ISS On-Orbit Status 25 Sep 2002
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below.
9P/Progress M1-9 was launched at 12:58pm EDT from Baikonur and is currently on its four-day trip to the ISS. [There will be a total of eight course adjustment burns (DV1-DV8), of which two were set for today, one for tomorrow, two for Friday (test of Kurs rendezvous radar system at 30 km from ISS), one for Saturday, and two for Sunday, the day of docking. Docking time is 1:07 pm EDT.]
Before breakfast and first exercise session, the crew started the day off with the regular periodic Russian medical assessments MO-7 (calf volume measurement) and MO-8 (body mass measurement, BMM). FE-2 Sergei Treschev set up the BMM mass measuring device, which uses calibrated springs to determine the subject’s mass in weightless space, and stowed it away after the tests.
Later in the day, CDR Valery Korzun and Treschev completed another session with the Russian MedOps cardio experiment MO-1 (study of the bioelectric activity of the heart at rest), taking turns as subject and assistant and tagging up with a ground specialist at TsUP (MCC-M).
Treschev set up the hardware for the Russian GFI-10 "Molniya" experiment (brought up last year by Progress 6P) and mounted it at window #2 of the Service Module (SM). [The Molniya payload is intended for the geophysical study of atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere electromagnetic interaction related to storms and seismic activities, using video-photometric systems (VFS-3M). After its installation at the porthole, the equipment started taking automatic measurements for several hours, controlled from the SM on-board equipment control system (SUBA), and was then deactivated and stowed away by Sergei before sleep time.]
In preparation for tomorrow’s robotics operations, Korzun and Whitson reviewed 9A robotics procedures for the S1 truss installation and three EVAs on 9A. They also tagged up with the ground on robotics procedures and then set up and reviewed the STS-112 version of the SSRMS DOUG (space station remote manipulator system — dynamic ubiquitous operations graphics). Tomorrow’s ops will feature (1) a dry run of the S1 truss transfer and installation on 9A, (2) MSS (mobile service system) pre-launch checkout and setup, and (3) exercising the new SSRMS DJOPS (degrade joint operations) software. [DOUG is a frequently updated software program on the MSS {mobile service system) laptops that provides a birdseye-view graphical image of the external station configuration and the SSRMS arm, showing its real-time location and configuration on a laptop during its operation.]
CDR Korzun downlinked more videotape recorded last month of the Russian Plasma Crystal-3 experiment. The crew was also scheduled to use this TV session to send down greetings for a Music Festival on 9/28 at the Historical Technical Informational Center at Peenemünde, Germany (on Usedom Island on the Baltic Sea).
In the DC-1 docking module, Korzun performed the regular (monthly) check-up on the circuit breakers (AZS) on the BVP amp switch panel — they should all be On — and the 14 LEDs of the fuses in fuse panels BPP-30 and BPP-36.
Korzun and Whitson today began packing and transferring items for 9A, supported by advisory prepack messages from the ground.
The two flight engineers spent about two hours on the periodic in-depth inspection of the TVIS treadmill chassis, with special attention on the two areas of the chassis truss where failed roller axles were dropped. [Progress 9P will deliver two pieces of TVIS repair hardware as a stop-gap in case the chassis fails before 9A, viz., clamshell truss stiffener and an internal chassis support assembly (ICSA). If not required before 9A, which delivers a full new chassis, the parts will not installed but remain on orbit as spare parts.]
All crewmembers completed their daily physical exercise program.
In the morning (6:35am EDT), the crew conducted an interactive televised educational event with students gathered at the National Museum of Emerging Science & Innovation in Tokyo, Japan. The event was sponsored by the Japanese space agency NASDA and organized by Dr. Mamoru Mohri, Shuttle astronaut and director of the Museum.
