NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 13 December 2008
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – half-duty day for CDR Fincke, FE-1 Lonchakov & FE-2 Magnus. >>>Yesterday (12/12) Russia’s RSC (Rocket & Space Corporation)-Energia, named after S.P. Korolev, celebrated its 90th Anniversary. Congratulations, partners!<<< For another momentous event, see the item on Regen-ECLSS below.
The crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning. ["Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the SM (Service Module) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the FE’s sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.]
As part of the house cleaning, Yuri Lonchakov conducted regular maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2), DC-1 (V3) and SM (VPkhO, VPrK, FS5, FS6 & FS9). [The activity included an audit of a bag (#363-17) for dust filter cartridges with vertical corrugation. If found, Yuri was to replace the SM & DC1 dust filters with them rather than cleaning the former.]
Later, when performing the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (ECLSS/Environment Control & Life Support System) in the SM, Yuri also temporarily powered down the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SM’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem for the periodic cleaning of its pre-filter, using the vacuum cleaner with narrow-slit nozzle attachment. [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers, replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers and performing US condensate processing (transfer from CWC to EDV containers) if condensate is available.]
CDR Fincke’s first activity this morning was to start on his FD60 (Flight Day 60) session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository. This is an all-day session, the third for Mike, of collecting a blood sample plus urine samples several times for 24 hrs, to continue through first void tomorrow morning. [After performing phlebotomy with the help of FE-2 Magnus, i.e., drawing blood samples (from an arm vein), the samples were first allowed to coagulate in the Repository for 20-30 minutes, then spun in the HRF RC (Human Research Facility/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). No thruster activity was allowed during the blood drawing. The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned. The NUTRITION project is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight. It includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes, expanding the previous Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L) testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by supercold MELFI dewars), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.]
Sandra Magnus will start her FD30 NUTRITION session tomorrow, with her 8-hr fast beginning tonight (~7:40pm EST).
For her VolSci (Voluntary Weekend Science) Program today, FE-2 Magnus performed Part 2 of a major clean-up job of the JAXA “Marangoni” experiment in the Kibo JPM (Japanese Pressurized Module), estimated at ~3.5 hrs. The task required the MWA (Maintenance Work Area) and a downlink from the JPM internal camera to SSIPC (Space Station Integrated Promotion Center) in Tsukuba for ground support of the crew activity. Afterwards, the FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility) hardware was stowed. Part 1 of the clean-up was completed on 12/6. [Work objective was to clean up spilled silicone oil inside the Marangoni Experiment Cell (MS) to prevent the Core from being further contaminated and to protect the hardware for the next Marangoni Experiment #2 on Increment 19. Part 1 involved removing the MS from the FPEF and disassembling the Experiment Core from the MS. Today’s Part 2 was the actual silicone oil clean-up in the Core.]
For his VolSci part, Mike Fincke started the SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment for himself & the FE-2 by downloading older Actiwatch data from the Reader, then initializing the Actiwatches and decabling & stowing the Reader. Mike & Sandy then donned the Actiwatches. [To monitor the crewmember’s sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, the two crewmembers will be wearing the special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew’s discretionary “job jar” task list.]
The CDR also worked on the new FCF CIR (Fluids & Combustions Facility/Combustion Integrated Rack), on which he had started outfitting on 12/6. [Today Mike disconnected the CIR accumulator, removed the FCF upper & lower door launch locks, adjusted the EEU (Experiment Exchange Unit) airflow bypass, set the facility’s valve timers and installed an absorber cartridge. The FCF Rack upper & lower doors were then closed for MDCA (Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus) outfitting. Background: The MDCA is a multi-user facility designed to accommodate different droplet combustion science experiments, using the CIR of the NASA Glenn Research Center’s FCF. The MDCA, in conjunction with the CIR, will allow for cost effective extended access to the microgravity environment, not possible on previous space flights. The MDCA contains the hardware and software required to conduct unique droplet combustion experiments in space. It consists of a CIA (Chamber Insert Assembly), an Avionics Package, and a multiple array of diagnostics.]
For his daily work on the new WRS (Water Recovery System), Mike Fincke filled the UPA WSTA (Urine Processor Assembly/Water Storage Tank Assembly) from a Russian EDV-U container with pre-treated urine. [Today is a momentous day: For the first time, pre-treated urine has been processed into distillate by the UPA and then that distillate has been sent to the WPA (Water Processor Assembly), where it is being processed into the water that the OGS (Oxygen Generator System) is currently using to make the oxygen in the air the crew is breathing! All of the regenerative ECLSS racks are finally working together. Thanks to the crew’s hard work, the hard work of their shuttle crewmates, and the years of hard work of all those on the ground we now have a closed system on board!]
The FE-1 performed troubleshooting in the FGB to investigate an unexplained “smoke” indication light on the PSS status panel, checking connectors behind panel 429 and associated instruments.
In the DC1 (Docking Module), Lonchakov set up and initiated charging on an Orlan 825M3 battery pack, preparatory to the Orlan spacesuit activations and checkout for the EVA-21 dry-run next week (12/19).
At ~10:30am EST, the crewmembers conducted their regular WPC (Weekly Planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s "Look-Ahead Plan" (prepared jointly by MCC-Houston and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners) via S-band/audio, reviewing the monthly calendar, upcoming activities, and any concerns about future on-orbit events.
