NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 30 June 2010
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.
Crew sleep cycle remains shifted to the right for Progress 38P docking on Friday: Wake – 7:00am (reg. 2:00am), Sleep – 10:30pm (reg. 5:30pm) EDT.
- At Baikonur/Kazakhstan, the new cargo ship Progress M-06M/38P was launched today routinely on time at 11:35am EDT (9:35pm local time) on a Soyuz-U rocket. Ascent was nominal, and all spacecraft systems are without issues. Docking to the ISS at the SM (Service Module) aft port is planned for Friday (7/2) at ~12:58pm. 38P carries 2230 kg (4916 lbs) of cargo, specifically: 870 kg (1918 lbs) propellants, 50 kg (110 lbs) oxygen & air, 100 kg (220 lbs) water and 1210 kg (2667 lbs) spare parts & experiment hardware.
FE-3 Kornienko completed the regular daily early-morning check of the aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which Maxim Suraev had installed on 10/19/09 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). [FE-3 will inspect the filters again before bedtime, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.]
FE-6 Shannon Walker continued her at-wakeup session with the Pro K protocol, with controlled diet and diet logging after the urine pH spot test. [Under Pro K, the crewmember measures and logs the pH value of a urine sample, collected the same time of day every day for 5 days. The crewmember also prepares a diet log and then annotates quantities of food packets consumed and supplements taken during the day.]
Later, both Shannon & FE-4 Doug Wheelock undertook the periodic US PHS (Periodic Health Status)/Without Blood Labs exam, assisted by FE-2 Tracy Caldwell-Dyson as CMO (Crew Medical Officer). A subjective evaluation was part of the test. [The assessment used the AMP (Ambulatory Medical Pack), stethoscope, oral disposable thermometer and ABPC (Automatic Blood Pressure Cuff) from the ALSP (Advanced Life Support Pack). All data were then logged on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) and the hardware stowed. The PHS exam is guided by special IFEP (In-Flight Examination Program) software on the MEC laptop.]
Afterwards, Walker was the subject for her first ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular) Exercise Echo Scan, followed by an ESA Vessel Echography scan in the COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory), assisted by Doug as CMO who powered up the EPM (European Physiology Module) laptop and operated the scans. Ground support for the first session came from POIC (Payload Operations Integration Center/Huntsville), for the latter from ESA. [Wearing electrodes, ECG (Electrocardiograph) cable & VOX, Shannon underwent the ultrasound scan for the Exercise Echo mode of ICV, with video being recorded from the HRF (Human Research Facility) Ultrasound and COL cabin camera. Heart rate was tracked with the HRM (Heart Rate Monitor). After confirmed file transfer, the gear was powered down and stowed. The ultrasound echo experiment uses the Image Collector software on the laptop and requires VOX/Voice plus RT Video downlink during the activity. Goal of the ICV experiment is to quantify the extent, time course, and clinical significance of cardiac atrophy and identify its mechanisms. The ICV experiment consists of two separate but related activities over a one-week time period: an ultrasound echo scan & an ambulatory monitoring session. The sessions are scheduled at or around FD14, FD30, FD75, FD135 and R-15 (there will be fewer sessions if mission duration is less than six months). The ESA Vascular Echography (Vessel Imaging) evaluates the changes in central and peripheral blood vessel wall properties (thickness and compliance) and cross sectional areas of long-duration ISS crewmembers during and after long-term exposure to microgravity. An LBNP (Lower Body Negative Pressure) program runs in parallel to Vessel Imaging. Flow velocity changes in the aorta and the middle cerebral and femoral arteries are used to quantify the cardiovascular response to fluid shift. Vessel Imaging aims to optimize the countermeasures used routinely during long-duration space missions.]
Later, Wheels is to use the COL EPM laptop to update the CDL PCBA (Cardiolab Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer) software for upcoming experiments.
In the DC1 (Docking Compartment), FE-5 Fyodor Yurchikhin continued yesterday’s prepared work on the three partially activated Russian Orlan-MK spacesuits (#4, #5, #6), updating the controller of the Transit-AM radio hardware in the Orlan backpacks’ BRTA-2 radio/telemetry units. After testing the upgrade, the suits were deactivated and stowed. [For upgrading the BRTA software, Fyodor loaded the software upgrade from the RSE-Med laptop via a special OPU operational reprogramming device (TA339) from FGB stowage.]
Later, FE-5 set up the NIKON cameras D2X (f17-55mm lens) & D3X (f80-200mm) at the DC1 EVA hatch 1 window to take pictures of the MLI (Multi-Layer Insulation) material on the Soyuz TMA-19 SA (Descent Module) and PkhO (Transfer Compartment). [To assess MLI condition, both full and close-up views were taken, looking for anomalies where SA MLI blankets are fastened with spring clips and PkhO MLI contains vents.]
