ISS On-Orbit Status 10 Feb 2002

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below. Begin of Week 10 for Expedition Four.

Second rest day for the crew and time to view the seven Super Bowl commercial videos uplinked by caring and considerate ground support folks.

CDR Yuri Onufrienko performed regular mandatory servicing tasks, i.e., maintenance of SOSH life support items, including ASU toilet replacements, taking SVO water supply and SP toilet collection counter readings for downloading, as well as preparation of the regular inventory delta file for the IMS (inventory management system).

All three crew had their PFCs (private family conferences) via S-band.

The two flight engineers held their periodic 15-min. PPC (private psychological conference) with MedOps personnel.

They also performed extended (3.5-hr) aerobic and anaerobic physical exercise on TVIS and RED.

The current EarthKAM session came to an end today when Dan Bursch deactivated the system in the SM. Before the dismantling, the EarthKAM team requested a few digital shots with crewmembers by the SSC laptop with the camera in the background.

During crew sleep tonight, just after FCT (flight control team) handover from Shift 2 to Shift 1, MCC-H will run a “cold” start and subsequent checkout of the MCCâs DVIS (digital voice information system). During the testing, communications with MCC-Moscow and POC (Payload Operations Center) Huntsville will be temporarily down. FCT shift change occurs regularly at 8 am EST (1 hr. handover from Shift 1 to 2) and 12 hours later at 8:00 pm (1 hr. handover from Shift 2 to 1).

Geographical target areas for the Russian Uragan program today were, for the LIV video: the East coast of India, Bhutan, Southeast China, for the Nikon F5: South Africa, Mozambique coast, part of Pakistan and the Himalayas, Kunene River region, Kuwait, Nigeria, and for the Rubinar: Mt. Etna volcano, Panama Canal, and Guantanamo.

Optional targets for the CEO (crew earth observations) program were Reunion Island, Indian Ocean (Dynamic Event Site: Reunion is the first of two large volcanic islands in this area east of Madagascar. Crew was advised to use the ESC [electronic still camera] and try to detect evidence of the recent volcanic eruption there. Mauritius, just seconds later, was slightly to the right of track), Ganges River Delta (conditions were probably be too cloudy inland on this pass, but near the immediate coast crew should have been able to document and map the sediment plumes and vegetation features of this large delta system), Industrialized Southeastern Africa (a nice mapping pass up the industrialized interior of South Africa. Shortly after encountering Cape Town, ISS progressed northeastward up the Orange and Vaal River valleys. Of interest: Documenting land use and possible aerosol sources), Tigris-Euphrates, Turkey (of interest: view to right of track for mapping the controversial, expanding complex of man-made lakes in the upper Tigris and Euphrates watersheds), Patagonian Glaciers (lighting for this pass favored views on the western flanks of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field. Crew was to use the ESC and concentrate on the two larger glaciers there, San Quintin and San Rafael), European Smog (as ISS tracked across the toe and heel of the Italian peninsula, crew was advised to look to the left of track for aerosols accumulating over the Adriatic Sea), and Eastern United States (this pass was up the spine of the Appalachians. View to the right of track towards the darkening Atlantic may have shown aerosols originating in the eastern US).

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:22 am EST):

• Mean altitude — 385.3 km
  
• Apogee — 389.4 km
  
• Perigee — 381.3 km
  
• Period — 92.3 min.
  
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
  
• Eccentricity — 0.0005978
  
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.61
  
• Decay rateÊ 430 m (mean) in last 24 hours
  
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. â98) — 18426
  
• Current Flight Attitude — LVLH +XVV ZLV (local vertical/local horizontal: +X-axis in velocity vector; Z-axis in local vertical), with TEA (torque equilibrium attitude [pitch: -10 deg, yaw: -7 deg, roll: 0 deg]). Until 2/14.
  

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