ISS On-Orbit Status 7 Feb 2003

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously
or below. Day 76 in space for the Expedition 6 crew.

After wake-up and morning inspection, CDR Kenneth Bowersox set up for
the 4th Foot experiment (foot/ground reaction forces during space flight)
and performed basic (standing) calibration exercises with video (VTR2
initiated by ground via time-tag command), before starting the day-long
experiment. Afterwards, the equipment was stowed again. [EMG calibrations
(electromyography, i.e., electric muscle currents recording) were done
after donning the TVIS (treadmill) harness before running, after running
with harness removed, and also at end of day prior to removing the LEMS
pants. Wearing these black Lycra "biking tights" with 20 electrodes
as well as shoes fitted with insoles that measure impact forces on the
bottom of the foot for the 12-hr session, Bowersox completed a typical
on-orbit day while reaction forces against the ISS structure were recorded
passively to determine how much stress his legs and feet endure. This
provides better understanding of the bone loss and loss of muscle mass
experienced by astronauts in zero-G (on Mir, for example, cosmonauts
lost as much bone mass in a month as post-menopausal women do in a year).
The experiment is led by the biomedical engineering department at the
Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio.]

FE-1 Nikolai Budarin installed the electronics box containing the US-21
matching unit in the Progress vehicle (TGK). He then replaced the associated
local signal switch device (commutator, LKT4B2/TA251) in the Service
Module (SM) with a new spare. [The US-21 matching unit connects the Progress
motion control and DPO thrusters systems to the SM, so that they can
be commanded by the SM computer system (BVS). After bolting the box down,
Budarin hooked it up with the telemetry (TM) connector to the BITS2-12
onboard TM system, after the ground inhibited data output to the VD-SU
control system mode, powered off the BITS and deactivated BMP, Elektron,
and the Vozdukh and DC-1 SOTR (thermal system) control algorithms. These
systems were subsequently turned back on by MCC-Moscow, which then conducted
an electric activation test of the US-21 without crew involvement. Tomorrow,
the new configuration will also be tested dynamically, i.e., with a brief
DPO thruster firing.]

Bowersox and Budarin also continued unloading and inventory of Progress
10P. The IMS (inventory management system) team uplinked questions to
tag up on the current unloading and disposal status, as well as comparing
notes on planned activities.

POC (Payload Operations Center) sent up special thanks for FE-2/SO Don
Pettit’s efforts and ideas on yesterday’s MSG (microgravity science glovebox)
troubleshooting. POC and ESA specialists arestudying the data from the
last two days in conjunction with data from the similar circuit breaker
trip in November last year to develop a troubleshooting plan. [MSG is
powered down and on hold after the 2/5 event. Since the tripped circuit
breaker is the same that tripped 6 hrs. before MSG failed on 11/20/02,
engineers want to be sure electronic parts are not damaged again. Troubleshooting
plans are expected to be on board next by next Tuesday or Wednesday.]

Nikolai Budarin initiated the regeneration cycle for adsorbent bed #1
of the BMP micropurification unit. Filter channel #2 remains in Purify
mode.

In support of the on-going investigation of the IMV (intermodular ventilation)
between U.S. and Russian segments for necessary improvement, the crew
today took air ventilation flow measurements throughout the station interior
with the electronic Velocicalc instrument. [Velocicalc measures relative
humidity, dewpoint (or wet bulb) temperature, air temperature, and air
velocity at specific locations and points, with and without installed
air ducts. As comparison for the initial Velocicalc calibration in the
morning, Russian air flow data from the BMP inlet were taken and recorded
on the RS laptop. Velocicalc’s airflow data should help determine if
there is an airflow problem or an instrumentation problem. In addition,
if the airflow is found not to be optimal, perhaps it can be improved
in such a way as to maximize the amount of humidity the Russian SKV air
conditioners remove and minimize the amount that the Lab CCAAs (common
cabin air assemblies) remove. This would not only minimize the number
of required water transfers but may also play a role in extending the
duration of the crew’s stay on orbit.]

As one effect of the apparent IMV inadequacy, formaldehyde levels have
built up above defined long-term limits in the Lab, but not in SM. Since
the selected limit settings are very conservative, there is no crew safety
concern as yet. More effective IMV is also needed for improved ppCO2
(carbon dioxide partial pressure) and humidity management.

