NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 09 August 2012
ISS On-Orbit Status 08/09/12
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.
At wakeup, FE-4 Malenchenko performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
FE-2 Revin terminated his 4th experiment session, started last night, for the long-term Russian sleep study MBI-12/Sonokard, taking the recording device from his Sonokard sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-Med laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. [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.]
FE-5 Williams began her 2nd (FD30) suite of sessions with the controlled Pro K diet protocol (Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery) with diet logging after the urine pH spot test, for a 5-day period after start of collections. After recording her diet input today, Sunita will begin the urine collections for pH value on Sunday (8/12) and blood sampling on Monday (8/13). [For the Pro K (Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery) protocol, there are five in-flight sessions (FD15, FD30, FD60, FD120, FD180) of samplings, to be shared with the NUTRITION w/Repository protocol, each one with five days of diet & urine pH logging and photography on the last day. The crewmember prepares a diet log and then annotates quantities of food packets consumed and supplements taken. Urine collections are spread over 24 hrs; samples go into the MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) within 30 min after collection. Blood samples, on the last day, are centrifuged in the RC (Refrigerated Centrifuge) and placed in MELFI at -80 degC. There is an 8-hr fasting requirement prior to the blood draw (i.e., no food or drink, but water ingestion is encouraged). MELFI constraints: Maximum MELFI Dewar open time: 60 sec; at least 45 min between MELFI dewar door openings. Background on pH: In chemistry, pH (Potential Hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a watery solution. Pure water is neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at 25 degC. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are “acidic” and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are “basic” or “alkaline”. pH measurements are important in medicine, biology, chemistry, agriculture, forestry, food science, environmental science, oceanography, civil engineers and many others.]
Gennady Padalka & Sergei Revin undertook their 3rd MBI-24 “SPRUT-2” (“Squid-2”) tests, part of Russian medical research on the distribution and behavior of human body fluids in zero gravity, preceded by PZEh-MO-8 BMM (body mass measurement) using the IM device. Yuri Malenchenko shot documentary photography. [Supported by the RSS-Med A31p laptop with new software (Vers. 1.6) in the SM, the test uses the Profilaktika kit, with data recorded on PCMCIA memory cards, along with Gennady’s & Sergei’s body mass values and earlier recorded MO-10 Hematocrit value, but skipping “fat fold” measurements. Experiment requisites are the Sprut securing harness, skin electrodes (cuffs), and RSS-Med for control and data storage. The “Pinguin” suit or Braslet-M cuffs, if worn, have to be taken off first. Electrode measurements are recorded at complete rest and relaxed body position. The actual recording takes 3-5 minutes, during which the patient has to remain at complete rest.]
FE-3 Acaba re-installed the three PaRIS (Passive Rack Isolation System) lock-down alignment guides on the CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack) at Lab starboard bay S3, engaged the snubber pins and locked safety pins to protect its ARIS (Active Rack Isolation System) from external loading (dynamic disturbances).
In preparation for today’s Japanese robotics operations, Acaba activated the software for streaming MPEG-2 (Moving Pictures Expert Group 2) video encoding and viewing, using the SSC8 (Station Support Computer 8) T61p laptop in the Lab for streaming and the SSC15 T61p laptop in the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) for viewing, then started & configured the DOUG (Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics) application on SSC11 (or SSC16) to receive & display SSRMS/JEMRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System/JEM Robotic Maneuvering System) joint angle telemetry from a PCS (Portable Computer System) laptop, if required.
Joe & Aki Hoshide then spent several hours operating the RMS from Kibo to unberth the MCE (Multi-Mission Consolidated Equipment (MCE) platform (grappled yesterday) and transfer it to the EFU8 (Exposed Facility Unit 8) position on JEF (JEM Exposed Facility) for berthing, followed by capture latch closing and payload heater activation. [After Arm Bus data transfer to SSC via USB memory stick, the RMS monitors, CCP (Crew Command Panel) and RLT (Robotics Laptop) were deactivated and the power cables disconnected. Overnight, the ground team will perform an MT (Mobile Transporter) translation and walk off the SSRMS. The EP (External Pallet) will then be unberthed by the ground and handed off from the JEMRMS to the SSRMS. The pallet will be inserted back into HTV by the crew tomorrow, using the SSRMS.]
