Status Report

ISS On-Orbit Status 1 Nov 2002

By SpaceRef Editor
November 1, 2002
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All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below.  This is the 147th day for Expedition 6 on board (of a planned 168-day stay) and their 149th day in space.  The station now has six residents.  

Soyuz TMA-1 (211)/5S performed a smooth automatic docking, linking up at the DC-1 “Pirs” docking module at 12:01am EST. After interface leak check and air sampling in the SM with the AK-1M sampler, hatch opening to the DC-1 and crew welcome occurred at 1:26am.  CDR Valery Korzun, FE-1/SO Peggy Whitson, FE-2 Sergei Treschev and the visiting crew (VC CDR Sergei Zalyotin, VC FE-1 Frank De Winne and VC FE-2 Yuri Lonchakov) then relocated to the SM, where a special televised welcome/greeting ceremony via Moscow’s “Ostankino Channel” (i.e., over RGS and Molniya satellite) took place, with Russian and European dignitaries present at MCC-M.

Later, transfers of the IELKs (individual equipment liner kits, Russian: USIL) for the Soyuz crew return vehicles were completed, with the VC-4 crew’s seat liners relocated from 5S to Soyuz TM-34/4S, docked at the FGB nadir port, and the ISS crew’s IELKs going into 5S.  

Next step was an emergency procedures review by CDR Korzun for the visiting crew, to familiarize them with the actual location of hardware used in emergency situations and to serve as a refresher for their response to emergency alarms.

Soyuz delivered new ODFs (onboard data files, on CD-ROMs) and replacement pages for procedures pertaining to emergencies, VC-4 ops,  Soyuz control and experiments.

The Sokol spacesuits and gloves were configured for drying out over the next few hours.  

Korzun and Treschev also completed the first of two scheduled special handover sessions conducted by Zalyotin to ensure their familiarity with the new console displays of TMA-1 for return preparation and descent in the unlikely event that the CRV has to be used before 11A arrival. The second session is planned for tomorrow.

Afterwards, De Winne, Zalyotin and Lonchakov performed cargo transfers from the Soyuz, supported by Treschev handling the IMS (inventory management system).

Peggy Whitson, Frank De Winne and Yuri Lonchakov activated the MSG (microgravity science glovebox) facility in the Lab in preparation for BTF (Belgian taxi flight) operations.  They then configured, activated and took historical photography and video of the PROMISS and DCCO hardware set up by Frank.

De Winne began with the first VC-4 mission experiments in the Lab, as did Zalyotin and Lonchakov in the SM.  [The VC-4 science program consists of 17 European  experiments (Odissea) and four Russian payloads.  Among else, GCF-B deals with counterdiffusion crystallization of biological macromolecules; ZEOGRID (ZGD) studies induced formation of nanoscale Zeolite layers; AQUARIUS (AQU-B) has three experiments, viz., VITAMIN-D (VTD), to characterize the effect of weightlessness on the mechanism of action of Vitamin D in osteoblasts, RHO-SIGNALS (RHO), to study the effect of weightlessness on specific signal molecules in human fibroblasts, and RAMIROS (RMR), to characterize the effects of heavy particle radiation on mammalian tissue in the space flight environment; MESSAGE (MSS) looks for the effects of microgravity on bacterial gene expression; SYMPATHO (SYM) tests a hypothesis explaining changes in the sympathoadrenal activity during spaceflight, involving collection of venous blood samples; NEUROCOG (COG) researches the integration of visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive cues in the perception of body position in space;  CARDIOCOG (CAR) studies the effects of microgravity on the cardiovascular system expressed in the peripheral arteries, and the vegetative regulation of arterial blood pressure and heart rate; PROMISS (PRS) investigates protein crystal growth in microgravity using reverse diffusion; DCCO (DCO) measures isothermal diffusion coefficients in two- and three-component mixtures simulating actual properties of crude oil; NANOSLAB (NAN) researches aggregation mechanism and kinetics of ZSM-5 and Silicate-1 nanoslabs in micro-G; and COSMIC (CSM) studies the microstructure formation in titanium-aluminum-beryllium powder pressed in pellets using self-propagating high-temperature combustion synthesis.  PROMISS, DCCO, NANOSLAB, and COSMIC are to be conducted in the US segment (MSG).]
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CDR Korzun performed the regular daily checkup of the Rasteniya-2 plant growth experiment.

Valery, Peggy and Sergei completed their daily physical exercise program.

Two transient failures of the CDRA (carbon dioxide removal assembly) occurred overnight (fan overspeed).  Recovery was expected prior to Soyuz crew arrival.

The ISS crew had a sleep cycle shift preparatory to 5S docking, with sleep period starting yesterday at 12:30pm EST and ending last night at 9:00pm.  Today, sleep period begins at 1:00pm, ending tomorrow morning at the regular 3:30am.  There will be another sleep cycle shift for 11A, to be launched on 11/11 (between 12:00am and 4:00am), one day later than originally planned to give the ISS crew a day of rest and better sleep shifting.

5S was the 17th Russian launch to the ISS.  With 15 flights by the US, this brings the current number of ISS flights to a total 32.

Today’s targets for the CEO program were Yangtze River Delta (East Asia‚s largest river estuary, left of track), Shanghai, China (nadir and a touch left; ESC [electronic still camera] requested), Delhi, India (nadir and a touch left, on the banks of the Yamuna River. ESC requested), Desert storm (Dynamic event.  Crew to look right for an unusual, but long and well formed arc of storm clouds over Iraq), Eastern Mediterranean Dust (views left and right of track for plumes off the Egyptian coast, ahead of the approaching storm), Amazon River mouth (crew to look right for a sun glint view of the Amazon estuary. Glint should also show up the different sea state [as differences in reflectivity] on either side of the salt-freshwater boundary [or boundaries] offshore).
CEO images can be viewed at the website
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:39am EST [= epoch]):

  • Mean altitude — 394.2 km
  • Apogee — 404.2 km
  • Perigee — 384.1 km
  • Period — 92.44 min.
  • Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
  • Eccentricity — 0.001482
  • Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.58
  • Altitude loss — 235 m (mean) in last 24 hours
  • Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 22539
  • Current Flight Attitude — XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane = “sun-fixed” [yaw: -5.0, pitch: -8.6 deg., roll: 0.4 deg]),with CMG/Thruster Assist Momentum Management).  XPOP remains nominal flight attitude until 11/9 (Beta at -10 deg).

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

SpaceRef staff editor.