NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 17 July 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. Underway: Week 15 of Increment 13.
STS-121/Discovery returned to Earth this morning, touching down at KSC on schedule, with wheel stop at 9:15am EDT after 202 orbits, thereby crowning a highly successful mission ISS ULF1.1 mission. Welcome back, Discovery, after a 13d 6h 37m and ~5.8 million-mile journey in space!
For the ISS crew, sleep/work remains now back at the regular times of 2:00am EDT for wakeup and 5:30pm for sleep time.
CDR Vinogradov updated the existing RODF (Russian ODF) science books with new replacements and page inserts delivered on Progress M-57/22P. [Updated were Medical Operations Book 3, Medical Experiments Books 1 & 2, Science Experiments, and LDM Project (Long Duration Mission) book.]
FE-1 meanwhile worked on USOS ODFs (US Segment Operations Data Files), updating the C&W (Caution & Warning) procedures with new additions.
The CDR conducted the routine daily maintenance of the SOZh environment control & life support system in the Service Module (SM), including the ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, and he performed the weekly inspection of the BRPK air/liquid condensate separator apparatus.
Vinogradov also changed out the PCMCIA (portable computer memory card international adapter) card in the ALC laptop of the newly activated ESA/RSC-Energia experiment ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS) and dumped the spectrometer data for subsequent downlink via the OCA comm system. [ALTCRISS uses the ACT spectrometer employed by VC8 guest cosmonaut Roberto Vittori last year in the DC1 for the Italian LAZIO (Low Altitude Zone/Ionization Observatory) experiment. Spacers (to correct the spectrometer’s tilt) and new shielding tiles (LDM-ALC-101) were installed recently by the CDR]
FE-2 Reiter turned on the ER4 (EXPRESS Rack 4) laptop and initiated charging on its battery.
In the Lab, FE-1 Jeff Williams demated the ER1 (EXPRESS Rack 1) from the ITCS (Internal Thermal Control System).
As all new station crews, Thomas had one hour set aside on today’s schedule for ISS familiarization and adaptation, to help in adjusting to their new surroundings and activities. [This unstructured and discretionary session has become a valuable standard requirement for new station occupants for the first two weeks.]
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At ~12:00 pm EDT, the crew had a communications pass scheduled over NASA VHF (very high frequency) sites at Dryden, White Sands and Wallops Island for the periodic VHF1 emergency comm check, talking with Houston/Capcom, MSFC/PAYCOM (Payload Operation & Integration Center Communicator) and Moscow/Glavni (TsUP Capcom) in the normal fashion via VHF radio from a handheld microphone and any of the U.S. segment ATUs (audio terminal units). [The test is to verify signal reception and link integrity, and to ensure minimum required link margin during emergency and special events (such as a Soyuz relocation). Last time done: 6/28/06.]
MCC-H uploaded Thomas Reiter’s new RED (Resistive Exercise Device) protocol files to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer).
The crew worked out in their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the TVIS treadmill (FE-1, CDR), RED resistive exerciser (FE-1, FE-2), and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (CDR, FE-2). [Pavel Vinogradov’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, Williams transferred his and Pavel’s exercise data files to the MEC for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week). [A MEC software update for Thomas is scheduled next week (7/21).]
In a Russian PAO/TV event at ~4:25am EDT, the crew downlinked a message of greetings to Novosti Kosmonavtiki Magazine on its upcoming 15th Anniversary in August. [“…We are sincerely thankful for your work and informative articles, which we read with great interest. Thank you for delivering new copies of the magazine onboard, as promised. Keep bringing joy to the readers of NOVOSTI COSMONAVTIKI magazine with your authentic, diverse and, quite often, exclusive articles…”]
No CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets uplinked for today.
To date, more than 198,000 of CEO images have been taken in the first five years of the ISS, almost one third of the total number of images taken from orbit by astronauts.
CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:
- http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station/CEO.html
- 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 13 crew visit:
- http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-13/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.
Expedition 13 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, 7:48am EDT [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 340.7 km
- Apogee height– 347.9 km
- Perigee height — 333.6 km
- Period — 91.35 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.001036
- Solar Beta Angle — -30.1 deg (magnitude increasing)
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.76
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 50 m
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 43794
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern and subject to change):
- 08/03/06 — US EVA-5
- 08/28/07 — STS-115/12A launch (earliest)
- 08/30-09/06 — STS-115/12A docked mission w/ISS (earliest) – P3/P4 trusses
- 08/31/06 — Pavel Vinogradov’s birthday
- 09/13/06 — Progress M-56/21P undocking (SM aft port) & reentry
- 09/14/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S launch (Expedition 14 + VC11)
- 09/16/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S docking (SM aft port)
- 09/24/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S undocking (FGB nadir port) & reentry
- 10/08/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S relocation (SM aft port to FGB nadir port)
- 10/18/06 — Progress M-58/23P launch
- 10/20/06 — Progress M-58/23P docking (SM aft port)
- 10/31/06 — Russian EVA-17
- 12/14/06 — STS-116/12A.1 launch (earliest)
- 12/16-24/06 — STS-116/12A.1 docked mission w/ISS (earliest) – P5 truss
- 12/19/06 — Progress M-57/22P undocking (DC1) & reentry
- 12/20/06 — Progress M-59/24P launch
- 12/22/06 — Progress M-59/24P docking (DC1)
- 01/22/07 — US EVA-6
- 01/26/07 — US EVA-7
- 01/31/07 — US EVA-8
- 02/06/07 — Progress M-59/24P undocking (DC1) & reentry
- 02/07/07 — Progress M-60/25P launch
- 02/09/07 — Progress M-60/25P docking (DC1)
- 02/22/07 — STS-117/13A launch (earliest) – S3/S4 trusses
- 02/24-03/03/07 — STS-117/13A docked mission w/ISS (earliest)
- 03/08/07 — Progress M-58/23P undocking (SM aft port) & reentry
- 03/09/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S launch (Expedition 15 + VC12)
- 03/11/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S docking (SM aft port)
- 03/19/07 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S undocking (FGB nadir port)
- ??/??/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S relocation (SM aft port to FGB nadir port)
- 06/11/07 — STS-118/13A.1 (earliest).
ISS Altitude History
Apogee height — Mean Altitude — Perigee height
For more on ISS orbit and worldwide ISS naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ on NASA’s Human Spaceflight website. Additional satellite tracking resources can be found at http://www.spaceref.com/iss/tracking.html.
