MRPO Daily Status Report 08-13-02

GMT Date: 225

Calendar Date: 08/13/02

Increment: 5

Stage: UF2

Week 10

Payloads currently on-board ISS:
ADVASC, BSTC, InSPACE, MAMS, MEPS, MSG (facility), PFMI, SAMS, StelSys, STES-8, SUBSA and ZCG. InSpace will not operate during this increment.

Status:
MRPO payloads ADVASC, MAMS, and STES 8 continue nominal, basically unattended, operations. BSTC, MEPS, StelSys, and ZCG operations have been successfully completed. SAMS is currently in a trouble-shooting mode.

EXPRESS RACKS 1 and 4 (ER1 & ER4) are powered and supporting payload operations. ER2 is powered but is currently not supporting any active payloads. ER3 is installed in the US Lab and will be checked out later. ER5 was checked out during Increment 4 and powered down.

ADVASC is downlinking nominal health and status data. A nutrient exchange sample is scheduled to be taken tomorrow, 8/14.

MAMS is operating nominally in the quasi-steady and HiRAP modes. HiRAP was turned-on yesterday due to SAMS sensors being inoperative. MAMS data is available on the acceleration measurement web page.

The MSG facility is currently powered-down following completion of a nominal support period for a SUBSA run Saturday. Problems with removal of the SUBSA sample from the thermal chamber resulted in the MSG work volume being restricted for use until clean-up procedures are developed and implemented.

SUBSA completed their third sample run Saturday. When removal of the SUBSA sample ampoule was attempted Sunday, the ampoule broke and released glass particles into the MSG work volume and left some particles inside the thermal chamber. The crew performed clean-up procedures, however there is concern that additional clean-up may be needed. The SUBSA team is assessing the problem and developing a plan for resuming operations.

PFMI is stowed in the US Lab and is scheduled to operate in the MSG during Stage 9A.
SAMS EXPRESS Rack sensors are basically inoperative and the SAMS sensor in the MSG is turned-off currently. SAMS EXPRESS RACK equipment is distributed in three different racks and is experiencing rack-to-rack communication problems. The SAMS team is performing trouble-shooting via ground commanding.

STES-8 is downlinking nominal health and status data. Four of the six growth chambers remain activated.

Near-term Outlook:

Week 10 (8/12-8/18) – Planning for this week was based on approximately 6 hours of crew time availability for NASA payload operations. The majority of crew time will be devoted to preparation for, and implementation of, an EVA on 8/16. During the EVA, the crew will install debris panels on the Russian Service Module and remove and replace an external Russian payload. The crew is sleep shifting to be able to perform the EVA with maximum coverage by Russian Ground stations. Post EVA activities will also require significant crew time. The ADVASC sample procedure is the only MRPO payload crew activity scheduled during this week.

Week 11 (8/19-8/25) – Preliminary planning for this week is being based on approximately 8 hours of crew time availability for NASA payload operations. Again, the majority of crew time will be devoted to preparation for, and implementation of, an EVA on 8/23. During the EVA, the crew will swap out Japanese experiments measuring the effect of the space environment on a variety of materials and install two additional amateur radio antennas on the Zvezda module. Post EVA activities will also require significant crew time. An additional SUBSA run is scheduled to begin on 8/19.

M. Vlasse, PhD, DSc
MRPO Increment Scientist

ACRONYMS:

ADVASC – Advanced Astroculture
BCSS — Biotechnology Cell Science Stowage
BSTC– Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller (General status information on this payload will include coverage of the following items of support equipment: BTR, BCSS and GSM)
BTR — Biotechnology Refrigerator
ER1– EXPRESS RACK 1
ER2 — EXPRESS RACK 2
ER3 – EXPRESS RACK 3
ER4 – EXPRESS RACK 4
ER5 – EXPRESS RACK 5
GSM — Gas Supply Module
InSPACE- Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates
MAMS — Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System
MEPS – Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System
MSG – Microgravity Science Glovebox
PFMI – Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation
SAMS — Space Acceleration Measurement System II
STES – Protein Crystal Growth – Single Thermal Enclosure System
SUBSA – Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules
ZCG – Zeolite Crystal Growth