ISS On-Orbit Status 4 Dec 2002

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below.  “Every crew does better than the last.” (CDR Valery Korzun during ISS farewell, 12/2).

Wake-up was at a back-shifted 5:00am EST. 

Before breakfast and first exercise session, the crew started the day off with their first Russian medical assessments MO-7 (calf volume measurement) and MO-8 (body mass measurement, BMM).  Today’s data provide a reference base for subsequent periodic measurements.  [FE-1 Nikolai Budarin 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.  Calf volume measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and lower foot as fixed reference points, to provide a rough index of deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures.]

Each crewmember had one hour set aside on their schedule for ISS familiarization, i.e., to adjust to living in their new environment.  [They will have one hour a day for crew orientation for the first two weeks after Shuttle undock.]

FE-2/SO Don Pettit prepared the HRF (human research facility) for Increment 6 by first unstowing its new hard disk drive (HDD) and installing it in the HRF PC.  He then supported the necessary software updates by setting up the RIC (rack interface controller) for autoload, disabling the “watchdog” timer and preparing the main controller card for software load.

While the HRF was still powered up, Pettit also transferred the last set of EVARM (EVA radiation monitoring) readings from the EVARM badge reader storage card to the HRF computer in preparation for downlink.

In preparation of a new round of the NASA renal (kidney) stone experiment activities by the new crew, Don Pettit reviewed the Renal CBT (computer-based training), then unstowed and set up the experiment hardware and started his diet log.   [This long-range preventive medicine investigation features daily random ingestion of either potassium citrate or placebo tablets.  It is Dr. Peggy Whitson’s double-blind research study investigating methods to prevent formation of kidney stones in zero-G.  Part of the experiment consists in keeping a metabolic diet log (food and fluid intake), followed by collection of urine samples several times per day during each week-long session.].

Later today Don will also perform the periodic functionality checkout of the defibrillator, a part of the health maintenance system (HMS).  [The battery-powered device provides heart monitoring, pacing, electrical cardioversion and defibrillation, with ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia recognition capability, including manual override of automatic arrhythmia recognition.]

Meanwhile, FE-1 Nikolai Budarin performed component replacements in the Service Module (SM) toilet system (ASU), readying it with a new set of hoses, pipe joints, indicator and receptacle.  He also reconfigured the ASU in the Soyuz TMA-1 (211) Descent Module to its initial all-male-crew condition.

CDR Ken Bowersox, who is particularly inclined for computer-related tasks, had a four-hour time period reserved for reconfiguring and upgrading the SSC (station support computer) network for the new increment, with much of the time required for auto loading.  [During the reconfiguration, which focused on crew/increment specific software programs, the network was down, and other tasks requiring the SSC had to wait or work around.]

All crewmembers performed their regular daily physical exercise.  As for previous Expeditions, the protocol calls for two exercise sessions per day (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) of 2.5 hrs. total length, for all three residents.

The CEVIS (cycle ergometer with vibration isolation) is operational, and planners have increased the occurrence of CEVIS sessions for Sox and Nikolai in order to allow them to practice the EVA prebreathe protocol in automated and/or manual mode, as indicated, inpreparation for next week’s spacewalk (12/12).

A description of the new, improved version of the computerized IMS (inventory management system) was uplinked, detailing changes to its software and how to use it (procedures).  The upload of the new IMS version (1.40) will be performed in the near future.
 
Budarin was scheduled to set up for downlink the videotape with greetings for the 130th Anniversary of the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow, well known to alumni of Russian universities and military academies from their student days.  The Museum’s Hall of Space, as well as the Museum at large, is an object of national pride.  The tape was to be downlinked by the time tagged automated daily timeline (SPP) system in the Russian segment.

Tonight, Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will help light the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York during one of the biggest, brightest and most famous holiday celebrations in the world. The ceremony can be seen on TV at 8pm EST on NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center.” The program is expected to draw up to 25 million viewers.

