impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) hardware to enable precise localization applications and to analyze the energy harvesting potential on the ISS.

eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS): A crewmember performed a checkout of the XROOTS hardware and troubleshooting to address issues seen with water recycling. 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:

Waste Processor Assembly (WPA) Maintenance: Today, the crew performed maintenance on the WPA after a failed processing cycle was observed earlier this week due to high conductivity coming out of the multifiltration beds. In order to access the multifiltration bed and Waster Water (WW) filter in the WPA, the crew first removed the Univeral Waste Management System (UWMS) hardware and Toilet. Next, they removed and replaced (R&R’d) the multifiltration Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) #2. During this replacement, the crew used a syringe and purge hoses to inject the expended ORU with an air bubble to accommodate thermal expansion once removed from the system. After replacing the unit, the crew R&R’d the WW filter fan that is in between the pump/separator ORU and the WW ORU. This activity required rotating the WRS-2 rack, which temporarily impacted crew use of the Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC), Treadmill 2 (T2), and Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED). Finally, the crew re-installed the UWMS hardware and Toilet. The WPA provides the capability to produce potable quality water from humidity condensate and reclaimed urine distillate.

RS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #53 Tool Activities: Following yesterday’s RS EVA #53, the RS crew transferred the depleted Lithium-Ion Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (LREBA) batteries to the USOS crew for charging. The USOS crew installed these batteries into the battery stowage compartment in the Airlock and re-orientated the cabling for the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) batteries. After completing this work, the USOS crew inspected two safety tethers, two D-ring extenders, and fourteen retractable equipment tethers (RETs) that are deployed in the RS for structural integrity.

Endurance Crew Data Preparation: Most of the Endurance crew prepared personal files, which included email personal folders and tablet data, for downlink prior to departure. Crew Dragon Endurance is scheduled to depart the ISS in early May following their handover with the Freedom Crew.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

WPA Hot Service Commanding
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Cell Stack Scan [Deferred]
Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) 4 Gimbal 5-Year Maintenance [Planned]
Look Ahead Plan

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:

T2 Maintenance
Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review
LoAC CBL Review
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
Monday, May 2 (GMT 122)
Payloads:

CAL MTL Leak Check (NASA)
DOSIS-3D PDP Install (ESA)
GRIP Seated Session (ESA)
HRF1 Supply Inventory (NASA)
NutrISS Operations (ESA)
Phospho-aging Blood and Urine Collect (JAXA)
Photocatalyst Filter Check (Ax-1/ISS)
Standard Measures Saliva Collect, Urine Setup, Pre-sleep Questionnaire (NASA)
Systems:

MDM On-Orbit Tester EEPROM Refresh and Checkout
WHC UR/IF R&R
Crew Dragon Endurance Tablet Sync
OBT ROBoT Setup
EHS TOCA PFU4 Functional Check
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Campout Sleeping Bag Stow
Human Research Facility (HRF) Generic Minus Eighty-degree Laboratory Freezer for the ISS (MELFI) Sample Retrieval and Insertion Operations
HRF Generic Saliva Collection
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations
ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up
EasyMotion Data Downlink
ISS HAM Radio
Dragon Contingency Hardware Transfer
HRF Generic Urine Collection Setup
Payloads Operations and Integration Center (POIC) Overview On-board Training (OBT)
MELFI Overview OBT
Review of Wireless Compose-2 Big Picture Words
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
Urine Transfer System (UTS) Backup EDV Swap
ISS Crew Adaptation [In Work]
Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) and Passive Capture Mechanism Removal from JEM Airlock ST
JEM Airlock ST Retraction from JPM Side
TangoLab-2 Card Cube Replace
XROOTS Hardware Check
MPEP Stow
TangoLab-3 Card Cube Replace
Actiwatch Plus HRF Rack 2 Alternate Performance Setup
Crew Dragon Freedom Cargo Transfer Operations [Partially Complete]
ARED Handover Video Review
Endurance Crew Data Preparation for Return [Partially Complete]
ARED Crew Handover
T2 Handover Video Review
T2 Crew Handover
Transfer of Samples from Glacier to MELFI
Cold Atom Lab (CAL) Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) Jumper Leak Check
Photocatalyst Filter Check
Crew Dragon Endurance Cargo Transfer Operations
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS EveryWear Nutrition Tracking
Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation & Stabilization (CEVIS) Handover Video Review
CEVIS Crew Handover
HD EMU Camera Assembly (HECA) Camera Operations after RS EVA #53 for Downlink
EasyMotion Application Uninstall
Polar Sample Transfer to Cold Stowage
ISS Crew Orientation [In Work]
Stall Removal
Toilet Removal
Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM) Data Transfer
Polar 5 Multiple Desiccant Swap
Polar 1 Multiple Desiccant Swap
Multifiltration Bed R&R
Wireless Compose-2 Communication Module Transfer
Wireless Compose-2 Experiment Execution
AstroPi Swap from Node 2 to Columbus
Calliope Mini De-installation and Stowage
AstroPi Swap from Columbus to Node 2
HECA Video Camera Close-Out Operations after RS EVA #53
Endurance Crew Departure Preparations
WPA WW Filter R&R
ISS Crew Handover
AstroPi Camera Lens Adjustment
RS EVA Tool Transfer to USOS
EVA Battery Installation
Photo/TV (P/TV) EVA GoPro transfer from RS to USOS after RS EVA #53
P/TV EVA GoPro Card Transfer to RS Crew
EVA Tether Inspection
Toilet Re-installation
Stall Re-installation
Actiwatch Plus HRF Rack 2 Alternate Performance Stow
P/TV EVA GoPro Card Transfer to USOS Crew
P/TV EVA GoPro Stow [Planned]
Campout Sleeping Bag Deploy [Planned]