After a review of instructional/training material (“Newton’ Space Office”), Tracy set up video and equipment for a series of experiments called “Kids in Micro-G”. Assisted by Doug, Tracy then conducted the first student experiment and later stowed the material. [The “Kids in Micro-G” suite of experiments was developed and written by middle school students.]
FE-3 Mikhail Kornienko conducted the periodic maintenance of the active Russian BMP Harmful Impurities Removal System, starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The process will be terminated at ~8:15pm EDT before sleep time. Bed #1 regeneration was performed yesterday by Fyodor. [Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. The BMP’s regeneration cycle is normally done every 20 days. (Last time done: 6/9-6/10).]
In preparation for Progress M-06M/38P docking on Friday, CDR Alexander Skvortsov & Mikhail Kornienko went through the standard one-hour refresher training for the TORU teleoperator system, which provides a manual backup mode to the Progress’ KURS automated rendezvous radar system. A tagup with a TORU instructor at TsUP/Moscow via S-band audio supported the training. [The drill included procedure review, rendezvous, docking data and rendezvous math modeling data review, fly-around, final approach, docking and off-nominal situations (e.g., video or comm loss). Three different flight conditions were simulated on the RSK1 laptop. The TORU teleoperator control system lets a SM-based crewmember perform the approach and docking of automated Progress vehicles in case of KURS failure. During spacecraft approach, TORU is in “hot standby” mode. Receiving a video image of the approaching ISS, as seen from a Progress-mounted docking television camera (“Klest”), on a color monitor (“Simvol-Ts”, i.e. “symbol center”) which also displays an overlay of rendezvous data from the onboard digital computer, the CDR would steer the Progress to mechanical contact by means of two hand controllers, one for rotation (RUO), the other for translation (RUD), on adjustable armrests. The controller-generated commands are transmitted from the SM’s TORU control panel to the Progress via VHF radio. In addition to the Simvol-Ts color monitor, range, range rate (approach velocity) and relative angular position data are displayed on the “Klest-M” video monitor (VKU) which starts picking up signals from Progress when it is still approximately 8 km away. TORU is monitored in real time from TsUP over Russian ground sites (RGS) and via Ku-band from Houston, but its control cannot be taken over from the ground. On 7/2, Progress KURS-A (active) will be activated at 11:21am EDT on Daily Orbit 1 (DO1), SM KURS-P (passive) two minutes later. Progress floodlight will be switched on at a range of ~8 km. Flyaround to the SM aft (+X) port (~400 m range, in sunlight) starts at 12:33:17pm, followed by station keeping at 170m at ~12:40pm. Start of final approach: ~12:47pm (DO2) in sunlight, contact: ~12:58pm. SM Kurs-P deactivation on mechanical capture. Sunset: 1:02pm.]
In the research module MRM2 “Poisk”, Skvortsov will later install the hardware of the new PK-3+ Plasma Crystal-3+ (Plazmennyi-Kristall-3 plus) Telescience payload, unstowed and assembled yesterday. Afterwards, CDR conducts a leak check on the EB vacuum chamber. Later, the STTS comm system, which was configured for Sasha’s MRM2 occupancy, will be returned to nominal. [The PK-3+ hardware comprises the EB (Eksperimental’nyj Blok) Experiment Module, Ts laptop, video monitor, vacuum hoses, electrical circuitry, four hard storage disks for video, and one USB stick with the control application.]
Kornienko has ~2h15m for shooting additional newsreel footage using the SONY HVR-Z7 #2 high-definition camcorder as part of the ongoing effort to create a photo & video imagery database on the flight of ISS-23/24 (“Flight Chronicles”). Main shooting subject today was Skvortsov’s assembly/installation work for the PK-3+ Telescience payload. [Footage subjects are to be focused on life on the station, personal hygiene, food intake, playing with water, enjoying weightlessness, exercise, moving about, station interior, Earth surface, space clothing, cosmonaut at work, station cleaning, etc. The photo/video imagery is saved digitally on HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) for return to Earth on Soyuz.]
Tonight, the CDR will perform the periodic switch of the Russian Regul/Paket email (radiogram) channel from Regul-OC String 2 to the primary string.
For measuring CO2 concentrations around him while active, Doug Wheelock set up a CDM (Carbon Dioxide Monitor, #1020), close to his breathing zone throughout his workday, to be stowed before sleeptime. [Station time (GMT) and CDM clock were to be called down to MCC-H for correlation with the data downloaded from the CDM.]
