The Expedition 36 crew aboard the orbiting International Space Station supported a wide array of research and technology experiments Thursday while preparations for next week’s Russian spacewalk kicked into high gear. Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency began their workday conducting ultrasound scans of each other for the Spinal Ultrasound investigation. Afterward, Nyberg checked in on the Constrained Vapor Bubble experiment inside the Fluids Integrated Rack, inspecting and photographing the scientific payload. Parmitano meanwhile reached the midpoint of his session with Biological Rhythms 48hrs, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency study of the circadian variation of astronauts’ cardiac function during spaceflight using a small digital electrocardiograph. Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA spent part of his day conducting an inventory of the batteries and small propellant tanks associated with a trio of soccer-ball-sized free-flying satellites known as Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES. Cassidy, Nyberg and Parmitano rounded out their day unloading some of the 7.3 tons of cargo from the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 that docked to the rear of the station’s Zvezda module Saturday. In advance of a planned six-hour spacewalk Monday by Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin, Commander Pavel Vinogradov closed the hatch between the ISS Progress 50 cargo craft and the Pirs docking compartment that will be used as the crew’s airlock to begin the excursion. With the assistance of Vinogradov, Yurchikhin and Misurkin moved their Orlan spacesuits into Pirs to prepare to suit up for a “dry run” exercise Friday to insure that the suits fit properly and all systems are ready to go. During the spacewalk scheduled to begin Monday at 9:35 a.m. EDT, Yurchikhin and Misurkin will replace a fluid flow control valve panel on the Zarya module and install clamps that will later hold cables bringing power from the U.S. segment of the station to a new Russian laboratory targeted to arrive at the station later this year. nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition36/e36_062013.html
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 21:03:45 +0000
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