NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 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.  Christmas Day (and, coincidentally, first Night of Hanukkah) — off-duty day for Bill McArthur and Valery Tokarev, except for housekeeping and voluntary work. Ahead: Week 12 for Expedition 12.

The crew’s sleep cycle is still an hour slipped, as it moves back to regular hours tomorrow.  [Bedtime last night was at ~6:00pm EST, wakeup this morning at ~2:30am, and next sleep time is tonight at ~4:30pm. Regular cycle begins tomorrow morning with wakeup at 1:00am.]

At ~8:10am, Bill McArthur and Valery Tokarev set up the video camcorder equipment for recording and live-downlinking their subsequent festive Christmas Lunch at 8:30am, joined at Mission Control by festive support crews.

The crew also sent down TV greetings to the employees of the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Federal Industry Agency.  [“&We will be keenly watching from the orbit as the New Year is marching across the Planet. We hope to see festive lights and fireworks on the Earth signaling the New Year s arrival. Please accept our sincere greetings on these New Year and Christmas holidays! Let happiness and laughter never leave your table, let utmost success crown all your undertakings, let Happiness and Luck come easily into your homes! We, members of the Russian-American ISS crew, wishing you, our dear friends, the best Year 2006 so that all your dreams and wishes will come true! Be healthy and happy! Happy New Year! Merry Christmas!”]

At ~10:25am, the CDR had a telecon with friends on S-band/audio & Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting video, and at ~12:00pm EST Bill met with his family for a private Christmas chat (PFC).

Valery performed the daily routine maintenance of the Service Module (SM)’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), including its toilet system (ASU), and the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP/Moscow.

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

Today and tomorrow, the crew conducts ham radio sessions with European and Russian amateur radio operators, dedicated to the memory of Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov, the RSC-Energia Cosmonaut Corps Commander from 1985-2003 who died one year ago (12/25/2004) at age 64 (see picture below). Today’s session starts at 3:50pm EST for Europe and then from 3:57pm for Russia.  [Amateur radio operators from Star City, Korolev, Moscow, and Moscow Region in Russia are participating in the session. A special card will be issued with a portrait of G. M. Strekalov to confirm these links. Amateur radio operators from the Star City are coordinating these sessions from the ground.]

Weekly Science Update (Expedition Twelve — 11th)

Human Research Facility/Gas Analyzer System for Metabolic Analysis Physiology (HRF GASMAP): The Science Officer was thanked for another good GASMAP Routine Health Check last week.

Human Research Facility/Workstation (HRF WS): Continuing.

Pulmonary Function System (PFS): Complete.

Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device (SLAMMD):  The SLAMMD data files were downlinked successfully from the HRF PC this week and the team is reviewing them.

Renal Stone (RS):  In progress (1 of 3 sessions completed). Next week, the will perform the 2nd session for Increment 12. The Renal Stone team reminded the crew to take their pills every day and thanked them for it.

Foot/Ground Reaction Forces during Space Flight (FOOT):  In preparation.

Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS): SAMS is powered off.

Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS): MAMS is powered off.

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3 (BCAT-3): McArthur took some “really nice” photos for the BCAT-3 experiment last Friday (12/23): “By allowing him to choose the optimum lighting position for taking photos he provided us with some beautiful results. A reduced size photo of BCAT-3 sample 1 shows what is now possible using a setting of f/32 and Bill s choice of lighting for a sample that looks different in microgravity.”

Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE): In progress. New MISSE-5 “suitcase” deployed and unfolded during LF-1 EVA outside on the U.S. Airlock.

Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM): Planned for February.

Cellular Biotechnology Support Systems-Fluid Dynamics Investigation (CBOSS-FDI): The Science Officer was thanked for working on the CBOSS-FDI CBT (computer-based training) and construction of a paper tube that will assist in capturing quantifiable data from digital images during future FDI science operations.

Serial Network Flow Monitor (SNFM): Complete.

Educational Payload Operations (EPO):  The crew was thanked for making the EPO activities successful. “Both of the demonstrations (Spacesuits and Recycling) will be of great value to the educational community.”

Crew Earth Observations (CEO):  As of 12/16, the ground has received a total of 6,361 of CEO images for cataloging and review. This is an excellent rate considering how poor weather and lighting has been the last few weeks. A handsome image shot recently of the Houston Ship Channel, the San Jacinto Battlefield/Monument, and the Battleship Texas has been published on NASA/GSFC s Earth Observatory website this weekend. This image is representative of one of the crew’s best efforts with the 400mm lens and doubler that the ground has seen to date.

No CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo targets uplinked today.

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, 10:10am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 349.3 km
• Apogee height — 356.5 km
• Perigee height — 342.0 km
• Period — 91.52 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0010821
• Solar Beta Angle — 28.2 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.73
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 64 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 40581

Upcoming Events (all dates Eastern):

• 01/09/06 — 100 days for Expedition 12
• 02/02/06 — Russian EVA-15
• 03/03/06 — Progress M-54/19P undocking & reentry
• 03/22/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S launch (Exp. 13 + Marcus Pontes/Brazil)
• 03/24/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S docking (DC1)
• 04/01/06 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S undocking & return (Exp. 12 + Marcus Pontes)
• 04/06/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S relocation (DC1 to FGB nadir port)
• 04/09/06 — Progress M-55/20P undocking & reentry
• 04/10/06 — Progress M-56/21P launch
• 04/12/06 — Progress M-56/21P docking.

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.