ISS Daily Summary Report – 04/14/15

SpaceX (SpX-6) Launch: Dragon successfully launched today at 3:10 PM CDT. Capture is planned for Friday April 17th at ~6:00 AM CDT. European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) Rotor Based Life Support System (RBLSS) and Water Reservoir Removal: Cristoforetti successfully removed all four EMCS RBLSS Modules and two Water Reservoirs and packed them for return on SpaceX-6 (SpX-6). The next planned use of EMCS is either the NASA experiment Plant RNA Regulation on SpX-8 or the ESA experiment Seedling Growth-3, currently manifested for SpX-9. The RBLSS and Water Reservoir removal activities are routine maintenance and will be refurbished once returned to the ground. Kubik 6 Data Download: Following the successful completion of the Stem Cell Differentiation experiment, Cristoforetti copied the data from Kubik 6 to the European Drawer Rack (EDR) Laptop and then transferred the data to a Station Support Computer (SSC) for subsequent downloading to the ground for evaluation. Stem Cells play a major role in the maintenance of bone mass, being the main source of osteoblasts during the bone remodeling and repair. The recruitment of an adequate number of osteoblasts is dependent on the availability of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) and their proper response to growth, differentiation, and chemotactic signals in the microenvironment. This investigation aims at understanding how human mesenchymal stem cells react to a two week exposure to microgravity in terms of growth, senescence and differentiation towards osteoblasts when treated with Vitamin D3. Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance: Extent, Longevity, and Neural Bases (Neuromapping): Kelly performed his first inflight session of Neuromapping. He configured the workstation and executed the Mental Rotation I Test, the Sensorimotor Adaptation Test, and the Dual Task Test while tethered, and the Mental Rotation II Test while free-floating. NeuroMapping studies whether long-duration spaceflight causes any changes to the brain, including brain structure and function, motor control, and multi-tasking; as well as measuring how long it takes for the brain and body to recover from those possible changes. Previous research and anecdotal evidence from crewmembers returning from a long-duration spaceflight suggests that movement control and cognition are affected in microgravity. The NeuroMapping investigation utilizes structural and functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (MRI and FMRI) to assess any changes to crewmembers after a six-month mission on the International Space Station. Payload On-orbit Still Shots for Utilization and Maintenance (POSSUM) Photography: Virts photographed the payload racks. The images were downlinked and will be used for crew training and rack configuration confirmation. Habitability Video Walk-Through: Kelly recorded a video, documenting observations using the iSHORT application, providing insights related to human factors and habitability. Today’s video was of the hygiene areas onboard the ISS. Habitability assesses the relationship between crew members and their environment in order to better prepare for future long-duration spaceflights to destinations, such as Near Earth Asteroids (NEA) and Mars. The ultimate goal is to understand how much habitable volume is required for vehicle internal design and layout, and if mission duration impacts the volume needed. Observations during the 1-year mission, as well as 6-month missions, can help spacecraft designers understand how much habitable volume is required, and whether a mission’s duration impacts how much space crew members need. The iShort application will enable ground support teams and human factor engineers to study and evaluate the design of the ISS and use these results for future spacecraft. Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) Fuel Oxidizer Management Assembly (FOMA) Calibration Part 1: Kelly started the first part of the CIR FOMA calibration today. He open the upper rack door, closed the bottle valves, relived the pressure in the manifolds, and closed the upper rack door. The Flight Calibration Unit (FCU) was used to collect pressure transducer data with the bottle pressure transducers at ambient pressure. The FOMA calibration is part of CIR nominal maintenance. The next use of CIR will be the FLame Extinguishment Experiment-2 JAXA (FLEX-2J) experiment. Node 3 (N3) Forward Midbay Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Reconfiguration: Cristoferetti reviewed procedures for reconfiguration of N3 forward IMV hardware to provide IMV to the N3 forward berthing port in preparation for Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) relocation. She also gathered equipment for the reconfig task scheduled for tomorrow. Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) Swap Preparation: Virts and Kelly moved EMU 3011 from the Forward EMU Don/Doff Assembly (EDDA) to the Crewlock, then moved EMU 3005 from the Crewlock to the Forward EDDA. This activity was in preparation for tomorrow’s HUT swap between Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) 3005 (size XL) and EMU 3010. This will result in EMUs 3003 (size L) and 3010 (size XL) as primary EMUs with 3005 as backup. A new EMU 3017 (size M) is scheduled to arrive on SpX-7. Node 1 (N1) 1553 Portable Computer System (PCS) Jumper Checkout: The crew performed a successful checkout of the N1 1553 PCS jumpers which connect to the primary Node 1 Multiplexer Demultiplexer (MDM) via the UB-ORB-N1 buses, this jumper would be used in the event all 3 Command & Control (C&C) MDMs failed or were unavailable. The checkout included a connectivity check to ensure the PCS would connect to the N1 MDM, as well as functionality checkout of the PCS connected to the Node Control Software (NCS). Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. TOCA Calibration Replacement of КСПЭ Cables and Adapters.r/g 8512 MRM2 comm config to support the P/L Ops [Aborted] CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 8358 NEMATODE – Sample Preparation Familiarization Kulonovskiy Kristall Experiment Run. / r/g 8506 EMCS – RBLSS Modules Removal OBSTANOVKA. r/g 8382 WRM Condensate Pumping Start MRM2 Comm Reconfig for Nominal Ops [Aborted] Identification of the Root Cause of unusual noise during SM SA operation r/g 8505 Psychological Evaluation Program (WinSCAT) DAN. Experiment Ops / r/g 8514 WRM Condensate Pumping Terminate Filling EDV-SV No.1002 r/g 8430 WHC Fill KULONOVSKIY KRISTALL. r/g 8506 BLR48 – Preparing and starting measurements CBCS/VOK – Equipment Gathering Cleaning ВД1 and ВД2 Air Ducts in MRM2 r/g 8393 OTKLIK. Hardware Check / r/g 8408 HABIT – Video Recording Terminate charge and […]

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