Today’s targets for the CEO (crew earth observations program) were Congo-Zimbabwe Biomass Burning (cloudfree skies right of track:  crew was to look for individual fires and blackened burn scars; and any smoke pall that may have developed.  Sub-Saharan Africa, immediately south of the rainforest, is the most flammable part of the planet, and savanna fires continue to burn until the rainy season sets in), Nairobi, Kenya (near-nadir pass over Kenya’s capital city [1.5 million]. ESC [electronic still camera]), Patagonian Glaciers (nadir views of the south end of the larger [southern] Andes ice sheet.  Our Russian colleagues are particularly interested in dynamics of the ice sheet and the many distinct glacier tongues that flow outward onto low ground.  Handheld photography has provided many new detailed views of these poorly mapped regions of the planet), L. Nasser, Toshka Lakes, Egypt (nadir pass over the four new lakes west of the Nile River.  Agriculture for millions of people is planned to occupy the shores of these new lakes–supplied by water pumped via a visible canal from a western arm of Lake Nasser.  The lakes have grown very fast during the past few years of good rains and high flow in the Nile River), Puerto Rico (shots of coastlines [where development is pressing heavily on animal and plant communities] were specifically requested), Palmerston Island (detailed views requested of this remote coral reef atoll, surrounding a central 11-km-long lagoon.  This is the only true atoll in the southern Cook Islands.  Handheld images are proving to be the best, or the only, images of many Pacific islands.  Eight “savage hurricanes” raked this atoll in the eight decades from 1883 to 1967, with none since [highest point is only 6.5 meters above sea level]. High winds, and associated breakers, at this time of year may reveal the coastline more readily).
CEO images can be viewed at the website
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 4:45am EST).

Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):

• Elektron O2 generator is powered On (32 Amp mode).  Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is On (manual mode 5, cycle time 10 min).  U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is Off. TCCS is operational.  BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode, bed #2 in Purify mode.
• SM Working Compartment:  Pressure (mmHg) — 761; temperature (deg C) — 25.0; ppO2 (mmHg) — 140.6; ppCO2 (mmHg) — 2.5.
• SM Transfer Compartment:  Pressure (mmHg) — 762; temperature (deg C) — 19.6.
• FGB Cabin:  Pressure (mmHg) — 756; temperature (deg C) — 22.7.
• Node:  Pressure (mmHg) — 754.70; temperature (deg C) — 23.3 (shell); ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
• U.S. Lab:  Pressure (mmHg) — 756.03; temperature (deg C) — 25.3; ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a;
• Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock):  Pressure (mmHg) — 756.03, temperature (deg C) — 24.1; shell heater temp (deg C) — 24.1, ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
• PMA-1:  Shell heater temp (deg C) — 23.0
• PMA-2:  Shell heater temp (deg C) — 17.8

         (n/a = data not available)

Propulsion System (PS): 

• Total propellant load available (SM + FGB + Progress) — 3802 kg (8382 lb) [as of 11/28/02].

Electrical Power Systems (EPS):

• Both P6 channels fully operational.  Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 2B and BGA 4B both in dual-angle mode (directed position)..
• SM batteries:  All batteries (8) are in “Partial Charge”: mode.  Data are static.
• FGB batteries:  Batteries #4 is off line; all other batteries (5) are in “Partial Charge” mode.
• Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 is in Standby; PCU-2 is in Standby.

Thermal Control Systems:

• Air conditioner SKV-1 is Off; SKV-2 is Off.

Command & Data Handling Systems:

• C&C-1 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-3 is in standby.
• GNC-1 MDM is prime; GNC-2 is Backup (new patches loaded on both).
• EXT-2 is On (primary), EXT-1 is off.
• LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
• PL-1 MDM is On (primary); PL-2 MDM is off (diagnostic
• APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.
• SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 2 redundant lanes (of 3) operational. Lane 1 is down.
• SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.

Attitude Source:

• 3 CMGs on-line.
• State vector — U.S. SIGI-1
• Attitude — Russian segment (RS)
• Angular rates — U.S. RGA-1 (from RS attitude)

Communications & Tracking Systems:

• FGB MDM-1 powered (not active); FGB MDM-2 is operating.
• All other 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 based at MBS PDGF3 with Keep Alive (KA) power on both strings.
• MBS: KA power on both strings.  MT: at WS7, with KA power.  POA: KA power on both strings.
• RWS (robotics workstations): Lab RWS is Off; Cupola RWS is Off.

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 6:55am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 396.7 km
• Apogee — 398.8 km
• Perigee — 394.7 km
• Period — 92.5 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0003057
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.57
• Solar Beta Angle — 9.3 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 23053
• Current Flight Attitude  LVLH TEA (local vertical/local horizontal = “earth-fixed”: z-axis in local vertical, x-axis in velocity vector [yaw: -10 deg, pitch: -9.1 deg, roll: 0 deg]) until December 14, then XPOP.

For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, see
 http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html