NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 1 August 2008
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.
FE-2 Chamitoff began his workday with the weekly 10-min. CWC (Contingency Water Container) audit as part of on-going WDS (Water Delivery System) assessment of onboard water supplies. [Updated “cue cards” based on the crew’s water calldowns are sent up every other week. The current card is #17-0002T.]
In preparation for today’s Robotics activities, Chamitoff set up the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) videocamera connection by hooking up the UOP DCP (Utility Outlet Panel/Display & Control Panel) power bypass cable at the CUP RWS (Cupola Robotic Work Station).
Later, the FE-2 took the SSRMS through a prescribed maneuver sequence to allow close-up inspection & photography of the capture & retention snare in the arm’s LEE B (Latching End Effector B). The bypass cable will be disconnected again later tonight.
Instead of conducting Greg’s first session with the PFE-OUM (Periodic Fitness Evaluation – Oxygen Uptake Measurement) equipment at the HRF-2 (Human Research Facility 2) rack, Gregory & Sergey performed troubleshooting on the TVIS (Treadmill with Vibration Isolation & Stabilization), closely inspecting its chassis to track down the unusual noises developed by it on 7/30.
Preparatory to transferring more water from ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle/Water Delivery System) Tank #1, FE-1 Kononenko set up and conducted a leak check of the tank’s internal expulsion bladder.
Chamitoff terminated the 24-hr NODE-2/JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) Vestibule depress & leak check started yesterday. [During the leak check after depressurization to ~250 mmHg, the air pressure in the vestibule increased slowly to ~325 mmHg, which could be indicative of a leak from one of the adjacent modules into the vestibule. If this is the case, it would of course be impossible during a subsequent rapid depress event to completely isolate both adjacent modules from the vestibule. The decision was made that if the vestibule pressure remains steady close to 546 mmHg, the leak check will be considered successful. If not, Greg will still be GO to re-ingress the JPM. It was recommended to re-schedule additional troubleshooting and repeat of the leak check for a later date.]
After ingressing the JPM, Chamitoff did more outfitting by installing an IMV (Intermodular Ventilation) jumper from Node-2 to the JPM through the vestibule.
Gregory also transferred the disconnected PCS/PWS (Portable Computer System/Portable Workstation) A31p laptops to the JPM after the leak check, followed by activating and rebooting them (except for the PLT/Payload Laptop which has developed some hard drive trouble).
Oleg completed another radiation data monitoring & logging session for flux & dose rate data with the Matryoshka-R radiation payload (RBO-3-2) and its LULIN-5 electronics box. [Accumulated readings were recorded on a log sheet for subsequent downlink to TsUP/Moscow via the BSR-TM payload data channel.]
The CDR worked on the Progress M-64/29P by transferring more collected discarded equipment and stowing it in the cargo ship-turned-trash can.
Kononenko had ~90 min set aside for the periodic equipment servicing in the SM’s ASU toilet facility, changing out replaceable parts with new components, e.g., a filter insert (F-V), the pretreat container (E-K), and the E-K’s hose. All old parts were discarded as trash. [E-K contains five liters of pre-treat solution, i.e., a mix of H2SO4 (sulfuric acid), CrO3 (chromium oxide, for oxidation and purple color), and H2O (water). The pre-treat liquid is mixed with water in a dispenser (DKiV) and used for toilet flushing.]
Continuing the latest round of preventive maintenance on the Russian Segment (RS) ventilation system, Volkov replaced the two dust filters PS1 & PS2 in the Funktsionalnyi-Grusovoi Blok (FGB), registering the change in the IMS (Inventory Management System).
Greg took measurements for the regular atmospheric status check for ppCO2 (Carbon Dioxide partial pressure) in the Lab, SM (at panel 449) and COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory), using the hand-held CDMK (CO2 Monitoring Kit, #1002), then deactivating it and returning it to its LAB1S2 stowage position.
The FE-2 conducted another one of the periodic offloadings of the Lab CCAA (Common Cabin Air Assembly) dehumidifier’s condensate tank, filling a CWC (Contingency Water Container, #1062) with the collected water slated for processing. No samples were required. [Estimated offload time before reaching the tank’s neutral point (leaving ~6 kg in the tank): ~30 min.]
Kononenko performed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM). [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.]
Afterwards, working off the discretionary “time permitting” task list, Oleg also performed the daily IMS maintenance, updating/editing its standard “delta file” including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).
