NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 24 December 2008

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Christmas Eve. >>>Time seemed to stand still for a moment when 40 years ago today at ~5:00am ET in the morning, the crew of Apollo 8, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, fired the Service Module Propulsion System for 4 min 6.5 sec behind the Moon (i.e., out of our sight), beginning the first orbit (a 312 x 112 km ellipse) of their historical 10-orbit circumlunar exploration, humanity’s greatest adventure of modern times. At 9:31pm in the evening (85h 40min Mission Elapsed Time), the crew took turns in reading the opening passage from Genesis: “In the beginning God created heavens and the earth…..and God saw that it was good.”<<<<

CDR Fincke and FE-2 Magnus started their day by downloading the accumulated data of the SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment from their Actiwatches to the HRF-1 (Human Research Facility 1) laptop as part of the week-long session with SLEEP. [To monitor the crewmember’s sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Mike & Sandy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition and use the payload software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment’s laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop. 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. It was the second session for Mike, the first for Sandra.]

Fincke completed the standard 10-min post-EVA session of the medical PHS (Periodic Health Status) protocol, with Magnus assisting as CMO (Crew Medical Officer). [The assessment is guided by the special IFEP software (In-Flight Examination Program) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop which also stores the data.]

After wakeup, FE-1 Lonchakov’s first task was to switch on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) purification filter unit of the SOGS air revitalization subsystem in the SM (Service Module).

Fincke & Lonchakov cleaned up after the EVA-21 spacewalk. Specifically, they –

• Removed the BK-3 portable oxygen repressurization tanks (primary & backup) from the DC1 BSS (Orlan Interface Unit),
• Removed the BNP portable repress tank from the SM Work Compartment (RO) and stowed it,
• Removed the Orlan BRTA radio/telemetry unit batteries,
• Took post-EVA radiation readings of the “Pille-MKS” dosimeters carried by the spacewalkers in their Orlan suits,
• Put the EVA medical kits back in storage,
• Downlinked EVA-21 digital photography,
• Set up the first 825M3 Orlan battery for complete discharge/recharge,
• Removed the US EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) lights & video camera from Yuri’s Orlan #26, and
• Configured the Orlan-M suits for drying out.

Later today, the Orlans and the BSS gear will be packed up and placed back in storage.

In the US Lab, Magnus took down the UOP DCP (Utility Outlet Panel/Display & Control Panel) bypass power cable to the VTR (Video Tape Recorder) at the Lab RWS (Robotics Work Station), used during the spacewalk with the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) TV cameras.

Afterwards, Sandy performed the regular periodic US WRS (Water Recovery System) sampling. [After first setting up the TOCA (Total Organic Carbon Analyzer) by connecting its power cable to the UOP1 J3 outlet panel and hooking up its primed WPA (Water Processing Assembly) water sample hose to the WRS Rack 1, the FE-2 collected samples from the PWD (Potable Water Dispenser) Hot needle outlet for subsequent inflight processing with the TOCA plus WMK (Water Microbiology Kit) with MCD (Microbial Capture Device) and CDB (Coliform Detection Bag). After the analyses, the usual water reclamation from the sample bags via an absorbing towel (to be dried by airing) and data recording (from TOCA USB drive into the SSC7 laptop) concluded the activities. WRS sampling & checkouts are being conducted for 90 days, i.e., every 4 days: WRS water hose (TOCA inflight analysis) & microbial bag sample (inflight bacterial visual enumeration plus archival for return on 15A), every 8 days: an archival water sample (return on 15A), and monthly: a TOCA bag sample from PWD (tested inflight).]

A new activity for Magnus today was the flushing of the WHC (Waste & Hygiene Compartment) urine tank with a drink-bag full of non-iodinated water from the PWD. [This activity will be performed every 10 days or so while the toilet is not in use. This will keep the WHC in good working order until it is used in January when KABIN (its privacy enclosure) is installed.]