Working from his discretionary “as time permits” task list, Yuri conducted another ECON KPT-3 test session, making observations and taking aerial photography for Russia’s Environmental Safety Agency (ECON) using the D2X with SIGMA 300-800mm telephoto lens.
The station residents conducted their regular daily 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), RED (CDR, FE-1, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).
At ~8:15am EST, the crew supported a formal live PAO TV downlink with greetings and congratulations to a special Russian educational event at the S.P. Korolev Russian National Children & Youth Center for Aerospace Education, scheduled for January 21-23, 2009, under the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow (the “Tsiolkovsky Monument”), for the Third Russian Youth Science Readings in honor of Sergey Pavlovich Korolev [with the participation of 250 high-school and university students from 24 Russian regions, Belorussia and Kazakhstan. “…The new year, just like the year past, is rich with space milestones. The most notable are the half-century anniversaries of the first successful launches to the Moon with Luna-1, Luna-2 (Mechta/Dream) and Luna-3 …”]
At ~10:55am, Yuri had a telephone interview with the editor of the Russian Cosmos Magazine. [Prepared questions: “Please tell us what you’ve able to accomplish by this time”; “Tell us about our EVA preparation and what you are going to do”; “About your crewmates: what kind of climate you have at the station, what you are doing in your spare time”; “Have you been able to see and photograph something that you had discussed with MIIGAIK (Moscow Engineering Institute for Geodesics, Aerial Survey, and Mapping) and Victor Savinykh?”]
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Eighteen — Week 7
3-D SPACE: Complete.
ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.
BCAT-3/4 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 3/4): Planned/Reserve.
BIO-4: Complete.
BIOLAB: “Thanks for retrieving hardware items from Progress and reconfiguring the BIOLAB sub-systems to continue the troubleshooting and prepare for WAICO Run#2.”
CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.
CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): In progress.
CFE (Capillary Flow Experiment): Reserve.
CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Samples returned on 1J.
CSI-3/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #2/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): Ongoing.
CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete.
CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): Complete.
EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): Complete.
EDR (European Drawer Rack): Planned.
ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations): Reserve.
ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.
EuTEF (European Technology Exposure Facility): Science acquisition for DEBIE-2, DOSTEL, EXPOSE, FIPEX, MEDET. On-ground troubleshooting for TRIBOLAB.
FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory): FSL is nominal.
GEOFLOW: “Sandy, thanks for unlocking the Facility Core Element (FCE) to enable the re-start of the GEOFLOW science acquisition. Run#5 was successfully performed on 12/11. Subsequent runs will be ground commanded in the next couple of days.”
HDTV System Test DL (JAXA): Complete.
IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): In progress.
Integrated Immune: In progress.
ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): The experiment is ongoing and nominal.
KUBIK-FM1/ KUBIK-FM2 Centrifuge/Incubators: Completed.
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): Reserve.
Marangoni Experiment for ISS in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): In progress.
Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MISSE (Materials ISS Experiment): Ongoing.
Moon Photography from ISS (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox): Complete.
MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC1 “Pirs”.
MULTIGEN-1: Completed.
NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete.
NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY: In progress.
PADLES (Passive Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): In progress.
PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): Complete.
PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.
SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): Ongoing.
SAMPLE: Complete.
SHERE (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment): Planned.
SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): In progress.
SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory): The next Sun observation window is planned to start around 12/25.
SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): Complete.
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): Reserve.
Swab (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): Complete.
TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.
ULTRASOUND: Planned.
WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels): Complete/Planned.
No CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo target uplinked for today due to lighting conditions in the northern hemisphere that place targets outside the CEO team’s criteria for illumination and visibility. Normal targets are expected to return on 12/18.
CEO photography can be studied at this “Gateway” website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (as of 9/1/08, this database contained 770,668 views of the Earth from space, with 324,812 from the ISS alone).
Conjunction Update: The predicted conjunction with Object 24076 (Pegasus rocket debris) today (12/13, 3:16pm EST) “went away”, never requiring DAM (Debris Avoidance Maneuver) planning.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:10am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 353.6 km
Apogee height — 358.1 km
Perigee height — 349.0 km
Period — 91.61 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0006767
Solar Beta Angle — -73.4 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 26 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 57675.
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
12/19/08 — Russian EVA-21 Suited Exercise (wake 11:30pm 12/18; sleep 3:00pm 12/19);
12/22/08 — Russian EVA-21 (wake 9:30am; hatch opening ~7:15pm; sleep 7:10am 12/23);
02/09/09 — Progress M-01M/31P undocking & deorbit
02/10/09 — Progress 32P launch
02/12/09 — Progress 32P docking
02/12/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A launch – S6 truss segment
02/14/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A docking
02/24/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A undocking
02/26/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A landing (nominal)
03/25/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S launch
03/27/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S docking (DC1)
04/05/09 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S undocking
04/07/09 — Progress 32P undocking & deorbit
05/12/09 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
05/15/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
05/27/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S launch
Six-person crew on ISS
08/06/09 — STS-128/Discovery/17A – MPLM (P), LMC, last crew rotation
08/XX/09 — Soyuz 5R/MRM2 (Russian Mini Research Module, MIM2) on Soyuz
09/XX/09 — H-IIB (JAXA HTV-1)
11/12/09 — STS-129/Atlantis/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P), LMC
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1
05/31/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4
12/XX/11– Proton 3R/MLM w/ERA.
