NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 2 July 2011
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – Crew off-duty day.
The six crewmembers joined in conducting the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough cleaning of their home, including COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) and Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). As part of today’s uborka, Ron Garan took documentary photographs of the RGSH AORG (Return Grid Sensor Housing add-on screens) at COL D0 before and after going over them with the vacuum cleaner (to be compared with pictures taken during previous cleaning to establish the quantity of debris captured during the week). [“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 sleep stations 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, CDR Borisenko, FE-1 Samokutyayev & FE-4 Volkov also conducted regular maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2), preceded by documentary photography, and the weekly checkup on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter units of the SM’s & FGB’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on its total operating time & “On” durations for reporting to TsUP.
Andrey Borisenko completed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. [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 filling EDV-SV, KOV (for Elektron), EDV-ZV & EDV on RP flow regulator.]
At ~9:00am EDT, the crew held the regular WPC (Weekly Planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events.
Ron Garan was tasked to verify the location and serial numbers of specific NH3 (ammonia) detection kits & respirators used during the recent emergency drill (some of which did not match what the ground was expecting; this is important because of their size differences). [The desired configuration is for the non-prime crew to have one detection kit plus 3 respirators of the correct sizes in the module adjacent to their Soyuz, in this case the MRM1, and for all remaining NH3 equipment to be in FGB.]
Ron also filled out his weekly FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). It was his 9th time. [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MEC software. Recorded are the amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. The FFQ is performed once a week to estimate nutrient intake from the previous week and to give recommendations to ground specialists that help maintain optimal crew health. Weekly estimation has been verified to be reliable enough that nutrients do not need to be tracked daily.]
FE-6 Fossum had time set aside for building several new KTO solid waste containers (recommended were 3 or 4) from components (lid & body) for future use in the WHC (Waste & Hygiene Compartment).
At ~11:10am, CDR Borisenko had his weekly PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop).
Before bedtime, FE-5 Furukawa is to close the external shutters of the Lab, Node-3/Cupola & JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) windows to protect them from thruster effluents during the overnight maneuvering for the scheduled RS (Russian Segment) solar arrays efficiency test.
The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-3), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-3, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-4, FE-5, FE-6), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-1, FE-4).
Jobs listed for Samokutyayev, Borisenko & Volkov today on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” task list were –
* Another ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera photography with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens [uplinked targets were Pamir, the Altai Mountains Baikal, Halhingol irrigation system in China, River Zeya, Khabarovsk Territory, Kolka glacier, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, p. Katun, p. Yenisey, p. Irkut, general views of Italy and the Balkans, Crimea, Kerch Strait, Russia Las Vegas, Valley of the River Don, the island Berezhnovka, Ural, Katun preserve, Gulf Stream, the spots of oil, the vortices],
* A session for Russia’s EKON Environmental Safety Agency, making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on Earth using the NIKON D3X camera with the RSK-1 laptop,
* Installing a pack of SLG wet wipes in the Matryoshka-R radiation protection cover in CQ2 (Crew Quarters 2),
* Filming a video session for Roskosmos TV Studio to be used in a joint project with Carousel TV Channel for children ages 6 to 8 years, the “Time to go to space!” program, which has a segment where Russian cosmonauts are discussing their work &, answer viewers’ questions. (Currently this program is conducting a competition for the best question for a cosmonaut.), and
* Preparing & downlinking more reportages (text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb).
WRM Update: A new WRM (Water Recovery Management) “cue card” was uplinked to the crew for their reference, updated with their latest CWC (Contingency Water Container) water audit. [The new card (28-0014D) lists 101 good CWCs (2,205.8 L total) for the five types of water identified on board: 1. technical water (21 CWCs with 836.6 L, for Elektron electrolysis, incl. 582.0 L in 14 bags containing Wautersia bacteria and 134.2 L in 3 clean bags for contingency use; 2. Silver potable water (no CWCs); 3. iodinated water (68 CWCs with 1,241.3 L (also 36 expired or leaking bags with 658.8 L); 4. condensate water (91.6 L in 7 bags, plus 4 empty bags); and 5. waste/EMU dump and other (36.3 L in 2 CWCs, incl. 20.2 L from hose/pump flush). Wautersia bacteria are typical water-borne microorganisms that have been seen previously in ISS water sources. These isolates pose no threat to human health.]
Solar Array Efficiency Test: After attitude control handover to Russian MCS (Motion Control System) thrusters tonight at 12:25am EDT, the ISS will maneuver to the desired attitude at 12:30am in support of the Russian SM Solar Array Efficiency test, which takes place from 12:35am-3:15am. The ISS then maneuvers back to +XVV (X-axis in Velocity Vector), and attitude control authority will return to U.S. momentum management with CMGs at approximately 3:50am.