The FE-2 also completed the periodic status check on the running payloads CGBA-5 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5) and ENose (Electronic Nose), both located in the ER-2 (EXPRESS Rack 2). [ENose monitors the station’s interior for harmful chemicals such as ammonia, mercury, methanol and formaldehyde, running continuously and autonomously. It is the first instrument aboard ISS which can detect and quantify chemical leaks or spills as they happen. If successful, ENose might be used in future space missions as part of an automated system to monitor and control astronauts’ in-space environments. The shoebox-sized ENose contains an array of 32 sensors that can identify and quantify several organic and inorganic chemicals, including organic solvents and marker chemicals that signal the start of electrical fires. The sensors are polymer films that change their electrical conductivity in response to different chemicals, where the pattern of the sensor array’s response depends on the particular chemical types present in the air. The instrument can analyze volatile aerosols and vapors, help monitor cleanup of chemical spills or leaks, and enable more intensive chemical analysis by collecting raw data and streaming it to a computer at JPL’s ENose laboratory. The instrument, weighing less than nine pounds and requiring only 20 watts of power, has a wide range of chemical sensitivity, from fractional parts per million to 10,000 parts per million. Its data-analysis software can identify and quantify the release of chemicals within 40 minutes of detection. While ENose will look for 10 chemical types in this six-month experiment, it can be “trained” to detect many others.]

Starting a new round of the monthly preventive maintenance of RS (Russian segment) ventilation systems, Magnus performed a 1h 15m inspection and cleaning of Group A ventilator fans and grilles in the SM.

Later, the FE-2 completed the weekly 10-min. CWC (Contingency Water Container) inventory as part of on-going WRM (Water Recovery & Management) assessment of onboard water supplies. Updated “cue cards” based on the crew’s water calldowns are sent up every other week. [The current card (18-0006H), to be updated, lists 39 CWCs (~1,250.9 L total) for the four types of water identified on board: technical water (673.8 L, for Elektron electrolysis), potable water (530.4 L, incl. 174.6 L currently off-limit because of Wautersia bacteria), condensate water (0.0 L), waste/EMU dump and other (46.7 L). Wautersia bacteria are typical water-borne microorganisms that have been seen previously in ISS water sources. These isolates pose no threat to human health.]

Sandy also completed the routine daily servicing of the SM’s SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS). [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.]

The daily IMS (Inventory Management System) maintenance was on Sandy’s voluntary “job jar” task list for today, consisting of updating/editing of its standard “delta file” including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

The crew had their periodic PMCs (Private Medical Conferences) via S- & Ku-band audio/video, Mike at ~11:00am, Yuri at ~11:20am, Sandy at ~11:40am EST.

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 CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR, FE-2), TVIS treadmill (FE-1), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-1, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Working from his discretionary “time permitting” job list, Lonchakov conducted the frequent status check on the Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-1 ("Plants-1") experiment, verifying proper operation of the BU Control Unit and MIS-LADA Module fans (testing their air flow by hand). [Rasteniya-1 researches growth and development of plants under spaceflight conditions in the LADA-14 greenhouse from IBMP (Institute of Bio-Medical Problems, Russian: IMBP).]

At ~10:30am EST, the ISS crew held their weekly teleconference with ISS Program Management at JSC/Houston via Ku-band/video & S-band/audio.

At ~2:30pm, CDR Fincke is scheduled for another 20-min. teleconference with Lee Archambault, CDR of the next Shuttle mission, STS-119/Endeavour-15A, in February.

CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo targets uplinked for today were Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes, Egypt (aiming to the right of track for these lakes located in southern Egypt. Overlapping frames of both Lake Nasser and the smaller Toshka Lakes to the west were requested to track water levels and shoreline change), and Volcan Colima, Mexico (weather was predicted to be mostly clear over the Colima volcanic complex. Two large cones, Nevado de Colima and Volcan de Colima, are the most prominent features; small cinder cones are located on the valley floor to the west and east. Overlapping nadir frames of the two cones and adjacent valley floor were requested. Gray or white plumes may be observed from Volcan de Colima).

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).

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:11am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 353.9 km
Apogee height — 359.0 km
Perigee height — 348.8 km
Period — 91.62 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0007539
Solar Beta Angle — -36.8 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 78 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 57848

Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
01/14/09 — ISS reboost w/SM thrusters
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.