NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 9 November 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.     

Post-EVA clean-up ops continued aboard the station.  CDR McArthur applied particular care to the decontamination filtration of the EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) cooling loops in the Airlock (AL) to clean them of any residual biomaterials and solid particles

For FE Tokarev, it was time for the first session with the new Russian “Plasma-ISS” experiment which uses optical spectrometry to study the luminosity of the Xenon plasma jet emitted by one of the PCUs (Plasma Contactor Units) on the U.S. Z1 truss near the P6 solar arrays.   [Valery installed the equipment (video camera & Relaksatsiya spectrometer) first at Service Module (SM) window #12, later #13, for recording the plasma jet and its interaction with the environment near the solar arrays on a Laptop 3 disk drive.]

In the Lab module, Bill McArthur supported the remote-commanded activation of the CDRA (Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly) by powering up the AR (Atmosphere Revitalization) rack.   [CDRA operation will be required for the regeneration of the EMU Metox (Metal Oxide) canisters in the AL, scheduled next Friday (11/11), that were used on the EMUs for CO2 removal during the spacewalk.  CDRA will be deactivated again on Saturday.]

Bill performed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh environmental control system, including ASU toilet facility checkout.   [After a failure of the ventilation of the ASU in automatic mode yesterday, the crew replaced the toilet receptacle (MP) and the filter (F-V, but late last night the system again was only operable in manual mode.  TsUP/Moscow instructed the crew to use the Soyuz TMA-7 toilet for liquid waste and the ASU in manual mode until additional troubleshooting could be done this morning.  Current status: ASU is again working nominally, after replacement of a control box.]

After its two-day EVA hiatus, the Elektron oxygen generator was powered up today without problems.  It is now performing nominally on the primary micropump loop in 24 amps current mode.

The CDR offloaded the Lab condensate collection tank to a CWC (collapsible water container).  [With only one of two Russian SKV air conditioners running at any time, the CCAA in the Lab collects humidity at the rate of a few pounds per day, storing it in the Lab condensate tank.  The latter is periodically offloaded to a CWC for transfer to the Russian segment (RS) as flush water or processing in the BRPK water processor.  Today’s estimated/desired offload amount was ~42 lbs (19 kg).]

McArthur also conducted the weekly audit/inventory of the available CWCs and their contents, to keep track of onboard water supplies.   [Updated “cue cards” based on Bill’s water calldowns are sent up every other week.]

The FE completed his first session of the Russian “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program, using the Nikon D1X digital camera with f400 mm lens and 2x teleconverter (thus, f800).   [Today’s targets were Zambia (Victoria waterfall on the Zambezi River near Livingston), Lusaka, the Main African Fault running through the African River depressions on both sides of the track, and Kenya, with the city of Nairobi as priority target.]

Both crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the CEVIS cycle ergometer, TVIS treadmill, RED resistive exerciser and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer.   [Valery’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 2 of the first set).]

Afterwards, McArthur transferred the TVIS and RED exercise data files to the MEC for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data of the RED workout, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

During the day, the crew used the Sputnik-SM Kenwood D700 amateur radio station in the SM to conduct two amateur radio exchanges of ~10 min duration each, one at ~5:30am EST with students at the “Istituto Comprensivo Francesco Negri” school in Casale Monferrato, Italy (between Milan and Turin), the other at ~12:45pm with students at Furtherwick Park School, Canvey Island, UK.   [One of the tougher questions during the latter contact came from a group of Tunisian Scouts: “What is the most marvelous phenomenon one can observe only from space?”  Difficult choice!  Probably something like: “All of it!”]

Valery’s discretionary “time available” new task of conducting an audit of all RS lighting fixtures remains on the work list.   [The audit involves both installed lights (22 in SM, 12 in FGB, three in DC-1) and spares at various IMS (Inventory Management System)-documented locations.]

“Wanted”: A detailed description, including “mug shot”, of another “lost” item, an 18-inch cable for connecting to a UOP (utility outlet panel) junction box, was uplinked to assist the crew in a search of stowage locations.

The second attempt at ISS reboost will take place tomorrow morning.  [The earlier reboost at 10/18 was aborted after 117 seconds.  A subsequent hot fire test of the four manifold #2 thrusters on 10/26 was nominal.  As planned for the 10/18 maneuver, there will be two burns tomorrow, at 6:23am & 7:42am EST (both about 16 min 46 sec in duration, yielding 2.20 m/s delta-V each), conducted with the Progress DPO approach & attitude control thrusters for yaw & pitch control from manifold #2, and the SM MNFD thrusters for roll control, from two manifolds.  Main objective of the reboost is to set up the station’s proper orbital phasing angle with regard to Baikonur for the 20P launch on 12/21.]

Today’s CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo targets, in the current LVLH attitude no longer limited by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, were Muglad Basin fans, SW Sudan (this pass was over the extreme western edge of this target area and should have been ideal for high oblique views and panoramas of this complex wetland drainage area.  Looking well right of track for the White Nile River in the distance), and Florida Coastal Everglades (the features of interest in this Long Term Ecological Research [LTER] site are the mangroves and sea grasses fringing the Florida Everglades.  As ISS tracked northeastward up the Florida Keys, the crew was to use the long lens settings [f400/f800] for a detailed mapping pass from Key West to Miami with emphasis on the interior side of the Keys).

To date, over 177,000 of CEO images have been taken in the first five years of the 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 12 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-12/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 12 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 Orbit  (as of this morning, 3:58am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 345.2 km
• Apogee height — 346.4 km
• Perigee height — 344.0 km
• Period — 91.44 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0001837
• Solar Beta Angle — 0.0 deg (magnitude leveling off)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.75
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 100 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 39853

Upcoming Events (all dates Eastern):

• 11/10/05 — ISS Reboost (from 19P; manifold #2, 6:23am & 7:42am EST)
• 11/18/05 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S relocation (from DC-1 to FGB nadir port)
• 2/07/05 — EVA-15 (Russian; under review)
• 12/20/05 — Progress M-54/19P undocking & reentry
• 12/21/05 — Progress M-55/20P launch
• 12/23/05 — Progress M-55/20P docking
• 01/09/06 — 100 days for Expedition 12.

 
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.