NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 29 November 2004

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All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.    Underway: Week 6 of Increment 10.

Soyuz TMA-5 relocation went smoothly.  After a brief ride in their crew return vehicle, CDR/SO Chiao and FE Sharipov docked at the FGB nadir port, completing the vehicle s relocation from the DC1 Pirs docking module in just 21 minutes.  The originally planned DPO 17/18 thruster test was not performed since the Russian Commission investigating the erratic behavior of the #18 thruster on 10/16 had no requirement for any further data.  These thrusters will never be used again, and Soyuz 10S will be thoroughly checked out.   [After on-time undocking at 4:32am EST Sharipov backed away from the station approximately 100 ft, then translated the spacecraft sideways for 45 ft before rotating ( indexing ) it through 135 deg to align its periscope with the docking target, spending about 8 min in station-keeping mode.  Final approach began at 4:48am, with docking at 4:53 am, about 7 min ahead of time.  After hooks and latches were engaged, the crew conducted leak checks and then reentered the station through the FGB at 6:54 a.m.  It is not clear at this time why the crew decided on earlier docking, but because of it a series of prestored timeline commands for mode changes were not executed automatically as planned but had to be uplinked and entered by TsUP/Moscow manually .  These commands involved: (a) transition from thruster control to free drift immediately upon indication of docking capture, (b) closing of FGB hooks after indication that Soyuz hooks were closed, (c) transition to Reserve and then Thruster mode after FGB hooks closing.  Also, one of the Soyuz control displays aboard the descent module froze , with no time for the crew to reboot it before the docking.]

After deactivating Soyuz systems, the crew reactivated station systems that had been switched to autonomous (unmanned) configuration.   [Activations, generally requiring the crew only for monitoring, involved the power system, PSS caution & warning (C&W) panels in Service Module (SM), FGB and DC1, DSD pressure sensor, Central Post control systems (Wiener laptop, printer, InPU displays), ventilation systems and air ducts in DC1 and FGB, SM ASU toilet facilities, time clock, Vozdukh CO2 scrubber, Elektron O2 generator (with N2 flush), SKV air conditioner, SRVK-2M condensate water processor, SOTR thermal control system, SOP food systems, etc.]

Hatches to the U.S. segment (USOS) were opened at ~10:40am, followed by activation and reconfiguration of the station-wide OPS LAN network.

Still on a shifted sleep cycle, the crew then turned in at ~1:15pm, about 3 hrs earlier than usual.  Their wake/sleep rhythm will return to normal tomorrow, with wake-up at 1:00am and sleep at 4:30pm, after a total-rest day.

The U.S. MCA (major constituents analyzer) continues to be fully operational after its recent brief and transient episode of erratically high partial pressure readings.

Moscow has officially set the launch date of the next cargo ship, Progress 16P, to be 12/24.  Docking of 16P at the SM aft end port will be on 12/26. no doubt bringing the crew welcome Christmas cheer.

No CEO (crew earth observation) targets today.

CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:

• http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov
• http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

See also the website “Space Station Challenge” at:

• http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/

To view the latest photos taken by the expedition 10 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-10/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Upcoming Key Events: 

• Progress 15P undocking & destructive reentry — 12/22;
• Progress 16P launch — 12/24;
• Progress 16B docking — 12/26;
• EVA-12 — January 05 (1/27?).

ISS Altitude History

Apogee height — Mean Altitude — Perigee height

For more on ISS orbit and worldwide ISS naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html. In addition, information on International Space Station sighting opportunities can be found at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ on NASA’s Human Spaceflight website. The current location of the International Space Station can be found at http://science.nasa.gov/temp/StationLoc.html at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Additional satellite tracking resources can be found at http://www.spaceref.com/iss/tracking.html.