NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 15 Dec 2004

SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2004) to enhance access to related status reports and NASA activities.

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

After wake-up, morning hygiene and breakfast, the crew worked in the Soyuz TMA-5/9S, dismantling the Kurs-A rendezvous and approach radar system of the SUDN motion control & navigation system and removing it from the orbital module, a three-hour job. These valuable components will be returned to Earth for reuse. [KURS-A is the active half of the Russian space program’s proven S-band radar system for automated flight, which measures relative motion parameters between Soyuz (or Progress) and the ISS during rendezvous operations, to enable the autopilot’s calculation of corrective impulses. There are two sets of KURS-A electronics (for redundancy) housed in a common container in the OM, which is jettisoned before reentry of the Descent Module. The passive transponder counterpart (KURS-P) of the system is on the Service Module (SM), with one antenna each at the tip of the two solar array wings.]

Later, FE Sharipov removed the temporarily stowed BRPK condensate separation & pumping assembly from Progress 15P and transferred it back into the Russian segment (RS). [The BRPK had been deinstalled and replaced with a new unit on 11/8 and will be returned to Earth.]

As the Elektron oxygen generator continues to be off pending the O2 refreshes from 15P stores, Sharipov performed another check on the faulty (and currently bypassed) ZLVK electric hydrogen vacuum vent valve that had been left soaking in special Triol coolant fluid for internal filter cleaning. [Protected by half-mask respirator, goggles and rubber gloves, Salizhan used a syringe and a manual pressure gauge to flush the valve with Triol to remove possible obstructions and measured the liquid’s pH-value with a reference strip (pH=9).]

At about 9:00am EST, the crew set up and initiated the scheduled Robotics/SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) operations. Objectives of the exercise were to (1) maintain operator proficiency with the MSS (mobile service system), (2) perform engineering tests to troubleshoot the “sticky grapple fixture” problem, and (3) stow the SSRMS in a double-grappled configuration. [The task involved maneuvering the arm to the Lab FRGF (flight releasable grapple fixture), followed by pre-grapple and manual grappling of the fixture. The FRGF was then to be released and the end effector backed out using a special push-off and dither technique with a limped wrist joint to counteract the loads-and-friction-induced sticking phenomenon encountered earlier. Once the grapple pin was cleared, MCC-Houston was to evaluate the results of the release test and the allocated time remaining to determine if there was sufficient time for an additional capture/release cycle. After test completion, the SSRMS was to be maneuvered to the MBS PDGF3 (Mobile Base System Power & Data Grapple Fixture #3) for grappling it.]

The CDR filled out his regular weekly FFQ (food frequency questionnaire), his seventh, that keeps a log of his nutritional intake over time on special MEC (medical equipment computer) software. [The FFQ records amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. IBMP-recommended average daily caloric value of the crew’s daily food intake is 2200-2300 cal. If larger quantities of juices and fruits are taken into account, the value can go to 2400-2500 cal. Progress 16P, due to arrive on 12/25 (7:10pm EST) will deliver new food supplies: a total of 69 containers with 209 rations.]

CDR Chiao completed the periodic reclamation of used water from the potable water sampler and waste bags by using an absorbent item (such as a used T-shirt) to soak it up and squeeze it into a bag for reuse as condensate water (can’t be poured out in zero-G). This conserves the onboard water and prevents stowage issues inside the already full WMK and WS&A kits.

The crew performed their daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on TVIS, RED exerciser, CEVIS cycle and the VELO cycle with bungee cord load trainer. Salizhan’s daily protocol prescribes a 1.5-hr structured set on the treadmill (today: Day 4 of a new set) and one hour on VELO.

Later, Leroy transferred the daily TVIS and RED exercise data files to the MEC for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data, which he then erased on the HRM storage medium.

TsUP/Moscow performed functionality tests on the onboard Kurs rendezvous and approach radar systems of the Service Module (SM) and FGB. Both Kurs-P sets of the SM (in +X-axis, i.e. pointing aft) were tested with a special test program on Daily Orbit 3 (DO3) at ~1:00-1:09am, followed by the test of both FGB Kurs-P sets (in -Y-axis, i.e., straight down) on DO4 (~2:34-2:44am).

Correction: For his “Saturday Science” program on 12/11, Leroy reviewed training material for the MFMG (Miscible Fluids in Microgravity) experiment payload, then conferred with the MFMG PI for orientation, but he did not perform the third and fourth of four MFMG experiments, as erroneously reported in the 12/11 Status.

Today’s CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets, limited in the current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the science window, which is available for only ~1/4 of each orbit when not facing forward (in ram), were Internal Waves, Timor Sea & Arafura Sea (weather was predicted to be clear for internal wave photography. The sunglint point was located to the right of track and close to the Australian coastline), Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes, Egypt (a storm system extending from Egypt to the Persian Gulf has delivered significant rainfall to the Middle East. Looking to the right of track for high waterlines in the Toshka Lakes and Lake Nasser resulting from the higher rainfall), and Salamat Basin fans, Chad (this megafan complex is not well understood in terms of present-day activity. Oblique photography of the divergent drainage patterns and locations of wetlands will help to delineate individual fan and habitat boundaries. Weather was predicted to be clear; however, haze and/or smoke from fires in central Africa may have affected viewing conditions adversely.

CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:

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

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.

Expedition 10 Flight Crew Plans can be found at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines/

Previous NASA ISS On-orbit Status Reports can be found here. Previous NASA Space Station Status Reports can be found here. Previous NASA Space Shuttle Processing Status Reports can be found here. A collection of all of these reports and other materials relating to Return to Flight for the Space Shuttle fleet can be found here.

Upcoming Key Events:

• Progress 15P undocking & destructive reentry — 12/22 (Eastern);
• Progress 16P launch — 12/23 (5:19pm EST);
• Progress 16P docking — 12/25 (7:10pm EST);
• ISS Reboost – 1/15/05 (or alternatively on 1/19/05);
• EVA-12 — 1/26/05;
• Progress 16P undocking & destructive reentry — 2/27/05;
• Progress 17P launch — 2/28/05.
• EVA-13 — 3/25/05;
• Soyuz 9S undock — 4/25/05 (after 193 days on orbit, 191 days on board ISS).

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:10am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 355.0 km
• Apogee height — 358.0 km
• Perigee height — 352.0 km
• Period — 91.64 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0004448
• Solar Beta Angle — -43.0 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.71
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 108 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 34680

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.