MRPO Daily Status Report 11-25-02

p> GMT Date: 329

Calendar Date: 11/25/02

Increment: 5

Stage: 9A

Week 25

ISS:
The launch of STS-113/11A occurred Saturday,11/23, at 6:49 p.m. CST. Docking
is expected to occur today at approximately 3:25 p.m. CST. Joint operations
are planned for seven days, with undocking planned to occur Monday, 12/2.

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

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

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 and SAMS continue nominal, basically unattended,
operations. STES-7 remains powered but the growth chambers have been deactivated.
BSTC, InSpace, MSG, PFMI, SUBSA and ZCG are currently inactive.

EXPRESS RACKS 1 and 4 (ER1 & ER4) are powered and supporting payload
operations. ER2 power has been turned-off to conserve energy during Joint
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 and HiRAP modes. MAMS
will be recording acceleration data during docking today. MAMS data is
available on the acceleration measurement web page.

MSG trouble-shooting performed Friday confirmed the Power Distribution
Controller (PDC) has failed. The PDC was removed from the MSG Saturday
and will be returned on STS-113. A replacement part is not currently onboard
but should become available no later than the ULF1 flight in March/03.
MSG will not be able to support payload operations until the PDC is replaced.

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 run # 8 was terminated prematurely due to a MSG power failure. The
PFMI sample remains in the thermal chamber in MSG 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 will be recording acceleration
data during docking today. SAMS data is also being posted to the acceleration
measurement web page.

STES-7 health and status data is nominal. All growth chambers were deactivated
Sunday. 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 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.

Expedition 6 Week 1 (12/2-12/8) – Undocking should occur on Monday, 12/2.
The crew will have off-duty days on Tuesday and Wednesday. No crew activities
are scheduled during the remainder of this week for MRPO payloads.

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
PDC – Power Distribution Controller on MSG
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