NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 27 August 2011

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – Crew off-duty day.

As part of the regular Daily Morning Inspection, CDR Borisenko performed the routine checkup of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel.

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, FE-5 Furukawa 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 Uborka house cleaning, FE-1 Samokutyayev completed regular maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2) plus Group E fan grilles (VPkhO, FS5, FS6, VP) in the SM, with documentary photography, and the weekly checkup on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SM’s & FGB’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on its total operating time & “On” durations for reporting to TsUP-Moscow.

FE-4 Volkov 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.

Later today, FE-3 Garan supports MCC-Houston engineers in ground testing of the MPC (Multi-Protocol Converter) by downlinking a live HD camcorder video picture, leaving it on for ~2.5 hrs.

Andrey Borisenko completed the daily routine inspection of the recently activated Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) payload with its LADA-01 greenhouse, checking for proper fan operation by testing the air flow from the ventilators BO A04 & BO A05 and verifying that both LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are lit, then watering the root modules KM A32 & A24 to the roper humidity level. [Rasteniya-2 researches growth and development of plants (currently wheat) under spaceflight conditions in the LADA greenhouse from IBMP (Institute of Bio-Medical Problems, Russian: IMBP).]

For today’s VolSci (Voluntary Weekend Science) activities, Satoshi Furukawa had selected JAXA EPO (Educational Program Operation) Reports, i.e., to write two short reports showing ordinary life in space which, it is expected, will attract children and the general public’s attention for future human space exploration. [JAXA EPO Report 07 is intended for the magazine THE NIKKEI WEEKLY-4, Report 08 for THE MAINICHI Newspapers-04.]

At ~7:55am EDT, Andrey, Sasha & Sergei supported a Russian PAO TV event, downlinking messages of greetings and well-wishing to three events: (1) To the participants of the “Star Blue Light” TV program & gala concert on 9/8, (2) to the participants of the 24th Planetary Congress in Moscow on 9/5-9/9, and (3) to TV-WISH for the town of Friazino on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. [On 9/8, the Russian Space Federation along with the ASFP (Association of Space Flight Participants) is organizing an anniversary “Star Blue Light” TV-program dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight. Cosmonauts, astronauts, managers & veterans of the Russian Space Industry, Business Community and Military will participate.- The ASFP organizes annual Planetary Congresses which are conducted in the countries whose citizen flew in space. This year, the Congress is held in Moscow, on 9/5-9/9 under the theme “He urged all of us to fly in space”. This year around 120 astronauts & cosmonauts will take part in the Congress – and the sessions will take place in the main auditorium of the “Space” hotel, as well as Bauman Technical University and Moscow State University of Geodesic and Cartographic Studies. The participants of the Congress will be meeting with school children, college students, and general public.- The city of Friazino near Moscow is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2011. On 12/29/2003, the President of Russia issued a presidential decree to grant Friazino the status of Science City.]

The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-3), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (CDR, FE-1, FE-4), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-3, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-1, FE-5, FE-6), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-4).

Elektron Update: The Russian Elektron O2 generator was successfully activated last Wednesday (8/24) in 32 amp mode and is running nominally. [Elektron was scheduled to be down-moded after the departure of 3 crewmembers in 26S but that will probably change now].

PMA-2 Stowage Update: By leaving the PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter 2) pressurized after the final Shuttle undocking, 27 CTBEs (Cargo Transfer Bag Equivalents) of available stowage space was gained for USOS cargo. A total of 24 CTBEs worth of cargo were stored in the volume this week by Ron and Satoshi.

Progress 44P Replanning: Ground teams at MCC-H and TsUP-Moscow are busy replanning on-orbit operations after the loss of the Progress 44P resupply ship on 8/24. Prime method for tracking consumables on board will be the new BCR/RFID (Bar Code Reader / Radio Frequency ID) scanner system (which is to be checked out first). With a slip of Soyuz 26S departure next week very likely, work schedules are being redefined to make use of the additional US crewmember (Garan), the two Russian crew members (Borisenko, Samokutyayev) and activities planned originally for Increment 29. SM propellant tanks are topped off right now from Progress 42P. Prime reboost & DAM (Debris Avoidance Maneuver) would be done with SM main engines, but DC-1 could also be used. Having the SM aft end open (no Progress docked) appears of no concern, except perhaps for a slight increase in MMOD (Micrometeorite/Orbital Debris) risk.