Today’s targets for the CEO (crew earth observations) program were Industrialized SE Africa (oblique views left and right for documentation of atmospheric pollutants likely building up now. Test for thickness of polluted air layer: the Lesotho mountain massif, reaching 9-10,000 feet altitude [right of track], should protrude as very clear landscape above the pollution layer. ISS track continued along the axis of Mozambique, a good opportunity to document the predicted eastward shift of burning from Angola across Africa [burning should even be starting in Madagascar-possibly visible right of track]), Johannesburg, South Africa (contextual view of Johannesburg, original centre of the present string of Witwatersrand cities), Angolan Biomass Burning (southeasterly track across Namibia. Crew was to look left to document the last fires of this dry season as well as large fire scars [dark hand-shaped features]), and High Central Andean Glaciers (crew to photograph detailed views of any ice-capped volcanoes-near nadir to left and right. There is great interest in tropical glaciers as proxies for global warming at low latitudes. Remote Andean glaciers are particularly difficult to study. Weather continued unusually clear immediately east of the high Andes. Crew was requested to shoot any rivers and any clearings in mapping mode–glint opportunities left of track).
CEO images can be viewed at the website http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov
U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 1:37 am EDT):
Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):
Elektron O2 generator is powered On (16-amp mode), on backup pump. Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is ON in MANUAL cycle mode #5, i.e., 10-min. cycle time (vacuum pump failed). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is offline. BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode, bed #2 in Purify mode.
SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 763, temperature (deg C) — 26.8, ppO2 (mmHg) — 161.2, ppCO2 (mmHg) — 2.6.
SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 761, temperature (deg C) — 20.9.
FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) — 756, temperature (deg C) — 21.7.
Node: Pressure (mmHg) — 755.34, temperature (deg C) — 23.5 (shell); ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) — 757.74, temperature (deg C) — 24.9, ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a;
Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) — 757.74, temperature (deg C) — 24.3; shell heater temp (deg C) — 24.0, ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 23.6
PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 18.4
(n/a = data not available)
Propulsion System (PS): Total propellant load available (SM + FGB) — 3639 kg (8023 lb) [as of 9/19].
Electrical Power Systems (EPS):
Both P6 channels fully operational. Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 2B and BGA 4B in Autotrack mode (solar-tracking).
SM batteries: Battery #1 is offline; all other batteries (7) are in "Partial Charge" mode.
FGB batteries: Battery #4 is in "Storage" mode (offline); all other batteries (5) are in "Partial Charge" mode.
Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 in Standby mode; PCU-2 in Standby mode.
Thermal Control Systems:
Air conditioner SKV-1 is Off; SKV-2 is On.
Command & Data Handling Systems:
C&C-3 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-1 is in standby.
GNC-2 MDM is prime; GNC-1 is Backup.
LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
PL-1 MDM is On (primary); PL-2 MDM is off (cold backup).
APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.
SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.
SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.
Attitude Source:
3 CMGs on-line.
State vector — Russian segment
Attitude — Russian segment
Angular rates — Russian segment
Communications & Tracking Systems:
All Russian communications & tracking systems are nominal.
S-band is operating nominally.
Ku-band is operating nominally.
Audio subsystem operating nominally.
Video subsystem operating nominally.
MCOR (medium-rate communications outage recorder) is operating nominally.
Robotics:
SSRMS/Canadarm2 at MBS PDGF1 (mobile base system/power & data grapple fixture 1) and PDGF2, with Keep Alive power on both strings. SSRMS based on PDGF1 (LEE A, derigidized)
MBS: Keep Alive power on both strings.
RWS (robotics workstations): Lab RWS is Off; Cupola RWS is Off.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:37am EDT [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 387.5 km
Apogee — 399.2 km
Perigee — 375.8 km
Period — 92.3 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0017293
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
Solar Beta Angle — 51.0 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Altitude decrease — 220 m (mean) in last 24 hours
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 21967
Current Flight Attitude — XVV (x-axis in velocity vector, 5.0 deg roll bias [yaw: -10 deg, pitch: -9.5 deg, roll: -5 deg], with CMG Thruster Assist Momentum Management).
For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, see
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html
