NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 8 January 2005

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. Saturday, first off-duty day for the crew (except for standard maintenance and catch-up work bumped from earlier timeline because of Elektron troubleshooting).

CDR/SO Chiao and FE Sharipov performed the regular weekly 3-hr. task of thorough station cleaning. [“Uborka”, done every Saturday, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, wet cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table and other surfaces with “Fungistat” disinfectant and cleaning fan screens to avoid temperature rises.]

For his “Saturday Science” program, Leroy Chiao today reviewed the FMVM (Fluid Merging Viscosity Measurement) “Honey Status Check”, then discussed the experiment with ground specialists. [Understanding the viscosity of molten materials is important for everything from designing laboratory experiments to industrial production of materials. One way to determine viscosity is to measure how long it takes two spheres of liquid to merge into a single spherical drop: on contact a neck will from between the two drops, increasing in thickness until the two drops become one single sphere. On Earth, gravity distorts liquid spheres, and drops are too heavy to be supported by strings. Drop distortion should not occur in the ISS’s microgravity environment, and the drops can be held on strings. To verify this technique as an accurate viscosity measurement method, the FMVM experiment uses fluids with known viscosities: honey, corn syrup, glycerin and silicone oil.]

FE Salizhan Sharipov completed the session of diet logging for the BIOPSY (Effect of Prolonged Space Flight on Human Skeletal Muscle) experiment that had to be deferred due to the Elektron troubleshooting. Similarly to the Renal (kidney stone prevention) experiment in the past, nutrition consumption is being recorded three times today, using the IMS BCR (inventory management system/bar code reader). [One of the human systems most affected by extended stays in space is the neuromuscular system. Past space missions have shown weightlessness can cause deterioration of muscle fiber, nerves and physical strength. BIOPSY investigates the reductions in limb muscle size, force and power at the cellular level that are induced by microgravity. This research will determine how long it takes for micro-G to affect skeletal muscles, so predictions can be made regarding muscle changes that may occur on a roundtrip flight to Mars. To help establish the cellular effects of weightlessness, biopsies are taken from the calf muscle (gastronemius) and foot-flexing muscle (soleus) 45 days before launch, and again immediately upon return to Earth. MRI (magnetic resonance imagery) also is taken of the calf muscle 90 and 30 days before launch, and again one and 21 days after return to Earth.]

Also part of the catch-up work from the past days was the hook-up of the plumbing connecting the 16P water tanks (BV1 & BV2) with the SM Rodnik tankage, followed by the potable water transfer between the BV1 tanks. The operation was supported by tagup with ground specialists. [Progress 16 delivered a total of 464 liters of water. The water transfer was accomplished with a compressor pump via a GZhS gas-liquid separator, to remove air bubbles in the water. When emptied, Progress Rodnik will be used to store liquid waste for disposal.]

Leroy Chiao completed the regular weekly maintenance reboot on the operational PCS (portable computer system) laptops and the restart of the OCA comm router laptop (every two weeks).

At ~9:20am EST, the crew held their weekly planning conference (WPC) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP/Moscow planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events.

The CDR collected the periodic reading of the cabin air’s current CO2 partial pressure in the SM and Lab, using the U.S. CDMK (carbon dioxide monitoring kit), for calldown (along with the battery status) for use in trending analyses.

Chiao and Sharipov performed their daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on TVIS treadmill, RED exerciser, CEVIS cycle and VELO cycle with bungee cord load trainer. Salizhan’s daily protocol currently prescribes a four-day microcycle exercise regimen with 1.5 hours on the TVIS and 1 hr. on VELO (today: Day 2 of a new set).

Afterwards, Leroy transferred the daily TVIS and RED exercise data files to the MEC (medical equipment computer) for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium.

As new items on his discretionary Russian task list, Sharipov had another one of the regular monthly sessions of the VC6 “Delta” program’s ETD experiment (Investigation of the Coordination of Eye and Head Movements). [After a calibration with the calibrating unit, the experiment investigates horizontal eye and head movement coordination, measured Listing’s plane, and determined the orientation of the vestibulo-ocular coordinate system, using five target marks on the horizontal plane. Each step required another prior calibration run, using visual target cues or the calibration unit.]

A second task list item for Salizhan was the replacement of ODFs (operations data files) with new ones.

Update on Elektron: The Elektron seems to be running well in 50-amp mode and seems to be shutting down when 32-amp mode is used. Due to the ongoing battery reconditioning, the ISS is too short on power to stay in 50-amp mode all the time. To maintain the power balance, the two MCCs agreed to power down the Vozduhk CO2 scrubber and use the CDRA (carbon dioxide removal assembly) instead, thus reducing the stress on the Russian power system. In addition, pressurized element shell heaters will be turned off and manually managed by ground controllers if they begin to approach the maximum allowable 12.2 kW (action would be taken around 11.9 kW). This arrangement will remain in force until the P6 battery reconditioning is complete and TsUP/Moscow has defined the next set of troubleshooting plans.

Update on 4B1 Battery Reconditioning: The first discharge cycle was completed nominally on set 4B1 Wednesday. The first charge cycle, which began yesterday, ended early this morning. A second discharge cycle was begun at approximately 3:40pm EST yesterday today beginning with a 72 hour hold. A final charge cycle will complete the 4B1 reconditioning effort on the morning of 1/11. The battery reconditioning exercise enhances battery performance by increasing capacity and also extends battery life.

Update on Lab Light Failure: The crew reported the LHA (Light Housing Assembly) at the Lab overhead-starboard position is flickering. The LED (light emitting diode) of the BBA (Ballast Baseplate Assembly) is still lit, indicating an LHA failure. 10 of 12 lights onboard remain functional in the Lab module with good light bulbs in them.

Upcoming Key Events:

• * ISS reboost (delta-V: 4 m/s) — 1/15/05;
• * EVA-12 — 1/26/05 (Eastern)
• * Progress 16P undocking & destructive reentry — 2/27/05;
• * Progress 17P launch — 2/28/05.
• * EVA-13 — 3/25/05;
• * Soyuz 10 S launch — 4/15/05;
• * Soyuz 9S undock — 4/25/05 (after 193 days on orbit, 191 days on board ISS).

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.

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.