FE-2 Revin started a new round of periodic preventive maintenance of RS (Russian Segment) ventilation systems, today working several hours in the FGB (Funktsionalnyi-Grusovoi Blok). [Using a vacuum cleaner and soft brush, Sergei cleaned the detachable VT7 fan screens of the three SOTR gas-liquid heat exchangers (GZhT4), plus the fixed GZhT4 grill, interior closeout panel vent screens (panels 201, 301, 401 and 116, 316, 231, 431), and also replaced the PS1 & PS2 dust filter cartridges.]
The CDR 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.]
As part of the discretionary US “Job Jar” task list, Joe Acaba worked another installment of unpacking HTV3 (H-II Transfer Vehicle 3), as uplinked in HTV cargo ops message #7.
Other activities completed by Joe Acaba included –
• Locating, photographing & restowing two non-functional video multipurpose support arms in preparation for an upcoming repair activity,
• Completing his weekly task of filling out the SHD (Space Headache) questionnaire which he started after Soyuz launch on a daily basis and continues on ISS (on an SSC/Station Support Computer) for every week after his first week in space,
• Reviewing, along with Sunita Williams, the SSRMS DOUG software preparatory to tomorrow’s robotics activities (EP insertion),
• Performing the continuing preventive inspection & cleaning of accessible AR (Atmosphere Revitalization) system bacteria filters in Node-1, Node-2 & Node-3, and
• Conducting, at ~ 2:25pm EDT, the regular IMS (Inventory Management System) stowage conference with Houston stowage specialists.
The Soyuz 31S crew of Williams, Malenchenko & Hoshide undertook the one-hour medical contingency OBT (Onboard Training) drill which provides crewmembers the opportunity to practice communication and coordination necessary to perform medical emergency procedures (such as for nose bleed or eye injury), determine hardware deployment locations and practice CPR delivery in zero-G. [The recorded video with audio commentary is desired for ground training purposes. The G1 camcorder was used to record audio/video during the drill for subsequent playback on the MPC.]
Sunita conducted a brief photo session of the YTSL (YouTube SpaceLab) payload, deactivating CGBA-5 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5), photographing the six GAPs (Group Activation Packs), returning them to CGBA-5 using the restraint system and re-cabling plus re-powering the CGBA. [Through an agreement with NASA, Space Adventures is sponsoring the YTSL world-wide contest for students 14-to-18 years old. Over the past year, students submitted entries in the areas of physics or biology via a two-minute YouTube video. The top two experiments were selected in March 2012 through online voting and by an international panel of experts, including William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration Mission Directorate, and Leland Melvin, NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Office of Education. The winning experiments — from Egypt and Michigan — are being conducted on the ISS. One experiment studies how bacteria grow in space to see if different nutrients can block the growth. The other winning entry looks at how a Zebra spider — which jumps on its prey instead of catching it in a web on Earth — will hunt its prey in microgravity. There are actually two “Egyptian” spiders, a red backed spider named Nefertiti and a Zebra spider named Cleopatra.]
Afterwards, Suni prepared for and then began the second half of the 48 hrs of her first BLR48 (Biological Rhythms 48/BIORHYTHMS) experiment for JAXA, replacing ECG DWH-2 (Electrocardiograph Digital Walk Holter-2) with DWH-1, synchronizing data between DWH and the Spectrum Actiwatch and starting the second 24 hr-period, using DWH-1 instead of DWH-2 as called for by original procedures.
With MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) facility visually inspected and activated (later deactivated), FE-5 adjusted the video camera and then started another session with the BASS (Burning and Suppression of Solids) experiment, conducting a single flame test run on a sample, and performing a fan calibration to evaluate the air flow with the new fan flow constrictor installed. [BASS uses SLICE equipment but burns solid fuel samples instead of gaseous jets. Sample will either be ignited one time and then replaced with a new one, or burn multiple times. The four servicing procedures, ops prep, BASS ops, BASS fan calibration & BASS videotape exchange, are now no longer listed separately on the crew timeline but consolidated in one activity. BASS examines the burning and extinction characteristics of a wide variety of fuel samples in microgravity. It will also guide strategies for extinguishing accidental fires in micro-G. Results will contribute to the combustion computational models used in the design of fire detection and suppression systems in space and on Earth.]
In preparation for the Orlan EVA-31 on 8/20, Padalka & Malenchenko gathered & configured required spacewalk equipment & tools in the DC1 airlock and SM PkhO Transfer Compartment.