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Twenty-Seven/Twenty-Eight — Week 14)
2D NANO Template (JAXA): No report.
3D SPACE: No report.
AgCam (Agricultural Camera): No report.
ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.
ALTEA SHIELD (NASA/ASI): ALTEA-SHIELD has been measuring the radiation environment in the US-Lab since 4/24. The minimum duration of 20 days (preferred during of 30 days +) on this location was met on 5/17. At the current location (ER8-Locker 3), we have ~55days of cumulative science acquisition.
AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): There were nominal physics data operations for the AMS payload and laptop this week. The AMS Laptop file downlink was successful.
APEX (Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit) -Cambium: No report.
APEX-TAGES (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System): No report.
Asian Seed 2010 (JAXA): Returned on ULF6.
BCAT-4/5 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 4/5): No report.
BIOLAB (ESA): No report.
BIORHYTHMS (JAXA, Biological Rhythms): FE-5 Satoshi completed his first operation on 6/28-6/29.
BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): No report.
BISPHOSPHONATES: No report.
BXF-Facility (Boiling eXperiment Facility, NASA): No report.
BXF-MABE (Microheater Array Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.
BXF-NPBX (Pool Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.
CARD (Long Term Microgravity: Model for Investigating Mechanisms of Heart Disease, ESA): Samples will be returned on STS-135 (ULF7).
CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.
CB (JAXA Clean Bench): No report.
CBEF-2 (JAXA Cell Biology Experiment Facility)/SPACE SEED: No report.
CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): No report.
CERISE (JAXA): No report.
CCF (Capillary Channel Flow): No report.
CFS-A (Colored Fungi in Space-A, ESA): The remaining 4th biocontainer with the fungi spores will be kept on orbit until STS-135/ULF7 return.
CSI-3/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #2/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): No report.
CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete.
CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack), MDCA/Flex: No report.
Commercial (Inc 23&24, JAXA): No report.
Commercial (Inc 25 & 26, JAXA): Sample returned by ULF6.
CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): No report.
CsPins (JAXA): FE-5 Satoshi performed Run2-3 on 6/25-6/26 as voluntary science. “Thank you so much for choosing CsPINs. The micro-g samples were successfully fixed by the fixative, but 1g control samples were not fixed due to the KFT anomaly. (KFT Actuator did not work properly. The cause is not clear yet). Unfortunately the 1g control was lost, but your troubleshooting is deeply appreciated. Run 2-5 and Run 2-4 are currently planned for 7/5-7/6 and 7/7-7/8, respectively.”
CubeLab: No report.
CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete.
DECLIC-ALI (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids & Crystallization-ALICE-like, CNES/NASA): No report.
DomeGene (JAXA): Complete.
DOSIS (Dose Distribution Inside ISS, ESA): No report.
EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): No report.
EDR (European Drawer Rack, ESA): No report.
EKE (Endurance Capacity by Gas Exchange and Heart Rate Kinetics During Physical Training, ESA): “Mike, thanks to data sharing with the VO2max protocol, you have also collected your first in-flight science data set for the EKE experiment. Thanks for that!”
ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned.
EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): No report.
ENose (Electronic Nose): No report.
EPM (European Physiology Module): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Sesame Street): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Kids in Micro-G): No report.
EPO LES-2 (ESA): No report.
EPO GREENHOUSE (ESA): No report.
EPO 3-min Video (JAXA): No report.
EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): Report 2 was completed on 6/26.
EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Closed out on 3/15.
EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report.
EPO-5 SpaceBottle (Message in a Bottle, JAXA): No report.
EPO Moon Score (JAXA): No report.
EPO Try Zero-G (JAXA): No report.
EPO Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): No report.
EPO Poem (JAXA): No report.
EPO Spiral Top 2 (JAXA, EPO-6): No report.
ERB-2 (Erasmus Recording Binocular, ESA): [ERB-2 aims are to develop narrated video material for various PR & educational products & events, including a 3D interior station view.] No report.
ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.
FACET-2 (JAXA): No report.
FERULATE (JAXA): No report.
FIR/LMM/CVB (Fluids Integrated Rack / Light Microscopy Module / Constrained Vapor Bubble): “Great job removing the Bio Tissue Kit, Mike! We appreciate your hard work.”
Fish Scales (JAXA): Completed on FD7/ULF-4 and returned on STS-132.
FOAM STABILITY (ESA): No report.
FOCUS: No report.
FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory, ESA): Active for GEOFLOW-II experiment. Refer to GEOFLOW-II.
FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report.
GENARA-A (Gravity Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis A/ESA): No report.
GEOFLOW-2 (ESA): The availability of updated EP’s allows performing all but the high rotation runs with frequency higher than 1.6 Hz, which are still impacted by the belt slipping problem of the Experiment Container Rotating Tray. The experimental program has been continued during the last week, and all mandatory runs / setpoints outside of the above rotation frequency constraint have been completed by the end of last week. This week, some desired (vs. mandatory) no-rotation runs are being performed! Great milestone! On 6/28, FSL encountered a TM freeze and during the mode transitioning of the recovery, some error messages were received indicating an error on the SCSI connection with one of the hard-disks. The rack was powered down. After powering on the rack on 6/29, GEOFLOW-2 runs could be resumed. Under further investigation. One run missed due to the anomaly will have to be replanned later on.
HAIR (JAXA): No report.
HDTV System (JAXA): No report.
Hicari (JAXA): No report.
Holter ECG (JAXA): No report.
HQPC (JAXA): Was delivered by 34P.
HREP (HICO/Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean & RAIDS/Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System/JAXA): HICO has taken 3444 images to-date. The most recent HICO images include part of the California coastline, part of the Oregon coastline, parts of Australia and the coast of Chile near Concepcion. RAIDS is collecting secondary science including nighttime atmospheric disk photometry, spectra and temperatures. Extreme ultraviolet airglow spectroscopy and optical contamination studies are also being performed.
HydroTropi (Hydrotropism & Auxin-Inducible Gene Expression in Roots Grown under Microgravity Conditions/JAXA): No report.
ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.
ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): “Satoshi, thank you for all of your efforts with troubleshooting the Cardiopres. The ground team is currently assessing the situation and developing a plan for future sessions. However, given the modularity of Integrated Cardiovascular’s experiment design, the Holter and Actiwatch data is still extremely valuable and will go a long way in helping to answer some of the study’s most critical questions. We are looking forward to working with you over the next few months.”
IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.
INTEGRATED IMMUNE: “Satoshi, the Cardiopres hardware developer has reviewed your error reports and that information, along with reports from Cady, has led them to conclude that there is an internal failure that cannot be repaired on-orbit. They are working to return the Cardiopres while refurbishing another unit for launch. The replacement will not be launched until after your return, so your remaining inflight sessions for ICV will proceed without Cardiopres. The ICV experiment has a modular design: while loss of the inflight Cardiopres data is an impact to some objectives, there are other objectives that are wholly unaffected. Therefore, your continued participation in sessions (with only the Holter and the Actiwatches) is of great value to the experiment. Additionally, postflight blood pressure measurements with the Portapres will still be of considerable importance since that data will address science objectives that are independent of the inflight objectives (i.e., the postflight data will help determine whether crewmembers experience clinically significant orthostatic hypotension during normal activities upon landing as opposed to during the artificial environment of the tilt test). Thank you again for your help and feedback!”
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): No report.
IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report.
ISS Amateur/Ham Radio: No report.
ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, NASA): No report.
IV Gen (Intravenous Fluids Generation): No report.
KID/KUBIK6: No report.
KUBIK 3 (ESA): No report.
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): No report.
Marangoni Exp (JAXA): 24th run was completed on 12/22.
Marangoni DSD – Dynamic Surf (JAXA): Payload name was change from Marangoni DSD to Dynamic Surf.
Marangoni UVP (JAXA): No report.
Matryoshka-2 (RSA): No report.
MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, JAXA): No report.
MDCA/Flex: No report.
MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report.
Microbe-2 (JAXA): Sample returned by ULF6.
Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MISSE-7 (Materials ISS Experiment 7): The 7th Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-7) reached a successful mission completion on 5/10. During EVA-1, PEC 7A and PEC 7B were retrieved and transferred to the STS-134 Shuttle payload bay for return to Earth. MISSE-7 was launched to the ISS aboard the STS-129 Shuttle mission in November 2009, and operated continuously since that time. During its 1.5 year on-orbit mission, MISSE-7 tested a variety of next-generation solar cells and electronic devices and provided real-time downlink of science data. MISSE-7 also continuously exposed cutting-edge material samples that will be analyzed in ground laboratories to determine how well they survived the space exposure effects of atomic oxygen, ultraviolet exposure, particle irradiation, and extreme temperature cycles.
MISSE-8 (Materials ISS Experiment 8): All MISSE-8 experiments are operating nominally. PASCAL continued nominal commanding that produced IV curves of the solar cells. IV curves are plots of the current versus voltage for solar cells and tell a lot about how these are performing. The SpaceCube experiment is continuing to upload files with updated code for new radiation hardening by software experiment algorithms and the uploads are 67% complete.
MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report.
MPAC/SEED (JAXA): Completed on 19A FD4.
MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox-Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment): No report.
MSL (Materials Science Laboratory, ESA): No report.
MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC-1 “Pirs”.
MULTIGEN-1: Completed.
MYCO 3 (JAXA): No report.
MyoLab (JAXA): Completed on 4/20.
NANOSKELETON (Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity, JAXA): Returned on ULF6.
NEURORAD (JAXA): No report.
NEUROSPAT (ESA/Study of Spatial Cognition, Novelty Processing and Sensorimotor Integration):
NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete.
NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY/ProK: “Mike, you have successfully completed your first Nutrition session. Due to ULF7 launch, the scheduling of your next session is still in work. Thanks for the crew note regarding the barcode table being placed on the T:\ drive for downlink. We will work with the ground team to retrieve that. We appreciate you keeping us entertained at 3am with your postsleep comment. We look forward to working with you in the coming months.”
PADIAC (Pathway Different Activators, ESA): No report.
PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 3/4; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): On 6/14 completed installation of 17 Dosimeters in JPM and JLP.
PASSAGES (JAXA): No report.
PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): No report.
PCG (JAXA, Protein Crystal Growth): The installation at PCRF/Kobairo Rack was successfully completed, and the experiment will continue for about 3 months.
PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): See PCG.
PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.
POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete.
Portable PFS: Used for the first VO2max / EKE / THERMOLAB session of FE-6 on 6/27. Gas calibrations after the Portable PFS set-up initially failed but were successful after connection of one of the Gas hoses that you found to be not properly connected. “Thanks Mike! And also thanks for the power reboot that allowed to recover after the 2 DMS errors. This issue is under investigation.”
Pro K: No report.
RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete.
RadSilk (JAXA): No report.
RST/Reaction Self Test (Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS): “Ron, Mike and Satoshi, thank you for your participation in Reaction Self Test! Your data was downlinked on 6/27 and will be reviewed by the PI.”
RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): No report.
SAIBO Rack (JAXA): No report.
SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): No report.
SAMPLE: Complete.
SCOF (Solution Crystallization Observation Facility, JAXA): No report.
SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload, JAXA): Continuous operation from Inc 19&20.
SHERE II (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment II): “Satoshi, thank you for gathering SHERE II’s hardware, setting it up inside the MSG, and updating its software. SHERE II is now ready to start its checkout tests and dry run, and then start science operations.”
SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report.
SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): No report.
SMILES (JAXA): No report.
SODI/IVIDIL (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Influence of Vibration on Diffusion in Liquids, ESA): No report.
SODI/COLLOID (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Colloid): No report.
SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory):
SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): Samples will be returned on STS-135/ULF7.
Space-DRUMS (Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System): No report.
Space Food (JAXA): Completed & returned on ULF6.
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): No report.
SPHINX (SPaceflight of Huvec: an Integrated eXperiment, ESA): No report.
SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): No report.
SPINAL (Spinal Elongation): No report.
SPRINT: No report.
SS-HDTV (Super Sensitivity High Definition Camera, JAXA): Completed Video Checkout1 on 6/22.
STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): STP-H3 payloads are operating nominally. MHTEX is in steady state mode and is currently planned to remain in this state until the conclusion of the STS-135/ULF7 mission. Canary took data during the recent 43P docking and ISS reboost events. VADER has characterized the performance of VEDs 6 and 8 for the various operational voltages. Testing of VED4 is continuing this week. These results have been compared the baseline data for all VEDs. DISC is analyzing images to optimize performance based on ISS attitude and scattered light.
SWAB (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): No report.
TASTE IN SPACE (ESA): No report.
THERMOLAB (ESA): “Thank you, Mike, for your first successful in-flight THERMOLAB data collection during your VO2max protocol on 6/27.”
TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.
TREADMILL KINEMATICS: “Ron, Satoshi and Mike, thank you very much for your excellent work! We look forward to the next time you run Treadmill Kinematics.”
TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report.
ULTRASOUND: Planned.
VASCULAR (CSA): No report.
VCAM (Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Module, NASA): No report.
VESSEL ID System (ESA): Acquiring science data with NorAIS receiver.
VESSEL IMAGING (ESA): No sessions possible due to Ultrasound anomaly.
VO2max (NASA): “Mike, great job on your first VO2max session! All the data has been received by the PI and analysis will be shared with your surgeon. The hardware developers are looking into the error twice incurred by the Portable PFS and will plan to downlink some additional files to aid in the determination in conjunction with the next VO2max session. The team looks forward to speaking with you again after ULF7.”