Weekly Science Update (Expedition Twenty-Eight — Week 23)

2D NANO Template (JAXA): No report.

3D SPACE: Complete.

AgCam (Agricultural Camera): No report.

ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.

ALTEA SHIELD (NASA/ASI): Acquiring full science on 6 (out of 6) SDU’s, with a cumulative 28days of radiation measurement at the current location in the US-Lab.

AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): AMS and its Laptop continue to operate nominally.

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): No report.

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): No report.

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): No report.

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): No report.

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): The objective of the DECLIC ALI-SC3 sequence is: Study of the boiling phenomena using the cell observed in transmission, at different constant temperatures around Tc (DOC). ALI-SC3 sequence has started on day 8/22 for 25 days. This week was dedicated to the turbidity measurements near the critical temperature. We performed approximately 5000 images.

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): No report.

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): JAXA Report 7 & Report 8 are planned on 8/27 as Voluntary Science.

EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Closed out on 3/15.

EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete.

EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report.

EPO Lego Bricks (NASA, 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-6 Spiral Top 2 (JAXA): No report.

EPO-7 Doctor Demo (JAXA): On 8/20, FE-5 Satoshi completed EPO-7 as Voluntary Science. All of imagery and voice data was downloaded successfully. Thank you so much.

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.] “Dear Mike, many thanks for your time during last weekend to support ERB-2 video footages data transfer and subsequent data downlink via the EDR rack. All the movies are confirmed on ground and are being post-processed.”

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): No report.

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): FSL activation is on-hold pending engineering assessment of the recent faulty boot-up events. No activities during Week#18 to #23, awaiting the analysis of the engineering teams.

FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report.

GENARA-A (Gravity Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis A/ESA): No report.

GEOFLOW-2 (ESA): GEOFLOW-2 runs will be resumed only when ESA will have a clear forward plan for FSL.

HAIR (JAXA): On 8/24, FE-3 Ron and FE-5 Satoshi completed the second sampling for Ron. Sample has been stowed into MELFI-1.

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 3863 images to date.

HydroTropi (Hydrotropism & Auxin-Inducible Gene Expression in Roots Grown under Microgravity Conditions/JAXA): No report.

ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.

ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): “Satoshi and Mike: This week’s ICV Echo shows that Aggies and graduates of the University of Tokyo can do great things together even without specialized school-specific keyboard overlays! You both did a fabulous job with the new Ultrasound 2 and with the execution of the exercise echo protocol which was especially notable since it was your first inflight echo session! Satoshi, we also appreciate your collection of the ambulatory data which we hope to have on the ground soon. Many thanks for a job well-done!”

IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.

INTEGRATED IMMUNE: No report.

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): ISSAC resumed its nominal imaging this week and collected ~50 ground sites including parts of South America, Africa, and Europe (Spain, France). Next week, ISSAC access to North America increases significantly and we are hoping to obtain cloud-free US targets/sites for our end users and sensor calibration purposes. ISSAC will be taking pictures of hurricane Irene before and after it passes the coast.

IV Gen (Intravenous Fluids Generation): No report.

KID/KUBIK6: No report.

KUBIK 3 (ESA): No report.

LMM/PACE-2 (Light Microscopy Module / Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment): “Ron: Nice work changing out the PACE Particle Sample. Thank you for taking photos of the damaged PACE Oil Dispenser. We have finished powered operations with the PACE Particle Samples. A summary of what we observed with the particle samples is included in the “LMM-PACE” tab. Next, we plan to observe and image the PACE Tissue Samples.”

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): Continuing telemetry monitoring.