Also in preparation for their Orlan-MK spacewalk and preceding dry-run, Gennady & Yuri performed a 1-hr session each with the standard Russian MedOps procedure MO-6 (Hand-Cycle Ergometry) in the SM, assisting each other in turn and being supported by ground specialist tagup on two comm passes (CDR: 1:11pm & FE-4: 2:44pm EDT). [Because cosmonauts in early Russian programs have shown noticeable decrease in arm muscle tone, TsUP/IBMP (MCC-Moscow/Institute of Biomedical Problems) physical fitness experts have groundruled the handgrip/arm tolerance test analysis (hand ergometry) as a standard pre-Orlan EVA requirement. For MO-6, the subject dons the ECG (electrocardiogram) biomed harness, attaches three skin electrodes and plugs the harness into the PKO medical exam panel on the cycle ergometer. The other crewmember assists. The exercise itself starts after 10 seconds of complete rest, by manually rotating the cycle’s pedals, set at 150 W, backwards until “complete exhaustion”.]
Acaba, Williams & Hoshide conducted a session each with the U.S. HMS VIS (Health Maintenance Systems / Visual Acuity) testing program which uses an eye chart for both far & near visual acuity and an eye questionnaire (DCT/Data Collection Tool), to be filled out with test data and downloaded on a laptop for ground access. It was Joe’s 3rd, Suni’s & Aki’s first time.
Joe also completed another weekly 10-min. CWC (Contingency Water Container) inventory as part of the on-going WRM (Water Recovery & Management) assessment of onboard water supplies. Updated “cue cards” based on the crew’s water calldowns are sent up every other week for recording changes. [The current card (32-0027E) lists 14 CWCs (284.0 L total) for the five types of water identified on board: 1. Silver technical water (5 CWCs with 214.5 L, plus 1 empty bag); 2. Condensate water (3 CWCs with 14.0 L, plus 2 empty bags); 3. Iodinated water (3 CWCs with 55.5 L); and 4. Waste water (1 empty bag EMU waste water). Also one leaky CWC (#1024) with 8.5 L). No bags with Wautersia bacteria. Other CWCs are stowed behind racks and are currently not being tracked due to unchanging contents. Wautersia bacteria are typical water-borne microorganisms that have been seen previously in ISS water sources. These isolates pose no threat to human health.]
Akihiko serviced the ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) Shield payload, removing the installed radiation shielding tiles and replacing them with a second type of shielding tiles for study.
Using the NIKON D2X digital camera with flash (SB 800), Yuri Malenchenko took documentary photography of MFR (Membrane Filter-Separator) jumpers of the SRVK-2M Condensate Water Processor System in SM, to help the ground in determining characteristics (signatures) of the gas-liquid mixture flow. [Photographed were the A31-A1 hose at the MFR inlet, the B31-A3 hose between MFR outlet & separator, and the B1-N hose between MFR outlet & membrane volume while the NOK (Condensate Evacuation Pump) was running (every 5 min for 30 sec) and the BPK (Condensate Pump) was shut down.]
Sunita broke out & configured the equipment for her 2nd (FD30) Ambulatory Monitoring session of the ESA ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular) assessment, setting up the HRF PC (Human Research Facility Portable Computer) and Actiwatch Dock, initializing two Actiwatch Spectrums, and formatting two HiFi CF Cards in preparation for her session tomorrow. [ICV activities consist of two separate but related parts over a one-week time period: an ultrasound echo scan & an ambulatory monitoring session. For the experiment, the subject wears electrodes, the HM2 (Holter Monitor 2) for recording ECG (Electrocardiogram) for 48 hours, the ESA Cardiopres to continuously monitor blood pressure for 24 hours, and two Actiwatches (hip/waist & ankle) for monitoring activity levels over 48 hours. During the first 24 hrs (while all devices are worn), ten minutes of quiet, resting breathing are timelined to collect data for a specific analysis. The nominal exercise includes at least 10 minutes at a heart rate ≥120 bpm (beats per minute). After 24 hrs, the Cardiopres is doffed and the HM2 HiFi CF Card and AA Battery are changed out to allow continuation of the session for another 24 hours. After data collection is complete, the Actiwatches and both HM2 HiFi CF Cards are downloaded to the HRF PC1, while Cardiopres data are downloaded to the EPM (European Physiology Module) Rack and transferred to the HRF PC1 via a USB key for downlink. The sessions are scheduled at or around FD15, FD30, FD75, FD135 and R-15 (there will be fewer sessions if mission duration is less than six months). The FD75 echo scan will include an exercise component with a second scan (subset of the first) completed within 5 minutes after the end of exercise. The primary objective of the accompanying CCISS (Cardiovascular Control on return from the ISS) experiment is to maximize the information about changes in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular function that might compromise the ability of astronauts to meet the challenge of return to an upright posture on Earth.]
