ISS On-Orbit Status 25 Aug 2002
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below. Everything aboard the ISS is ready for tonight’s spacewalk.
After wake-up yesterday afternoon at 4:00 pm EDT for their “Sunday”, the crew completed final equipment preparations for tonight’s EVA-8. They then went to sleep this morning at 7:30 am. After “day break” tonight at 5:00 pm, last steps were to be performed before ISS hatches closing, Orlan suit donning and EVA egress. Valery Korzun and Sergey Treschev are scheduled to open the DC-1 EVA hatch tomorrow morning at about 1:00 am EDT.
Korzun and Treschev went through another review of the final timeline for the spacewalk with a ground specialist via S-band.
The CDR prepared the Russian Glisser-M video system with its freshly charged battery. The video is to be mounted outside on the DC-1 EV ladder (VU) facing toward the Japanese MPAC and SEED payload, to record their servicing for the “customer”.
Later, Sergey removed and replaced the CO2 absorber unit (filter) in the SM gas analyzer (GA IK0501). This is a periodic GA maintenance task. [The device analyzes the air flow pumped through it for humidity (H2O), oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2), and converts its measurements into partial pressure values going to a monitoring laptop and, if they exceed limit values, to the caution and warning panel (PSS).]
CDR Korzun inspected the VP fan on the active air conditioner (SKV-1) for moisture, a new task added recently by TsUP to the list of regular periodic maintenance items.
He also inspected the BRPK-2 water condensate separator and did the weekly collection of SP toilet flush and SVO water supply counter data for calldown to the ground.
FE-1 Peggy Whitson, who will stay behind as IV (intravehicular) support in the FGB during the EVA, readied the Soyuz ASU toilet for her use and set up the Urilux equipment for the MO-9 urinalysis experiment to be performed by Korzun and Treschev tonight shortly before their donning of the Orlans. [MO-9, part of the Russian crew health-monitoring program, is conducted regularly every 30 days, and also before and after Russian EVAs in Orlan “skafandri” (space suits). It is also one of five nominal Russian medical tests, which were adopted by NASA for US crewmembers also.]
Peggy’s schedule tonight has time reserved to provide pre-EVA support to her crewmates as required. MCC-H also asked her to switch the Node overhead MPEV (manual pressure equalization valve) to open before begin of pre-EVA activities, and to close it again after EVA-8 is complete.
Daily routine maintenance tasks were performed by Korzun (SOSh life support systems maintenance), Treschev (IMS delta file preparation), and Whitson (Lab payloads status checkup).
Peggy had her PFC (private family conference) today, and all crewmembers performed their regular daily physical exercise.
ISS flight attitude, currently in earth-oriented LVLH (local vertical/local horizontal), will be moded to Attitude Hold for DC-1 “Pirs” depressurization (to avoid reactive motion disturbance caused by the air venting). The CMGs will resume momentum management after hatch opening, but the SM thrusters (normally required for CMG momentum desaturation) will be disabled for Kromka R&R, ham radio antenna/cable installation and other EVA activities in thruster proximity. After the EVA, the station will be maneuvered to XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane) tomorrow at 9:32 am EDT. At the current solar Beta angle, temperatures on the outer CMG spin bearings should remain below the recommended limit of 20.5 degC.
Today’s targets of the CEO (crew earth observations) program were Guangzhou, China (nadir pass over this largest south China city, located at the head of the Pearl River estuary. Crew to try for city boundaries. ESC [electronic still camera] requested), Xianggang (Hong Kong), China (slightly right of nadir. ESC requested. Sunglint opportunity), Shanghai, China (nadir pass. Crew to look on the south [right] side of the Yangtze River estuary. ESC requested), Yangtze River Delta (crew to photograph overlapping coverage along heavily built-up islands and coasts), Eastern Mediterranean Aerosols (very clear weather. Crew to document any aerosol accumulation left of track. Cities of the east coast of the Med off to the right), Western Mediterranean Aerosols (clear weather in this basin implies smog build-up), Berlin, Germany (nadir pass. City is spread widely among trees and lakes, and is difficult to recognize. Just left of nadir. ESC requested), Seattle, Wash. (nadir pass. City center just right of nadir. ESC requested), and Taiwan Smog (track follows spine of the island. Crew to look left for structured smog. As with Los Angeles, early morning views show distinct pulses of smog moving out to sea. Also to look for sharply defined banks of decreasing density with distance from the coast).
