ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/17/2017
ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/17/2017
NanoRack Cubesat Deployer (NRCSD) #11 Deploy: Five Cubesats were deployed today from the ISS: Phoenix, Xcubesat, Qbee, Altair and SHARC. ALTAIR is a technology demonstration / risk reduction mission for critical subsystems for the ALTAIR product line of spacecraft. SHARC (Spacecraft for High Accuracy Radar Calibration) hosts a series of experimental payloads including a C-band transponder and GPS. The primary goal of SHARC is to contribute to the calibration of Department of Defense (DoD) tri-service C-band radar installations. The remaining three cubesats that are being launched today are from the QB50 constellation of CubeSats from countries around the world. The constellation aims to study the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere over a period of 1 to 2 years. The QB50 satellites conduct coordinated measurements on a poorly studied and previously inaccessible zone of the atmosphere referred to as the thermosphere. The project monitors different gaseous molecules and electrical properties of the thermosphere to better understand space weather and its long term trends. Fluid Shifts: A 50S crew member performed their second of their two days of Flight Day 180 Fluid Shifts Chibis operations in the Russian Segment. They donned the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP/Chibis) device while the operator, with ground support in Moscow, assisted in the medical monitoring. Additionally, while the subject was in the LBNP and experiencing the negative pressure (pulling the fluid feetward), the Crew Medical Officer performed Ultrasound measurements. Fluid Shifts is a joint NASA-Russian experiment that investigates the causes of severe and lasting physical changes to astronauts’ eyes. Because the headward fluid shift is a hypothesized contributor to these changes, reversing this fluid shift with a lower body negative pressure device is investigated as a possible intervention. Results from this study may help to develop preventative measures against lasting changes in vision and eye damage. Veg-03: The crew harvested leaves from Chinese Cabbage growing in the Veggie facility for crew consumption. The plants will be left in place to continue growing. The goal of Veg-03 is to further demonstrate the proof of concept for the Veggie plant growth chamber and planting pillows. Future long-duration missions into the solar system will require a fresh food supply to supplement crew diets, which entails growing crops in space. Previous investigations focused on improving productivity in controlled environments but the limited quarters of the space shuttle and ISS made it difficult to conduct large-scale crop production tests. Veg-03 expands on previous validation tests of the Veggie hardware to grow cabbage, lettuce and other fresh vegetables. Tests determine which types of microorganisms are present in space-grown cabbage, providing baseline data for future crop-growing efforts. Behavioral health surveys assess the impact of growing plants on crew morale and mood. OsteoOmics: Crew fixated BioCells in Biocell Habitat 3 and insert the sample into the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). Crewmembers experience bone loss in orbit, stemming from the lack of gravity acting on their bones. OsteoOmics investigates the molecular mechanisms that dictate this bone loss by examining osteoblasts, which form bone, and osteoclasts, which dissolve bone. Improved understanding of these mechanisms could lead to more effective countermeasures to prevent bone loss during space missions and in a wide range of disorders on Earth. This may lead to better preventative care or therapeutic treatments for people suffering bone loss as a result of bone diseases like osteopenia and osteoporosis, or for patients on prolonged bed rest. Genes in Space 2: The crew completeed a session of the Genes in Space 2 experiment. They retrieved a sample from a General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) and inserted it in the miniature Polymerase Chain Reaction (miniPCR) system for processing. Later they removed the sample and put it into a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Genes in Space 2 investigation is based on the winning student proposal from the second Genes in Space competition. It tests whether the polymerase chain reaction can be used to study deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) alterations on board the ISS. Spaceflight causes many changes to the human body, including alterations in DNA and a weakened immune system. Understanding whether these two processes are linked is important for safeguarding crew health, but DNA technology that can track these changes is relatively untested in space. Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA) 3 Ingress: Following the successful completion of gross and fine leak checks, the crew opened the Node 2 overhead to PMA 3 hatch in preparation for ingress. They then removed the Common Berthing Mechanism Center (CBM) Disc Cover, Controller Panel Assemblies (CPA) and the Centerline Berthing Camera System (CBCS) which were used during the PMA 3 relocation from Node 3 Port to Node 2 Zenith in March. They also installed an Active CBM to Passive CBM ground strap. ISS Reboost: Later this afternoon the ISS is scheduled to perform a reboost using the Service Module main engines. The purpose of the reboost is to set up planned conditions for 49S landing on June 2 and 67P launch on June 14. Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Equipment Audit in the SM recess under ИнПУ (panel 214) Personal Data Prep for Return ECON-M. Observation and Photography Reminder Crew Autonomous Scheduling Test REMINDER – ESA ACTIVE DOSIMETER MOBILE UNIT SWAP OsteoOmics MERLIN Removal PAO Hardware Setup. Video/Audio Test with the Glavny PMA 3 fine leak check term and equipment teardown FLUID SHIFTS NanoRacks Cubesat Video Setup Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 (PMA 3) Node 2 Ovhd Hatch Open Health Maintenance System (HMS) Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test VEG-03 Consumption Harvest #2 Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth Genes in Space MWA Preparation Combustion Integrated Rack FOMA Calibration Valve Close Recharging Soyuz 735 Samsung PC Battery (if charge level is below 80%) Genes in Space MELFI Sample Retrieve Genes in Space Sample Operations Collecting surface samples from FGB equipment and structures Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis Verification of ИП-1 Flow Sensor Position Genes in Space Sample […]