ISS On-Orbit Status 15 Aug 2002

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below.

Crew day again began last night at 8:00 pm EDT, ending today at an early 9:30 am. This prepares the station residents for tonight’s wake-up at 8:00 pm, to get ready for "taking a walk" tomorrow morning.

Final EVA-7 preparations were completed yesterday, and today the crew reviewed the final timeline and all uplinked procedural instructions, in consultation with a TsUP ground specialist via S-band.

Before the EVA, the ISS will be deactivated as required (e.g., DDI rapid depressurization sensors switched off), but the Vozdukh carbon dioxide scrubber will not be turned off, and the Elektron will be switched from 32 A to 16A mode. After closing off the SM’s Transfer Compartment (PkhO) to the Work Compartment (RO), CDR Korzun and FE-1 Whitson, inside the DC-1 docking module, will begin donning their Orlan suits at about 2:00 am. Next steps will be testing of the suits and their control systems (BSS), followed by successive stages of depressurization while checking for leaks. A 30-minute oxygen prebreathe period starts at ~2:50 am, as pressures between DC-1 and PkhO are equalized and then further reduced. With Treschev in the FGB, final DC-1 leak check follows at 3:25 am, switch to independent Orlan suit power at 3:30 am and opening of EV hatch #1 at 3:40 am. Station attitude will be moded to Attitude Hold during the DC-1 depress, and the SM thrusters will be inhibited for the spacewalk.

After egress into space, Korzun and Whitson will transfer a bundle of six micrometeoroid/orbital debris shield panels from their PMA-1 storage place and install them on the SM shell’s conical segment, which faces in flight direction. Next, they will swap out the Kromka-1 contamination collector experiment with a fresh unit, Kromka-2, and finally inspect a visually discernible dark spot on the SM surface near the deflector screen on the DO-K roll thrusters. The inspection includes wiping the putative deposit with a baton, taking photographs of the baton and then tossing it safely overboard in retrograde direction (opposite to flight). The EVA is planned to last about 6 hours, and special steps have been taken to protect the crewmembers, their suits, and the ISS interior from contamination with toxic propellant deposits (preparations include three decontamination kits in case of need: outside the ISS, in the DC-1, and inside the ISS, kept by Treschev). If it sticks to schedule, EVA-7 will end with hatch closure at 9:35 am EDT.

In further preparation, FE-2 Sergey Treschev today activated the toilet systems in the Soyuz CRV for his potential use during the EVA, when he will be in the FGB, "locked out" from access to the Service Module (SM). As part of this morning’s regular daily food ration preparation, Sergey also transferred his previously selected food products to the FGB. [The transferred items were snacks in small cans: "Rossiysky" cheese, pike-perch in Baltica sauce, cottage cheese, chicken with prunes, and fruit desserts: apple/plum and apple/apricot bars, prunes with nuts, chocolate, crackers, utensils and a food waste bag. Before transfer, he rehydrated sublimated juices of the crew’s choice in the SM for tomorrow’s use. While confined to the FGB-side of the ISS tomorrow for the duration of the 6-hr. spacewalk, Treschev will have to eat his food cold.]

Preparations also included moving appropriate medical kits to the FGB and DC-1, with protective goggles and respirators and gloves (in case of fire) to the latter, plus special uplinked nutritional recommendations for Korzun and Whitson for the period before and after EVA. [Normal nutritional regimen today, and single servings of canned meat or fish plus dehydrated cottage cheese with nuts tomorrow before the EVA, with some apricot or peach juice prior to donning the spacesuits.]

Sergey also unstowed and set up the equipment for the Russian "Urilux" equipment for the periodic Russian MedOps experiment MO-9 (urinalysis) which uses a sophisticated in-vitro diagnostic apparatus developed for the Mir program. The test will be performed tomorrow morning before breakfast and EVA on all three crewmembers.

Meanwhile, Peggy Whitson and Valery Korzun today performed the standard pre-EVA PHS (periodic health status) assessment on each other. Since MO-8 (+Body Mass Measurement) and MO-9 (Urinalysis) lab activities, normally part of PHS, will be performed tomorrow both prior to Orlan donning and after Orlan doffing, they were skipped today. [PHS involves setting up the AMP (ambulatory medical pack) and the MEC (medical equipment computer) and opening the IFEP (in-flight examination program) software on the MEC laptop. The PHS is performed every 30 days by each crewmember and two weeks before landing and as clinically indicated.]

The crew performed regular daily maintenance of station systems: inspection of SOSh life support system fluid lines and connections (Korzun), checking on the status of the Lab payloads (Whitson), and preparing today’s delta file to keep the IMS (inventory management system) database up to date (Treschev).

All crewmembers performed their regular daily physical exercise on TVIS (treadmill with vibration isolation and stabilization), RED (resistive exercise device) and VELO cycle with load trainer.

