Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Cohesive Sedimentation (BCAT-CS): The crew replaced all four SB-800 flash batteries with new AA batteries; they then verified the camera focus and alignment with manual images. Recent reports from the BCAT team indicate the pixel brightness in the downlinked images is higher for the ISS samples compared to ground samples. …
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-7 Capture and Berthing: Yesterday evening, Robotics Ground Controllers performed a survey of the Node 2 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (ACBM) sealing surface as required prior to HTV berthing. Today, the ISS Crew (Feustel, Auñón-Chancellor, Gerst) monitored the HTV-7 approach from the Cupola Robotic Workstation (RWS) and, at approximately 11:34 GMT, …
Fluidics: The crew prepared the Fluidics hardware in order to perform experiment runs today. Some difficulties were encountered securing one of the fluid tanks, but this was resolved by applying layers of tape. Fluidics is a fluid mechanics experiment with two main objectives: perform a Slosh study to investigate fluid behavior under microgravity during satellite …
Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature-2 (ACE-T-2): The crew performed a sample module exchange for the ACE-T2 experiment. ACE-T-2 is performed in the Light Microscopy Module in the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR/LMM). The experiment looks at the assembly of complex structures from micron-scale colloidal particles interacting via tunable attractive interactions. The samples contain suspensions of colloidal particles that upon …
Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST): The crew swabbed the designated surfaces in the JEM to collect samples. This BEST experiment uses the miniPCR hardware to extract deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from the samples. The BEST investigation studies the use of sequencing for identification of unknown microbial organisms living on the ISS, and how humans, plants …
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-7 Launch: HTV-7 Launch is currently scheduled on Saturday, 22 September at 12:52 CT. If HTV-7 launches on Saturday, a 5-day rendezvous profile will result in capture and berthing on the morning of 27 September. The current weather forecast looks promising for tomorrow’s launch. Plant Habitat: Today the crew took photos of …
Service Module (SM) ISS Reboost: This afternoon at 1:05 PM CT, the ISS completed a 17s reboost using the SM main engine. This reboost is the final reboost in a series of three burns to set up proper phasing for 54S landing on October 4th and 56S launch, which will use the 4-orbit rendezvous profile, on October …
Biochemical Profile: the crew completed Urine and Blood collections today. The Biochemical Profile investigation tests blood and urine samples obtained from astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or indicators of health. Post-flight analysis yields a database of samples and test results which scientists can …
Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Cohesive Sediment (BCAT-CS): The crew checked camera alignment and focus by viewing the latest BCAT images on a laptop. BCAT-CS focuses on the study of forces between particles that cluster together by using sediments of quartz and clay particles. Conducting the research in the microgravity environment of the ISS makes …
Microbial Tracking-2: Today a crewmember collected saliva samples for the Microbial Tracking-2 investigation and placed them inside a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). MT-2 monitors the different types of microbes that are present on ISS over a 1-year period. After the samples return to Earth, a molecular analysis of the RNA …
