MRPO Daily Status Report 11-21-02

GMT Date: 325

Calendar Date: 11/21/02

Increment: 5

Stage: 9A

Week 24

ISS:
The launch of STS-113/11A has been rescheduled for Friday, 11/22, at approximately
7:15 p.m. CST (327/01:15 GMT). Docking is expected to occur at approximately
4:20 p.m. CST Sunday, 11/24. Joint operations are planned for seven days,
with undocking occurring Sunday, 12/1.

Payloads to be launched on STS-113/11A:
CSLM-2, STES-10, ZCG Autoclaves & Hard drives, InSpace Coil Assemblies.

Payloads to be returned on STS-113:
PGBA, STES-7, ZCG Autoclaves & Hard drives.

Payloads currently on-board ISS:
BSTC, CGBA, InSPACE, MAMS, MSG (facility), PFMI, PGBA, SAMS, STES-7, SUBSA
and ZCG.

Status:
MRPO payloads CGBA, MAMS, PGBA, SAMS and STES-7 continue nominal, basically
unattended, operations. MSG and PFMI were reactivated yesterday but are
currently inactive. BSTC, InSpace, SUBSA and ZCG are currently inactive.

EXPRESS RACKS 1, 2 and 4 (ER1, ER2& ER4) are powered and supporting
payload operations. ER3 and ER5 are available to support payload operations
but are currently inactive.

CGBA health and status data is nominal. CGBA is to be returned on STS-114
(ULF1).

MAMS is operating nominally in the quasi-steady mode. HiRAP is currently
turned-off. MAMS data is available on the acceleration measurement web
page.

MSG was activated yesterday to support a PFMI sample run. Initial attempts
to get power to the payload were unsuccessful and MSG main power was recycled
to clear the problem. The PFMI run was initiated and approximately 5 hours
later MSG payload power failed. Several attempts to restore power to PFMI
were unsuccessful and MSG operations were terminated. Problem assessment
and planning for trouble-shooting is in progress. Preliminary assessment
is that the Power Distribution Controller has failed.
Verification of this conclusion is in progress.

PGBA health and status data is nominal. Downlink of video from the PGBA
internal cameras has not been successful. PGBA is to be returned on STS-113.
No plant growth has been observed so far on the second crop.

PFMI hardware was re-installed in the MSG and PFMI run # 8 was started
yesterday. The run was terminated prematurely after approximately five
hours due to a MSG power failure. Normal video coverage of the operation,
which includes thermal profile data, was recorded and down-linked. The
PFMI sample remains in the thermal chamber and can possibly be reprocessed.

All SAMS sensors in EXPRESS Racks are operating nominally. The SAMS sensor
in the MSG is currently turned-off. SAMS data is also being posted to
the acceleration measurement web page.

STES-7 health and status data is nominal. All growth chambers are activated.
All growth chambers are to be deactivated after the launch of STS-113/11A
but before docking. STES-7 is to be returned on STS-113.

ZCG operations have been completed. The processed autoclaves have been
removed and stowed in preparation for return on STS-113.

Near-term Outlook:

Week 24 (11/18-11/24) – The crew is continuing preparation activities
for STS-113/ISS Joint Operations. The crew sleep cycle has been shifted
ten hours earlier than normal in preparation for the planned arrival of
the Increment 6 crew. STES-7 will be deactivated prior to STS-113/11A
docking Sunday.

Week 25 (11/25-12/1) – The main thrust of this week will be to
install the third segment of the ISS truss which will require three EVAs.
Reboost of the ISS to a higher orbit will also occur during this week.
Supply and return payload transfers will be accomplished and undocking
should occur on Sunday, 12/1.

M. Vlasse, PhD, DSc
MRPO Increment Scientist

ACRONYMS:

BCSS — Biotechnology Cell Science Stowage
BSTC– Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller (General status information
on this payload will include coverage of the following items of support
equipment: BTR, BCSS and GSM)
BTR — Biotechnology Refrigerator
CGBA – Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus
ER1– EXPRESS RACK 1
ER2 — EXPRESS RACK 2
ER3 – EXPRESS RACK 3
ER4 – EXPRESS RACK 4
ER5 – EXPRESS RACK 5
GSM — Gas Supply Module
InSPACE– Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates
ISS – International Space Station
MAMS — Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System
MSG – Microgravity Science Glovebox
PFMI – Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation
PGBA – Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus
SAMS — Space Acceleration Measurement System II
STES – Protein Crystal Growth – Single Thermal Enclosure System
SUBSA – Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules
ZCG – Zeolite Crystal Growth