In Node-3, Wheelock conducted the periodic partial manual filling of the WHC (Waste & Hygiene Compartment) flush water tank, an EDV-SV, which took about 20 min.
Also in Node-3, Doug will return to the ARS (Atmosphere Revitalization Systems) rack (loc. A4) to complete the repair, started on 6/24, of a ground strap that could not be installed on the rack. [After rack rotation away from the shell wall, the hardware was to be repaired or replaced as required. Afterwards, the grounding strap was to be left disconnected pending the planned relocation of the ARS rack to the US Lab.]
FE-6 Walker is scheduled to spend some time on a careful video inspection of the T2/COLBERT treadmill and its VIS (Vibration isolation System). [After the crew’s inadvertent unisolated exercise on the T2 (i.e., exercise with three of four snubber alignment guides left installed), the treadmill was declared No Go until engineering specialists can review Shannon’s inspection data and rule out hardware damage.]
Later today in the Lab, FE-6 will re-install the PaRIS (Passive Rack Isolation System) lock-down alignment guides (3) on the FCF (Fluids & Combustion Facility) in the CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack) to protect the rack from external loading events during the upcoming Progress 38P docking.
Also in the Lab, Shannon performs Part 3 of the ER (EXPRESS Rack) laptop swap, returning the ER1 A31p laptop (loc. O2) with its four RS-232 connections to ER6 (loc. O4) and mating the umbilicals. [On 6/16, Tracy had replaced the previous T61p laptop of ER1 with the new network-connected A31p laptop and activated it for operations on ER1, installed a Quatech multi-port serial card in it and connected the card’s four RS-232 ports to the ER1’s RS-232 cable. Earlier, the T61p (#1068) at ER1 had been used for several days of testing of the Payload Simulator application, before it was reconfigured as ER1 laptop.]
Tracy Caldwell-Dyson’s busy work schedule today includes –
- Performing the periodic status check on the MERLIN (Microgravity Experiment Research Locker Incubator) Galley fridge, looking for any internal condensation moisture which would require replacing desiccants [MERLIN is used for cold storage of crew food and drink.],
- Supporting ongoing ARES advanced resistive exerciser Pacebook troubleshooting by running an uplinked check disk procedure on the display and saving the generated system log files for engineering review [the troubleshooting looks into recent ARED display issues reported multiple times by the crew, where the display auto-reboots itself or freezes during use, by investigating the integrity of the hard drive (for possible bad sectors) and the on-orbit Pacebook Windows 2000 error log files],
- Continuing her support of the CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures-2) experiment in COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory), [today terminating the last (of 4) vacuum vents on SPU-1 (Sample Processing Unit #1) and preparing for sample processing for the next 48 hours by powering up the ECU (Electronics Control Unit) in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) work volume, taking humidity & temperature readings and initiating sample heating],
- Conducting the periodic status check & maintenance, as required, of the CGBA-5 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5) payload in the Lab,
- Working on the FIR (Fluids Integrated Rack) in the Lab to remove a damaged lower left standoff bridge bracket (loc. SD4) and replace it with a spare bridge bracket scavenged from another standoff link (loc. OS), then install the damaged bracket where the scavenged one was removed,
- Stocking MELFI-1 (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS 1) with -32 degC “ice bricks”, inserting 4 of them with one-half modules in Dewar 2 (Tray C, sections 1,2) [the originally stuck Tray C was “unstuck” by Tracy on 6/20 with a wireway guide], and
- Breaking out & setting up the equipment for her first U.S. PHS with Blood Labs exam, scheduled tomorrow, a clinical evaluation of Tracy as subject, assisted by Alex Skvortsov as for the blood sampling part [today’s task included an electronic function test and control analysis of the blood lab equipment, viz., the PCBA (Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer), which was then temporarily stowed.]
Kornienko completed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM (Service Module). [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.]
Fyodor, Shannon & Wheels again had an hour each set aside for crew onboard orientation and adaptation. [During the first two weeks after their arrival, a new ISS crew will have 1 hour a day to adjust to living in space.]
Late tonight, shortly before sleep time, Skvortsov sets up the Russian MBI-12 Sonokard payload and starts his 7th experiment session, using a sports shirt from the Sonokard kit with a special device in the pocket for testing a new method for acquiring physiological data without using direct contact on the skin. Measurements are recorded on a data card for return to Earth. [Sonokard objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember’s physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.]
The crew is working out on today’s 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-2, FE-4, FE-6), TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-3, FE-5), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (FE-2, FE-3, FE-4, FE-6), and VELO ergometer bike with bungee cord load trainer (CDR, FE-5).