The next water transfer from the Lab condensate collection tank to a
CWC (contingency water container) is scheduled for 2/11. The amount will
be 20 liters, chosen with a view to its potential processing in the Russian
SRV-K system, if the repair of the SRV-K with the new Progress-delivered
CFU (condensate feed unit) is successful..

CDR Bowersox conducted a checkout of the on-board cardiac defibrillator.
[Without requiring crew involvement, the ground also took some steps
to dump and collect archival (memory) data from the defib, in order to
verify that the ground software and/or the ISS Payload MDM are processing
the defib data correctly.]

Regular daily servicing tasks were performed by Bowersox (SOSh life
support system maintenance and Lab payload status checkup) and Budarin
(IMS inventory update file preparation). Budarin also tagged up with
MCC-M/TsUP to discuss IMS stowage preferences for specific 10P cargo
items.

The first station reboost by Progress 10P is planned for 2/11 (with
2/12 as backup, as Moscow may not be able to access the Molniya comm
relay satellite on 2/11). The burn is sized for 1400-1500 sec duration,
and a delta-V of ~6m/sec, expending about 430 kg of propellants from
the Progress refueling tanks. [This will protect a Shuttle launch date
of mid-June (6/15), a tentative, though optimistic, assumption which
obviously depends on the failure mode identified for Columbia, i.e.,
the maneuver is calculated to yield an altitude that can be reached by
the Shuttle in June. If no Shuttle launch in June, ISS altitude will
be raised beyond Shuttle reach. For Soyuz and Progress flights, it can
be as high as 400 km.]

Today’s schedule reserved crewtime for a self-study overview of the
upcoming display and operational systems changes which will result from
the planned software upgrades to the MDMs (multiplexer/demultiplexers,
computers) for C&C (command and control), GNC (guidance, navigation
and control), INT (interior systems) and PCS. [An initial software patch
(vers. 5.04) was installed today in the Russian segment. If it tests
OK, ISS is ready for transition to the upgrades. First step-up will be
for MCC-H, after the reboost (i.e., on 2/12 or 2/13), and the station
systems step-up will follow on 2/18, requiring three days. Russian transition
with patch 7.01 will then conclude the process on 3/3, to take five working
days.]

Due to the potential water limitation on board, one of numerous options
being studied by MCC-H and MCC-M mission planners assumes a two-man crew
for the next Soyuz launch at end-April, to limit the station crew to
two persons for a while. This eventuality, among else, requires prior
feasibility evaluation of conducting a U.S. contingency EVA with two
crewmembers without a third crewmember assisting in EMU (extravehicular
mobility unit) donning/doffing, or other IV (intravehicular) support
operations. Thus, a test of this option is being planned for next week
for the ISS crew. We also need to study, with the crew, how station systems
must be configured during a two-man spacewalk. [Moscow has much experience
with two-man EVAs from space station Mir, in Russian Orlan suits. Similar
experience for EMUs is lacking on the U.S. side.]

Planners are also looking at the possibility of scheduling an EVA for
the current Expedition 6 crew during the remainder of their increment.
Its objective would be to make the external station more robust, thereby
reducing the possible need for a contingency two-man EVA later. One example
would be the replacement of a failed RPCM (remote power controller module)
on the MT (Mobile Transporter).

Today’s targets for the CEO (crew earth observations program) were Calcutta,
India (as ISS approached the many mouths of the Ganges from the southwest,
the crew was to look carefully on the left side of the delta, about 60
miles inland for nadir views of this megacity), Johannesburg, South Africa
(South Africa’s industrial centers of Johannesburg and Pretoria are at
nadir as ISS tracked northeastward this pass), Karachi, Pakistan (this
Pakistani port city is on the coast northwest of the Indus River delta),
Kuwait City, Kuwait (weather and lighting this pass were excellent for
views of the Kuwaiti capital, just left of track), Patagonian Glaciers
(weather conditions continued to improve over Patagonia, but illumination
was falling off rapidly. ISS pass offered good nadir views of the smaller,
less photographed, Northern Patagonian Ice Field. Crew was to use the
long lenses to capture details of the glaciers under summer conditions,
especially those on the northern and western flanks), High Central Andean
Glaciers (after passing over Lima the ISS immediately crossed the crest
of the Andes. Where cloudiness permitted, the crew was to try for context
views of the small glaciers and ice fields in this portion of the mountains
with either nadir or oblique views either side of track), Lima, Peru
(ISS approached the Peruvian capital city on the coast from the southwest
on this pass. Although diurnal cloudiness often obscures this target,
ISS should have been early enough in the day to get a good nadir view),
and Phoenix, AZ (good, views of this desert city lie just to the left
of track.)