MDCA/Flex: “Ron: Excellent job replacing the CIR Adsorber Cartridge. The new CIR Adsorber Cartridge will allow us to clean additional combustion by-products from the chamber atmosphere to perform the next round of test points. Following the replacement, CIR/MDCA successfully performed five methanol test points at two different chamber atmospheres. A summary of these test points will be included with next week’s Weekly Science Summary.”

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): The two MISSE-8 experiments that exceeded temperature limits during the high beta period, Reflectarray and SEUSXE II, were re-enabled on Day 234. 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 now running the updated code for new radiation hardening by software.

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): “At the time of writing, the CETSOL#2 Sample Cartridge Assembly #1 (SCA) is being processed in MSL. All running smoothly for the pre-heating phase. Early 8/26 morning, the SCA was nominally solidified according to science team requirements. The successful processing of this first SCA marks the completion of the Solidification & Quenching Furnace Insert. Teams on ground are very happy!”

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: No report.

ODK (Onboard Diagnostic Kit, JAXA): On 8/24, FE-5 Satoshi completed Diagnostics Kit Demo part 1.

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): Continuing telemetry monitoring.

PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): See PCG.

PLSG (Plant Signaling, NASA/ESA): No report.

PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.

POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete.

Portable PFS: No report.

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 participating in Reaction Self Test! We look forward to receiving and reviewing your data from the past month.”

RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): No report.

SAIBO Rack (JAXA): On 8/6 Voluntary Science, FE-5 Satoshi completed Clean Bench clean up and Valve check out.

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): Continuing telemetry monitoring.

SHERE II (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment II): “The remaining 10 test points were completed by Mike in an amazing marathon session on Saturday, 8/20, during Voluntary Science. It is the world record for the number of SHERE test points done in one session and will probably stand for a long time. Outstanding job! With the stowage of the SHERE hardware on Wednesday, 8/24, we are now preparing to bring some of the flight hardware back to earth for refurbishment for a possible SHERE-3 in the near future.– We would like to thank both Satoshi and Mike for your efforts in successfully completing the SHERE-II experiments. We were all impressed by the care with which you carried out the experiments and the interest and excitement you showed throughout the runs. The extra videos and magnetic tool science were also very instructive and have created a lot of excitement outside the project. We think the video of the FT Cal Tool made over one complete orbit will make an excellent educational video. We appreciate all your efforts and are eagerly looking forward to completing the data analysis and learning what it can tell us about polymeric fluids with filler particles. Thanks again, and congratulations!”

SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report.

SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): No report.

SMILES (JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.

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): Currently in Sun Visibility Window#44, which started on 8/24. SOLAR experienced an AIB failure before entering into the SVW#44. The platform was recovered on time and had no impact on the science acquisition. SOLAR has also avoided acquiring science during the MSL venting event during SCA processing on 8/25. This Sun Visibility Window is predicted to end on 9/3. – SOLSPEC: science acquisition;- SOLACES: science acquisition. Because of the 44P failure, there will be no configuration and heating required for the instrument.

SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): No report.

Space-DRUMS (Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System): No report.

Space Food (JAXA): No report.

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): On 8/22, FE-5 Satoshi completed download of the Recording-3 Meteor Shower via MPC.

STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): MHTEX has been running nominally with 4 out of 5 evaporators last week. Evaporator 5 was restarted on 8/24 and this may help characterize the potential migration of gas in the system. MHTEX has decided to postpone re-priming the entire system. Canary took data during the 43P undocking and a lab venting events this week. VADER continues to cycle the VEDs at the increased voltage and analyzing the resulting change in emissivity. DISC has taken more images this week and is processing images that were taken in previous weeks.

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: “Satoshi, thanks for another great session. Awesome Fossum, thank you for a flawless session!”

TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report.

ULTRASOUND: Planned.

UMS (Urine Monitoring System (NASA): No report.

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.

VIABLE (eValuatIon And monitoring of microBiofiLms insidE the ISS Payload Touch, NASA): VIABLE pouches were reconfigured to provide adequate ventilation and prevent cross contamination – reconfiguration was nominal and should not have to be done again. The monthly touch activity was also accomplished. The pouches need to be touched monthly to simulate microbial growth and photographed every six months to monitor status.

