NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 1 November 2009
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday – a full-rest day for the crew. Ahead: Week 4 of Increment 21.
FE-1 Suraev did the regular daily early-morning check of the new aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which he installed on 10/19 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). [FE-1 again inspects the filters tonight at bedtime, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.]
CDR De Winne, FE-2 Stott, FE-4 Thirsk & FE-5 Williams continued their current week-long session of the experiment SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight), wearing their Actiwatches, from which to log data to the HRF-1 (Human Research Facility 1) laptop. [To monitor the crewmembers’ sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, the crewmembers sometimes wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition and use the payload software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment’s laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.]
FE-5 Williams terminated Day 2 of his second (FD30) session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, after 24 hours of urine collections & sample placing in MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). [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.]
Jeff also supported once again the weekly U.S. “Bisphosphonates” biomedical countermeasures experiment, ingesting an Alendronate pill before breakfast. [The Bisphosphonates study should determine whether antiresorptive agents (that help reduce bone loss) in conjunction with the routine in-flight exercise program will protect ISS crewmembers from the regional decreases in bone mineral density documented on previous ISS missions. Two dosing regimens are being tested: (1) an oral dose of 70 mg of Alendronate taken weekly starting 3 weeks prior to flight and then throughout the flight and (2) an intravenous (IV) dose of 4 mg Zoledronic Acid, administered just once approximately 45 days before flight. The rationale for including both Alendronate and Zoledronic Acid is that two dosing options will maximize crew participation, increase the countermeasure options available to flight surgeons, increase scientific opportunities, and minimize the effects of operational and logistical constraints. The primary measurement objective is to obtain preflight and postflight QCT (Quantitative Computed Tomography) scans of the hip. The QCT scans will provide volumetric bone density information of both cortical and trabecular (spongy) bone regions of the hip.]
FE-1 Suraev initiated charging of a battery for the SONY DCR-TRV900E video recorder, to be used in another run of the geophysical GFI-1 Relaksatsiya (relaxation) experiment tomorrow, which will use the Moon for spectral calibration.
FE-4 Thirsk did the regular checkup on the running BCAT-5 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-5) experiment in the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module), inspecting the homogenized Sample 6 for crystals and taking photographs. [This activity is performed daily during BCAT-5 operations to check for crystals, but it is not required after crystals have been found. The sample is being photographed by a DCS 760 digital camera & the EarthKAM software running on an SSC (Station Support Computer). Sample pictures are taken automatically with electronic flash every hour for 21 days, and the pictures are downlinked via OCA during nominal OCA downlink sessions.]
Bob Thirsk also closed the protective shutters of the US Lab & Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) in preparation for the ground-controlled SM (Service Module) thruster firing test for IWIS (Internal Wireless Instrumentation System) structural dynamics data taking, planned for 1:18am-2:08am EST tomorrow morning, preceded by ISS attitude moded to free drift at 1:20am-1:23am.
The five Flight Engineers had their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Roman Romanenko at ~5:25am, Maxim Suraev at ~7:10am, Bob Thirsk at ~9:50am and again at ~4:10pm, Nicole Stott at ~12:05pm, Jeff Williams at ~2:30pm EST.
The crew performed their regular 2-hr physical exercise on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR, FE-2, FE-5), TVIS treadmill (FE-1, FE-3, FE-4), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (CDR, FE-1, FE-2, FE-4, FE-5), and VELO cycle ergometer with bungee cord load trainer (FE-3).
No CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo targets uplinked for today.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:10am EST [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 342.5 km
Apogee height – 346.7 km
Perigee height – 338.2 km
Period — 91.38 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0006261
Solar Beta Angle — 34.4 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.76
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 164 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 62758
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
11/04/09 — HTV1 reentry (destructive)
11/10/09 — 5R/MRM-2 (Russian Mini Research Module 2) launch on Soyuz-U
11/12/09 — 5R/MRM-2 docking (SM zenith)
11/16/09 — STS-129/Atlantis/ULF3 launch (ELC1, ELC2) 2:28pm EST
12/01/09 – Soyuz TMA-15/19S undock
12/01-12/23 —> two-member crew
12/21/09 — Soyuz TMA-17/21S launch — O. Kotov/S. Noguchi/T.J. Creamer
12/23/09 — Soyuz TMA-17/21S (FGB nadir)
01/20/10 — Soyuz TMA-16/20S relocation (from SM aft to MRM-2)
02/03/10 — Progress M-04M/36P launch
02/04/10 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola
02/05/10 — Progress M-04M/36P docking
03/18/10 — Soyuz TMA-16/20S undock/landing
03/18/10 — STS-131/Discovery/19A – MPLM(P), LMC
04/02/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S launch
04/27/10 — Progress M-03M/35P undock
04/28/10 — Progress M-05M/37P launch
04/30/10 — Progress M-05M/37P docking
05/14/10 — STS-132/Atlantis/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM-1
05/29/10 — Progress M-04M/36P undock
05/30/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S launch
06/30/10 — Progress M-06M/38P launch
07/02/10 — Progress M-06M/38P docking
07/26/10 — Progress M-05M/37P undock
07/27/10 — Progress M-07M/39P launch
07/29/10 — Progress M-07M/39P docking
07/29/10 — STS-134/Endeavour (ULF6 – ELC3, AMS-02)
08/30/10 — Progress M-06M/38P undock
08/31/10 — Progress M-08M/40P launch
09/02/10 — Progress M-08M/40P docking
09/16/10 — STS-133/Discovery (ULF5 – ELC4, PLM)
09/18/10 — STS-133/Discovery (ULF5 – ELC4, PLM) docking
09/22/10 — STS-133/Discovery (ULF5 – ELC4, PLM) undock
09/30/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S launch
10/26/10 — Progress M-07M/39P undock
10/27/10 — Progress M-09M/41P launch
10/29/10 — Progress M-09M/41P docking
11/30/10 — ATV2 launch– Ariane 5 (ESA)
11/30/10 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S launch
12/15/10 — Progress M-08M/40P undock
12/17/10 — ATV2 docking
02/08/11 — Progress M-09M/41P undock
02/09/11 — Progress M-10M/42P launch
02/11/11 — Progress M-10M/42P docking
03/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/26S launch
xx/xx/11 – Progress M-11M/43P launch
05/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S launch
12/??/11 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton
