How Do Astronauts Prepare for Life on the ISS?

TL;DR

ISS crews prepare through pre-flight activities that rehearse spacecraft and station procedures, operational commands, equipment positions, and responses to disconnected systems. Expedition 48 crew members Kate Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin, and Takuya Onishi were scheduled to launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on June 21 and join three crew members already conducting research on the station.

Transcript

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Key Insights

• Pre-flight preparation includes practicing technical procedures and recording formal crew photographs. The transcript alternates between repeated photography directions and operational discussions, including command checks, equipment positioning, system reconfiguration, and verification tasks associated with spacecraft or station operations.
• The incoming Expedition 48 crew consists of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, and JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi. The description identifies all three as participants in the pre-flight training activities shown.
• The crew’s planned launch date is June 21. Kate Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin, and Takuya Onishi are scheduled to travel aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.
• The destination crew includes Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. They are already aboard the International Space Station and conducting research before the other three crew members arrive.
• Operational training includes checking commands and verifying positions. One exchange calls for an internal SSRMS command check and records the position as ninety-five decimal four and negative seven decimal eight before proceeding with further confirmation.
• The response to both disconnected portable computer systems is to reconnect the PCS. The transcript characterizes this procedure as straightforward, with the first step stated directly rather than requiring a complex recovery sequence.
• Command execution includes confirmation and monitoring steps. The participants confirm a terminate command, request verification of a trigger contact number, check the relevant information, and acknowledge that the selected item is correct.
• Training preparation includes attention to physical positioning and equipment handling. Participants receive instructions to center an item, avoid reaching too far upward, move slightly downward, and coordinate where people should stand or move during simulated station activities.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do Expedition 48 crew members prepare for life aboard the ISS?

Expedition 48 preparation includes pre-flight training activities, technical procedure practice, command verification, position checks, equipment handling, and crew photography. The transcript shows participants rehearsing responses to disconnected portable computer systems, checking an internal SSRMS command, confirming a terminate command, verifying a trigger contact number, and receiving instructions about movement and positioning.

Q: Who is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on June 21?

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi are scheduled to launch on June 21. The three crew members are preparing to travel to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and join the Expedition 48 personnel already living and conducting research there.

Q: Where is the Expedition 48 crew scheduled to launch from?

Kate Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin, and Takuya Onishi are scheduled to launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Their destination is the International Space Station, where they will join Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin, who are already conducting research aboard the station.

Q: Who is already aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 48?

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin are already aboard the International Space Station. The description says they are conducting research there while awaiting the scheduled arrival of Kate Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin, and Takuya Onishi aboard a Soyuz spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan.

Q: What should the crew do if both portable computer systems are disconnected?

If both portable computer systems are disconnected, the stated first step is to reconnect the PCS. During the training exchange, a participant asks about CNC MDM reconfiguration when both systems are disconnected. The response says to reconnect the PCS and emphasizes that the required action is not complex, providing a direct recovery instruction.

Q: What technical checks appear in the crew training transcript?

The technical checks include verifying an internal SSRMS command, confirming a recorded position of ninety-five decimal four and negative seven decimal eight, discussing CNC MDM reconfiguration, reconnecting disconnected portable computer systems, confirming a terminate command, and verifying a trigger contact number. The participants also check that the selected information is correct before continuing.

Q: What role does command confirmation play in the training activities?

Command confirmation serves as an explicit checkpoint during the rehearsed operational sequence. The transcript includes instructions to confirm a terminate command, followed by acknowledgment that confirmation has occurred. It also includes a request to verify a trigger contact number and a subsequent statement that the checked information is correct, showing repeated verification before proceeding.

Q: What nontechnical activities are included in the pre-flight preparation?

The preparation includes extensive crew photography and staged positioning in addition to technical practice. A photographer repeatedly asks participants to smile, look toward the lens, adjust their height or position, remain in place, and take additional photographs. The group also discusses where people should stand and how simulated movement could be arranged around them.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Pre-flight preparation for Expedition 48 includes staged activities, crew photography, and technical practice. The transcript captures repeated positioning instructions alongside operational checks involving station systems, command confirmation, equipment coordinates, contact verification, and a response procedure for disconnected portable computer systems, showing several components of preparation before the crew’s planned launch.

• NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, and JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi were scheduled to launch on June 21. Their departure aboard a Soyuz spacecraft was planned from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the International Space Station as their destination and Expedition 48 as their assigned mission.

• The arriving trio was expected to join Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. Those three crew members were already aboard the station conducting research, so the launch would unite the incoming astronauts and cosmonaut with the existing Expedition 48 team.