NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 12 August 2005
SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2005) to enhance access to related status reports and NASA activities.
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.
The crew’s sleep cycle shifted two hours to the right in support of medical activities required for EVA-14. Wakeup was at 4:00am EDT; sleep will start at 7:30pm tonight. The crew remains on this schedule until Tuesday, August 16.
CDR Krikalev and FE/SO Phillips pressed on in their preparations of next week’s EVA on 8/18 (Thursday), preceded by the usual spacewalk dry run on 8/16 (Tuesday). Both crewmembers worked on the EVA support panels (POV) in the Russian segment (RS) to set them up and check them out for the training run and EVA, John in the Service Module Transfer Compartment (SM PkhO) and Sergei in the DC1 Docking Compartment. Preparations particularly concentrated on “degassing” the Orlan BSS water/gas separation systems at both locations, to separate water and air in the cooling system.
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Orlan activities also focused on equipping the suits with their consumable ORU (orbit replaceable unit) elements, setting up communications, performing leak checks and valve functionality tests on the suits and their BSS interface units, and completing individual fit sizing (central strap, lateral strap, hip strap, calf strap, arm cable and shoulder size, front & rear). Preparations also dealt with personal gear. All Orlan activities were supported by peregovoriy (tagup) with ground spets (specialist). [The CDR will be wearing Orlan #25 (red markings) with BRTA radio telemetry unit #13 installed, while the FE’s suit will be #27 (also with red markings) with BRTA #12. Orlan consumables ORUs are LiOH canisters (LP-9), primary & backup oxygen tanks (BK-3), moisture collectors, feedwater filters (FOR), CO2 measuring unit (IK) filter, filtration & separation units (BOS), and the newly charged 825M1 storage batteries. Personal gear includes the KVO liquid cooling garment, ShL-10 comm cap, GP-10K gloves, BK-10 thermal comfort undergarment, socks, etc.]
Russian and US EVA planners have jointly worked out a “thruster safe zone”, forward of the SM large diameter (RO2) section, which would be safe for the spacewalkers in the event of temporary attitude control handover to RS thrusters caused by CMG (control moment gyro) saturation in the course of the EVA. The agreed-on procedure includes specific radio voice protocols to ensure clear communication between the crew and TsUP/Moscow regarding thruster configuration.
As a standard test requirement for Orlan EVA participants, both crewmembers completed a session of the MO-5 MedOps protocol of cardiovascular evaluation during graded exercises on the VELO cycle ergometer, each in turn assisting the other as CMO (crew medical officer). [The assessment, supported by ground specialist tagup, uses the Gamma-1 ECG equipment with biomed harness, skin electrodes and a blood pressure and rheoplethysmograph cuff wired to the cycle ergometer’s instrumentation panels. For the graded exercise, the crew worked the pedals after a prescribed program at load settings of 125, 150, and 175 watts for three minutes each.]
John performed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), including the weekly inspection of the BRPK air/liquid condensate separator apparatus.
Because of MO-5, physical exercise today was reduced for both crewmembers from the regular 2.5-hr. exercise program on the TVIS treadmill, CEVIS cycle ergometer, RED resistive machine and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer. [Sergei’s daily protocol prescribes a strict four-day microcycle exercise with 1.5 hr on the treadmill and one hour on VELO plus load trainer (today: Day 1 of a new set).]
Afterwards, John transferred the exercise data files to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).
At ~2:15pm, the crew conducted their standard weekly teleconference with the JSC Astronaut Office (Kent Rominger), via S-band S/G (space-to-ground).
This was to be followed at ~2:35pm by John’s and Sergei’s weekly teleconference with ISS Program Management at JSC/Houston via S-band/audio.
Yesterday at 3:20pm EDT, a recently (7/11) installed BVK-1 vacuum valve on the Russian Vozdukh CO2 (carbon dioxide) removal system failed, causing the system to shut down. As troubleshooting plans are being developed, currently there is no concern with CO2 build-up overnight, since the crew’s metabolic rates are reduced during sleep and the CO2 levels are not expected to reach flight rule limits. [The US Lab’s CDRA (Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly) is available as a backup, as are Russian LiOH canisters. According to recent consumables reports, 38 LiOH canisters are available onboard, well above the 15 required per Flight Rules.]
Also yesterday, the crew changed out one of two failed SD1-7 light bulbs in the SM PkhO with a functioning one from the SM Working Compartment. Although this light bulb had been working in the SM, it did not work in the PkhO, and both crew and ground agreed that the failure was probably due to a faulty power supply. The crew then removed several functioning lighting assembly power supplies and replaced them in the DC1.
Sergei’s transfer of water from the Progress tanks to the SM Rodnik tanks amounted to approximately 210 liters.
Today’s CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets, in the current LVLH attitude not limited by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, were Internal waves, Azores, Atlantic (there finally appeared to be a break in the weather over this target area. With the islands to the left of track, the crew was to shoot southward and just ahead for glint enhanced features in the sea surface, using either the 180mm lens for context or the 400mm for details), Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (this should have been a good pass over the Yellowstone area. Using the long lens settings for detailed mapping. Concentrating on near-nadir views of the areas just west and north of Yellowstone Lake), Sao Paulo, Brazil (the crew had a nadir pass with fair weather and lighting over this Brazilian mega city. Using the long lens setting for a detailed mapping of this sprawling urban area surrounded by forested mountains and numerous reservoirs), and Palmyra Atoll, Central Pacific (the crew sleep shift provided an excellent, high sun, nadir pass over this 2 by 5-miles atoll. Using the long lens for mapping details of the coral reef structures).
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:
To view the latest photos taken by the expedition 11 crew visit:
- http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-11/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.
Expedition 11 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.
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ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:54am EDT [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 354.1 km
- Apogee height — 354.8 km
- Perigee height — 353.4 km
- Period — 91.62 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.65 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.0001042
- Solar Beta Angle — 0.1 deg (magnitude increasing)
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 53 m
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 38454
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.
