NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 6 December 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.

In his Service Module (SM) Crew Quarters, FE Tokarev began a two- day outfitting job installing a ventilation fan (VKYu-1), its manual speed control unit (BRUS) and a sound-deadened air duct. Today’s task consisted of unstowing and gathering the necessary equipment (fan, control unit, duct, cable, jumper, etc.) and gear from the US and Russian tool set. The installation is scheduled for tomorrow.

CDR McArthur had 2.5 hours reserved for the remaining prepacking of US disposable equipment, prior to its loading in Progress 19. Approximately four hours gathering US trash were spent by Bill over the weekend. Today’s prepacking included expired IWIS (Internal Wireless Instrumentation System) batteries requiring special handling for safety. Additional time will be scheduled for the CDR next week to collect any additional US items that are approved by US and Russian trash specialists this week. [The trash gathering is being supported by an uplinked list of 54 entries. The actual packing into the vehicle will have to await special radiogram instructions from TsUP/Moscow. There is also a seven-page list of Russian equipment, to be collected and transferred to 19P at a later time.]

With the Elektron oxygen (O2) generator still shut down (O2 being supplied from Progress 19 tankage), FE Tokarev serviced the Russian BMP Harmful Impurities Removal System, starting the “bake-out” cycle to vacuum on the #2 absorbent bed of the regenerable dual- channel filtration system. Before sleep time today, the bake-out will be terminated. [Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. The BMP currently still uses the same vacuum vent valve for regeneration as the Elektron (the latter for venting hydrogen).]

Bill McArthur performed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), including its facilities in the toilet compartment (ASU), while Valery later updated/edited the standard IMS (Inventory Management System) delta file, including locations, for the regular weekly automated export/ import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

McArthur conducted the once-every-two-weeks routine inspection of the RED (Resistive Exercise Device) canister cords and accessory straps. In the SM, he also completed the standard weekly maintenance on the TVIS (Treadmill with Vibration Isolation & Stabilization), primarily checking the condition of the SPDs (Subject Positioning Devices) and recording time & date values.

Both crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the TVIS, RED 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 in unmotorized mode and one hour on VELO plus load trainer (today: Day 1 of the first set).]

Afterwards McArthur transferred the 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 from the workouts, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week)

A newly added item on the CDR’s discretionary “job jar” task list for today was an inspection of ITCS QDs (Internal Thermal Control System Quick Disconnects) on seven Lab racks that have been manipulated in the last several months. [The intent is to find the cause for an observed intermittent decrease in average ITCS accumulator coolant quantity, amounting to about 2% (~0.22 liters or 7.6 oz) in the last two weeks, i.e., at a somewhat higher (but not alarming) rate than the nominal decrease of ~1% per month. The CDR did not find any leaks but noted that some panels show staining. Pictures were taken and will be downlinked for review by ground teams. Note: The rate of release is sufficiently slow that water escaping from a QD could be evaporating at about the same rate as the leak, i.e., would not accumulate in puddles.]

Over the next few days starting tomorrow, all five EXPRESS Racks (ERs) will receive new software (Release 4A) on their RIC (Rack Interface Controller) laptops. The loading will be done from the ER1 laptop computer (ELC) which was set up by the Science Officer with the new software on 11/25. [The ER1 load will be done last (12/9) so that its ELC can be returned to its nominal configuration.]

MCC-H is planning to perform the third TRRJ (Thermal Radiator Rotary Joint) checkout during the upcoming LVLH XVV pass (local vertical local horizontal x-axis in velocity vector) on 12/12-12/16, a continuation of previous TRRJ software and hardware checkouts, but this time only on Loop B. [The SDMS (Structural Dynamic Measurement System) on the S0 truss will be powered on to take vibrational data for TRRJ startup and shutdown.]

Reconditioning activities on the P6 EPS (Electrical Power System) battery set 2B3 continues, to end on 12/11. The discharge cycle finished today, and activities are currently in a 24-h hold. Starting on 12/12, PPLs (Pre-Positioned Loads) will be prepared based on reconditioning results and uplinked to the computers on 12/16. A capacity test on 12/22 will conclude the activities. [Nickel hydrogen batteries can develop and display “memory loss” resulting in a temporary loss of capacity that should be periodically erased by cycling all material via fully discharging and charging cells (“reconditioning”).]

Today’s CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo targets, limited in the current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, which is available for only ~1/4 of each orbit when not facing forward (“in ram”), were Volcano, Comoro Is., W Indian Ocean (Dynamic event. An eruption of Karthala Volcano on 11/24 coated the Comoro Islands with 1 cm of ash, and has replaced the freshwater lake in the crater with a lava lake), Volcano, Reunion Island, W Indian Ocean (Dynamic event. Piton de la Fournaise is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The crew should have been able to document new lava flows and may see smoke. Shooting forward and slightly left of the velocity vector, ~2 deg off track), Hurricane Epsilon, Central Atlantic (Dynamic event. “Defying the models,” this storm has blossomed back to hurricane strength. Looking into the velocity vector and a touch right for the persistent eye of this hurricane. It is predicted to recurve again southward, back towards the tropics), and Internal waves, N Patagonian Shelf (looking right and back near the glint point for possible internal waves generated along the continental shelf).

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, 7:01am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 350.9 km
• Apogee height — 357.2 km
• Perigee height — 344.6 km
• Period — 91.56 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0009354
• Solar Beta Angle — -34.8 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.73
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 97 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 40280

Upcoming Events (all dates Eastern):

• 12/20/05?? — Progress M-54/19P undocking & reentry (baseline date under review)
• 12/21/05 — Progress M-55/20P launch
• 12/23/05 — Progress M-55/20P docking
• 01/09/06 — 100 days for Expedition 12
• 02/02/06 — Russian EVA-15
• 03/22/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S launch
• 03/24/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S docking
• 04/01/06 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S undocking & return.

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.