NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 6 January 2009

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

CDR Fincke, FE-1 Lonchakov & Sandy Magnus began their workday before breakfast with the periodic session of the Russian biomedical routine assessments PZEh-MO-7/Calf Volume Measurement & PZEh-MO-8/Body Mass Measurement, using the IM mass measurement device which Yuri broke down afterwards for stowage.     [Calf measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and lower foot as fixed reference pints, to provide a rough index of deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures.  For determining body mass in zero-G, where things are weightless but not massless, the Russian IM "scales" measure the inertial forces that arise during the oscillatory motion of a mass driven by two helical metering springs with known spring constants.  By measuring the time period of each oscillation of the unknown mass (the crewmember) and comparing it to the period of a known mass, the crewmember’s mass is calculated by the computer and displayed.]

Mike Fincke worked in the Lab, de-installing & removing the CEVIS (Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation & Stabilization) hardware in preparation for the subsequent CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack) outfitting.

Afterwards, he and Sandy Magnus continued in the Lab with the installation & outfitting of the FCF (Fluids & Combustions Facility) CIR started yesterday.  Today’s work of populating the Optics Bench involved steps such as –

• Opening FCF upper & lower doors,
• Pulling out & rotating the CIR Optics Bench,
• Installing miscellaneous hardware for outfitting, a CIR illumination package at UML4, an LLL (Low Light Level) camera package at UML2, an IPSU (Image Processing & Storage Unit) control unit, a FOMA (Fuel & Oxidizer Management Assembly), and other components,
• Setting the LLL-UV camera and HiBMS (High Bit Depth/Multispectral) imaging package apertures,
• Translating the Optics Bench back in, and
• Closing the CFC lower & upper rack doors.

[The CIR design allows different experiment packages within the combustion chamber to be removed, replaced or upgraded.  Modular diagnostics are mounted on the optics bench and are easily repositioned.  Five standard diagnostic packages, constructed from modular elements, are planned as initial diagnostic capabilities for the CIR.  These are a HiBMS imaging package, a HFR/HR (High Frame Rate/High Resolution) package, two Low Light Level Camera Packages, and an Illumination Package.]

The CEVIS was then re-installed in the Lab by Fincke.

Yuri Lonchakov conducted his second session with the Russian biomedical MBI-15 "Pilot-M"/NEURO signal response experiment after setting up the workplace and equipment.   Afterwards, the Pilot-M & Neurolab-2000M gear was disassembled and stowed away.     [MBI-15 requires a table, ankle restraint system, eyeball electrodes for an EOG (electrooculogram), and two hand controllers (RUO & RUD) for testing piloting skill in “flying” simulations on a laptop (RSK1) under stopwatch control, as well as for studying special features of the psychophysiologic response of cosmonauts to the effects of stress factors in flight.]

In the SM (Service Module), the FE-1 also worked on the BRP-M/Water Distribution & Heating Unit, removing its two MN-15 pumps after separating them from the mounting plate and control unit.  The pumps were put into spares, the control units & other parts into disposal.    [The BRP-M had been installed on 10/23/08.]

Lonchakov also performed the routine daily servicing of the 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.]

Sandra Magnus conducted 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.]

The FE-2 supported the troubleshooting of the TOCA (Total Organic Carbon Analyzer) by updating its configuration file from an USB stick to permit manual control of TOCA valves to allow N2 (nitrogen) flow.  The N2 was then used to purge the gas loop in an attempt to dry it out.    [The TOCA failure on 12/23/08 due to high pressure readings in gas loop was traced to possible wetness in the gas loop.

The crew had their periodic PMCs (Private Medical Conferences) via S- & Ku-band audio/video, Sandy at ~9:35am, Mike at ~10:45am, Yuri at ~12:35pm 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 TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

MCA Update:   Following last Friday’s MSA (Module Structure Assembly) removal and replacement, three unsuccessful attempts were made to activate the Major Constituent Analyzer.  The crew left the MCA VAJ (Vacuum Access Jumper) connected and the MCA is currently in the IDLE state until a forward plan is developed.  Engineering teams are assessing a troubleshooting plan.

PWD Bacterial Growth:   The PWD (Potable Water Dispenser) was found in several microbial analyses by Sandy to have bacteria growing in the ambient water.  It is suspected that this is due to the water being stagnant and not used.  The crew now performs daily flushes with 100 mL of deionized water.  More testing to follow this week.

Orthodox Christmas:   Tomorrow (1/7/09, Wednesday) is a crew holiday because it is Christmas Day for the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church.

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, 7:37am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 353.0 km
Apogee height — 357.7 km
Perigee height — 348.3 km
Period — 91.60 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0007
Solar Beta Angle — 19.3 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 75 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 58052

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.