ISS On-Orbit Status 17 Mar 2003
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below. The pre-St. Patrick’s Sunday yesterday did not go quite as happily uneventful for the crew as their planned schedule intended.
Early Sunday morning, an unexpected pump failure on one of the two loops of the Lab ITCS (internal thermal control system) required the crew to attempt repair and troubleshooting, keeping them up well past their bedtime last night. Today’s schedule for CDR Ken Bowersox and FE-2/SO Don Pettit was largely cleared of other tasks and dedicated to an extensive maintenance job to recover from the pump failure. More previously unplanned work remains for tomorrow. [Leading up to the shutdown of the ITCS MTL PPA (moderate temperature loop pump package assembly), at 1:46am EST MTL loop parameters began showing fluctuations in pump speed (down from ~16000 rpm), pressure and current, at first glance indicative of a problem with the MTL PPA gas trap. At 7:17am, the crew swapped the gas trap with a spare, which didn’t help. Later, at 9:20am, the pump shut down and the ITCS reverted to single-channel mode on the LTL (low temperature loop). Today, Bowersox and Pettit began to replace the PPA with a spare unit, installing it temporarily in the LAB-1 rack for pressurization of its accumulator with N2 (nitrogen). To clarify an uncertainty regarding the bellows’ reaction to the pressurization, the subsequent priming of the pump with water was deferred to tomorrow. Tomorrow’s schedule was cleared to accommodate another three hours for the PPA filling, followed by connecting the gas trap from the failed PPA to it, then installing the assembly in the MTL in LAB-1, wrapped up by functional testing. The FSS (fluid system servicer), to be used for the water filling from the PWR (payload water reservoir), will finally be drained, purged and restowed.]
The crew was provided with a contingency plan in the event of a failure of the ITCS/LTL single-loop mode which would leave the U.S. segment without internal cooling. [The plan involves extensive load shedding to reduce heat production, i.e. powering down a larger number of RPCMs (remote power controller modules) in order to prolong the upstream DDCU’s (dc-to-dc current converter’s) “thermal survivability” time (after which the power-providing DDCU would trip).]
FE-1 Nikolai Budarin performed his daily status check on the Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-2/Lada-2 (“Plants-2”) plant growth experiment in the SM.
Budarin also installed two new cables of the SUBA onboard equipment control system in the SM, brought up by 10P/Progress-247, to reconfigure control of both SKV-1 (turned off) and SKV-2 (off) air conditioners. [This had been deferred from an earlier date, 3/3].
Afterwards, Budarin supported the transition of the Russian KTsP1 central post computer #1 and Laptop 1 to the new 7.01 software version, Later today, the SM Terminal (TVM) and Central (TsVM) computers are to be restarted by the ground, to reinitialize their three lanes (subsets). The restart will be on the old Vers. 5.04 software, with transition to the new code scheduled for later. The upgrading will continue this week. [To prepare for the TVM restart (4:20pm), Elektron and SKV-1 will be shut down to prevent C&W (caution & warning) annunciations with no software in control. Similarly, for TsVM restart (9:33pm), Moscow/TsUP will deactivate subsystems such as the DC-1 docking module’s fire suppression system (APS) and thermal control system, and US-21 matching unit transfers.]
Budarin completed another periodic change-out of the urine receptacle (M-P) and filter insert (F-V) of the ASU toilet system in the Service Module.
Budarin also conducted the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh life support system, including ASU toilet facilities, while Bowersox did the regular checkup of the autonomous PCG-STES010 Lab payload.
Later in the day, it was time again for Nikolai to work his way through the MO-5 MedOps protocol of cardiovascular evaluation during graded exercises on the VELO cycle ergometer, assisted by FE-2/SO Don Pettit as CMO (crew medical officer). [Using the Gamma-1 ECG equipment with biomed harness, skin electrodes, and a blood pressure and rheoplethysmograph cuff wired to the cycle ergometer’s instrumentation panels, the cosmonaut worked the pedals after a prescribed program at load settings of 125, 150, and 175 watts for three minutes each. All measurements were recorded and telemetered to MCC-M, from where the workout was controlled by a specialist.]
All crewmembers performed their daily physical exercise program on RED (resistive exercise device), TVIS (treadmill with vibration isolation and stabilization), and VELO with load trainer.
The Vozdukh CO2 removal unit is back up and running. CDRA (CO2 removal assembly) is off.
ISS flight attitude is back in XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane).
