Overview:

GreenHab needs water badly! Don arrived in the morning and we worked with him to get the water trailer untangled from Big Blue and installed in the pumping area. Adam and Anthony then reinstalled the pump, verified that it was working, and immediately started running water into the GreenHab system to try to bring it back to life. We estimate approximately 30 gallons were added to the GreenHab immediately.

With the first problem out of the way, Adam and Anthony spent the next part of the day debugging the GreenHab system. Eventually we came to the conclusion that all the GreenHab's problems were primarily due to water underflow that occurred when we had pumping problems, no doubt exacerbated by our Sunday all-day EVA to return crew members to SLC and the resulting low staff over the next two days. Once water was flowing through the system the GreenHab returned more or less to normal, though we did have a problem with the toilet supply tank that went away when we jiggled the TST floater. We suspect that there may have been no cause and effect between our fumbling with the system and the final flow --- the toilet tank may have simply started flowing when enough water was in the system.

Once we had a functioning water and recycling system we turned to internal engineering tasks. Anthony and Hugh rewired the living quarters network: moving dangling cables into the notch on top of the ceiling, collecting tools left in the ceiling wiring during the refit, removing unused cables, and labeling hubs, network cables and power supplies in the system. Adam reviewed the GreenHab manuals to improve his knowledge of the system.

While topping off the water tank, we once again overfilled slightly. This time we followed the procedure to the letter: turn on the taps, turn off the pump, and run up to put your hand on the overflow. Conveniently, the interior water tank has a notch around the rim, so if pumping is stopped immediately you can simply put your hand on the spill to stop it up as long as it's less than about one liter. Then wait for water level to fall, and have other crewmembers hand you towels to clean up the mess.

After the water spill, while we were checking out the staterooms for drippings, we found underneath a desk the Hab's supply of CDs and DVDs, stored in a box conveniently labeled "FOOD". We later sorted, shelved and catalogued these. We also shelved a collection of books stored in the same stateroom and will catalogue them later.

Anthony also attempted to clamp down some loose smurf pipe that whacked him in the head in the toilet, and when he could not find a screwdriver or drill went on a rampage and cleaned approximately 1/27th of the mess downstairs.

No major issues are outstanding at this time. There are a few minor issues --- we have noticed minor "burps" in the sound of the power once or twice a day, and occasionally hear a beep from one of the UPSes, but have not noticed any flickering in lights or interruption in computer service. Occasionally the Direcway apparently loses network connection briefly, but in discussion with Don we found that the this is normal behavior.

Lessons Learned and Recommendations:

General water usage:

• Take readings from the outer tanks and the GreenHab daily
• Mark the current water usage mode on the whiteboard:
  • EXPEND: if GreenHab low, unless reserves below 60 gallons
  • NORMAL: if GreenHab good and reserves over 120 gallons
  • CONSERVE: if reserves under 120 gallons
  
  
  Problems with the GreenHab:
  • Take readings daily
  • If transfers are not trickling, make sure enough graywater is getting into the system
  • If aquatic tanks are low, make sure enough graywater is getting into the system
  • If aquatic tanks are foamy, make sure enough graywater is getting into the system
  • If toilet supply tank is low, make sure enough graywater is getting into the system
  • If toilet supply tank is still low, consider jiggling the floater in the TST, because it can get cranky if not enough graywater is getting into the system
  • If this still doesn't fix it, THEN:
  • read the GreenHab flow chart and identify important parts of the system
  • make sure you have a clear mental model of the system you can trace out before work
  • identify potential points of failure, e.g. if TST is high but toilet low, check the TST pump
  • find ways to test points of failure, e.g., the test faucet downstream of the TST pump
  • use your gloves if messing around in the GreenHab
  Procedure for Filling the Internal Tank:
  • Get a book or paper
  • Stand by switch
  • Read while watching the tank
  • Stop at 55
  • Do not fill past 55! Or find out the hard way.
  Procedure for Water Spills in Internal Tank after finding out the Hard Way:
  • Immediately turn off pump and turn on kitchen tap
  • Climb up stairs and stop the spill with your hand
  • Call for assistance (towels, etc.) to clean up spill
  • Check staterooms for water damage
  Finding Things in the Hab
  • Upon entry, check all staterooms and living quarter attic
  • In general avoid EVA room attic as these are refit supplies
  • Do not trust labels of boxes
  • Do not trust locations listed in the Ops Manual unless you have the latest version, as the refit made many changes. (latest version as of January 22 was 8.1, and we are recording further changes for 8.2 scheduled to be completed on March 2).