Suni & Joe had a time slot/placeholder reserved each for making entries in their electronic Journals on the personal SSC. [Required are three journaling sessions per week.]
Before Presleep, FE-3 Acaba turns on the MPC (Multi-Protocol Converter) and start the Ku-band data flow of video recorded during the day to the ground, with POIC (Payload Operations & Integration Center) routing the onboard HRDL (High-Rate Data Link). After about an hour, Joe turns MPC routing off again. [This is a routine operation which regularly transmits HD onboard video (live or tape playback) to the ground on a daily basis before sleeptime.]
Before Sleeptime, Gennady will prepare the Russian MBI-12 payload and start a session with the 4th Sonokard experiment, 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.]
At ~7:30am EDT, Yuri, Sergei & Gennady joined for a Russian PAO TV event, downlinking greetings to (1) the Voronezh State Agrarian University on its 100th anniversary, and (2) the Tomsk University for Control Systems & Radio Electronics (TUSUR) on its the 50th anniversary. [(1) The Agrarian Institute, set up by Tsar Peter I. was the first higher educational establishment in the Central Black land region of Russia. Over almost 100 year history the Institute trained more than 85,000 agricultural specialists for Russia and countries near and far abroad. Among its graduates are 5 Heroes of the Soviet Union, 15 Heroes of Socialist Labor, dozens of academicians, ministers of Union and Republican Ministries of Agriculture, thousands of managers at regional and district levels, public figures. Nowadays Voronezh State Agrarian University is a progressively developing educational establishment with more than 16,000 students in its 8 faculties. The official date for the anniversary celebration is 9/14-9/15, 2012, in Voronezh. (2) TUSUR’s anniversary is a big holiday and an important milestone in its history. The TUSUR was founded for training personnel and finding scientific and engineering solutions for the Rocket Space and Defense Industries of Russia.]
At ~9:00am, Aki Hoshide supported a JAXA PAO event, extending greetings to members of the “Young Astronauts Club” in Tokyo, Japan.
At ~2:35pm, FE-6 powered up the SM’s amateur radio equipment (Kenwood VHF transceiver with manual frequency selection, headset, & power supply) and at 2:40pm conducted a ham radio session with students at the Canada Science &Technology Museum Summer Day Camps, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
The crew worked out on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-3), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (CDR, FE-2), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (FE-2, FE-3, FE-5), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-5), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-4).
Tasks listed for Revin, Malenchenko & Padalka on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were –
• A ~30-min. 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,
• Taking care of the daily IMS (Inventory Management System) maintenance, updating/editing its standard “delta file” including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur), and
• More preparation & downlinking of reportages (written text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb).
CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today were Perth, Australia (ISS had a late afternoon pass over the largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. CEO has imagery of the city as a whole, but researchers are looking to acquire photos of the urban growth around the city. As ISS approached from the SW, the crew was to look just left of track with a long lens to photograph the outskirts of the city), and Moscow, Russia (Capital Cities Collection: ISS had a night pass over the capital of Russia with fair weather expected. As the crew tracked east over northern Ukraine and western Russia, they were to look far left of track to acquire imagery of Moscow at night).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:23am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 402.0 km
Apogee height – 402.9 km
Perigee height – 401.0 km
Period — 92.60 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0001399
Solar Beta Angle — 66.8 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.55
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 56 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 78,630
Time in orbit (station) — 5011 days
Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4298 days.
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations—————-
08/20/12 — Russian EVA-31
08/30/12 — US EVA-18
09/06/12 — HTV3 undocking
09/08/12 — HTV3 reentry
09/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/25/12 — ATV3 undocking
10/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitsky/E.Tarelkin
10/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/01/12 — Progress M-17M/49P launch
11/03/12 — Progress M-17M/49P docking
11/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
12/05/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/07/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
12/26/12 — Progress M-18M/50P launch
12/28/12 — Progress M-18M/50P docking
03/19/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
04/02/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
04/04/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/16/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/31/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