EMU Battery Discharge Troubleshooting: After the first EMU (extravehicular mobility unit) battery was successfully discharged in the BSA/BCA (battery stowage assembly/battery charger assembly) on 8/13, yesterday’s attempt to discharge the second battery failed. The SSC (station support computer) was unable to establish communication to the BSA, showing a signature similar to what happened during the troubleshooting two weeks ago. After some more checking, which included verifying that the battery had good voltage (17.6 V), the crew was told to stand down. Additional troubleshooting is now scheduled for 8/17 (Saturday). If the discharge Saturday is unsuccessful, the battery will need to be discharged in the EMU on Sunday, by running the backpack fan.

Progress Propellant Transfer: Planned propellant transfer operations to SM tanks were cancelled yesterday. These prop transfers were previously performed manually, but lack of coverage by Russian satellites has resulted in Russian specialists adopting a more automated transfer technique that had not been tested before. A software problem has emerged between the TsVM (Central Computer) and the TVM (Terminal Computer) systems in commanding the transfer. The apparent conflict will be resolved either through a software patch, or in the next scheduled software revision. Meanwhile, Russian specialists are planning to accomplish the prop transfer via direct commanding to the TVM. Total propellant load available in Progress 9P is 710 kg. [Apparently, the commands to the TsVM must specify the length of time that the prop compressor is to run. The commanded time was eight hours, but during the transfer of this command from the TsVM to the TVM an error occurred, such that for Monday’s fuel transfer the compressor ran for only six hours before shutting down (the maximum is 12 hours). Analysis of telemetry data showed that the TVM indeed specified six hours for the compressor pump operation.]
Today’s targets for the CEO (crew earth observations) program were Mariana Islands (line of coral atolls stretched N-S [left and right of track]. Nadir views should have shown them between cloud bands of Typhoon Phanfone. This picturesque typhoon, with a well defined eye and good banding, was predicted to be just left of track, with 110 kt winds over Iwo Jima), Jakarta, Indonesia (slightly oblique view good for shooting entire city in one frame [right of track on north coast of Java]. Crew was to look left for numerous forest fires and associated smoke plumes/pall in southern Sumatra. Krakatau Volcano lies in the narrow strait at nadir between Java and Sumatra [more than 36,000 people killed in the 1883 eruption]), Borneo fires (clear weather persists over western Borneo where hundreds of fires are burning in the rainforests. Crew to look to nadir for fires and left for smoke plumes or larger smoke pall), Urumqi, China (crew was to look right at foot of the mountains to see this boom town), Angolan Biomass Burning (aerosols [dust and smoke] blowing out into the Atlantic from Namibia and southern Angola. High oblique shot right of track ideal to capture this mass), Baghdad, Iraq (nadir pass, and two minutes later the ISS crossed the dramatic Elburz Mts and the southern coast of the Caspian Sea), Eastern Mediterranean Dust (dust plume, probably emanating from Libya, paralleled the track. Crete at nadir), Sao Paulo, Brazil (vast compact city, 50 km inland, just right of track. This view angle should have allowed capture of city limits in one frame), Algiers, Algeria (Algeria’s capital city, just right of track on the coast), and Rome, Italy (just inland of the west coast of Italy and just right of track. Crew then to look left for probable Po Valley smog flowing out into the Adriatic Sea).

CEO images can be viewed at the website http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 8:00 am EDT):

Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):
Elektron O2 generator is powered On (32-amp mode), on backup pump. Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is ON in MANUAL cycle mode #5, i.e., 10-min. cycle time (vacuum pump failed). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is on Override. BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode, bed #2 in Purify mode.

Electrical Power Systems (EPS):
Both P6 channels fully operational. Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 2B and BGA 4B in directed position (Blind mode, non solar-tracking).
SM batteries: Battery #1 is off-line; all other batteries (7) are in "Complete Charge" mode.
FGB batteries: Battery #5 is off-line; all other batteries (5) are in "Partial Charge" mode.
Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 in Standby mode; PCU-2 in Standby mode.

Thermal Control Systems:
Air conditioner SKV-1 is On. SKV-2 is Off.

Command & Data Handling Systems:
C&C-3 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-1 is in standby.
GNC-1 MDM is prime; GNC-2 is Backup.
LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
PL-1 MDM is operational; PL-2 MDM is Off.
APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.
SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.
SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.

Attitude Source:
3 CMGs on-line.
State vector — US GPS (SIGI string 1)
Attitude — Russian segment
Angular rates — US RGA1 (rate gyro assembly 1)

Communications & Tracking Systems:
All 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 at MBS PDGF 1 (mobile base system/power & data grapple fixture 1), in EVA-7 viewing position, with Keep Alive power on both strings (based on MBS).
MBS: Keep Alive power on both strings.
RWS (robotics workstations): Lab RWS is Off; Cupola RWS is Off.

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 6:34 am EDT [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 394.4 km
Apogee — 406.2 km
Perigee — 382.5 km
Period — 92.4 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0017529
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.58
Altitude decrease — 150 m (mean) in last 24 hours
Solar Beta Angle — -13.0 deg (magnitude increasing)
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 21311
Current Flight Attitude — LVLH (local vertical/local horizontal = "earth-fixed": z-axis in local vertical, x-axis in velocity vector [yaw: -10 deg, pitch: -7.8 deg, roll: 0 deg]).

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