VLE (Video Lessons ESA): No report.
WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels; ESA): No report.
YEAST B (ESA): No report.
CEO (Crew Earth Observation): Through 6/27, 2,542 CEO frames were received on the ground for review and cataloging. “We are pleased to report your acquisition of imagery with times corresponding to those of our CEO Daily Target Lists for the following targets: Colombo, Sri Lanka – although the session for this request included Colombo as well as a thorough mapping of the coasts of the Sri Lanka, more clouds were present than we expected – we will continue to request photos for this target; and Serra da Cangalha Impact Crater, Brazil – this challenging target had never been acquired by an ISS crew until last week – your 70mm context view will be most helpful locating this feature in future target requests requiring the long lens settings. Thank you very much for your alert and timely photo of the Las Conchas Fire, near the Los Alamos National Laboratories, New Mexico. Your prompt notification and down link of those dramatic views of the fire with its immense smoke plume were acquired late last Sunday, and, through the JSC/PAO they have since appeared as powerful visuals several times in national news media accounts of the event. Finally, your excellent context view of the entire Okavango Swamp in the Kalahari Desert region of northwestern Botswana was published on the NASA/GSFC’s Earth Observatory website this past weekend. Your photograph beautifully illustrates the extent and complexity of the hydrology of this remote, unique inland “delta” with its vast, protected wetland habitat for a rich diversity of wildlife. Kudos to the crew!’
CEO targets uplinked for today were Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (near-nadir view of this capital city [population ~1 million], which is located in the Tuul River valley, which tends to collect smog now that the city has become a significant manufacturing center), Tashkent, Uzbekistan (this capital city is located on a broad, agricultural plain west of the Altai Mountains in the prominent Chirchik River. Looking near nadir, or a touch right, as ISS tracked northeastward up the Chirchik valley for this sprawling urban area of well over 2 million people), Nicosia, Cyprus (looking left, on the far side of the forested spine of the island of Cyprus, for this capital city of ~400,000), Washington, D.C. (looking left of track for our nation’s capital on this July 4th weekend. West of Chesapeake Bay, the city is one of the lightest-toned irregular zones seen from low earth orbit. The dark water of Chesapeake Bay, and tan water of the Potomac River estuary may have been the crew’s best lead-in visual cues), and Chiricahua Mountains (near-nadir pass over one of many “sky islands”. With elevations ranging from about 4,000 to 9,800 feet, the Chiricahua support an ecologically diverse, higher-rainfall mountain woodland within the Sonoran Desert. These scattered highlands are known as the Madrean Sky Islands and straddle the border between northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Observers are seeking detailed mapping views of this target for baseline and change detection [especially after fires this past spring] of unique and threatened habitat).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:04am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 388.4 km
Apogee height – 395.7 km
Perigee height – 381.1 km
Period — 92.32 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0010802
Solar Beta Angle — 4.0 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 35 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 72,329
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations————-
07/08/11 — STS-135/Atlantis launch ULF7 (MPLM) – 11:27am
07/10/11 — STS-135/Atlantis docking ULF7 (MPLM) ~11:09am
07/12/11 — EVA (Garan & Fossum) ~8:50am, 6h30m
07/18/11 — STS-135/Atlantis undock ULF7 (MPLM) – 1:59pm
07/20/11 — STS-135/Atlantis landing KSC ~7:07am
07/27/11 — Russian EVA #29
08/29/11 — Progress M-11M/43P undocking
08/30/11 — Progress M-12M/44P launch
09/01/11 — Progress M-12M/44P docking (SM aft)
09/08/11 – Soyuz TMA-21/26S undock/landing (End of Increment 28)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/22/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S launch – D.Burbank (CDR-30)/A.Shkaplerov/A.Ivanishin
09/24/11 – Soyuz TMA-03M/28S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/25/11 — Progress M-10M/42P undocking
10/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P launch
10/28/11 — Progress M-13M/45P docking (DC-1)
11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-02M/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit
12/02/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock
12/27/11 — Progress M-14M/46P launch
12/29/11 — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1)
02/29/12 — ATV3 launch readiness
03/05/12 — Progress M-12M/44P undock
03/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov
04/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
05/05/12 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – launch on Proton (under review)
05/06/12 — Progress M-14M/46P undock
05/07/12 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) – docking (under review)
05/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
05/31/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/31S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/18/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/02/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
10/04/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-08M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/02/12 – Soyuz TMA-08M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-12M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-12M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