Conjunction Alert: NASA FCT (Flight Control Team) continues to work a conjunction of the ISS with an H-2A rocket body (Object 30588). TCA (Time of Closest Approach) for 30588 is 7/1 (Thursday) night at 10:04pm EDT. A ballistic update is expected later tonight. As of now, the conjunction is still classified as of moderate concern.
CEO photo targets uplinked for today were Maseru, Lesotho (the capital city of Lesotho with a population of about one quarter of a million is located on the Mohokari River that forms the northwestern boundary of the small landlocked country in the highlands of southern Africa. As ISS tracked northeastward, just inland from the southeastern coast of South Africa over the Drakensberg Mountains, the crew was to aim the camera left of track. It will be mid-afternoon with clear weather expected), St. Helena Island, Atlantic Ocean (HMS Beagle Site: ISS had a mid-afternoon pass in partly cloudy weather over this solitary, South Atlantic island. While the island is perhaps most famous as the final resting place of exiled French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, it was also visited by Charles Darwin during his famous voyage of 1836. There will be few visual cues for detecting this target expect perhaps for its impact on the local oceanic cloud field. At the uplinked time the crew was to begin looking just left of track for detailed views of the whole island), and Serra da Cangalha Impact Crater, Brazil (ISS had a mid-afternoon pass in fair weather over this elusive target in the dissected highlands of northeastern Brazil. This 12 km in diameter crater located in Brazil is a subtle feature on the landscape. It is mainly defined by a circular drainage pattern surrounding the remnants of a central peak. This crater was last photographed by the astronauts on the Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). At this time the crew was to begin looking just left of track to acquire an overlapping mapping strip in order to acquire views of the crater).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:32am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 352.8 km
Apogee height – 359.6 km
Perigee height – 345.9 km
Period — 91.59 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.65 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0010135
Solar Beta Angle — 63.5 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours – 158 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 66,556
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations—————–
07/02/10 — Progress M-06M/38P docking (~12:58pm)
07/26/10 — Russian EVA-25 (Yurchikhin/Kornienko) – MRM1 outfitting
08/05/10 — US EVA-15 (Caldwell/Wheelock)
08/17/10 — US EVA-16 (Caldwell/Wheelock)
09/07/10 — Progress M-06M/38P undock
09/08/10 — Progress M-07M/39P launch
09/10/10 — Progress M-07M/39P docking
09/16/10 — STS-133/Discovery launch (ULF5 – ELC4, PMM) – ~11:40am
09/22/10 — STS-133/Discovery undock
09/24/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S undock/landing (End of Increment 24)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/08/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S launch – Kelly (CDR-26)/Kaleri/Skripochka
10/10/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/26/10 — Progress M-05M/37P undock
10/27/10 — Progress M-08M/40P launch
10/29/10 — Progress M-08M/40P docking
11/xx/10 — STS-134/Endeavour (ULF6 – ELC3, AMS-02)
11/10/10 — Russian EVA-26
11/17/10 – Russian EVA-27
11/26/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S undock/landing (End of Increment 25)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/10 — ATV-2 launch– Ariane 5 (ESA) U/R
12/10/10 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S launch – Kondratyev (CDR-27)/Coleman/Nespoli
12/12/10 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
12/15/10 — Progress M-07M/39P undock
12/17/10 — ATV-2 docking (SM aft)
12/xx/10 — Russian EVA-28
12/26/10 — Progress M-08M/40P undock
12/27/10 — Progress M-09M/41P launch
12/29/10 — Progress M-09M/41P docking
01/20/11 – HTV-2 launch
01/27/11 — HTV-2 docking (Node-2 nadir)
03/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S undock/landing (End of Increment 26)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/26S launch – A. Borisienko (CDR-28)/R, Garan/A.Samokutayev
04/01/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/26S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
04/26/11 — Progress M-09M/41P undock
04/27/11 — Progress M-10M/42P launch
04/29/11 — Progress M-10M/42P docking
05/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S undock/landing (End of Increment 27)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/31/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S launch – M. Fossum (CDR-29)/S. Furukawa/S. Volkov
06/01/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
06/21/11 — Progress M-11M/43P launch
06/23/11 — Progress M-11M/43P docking
08/30/11 — Progress M-12M/44P launch
09/01/11 — Progress M-12M/44P docking
09/16/11 – Soyuz TMA-22/26S undock/landing (End of Increment 28)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-24/28S launch
10/02/11 – Soyuz TMA-24/28S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/20/11 — Progress M-10M/42P undocking
10/21/11 — Progress M-13M/45P launch
10/23/11 — Progress M-13M/45P docking
11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-25/29S launch
12/02/11 — Soyuz TMA-25/29S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
12/??/11 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton.
12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock
01/xx/12 — ATV-3 launch– Ariane 5 (ESA) U/R
