ISS On-Orbit Status 17 Mar 2002

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

Not just your regular Sunday on board, but a lovely St. Patrick’s Day (crew was advised by Flight Control to eat and drink green “as long as the green isn’t mold”).

CDR Onufrienko worked on the Progress, installing a plug on a connector at the transfer hatch cover in preparation of the ejection of the “Kolibri” micro satellite after Progress undocking next Tuesday. Later, after lunch, he removed the Kolibri container (TPK) from its stowage in the FGB, floated it through the SM and installed it on the STA docking ring at the Progress hatch opening, connecting it electrically to the Progress with a cable. The entire procedure, which he videotaped for the record, was concluded by pulling down the protective hatch cover and securing it.

FE-2 Dan Bursch handled today’s routine inspection of the SOSH life support system and LAB payload status check, while Onufrienko took SP toilet flush usage counter and SVO water supply readings for calldown to MCC-M during a comm pass.

Onufrienko also performed an observation session with the Japanese HDTV (high-definition TV) experiment, on his task list for 2:24 am EST. The NASDA activity consisted of TV imaging from SM window #7 of areas in France, Sardinia Island, Malta, Libya, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, accompanied by his voice commentary on the tape.

For the Russian Uragan research program, Yuri today focused the LIV video camera on the Pande region and later on the Panama Canal zone, while yesterday’s targets were the Betzenbuk area in the northern part of Madagascar Island, Nigeria (Abudja City), Nigeria (Sonkwala mountains) and Peru (Andes and Lake Titikaka).

PFCs (private family conferences) were held today by Onufrienko (via Ku- and S-band) and Walz (S-band).

6P Preview:Ê Major event next week will be Progress M1-7 (6P) undocking on Tuesday (3/19) and launch of Progress 7P in Baikonur on Thursday (3/21, docking 3/24). Moscow will conduct the 6P separation in conjunction with one of the periodic efficiency tests of the Russian solar arrays (FGB and SM). In preparing the undock, tomorrow the crew will close out and leak check the cargo drone.Ê

Current times for 6P events on 3/19 are as follows (all EST):

• ISS attitude handover to RS MCS (Russian segment motion control system) — 10:45 am
  
• ISS maneuver to duty attitude — 10:55 am
  
• ISS maneuver to undocking attitude — 12:10 pm
  
• ISS moded to free drift — 12:39 pm
  
• Nominal Progress separation command — 12:40 pm
  
• Progress separation burn #1 (15 sec) — 12:46 pm
  
• ISS maneuver to solar array efficiency test attitude (XPOP) — 12:48 pm
  
• ISS attitude handover to U.S. MCS — 1:40 pm
  
• Progress separation burn #2 (30 sec) — 4:40 pm
  
• Kolibri micro satellite ejection from Progress — 5:28 pm
  
• ISS attitude handover to RS MCS — 8:05 pm
  
• ISS attitude returns to nominal LVLH — 8:15 pm
  
• Progress deorbit burn (3 min 10 sec) — 8:27:23 pm
  
• ISS attitude handover to U.S. MCS — 9:00 pm
  
• Progress reentry over the Pacific — 9:05:09 pm.
  

Today’s target areas for the U.S. CEO (crew earth observations) program were Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes; Egypt (excellent pass directly over the new Toshka lakes development in SW Egypt, W of Lake Nasser. Handheld photos from every mission show expansion of the lakes. Only the easternmost new lake was planned), Somalia Coast (“seasons” for coastal desert vegetation are multi-year El Nino cycles. Photos now of the Somali coastline, as a new El Nino appears to be developing, are appropriate), Industrialized Southeastern Africa (crew to try oblique views looking left to document the hard-to-photograph exit of aerosols from the subcontinent. Main exit of vast amounts of aerosol is southeast into the Mozambique Channel. Phenomenon best viewed with aerosol back dropped against dark water of the channel).

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:23 am EST):

• Mean altitude — 394.1 km
  
• Apogee — 396.8 km
  
• Perigee — 391.3 km
  
• Period — 92.4 min.
  
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
  
• Eccentricity — 0.000408
  
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.58
  
• Altitude decrease — 330 m (mean) in last 24 hours
  
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 18978
  
• 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 deg., roll: 0 deg]).

  
  

For more on ISS orbit and naked-eye visibility dates/times (freshly updated to account for the reboost) check out
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html