The three crewmembers conducted their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (CDR, FE-1). Later, Sergey transferred the exercise data file to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).
Before sleeptime tonight, Chamitoff is to set up NASA’s NUTRITION/Repository experiment hardware for his second session scheduled tomorrow. For the phlebotomy (blood sample draw), Greg has to start fasting 8 hrs before, i.e., tonight, with only water consumption allowed. [The NUTRITION project is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight. It includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes, expanding the previous Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L) testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by supercold MELFI dewars), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.]
At ~4:25am EDT, the crew held the regular (nominally weekly) tagup with the Russian Flight Control Team (GOGU/Glavnaya operativnaya gruppa upravleniya = “Main Operative Control Group”), including Shift Flight Director (SRP), at TsUP-Moscow via S-band/audio, phone-patched from Houston and Moscow.
At ~4:50am, Sergey & Oleg linked up with TsUP stowage specialists via S-band to conduct the weekly IMS tagup, discussing stowage issues, equipment locations and ATV & Progress cargo transfers.
At ~5:05am, the CDR & FE-1 conducted a teleconference with ground specialists to discuss the replacement of the failed SM SA (Solar Array) B14M unit with the unit removed from the FGB on 7/30.
At ~3:45pm, the ISS crew is scheduled for their regular weekly tagup with the Lead Flight Director at JSC/MCC-H via S-band/audio. [S/G-2 (Space-to-Ground 2) phone patch via SSC (Station Support Computer)].
At ~12:10pm, Chamitoff powered up the SM’s amateur radio equipment (Kenwood VHF transceiver with manual frequency selection, headset, & power supply) and conducted, at 12:15pm, a ham radio exchange with parties in Montreal, via CSA (Canadian Space Agency) ground station.
CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo targets uplinked for today were Bigach Impact Crater (this small impact site [8-km in diameter] is located in a remote region of southern Russia, northeast of Lake Balkhash not far from the Chinese border. Researchers have no useful photos of the site or the surrounding region. Therefore, on this fair-weather pass in late afternoon sun Greg was asked for a mapping strip from Lake Balkhash to Lake Zysan using the short lens settings. The site is a small, weathered feature variously estimated between 2 and 8 million years old), South Tibesti Megafans (once more Chamitoff was asked for a context mapping of the area of these subtle features in the desert to the south of the rugged volcanics of the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad, using the short lens settings as Greg looked right of track in early afternoon light. As ISS tracked NE-ward, noting Lake Chad on the right, Greg was to begin a mapping strip all the way to the southern flanks of the mountains, marked by dark lava flows), and Tunis, Tunisia (the Tunisian capital is also a large port situated on a sheltering bay in the northeastern corner of the country. On this mid-afternoon, most of the city lied at nadir. Trying for a nadir mapping strip of the northwestern and northern urban margins and using the long lens settings for detail).
CEO photography can be studied at this “Gateway” website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (as of 3/1/08, this database contained 757,605 views of the Earth from space, with 314,000 from the ISS alone).
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible.):
08/13/08 — ATV Reboost
08/30/08 — Progress M-64/29P undocking, from FGB nadir
09/05/08 — ATV1 undocking, from SM aft port (loiter until ~9/25 for nighttime reentry/observation)
09/10/08 — Progress M-65/30P launch
09/12/08 — Progress M-65/30P docking (SM aft port)
10/01/08 — NASA 50 Years (official)
10/08/08 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
10/11/08 — Progress M-65/30P undocking (from SM aft port)
10/12/08 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S launch
10/14/08 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S docking (FGB nadir port)
10/23/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S undocking (DC1 nadir)
11/10/08 — STS-126/Endeavour/ULF2 launch – MPLM Leonardo, LMC
11/12/08 — STS-126/Endeavour/ULF2 docking
11/20/08 — ISS 10 Years
11/26/08 — Progress M-66/31P launch
11/28/08 — Progress M-66/31P docking
02/10/09 — Progress M-67/32P launch
02/12/09 — Progress M-67/32P docking
02/12/09 — STS-119/Discovery/15A launch – S6 truss segment
03/25/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S launch
05/15/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
07/30/09 — STS-128/Atlantis/17A – MPLM(P), last crew rotation
05/27/09 — Six-person crew on ISS (following Soyuz 19S docking, May ’09)
10/15/09 — STS-129/Discovery/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P)
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1
05/31/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4 (contingency).