VO2max (NASA): “Ron, great job working through the failed calibrations during the Portable PFS setup! The VO2max PI is currently analyzing the data. Your extra vigilance protecting the data is appreciated! Mike, great job on completing the Portable PFS setup and calibrations during LOS and starting your exercise early! The VO2max PI is currently analyzing the data. We appreciate your participation in the experiment.”

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 8/18, 11,198 CEO frames were received on the ground for review and cataloging. “Since our last report, we have received no additional imagery acquired with times corresponding to those of our CEO Daily Target Lists. Your unsolicited photos of Hurricane Irene are being widely distributed by PAO and the news media. Your very special, low-light view of the Area of Kaliningrad near the Baltic Sea was published on NASA/GSFC’s Earth Observatory website this past weekend. The high latitude of this area combined with glint, and, the presence of atmospheric aerosols illustrates the both the enhancement of water bodies by glint, and, the scattering of bluer portion of the spectrum by atmospheric turbidity, leaving a coppery color to the remaining illumination. Very nice catch!”

CEO targets uplinked for today were Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes, Egypt (ISS had a mid-afternoon pass in clear weather with a near-nadir view of the western-most portion of this target area. The Toshka Lakes formed in the late 1990’s when record high water in the Nile River and Lake Nasser spilled out into desert depressions to the west. Since then the lakes have persisted, but continue to slowly dry up. As ISS approached the Nile River valley from the SW, the crew was to update the CEO staff’s monitoring record of this event by carefully mapping the western [Toshka] lakes), Athens, Greece (the capital of Greece is an ancient city that dominates the south coast of the region known as Attica in the southeastern part of the mainland. ISS had a mid-afternoon pass in fair weather over this sprawling urban area of more than 3 million. As the crew approached the coast from the NW, they were to aim nadir for this target), Budapest, Hungary (the beautiful Hungarian capital city of 1.75 million sits astride the Danube River in the north central part of the country. ISS had a late afternoon pass in fair weather with an approach from the SW. At this time the crew was to look nadir for views of Budapest located just SE of a major right-angle bend in the course of the Danube. Trying for views of the entire urban area within a single frame), Ubinas Volcano, Peru (ISS had a near-nadir pass over Peru’s most active volcano in late morning light with fair skies expected. The summit caldera contains an ash cone and debris avalanche deposits extending 10 km from the southeast flank of the volcano. As ISS approached the South American coast from the SW, the crew was to look carefully for this isolated, usually snow-capped peak, trying for overlapping frames of the volcano summit and flanks), and Major Hurricane Irene (DYNAMIC EVENT: Today the crew had a rare opportunity of a near-nadir pass over a major hurricane just as it was making landfall. Their approach was in mid-afternoon from the SW. Irene is forecast to be making landfall near the Cape Fear-Pamlico Sound area of North Carolina at the time of this pass. This is a very large Category 2/3 storm and may or may not have a visible eye by the time ISS overflew it. Trying for oblique views while approaching and departing the storm area and for details of the eye and eyewall if possible).

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 9:09am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 386.0 km
Apogee height – 394.8 km
Perigee height – 377.1 km
Period — 92.27 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0013095
Solar Beta Angle — 12.9 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 56 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 73,204

Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/07/11 — Soyuz TMA-21/26S undock (11:51pm) — UNDER REVIEW
09/08/11 — Soyuz TMA-21/26S landing (~3:08am) (End of Increment 28) — UNDER REVIEW
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/21/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S launch (9:34pm) – D.Burbank (CDR-30)/A.Shkaplerov/A.Ivanishin — UNDER REVIEW
09/23/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S docking (MRM2) (~10:19pm) — UNDER REVIEW
————–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————-
11/29/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit
12/01/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock (a late January 2012?)
12/27/11 — Progress M-14M/46P launch (a late January 2012?)
12/29/11 — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1) (a late January 2012?)
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————-