NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 18 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.

CDR Vinogradov began his day by preparing equipment for an upcoming outfitting job on the RS TCS (Russian Segment/Thermal Control System), involving the SKV1 & 2 air conditioners and the VT1 & 2 and VTK1 & 2 fan systems in the Service Module (SM).

FE-2 Thomas Reiter conducted a visual inspection of the new ESA experiment OEE (Oil Emulsion Experiment), plus checking out and initiating charging of its Sony battery. The activities were documented with the RS PD-150 videocam.

After ground-commanded activation of EXPRESS Rack 5 (ER5), Reiter prepared for the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) On-Orbit Commissioning Experiment (MOOCE) by connecting rack umbilicals and charging its Laptop 5. [There will be several MELFI activities, including MELFI rack activation and functional tests 1-6 tomorrow (7/19), leading up to the On-Orbit Commissioning by 7/28.]

FE-1 Jeff Williams hooked up the UOP-DCP (Utility Outlet Panel-to-Display & Control Panel) bypass power cable at the Lab RWS (Robotics Work Station) and set up the DOUG (Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics) software in support of his subsequent SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) maneuver. The maneuver, to grapple the Lab PDGF (Power & Data Grapple Fixture), was to allow the ground to conduct SSRMS troubleshooting after the recent unexpected loss of communication with the ACU (Arm Computer Unit) on its first string. [DOUG is a software program on the MSS (Mobile Service System) RWS laptops that provides a graphical birdseye-view image of the external station configuration and the SSRMS arm, showing its real-time location and configuration on a laptop during its operation.]

Thomas conducted the routine daily maintenance of the SOZh environment control & life support system in the SM, including the ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables.

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, FE-2), RED resistive exerciser (FE-1), 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 2 of the first set).]

Afterwards, Williams transferred his and Pavel’s exercise data files to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) 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 the Lab, Jeffrey installed new thermal insulation on the CDRA (Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly).

The ground uplinked special preventive maintenance training material for the new U.S. OGS (Oxygen Generation System), to be reviewed by Jeff Williams as a refresher before his setup and checkout activities on 7/21.

Re-activation of the Russian Elektron oxygen generator is scheduled for tomorrow.

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.]

Working off his discretionary “time available” task list, Pavel completed the daily status check of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment. [Rasteniya researches growth and development of plants (peas) under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-9 greenhouse.]

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:

• http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/

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, 7:53am EDT [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 340.6 km
• Apogee height– 348.0 km
• Perigee height — 333.3 km
• Period — 91.35 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0010943
• Solar Beta Angle — -30.5 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.76
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 90 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 43810

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.