ISS On-Orbit Status 30 Oct 2002
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously
or below. The crew is looking forward to Halloween visitors dropping in
for Trick or Treat on midnight tomorrow night.
Soyuz TMA-1/5S was successfully launched last night at Baikonur in heavy
fog, at 10:11pm EST (8:11am local time this morning). [Deployment of all
appendages (antennas, solar arrays) was nominal, and the first two (of
five) maneuver burns have been performed. The crew of CDR Sergei Zalyotin
and Flight Engineers Yuri Lonchakov and Belgian Frank de Winne is on its
way in the TMA-1, first flight of the new Soyuz TMA ("A" for
anthropometric), modified for taller and smaller crewmembers. The "fresh"
CRV (crew return vehicle) will reach a range of 8 km from the ISS tomorrow
(Thursday) night at 10:39pm EST, with docking to the DC-1 "Pirs"
module to follow at a nominal time of 12:00 midnight (Friday morning).
After a stay of nine days, the visiting crew (VC-4) will undock in the
"old" Soyuz TM-34/4S on 11/9 (Saturday) at 3:42pm EST and land
in Kazakhstan at about 8:19pm EST.]
Since changes introduced in the new Soyuz design include the new "Neptune-ME"
control panel, TsUP notified Valery Korzun and Sergei Treschev that they
will receive additional training by "Professor" Sergei Zalyotin,
to ensure a thorough familiarization with the actual displays used during
return preparation and descent in the unlikely event that the CRV has
to be used before 11A arrival. The training lesson is scheduled for 11/1
and 11/2 (Friday/Saturday).
The crew today set up and tested the Ku-band configuration for the TV
transmission of Soyuz docking via USOS (US segment) assets and TDRS. There
will also be Russian TV downlink during RGS (Russian ground site) comm
pass which will then be relayed to MCC-H from Moscow.
CDR Korzun and FE-2 Treschev had two hours set aside on their schedule
for preparing the work sites for the VC-4 (visiting crew 4) science program,
to ensure that they will have access to experiment sites and on-board
power outlets. Payload hardware transferred to the MSG (microgravity science
glovebox) in the Lab were the PROMISS and DCCO experiments. Other experiments
placed at specific locations in the SM for Zalyotin, Lonchakov and De
Winne were AQUARIUS-B, MESSAGE, SYMPATHO, CARDIOCOG and NEUROCOG.
Sergei Treschev terminated the regeneration process for absorption bed
#2 of the BMP micropurification unit. Both filter channels are now back
in Purify mode.
Peggy Whitson supported the activation of the CDRA (carbon dioxide removal
assembly) in the Lab, to help keep the cabin ppCO2 (carbon dioxide partial
pressure) within approved limits, in preparation for the increase in crew
size on Friday.
After successfully updating the BCA (battery charger assembly) voltage
cut-off limits yesterday, Peggy Whitson today had to change one additional
item, the time-out limit, before EMU battery charging in the BSA (battery
stowage assembly) can start today. [Currently the chargers are set to
charge an EMU battery for amaximum of 22 hours then shut off, but the
current EMU batteries (discharged to 16 volts) will require approximately
28 hours to fully recharge.]
At about 3:15pm EST, Whitson initiated the EMU/spacesuit battery recharging
in preparation for the 11A spacewalks.
Peggy also activated the EVARM (EVA radiation monitoring) reader and
took pre-EVA background badge readings, to meet the EVA minus 14-day requirement.
Later, she removed the PFMI (pore formation and mobility investigation)
equipment from the MSG work volume and stowed it, cleaning the PFMI parts
in the process. Following the removal and stowage of PFMI, the MSG will
be cleaned and readied for the Belgian taxi flight (BTF) experiments later
this week.
Korzun completed his daily task of inspecting the Rasteniya-2 plant growth
payload, followed by the regular inspection of the BRPK condensate water
separator and the checkup of the VR fan of the active SKV-1 air conditioner
for accumulated humidity.
Valery also performed the regular daily chores of SOSh life support system
maintenance and IMS inventory update file preparation for downlink, while
Peggy did the daily status checkup of the autonomous Lab payloads.
The crew again spent scheduled time with preparations for their departure
on 11A in November.
All crewmembers worked out on the exercise equipment, completing their
full daily regimen.
Today’s targets for the CEO program were Arabian Sea haze (smoke from
the Ganges plain is being transported SE into the Arabian Sea, now known
to be one of the most polluted regions in terms of air masses. The crew
was to photograph oblique views right and especially left of track towards
Pakistan), Eastern Mediterranean Aerosol (potential for aerosol buildup.
Pass down the Adriatic Sea over Greece. Crew to look especially left of
track towards Istanbul, which STS-112 imagery showed to be a major source
point for smog),and Western Mediterranean Aerosol (good potential for
smog buildup).
CEO images can be viewed at the website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov
U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 1:50 pm EST).
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 AUTO air flow mode (4 mmHg). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber
is On. TCCS is operational. BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed
#1 in Purify mode, bed #2 in Purify mode.
SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 762; temperature (deg C) —
25.6; ppO2 (mmHg) — 156.1; ppCO2 (mmHg) — 4.0.
SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 761; temperature (deg C) —
19.5.
FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) — 756; temperature (deg C) — 21.7.
Node: Pressure (mmHg) — 754.70; temperature (deg C) — 25.3 (shell);
ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) — 756.13; temperature (deg C) — 25.4; ppO2
(mmHg) — 167.0; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a;
Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) — 756.13, temperature (deg
C) — 34.0; shell heater temp (deg C) — 28.0, ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2
(mmHg) — n/a.
PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 23.2
PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 12.6
(n/a = data not available)
Propulsion System (PS): Total propellant load available (SM + FGB + Progress)
— 3903 kg (8605 lb) [as of 10/24/02].
Electrical Power Systems (EPS):
Both P6 channels fully operational. Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 2B and
BGA 4B in Autotrack mode (solar-tracking).
SM batteries: Battery #7 is cycling; all other batteries (7) are in "Partial
Charge" mode.
FGB batteries: Battery #1 is offline; battery #5 is cycling; all other
batteries (4) 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-2 MDM is prime; GNC-1 is Backup.
EXT-1 is On (primary), EXT-2 is off.
LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
PL-1 MDM is On (primary); PL-2 MDM is off (diagnostic
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 — U.S. SIGI-1
Attitude — Russian segment
Angular rates — U.S. RGA-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 PDGF3 (mobile base system/power & data grapple
fixture 3) and 11A park position, with Keep Alive power on both strings.
MBS: Keep Alive power on both strings. POA: Keep Alive power on both strings.
RWS (robotics workstations): Lab RWS is Off; Cupola RWS is Off.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:44am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 394.6 km
Apogee — 404.8 km
Perigee — 384.5 km
Period — 92.45 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0015025
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.57
Solar Beta Angle — -53.2 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Altitude loss — 170 m (mean) in last 24 hours
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 22508
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).
For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times,
see
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html