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

U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 1:45pm EST).

Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):
Elektron O2 generator is powered On (32 Amp mode). Vozdukh CO2 scrubber
is On (auto mode). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is Off. TCCS (trace contaminant
control subsystem) is operating. MCA (major constituents analyzer)
is operating. BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed #1 in Regeneration
mode, bed #2 in Purify mode. RS air conditioner SKV-1 is On; SKV-2
is Off.

SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 753; temperature (deg C)
— 27.4; ppO2 (mmHg) — 160.8; ppCO2 (mmHg) — 2.3 (suspect).
SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 751; temperature (deg C)
— 19.5.
FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) — 752; temperature (deg C) — 21.3.
Node: Pressure (mmHg) — 742.62; temperature (deg C) — 22.2 (shell);
ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) — 744.92; temperature (deg C) — 22.7; ppO2
(mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a;
Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) — 744.92; temperature (deg
C) — 20.7; shell heater temp (deg C) — 22.1, ppO2 (mmHg) — 165.34;
ppCO2 (mmHg) — 4.87.
PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 22.0
PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 17.9
(n/a = data not available)

Propulsion System (PS): Total propellant load available [SM(82) + FGB(2898)
+ Progress(0)] — 3718 kg (8197 lb) as of 1/30/03. (Capability: SM —
860 kg; FGB — 6120 kg).

Electrical Power Systems (EPS):
Both P6 channels fully operational. Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 2B and
4B both in "blind" dual-angle mode (directed position).
SM batteries: Battery #7 is off line (failed); all other batteries (7)
are in "Partial Charge" mode.
FGB batteries: Battery #1 is off line; battery #3 is in "Cycle mode";
all other batteries (4) are in "Partial Charge" mode.
Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 and PCU-2 both in Standby mode.

Command & Data Handling Systems:
C&C-2 MDM is prime, C&C-3 is back-up, and C&C-1 is in standby.
GNC-1 MDM is prime; GNC-2 is Backup.
EXT-1 is On (primary), EXT-2 is off.
LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
PL-2 MDM is On (primary); PL-1 MDM is off (diagnostic
APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.
SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 2 redundant lanes (of 3) operational. Lane
1 is out of the set (as of 11/14/02).
SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.

Attitude Source:
3 CMGs on-line (CMG-1 failed).
State vector — U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)
Attitude — U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)
Angular rates — U.S. RGA-1

Flight Attitude:
LVLH TEA (local vertical/local horizontal = "earth-fixed":
z-axis in local vertical, x-axis in velocity vector [yaw: -10 deg, pitch:
-9.1 deg, roll: 0 deg]), CMG/TA (thruster assist) momentum management).
Solar Beta Angle: -17.0 deg (magnitude increasing).

Communications & Tracking Systems:
FGB MDM-1 is powered Off; FGB MDM-2 is operational.
All other Russian communications & tracking systems are nominal.
S-band is operating nominally.
Ku-band is operating nominally.
Audio subsystem operating nominally.
Video subsystem operating nominally, but VTR1 is off.
HCOR (high-rate communications outage recorder) is operating nominally.

Robotics:
SSRMS/Canadarm2 based at MBS PDGF2 with Keep Alive (KA) power on both
strings.
MBS: KA power on both strings.
MT: latched at WS4, with KA power.
POA: KA power on both strings.
RWS (robotics workstations): Lab RWS is Off; Cupola RWS is Off.

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:05am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 386.3 km
Apogee — 390.2 km
Perigee — 382.4 km
Period — 92.28 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0005759
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 150 m
Solar Beta Angle — -17.0 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 24078

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