NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 8 January 2006

SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2006) to enhance access to related status reports and NASA activities. 

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.  Sunday — off-duty day for Bill McArthur and Valery Tokarev, except for housekeeping and voluntary work. 100th ISS day for Expedition 12 (by Eastern Time). Ahead: Week 14 for this Increment.

The crew completed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning, wearing protective garment.  [“Uborka”, normally done every Saturday but moved to today because of Russian Orthodox Christmas yesterday, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other surfaces and the FE’s sleep station with “Fungistat” disinfectant and cleaning fan screens to avoid temperature rises.]

For his third “Saturday Science” activity today, the Science Officer reviewed the BCSS-FDI (Biotechnology Cell Science Stowage – Fluid Dynamics Investigation) on-board training materials prior to TCM (Tissue Culture Module) supplementation activity, followed by supplementing fluid in six experimental TCMs using fluid from spare TCM.

The ground-commanded BCAT-3 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test) photography via ground-commanded EarthKAM equipment continued taking time-lapse photography of BCAT sample 6 at the MWA (Maintenance Work Area). Later in the day, CDR/SO McArthur conducted a check of the alignment and focus of the camera on the sample and position of flash.  [BCAT-3 operations were postponed from November when the MWA (Maintenance Work Area) was not available due to the VOA (Volatile Organic Analyzer) in-flight maintenance, and are now being resumed. BCAT-3 studies the physics of surface crystallization and fluids at the critical point, using the remote-commanded EarthKAM equipment to allow for more frequent, automated photography of samples, to study the changes in the colloids following mixing. These changes serve as a model for the physical process that occurs when fluids are at the critical point and have properties of both liquids and gasses.]

In the DC1 docking compartment, FE Tokarev exchanged the PCMCIA memory card in the laptop (ALC) of the ESA/RSC-E experiment ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS) and activated the spectrometer hardware. The stored data were downlinked via the OCA comm system.  [ALTCRISS uses the ACT spectrometer employed by VC8 guest cosmonaut Roberto Vittori earlier this year in the DC1 for the Italian LAZIO (Low Altitude Zone /Ionization Observatory) experiment. Progress 20 delivered a new Nomex shielding belt, containing polyethylene bricks and two new dosimeters in a dedicated pocket. The setup was photo-documented.]

As new standard early-morning task, FE Valery Tokarev checked the operation of the Japanese experiment GCF-JAXA (Granada Crystallization Facility) in the Russian TBU incubator, maintained at 20 degC, including a temperature check on its ART (automatic temperature recorder).  [This daily monitoring/temp checking, carried on the Russian voluntary “time available” task list, will continue until 4/30.]

Also working from his discretionary task list, Valery used the ART for the regular temperature check on the BIO-11 Statokonia payload with the ULITKA ( snail ) incubator, set up in the SM with new material delivered on 20P.  [BIO-11 studies the composition of statoconia, i.e., the organ of equilibrium in snails, and other phenomena exhibited by ulitka in zero-G and post-flight.]

Continuing as a reminder for Tokarev on his voluntary “time available” task list was the search for a power supply unit (BP) for the Russian SKV air conditioner, reported as “lost” in the IMS.  [Due to the unstable operation of SKV-2, TsUP/Moscow plans to have its BP replaced in case of SKV-2 failure.]

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 3 of the first set).]

At ~2:20pm EST, Bill is scheduled for his weekly PFC (private family conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting video.

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

 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.

Events Ahead (all dates Eastern; tentative):

• 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
• 06/28/06 — Progress M-57/22P launch
• 06/30/06 — Progress M-57/22P docking
• 09/12/06 — Progress M-56/21P undocking & reentry
• 09/13/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S launch
• 09/15/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S docking
• 09/23/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S undocking & reentry
• 09/28/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S relocation (DC1 to FGB nadir port)
• 10/18/06 — Progress M-58/23P launch
• 10/20/06 — Progress M-58/23P docking
• 12/19/06 — Progress M-57/22P undocking & reentry
• 12/20/06 — Progress M-59/24P launch
• 12/22/06 — Progress M-59/24P 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.