Over the weekend, Bowersox and Pettit, working off the “job jar” task list, completed an inspection of the outer surface of the Node nadir hatch window’s EVA Hyzod cover for optical obscurations induced by environmental exposure to atomic oxygen and vacuum ultra-violet. [The task consisted of photo and video documenting of any flaws, marks, particulate contamination, deposited film, large pits, coating de-lamination, or hazing. The inspection helps to determine possible future actions required to maintain a clear CBCS (centerline berthing camera system) view from this hatch, the primary berthing cue for MPLM installation during Mission ULF-1.]
Today’s targets for the CEO (crew earth observations) program (not using the Lab window due to Flight Rule restriction of no exposure to direct sunlight) were Melbourne, Australia (City at Night: At dusk looking right of track for city view), Detroit, Michigan (City at Night: Looking right of track for the home of the Detroit Motor City Dragway), Rangoon, Myanmar (City at Night: looking right of track toward the Irrawaddy River Delta to document lights), Beijing, China (City at Night; looking left of track for densely populated area), Bombay, India (City at Night), and Patagonian Glaciers (shooting context and detailed views of glaciers before upcoming major winter snow storms).
CEO images can be viewed at the websites
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov
U.S. and Russian Segment Status(as of 1:22pm EST).
Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):
- Elektron O2 generator is powered On (24 Amp mode). Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is On (Manual mode 5). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is Off. TCCS (trace contaminant control subsystem) is operating. MCA (major constituents analyzer) is operating. BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode; bed #2 in Purify mode. RS air conditioner SKV-1 is Off; SKV-2 is Off.
- SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 753; temperature (deg C) — 26.9; ppO2 (mmHg) — 183.1; ppCO2 (mmHg) — 3.6 (suspect).
- SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 751; temperature (deg C) — 21.2.
- FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) — 752; temperature (deg C) — 22.0.
- Node: Pressure (mmHg) — 743.25; temperature (deg C) — 23.9 (shell); ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
- U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) — 744.92; temperature (deg C) — 22.1; ppO2 (mmHg) — 169.1; ppCO2 (mmHg) — 4.1;
- Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) — 745.02; temperature (deg C) — 21.0; shell heater temp (deg C) — 21.6, ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
- PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 24.0
- PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 12.8
(n/a = data not available)
Propulsion System (PS):
- Total propellant load available [SM(786) + FGB(2746) + Progress(490)] — 4022 kg (8867 lb)as of 3/13/03. (Capability: SM — 860 kg; FGB — 6120 kg).
Electrical Power Systems (EPS):
- Both P6 channels fully operational. Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 2B and 4B both in Autotrack (sun-following).
- SM batteries: All batteries (8) are in “Partial Charge” mode.
- FGB batteries: Batteries #2 is off line; all other batteries (5) are in “Partial Charge” mode.
- Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 and PCU-2 both in Standby mode.
Command & Data Handling Systems:
- C&C-1 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-3 is in standby.
- GNC-2 MDM is prime; GNC-1 is Backup.
- INT-1 is operating; INT-2 is Off.
- EXT-1 is On (primary), EXT-2 is Off.
- LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
- PL-2 MDM is On (primary); PL-1 MDM is Off
- 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 out of the set (as of 11/14/02).
- SM Central Computer (TsVM): 2 redundant lanes (of 3) operational. Lane 1 is out of the set (as of 3/2/03).
Attitude Control Systems:
- 3 CMGs on-line (CMG-1 failed).
- State vector source — U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)
- Attitude source — U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)
- Angular rate source — RGA-2
Flight Attitude:
- XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane = “sun-fixed” [yaw: -179.0 deg, pitch: -8.8 deg., roll: 0 deg]), with CMG/Thruster Assist Momentum Management).
- Solar Beta Angle: 39.0 deg (magnitude increasing).
Communications & Tracking Systems:
- FGB MDM-1 is powered Off; FGB MDM-2 is operational.
- 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 (VTR1 is operable again).
- HCOR (high-rate communications outage recorder) is operating nominally.
Robotics:
- SSRMS/Canadarm2 based at Lab PDGF with Keep Alive (KA) power on both strings.
- MBS: KA power on both strings.
- MT: latched at WS4, 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, 7:27am EST [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 390.9 km
- Apogee — 396.3 km
- Perigee — 385.6 km
- Period — 92.37 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.0007897
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.59
- Solar Beta Angle: 39.0 deg (magnitude increasing)
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 160 m
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 24670
- For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html
