NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 10 August 2012
ISS On-Orbit Status 08/10/12
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.
At wakeup, FE-4 Malenchenko performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
CDR Padalka terminated his 4th experiment session, started last night, for the long-term Russian sleep study MBI-12/Sonokard, taking the recording device from his Sonokard sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-Med laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. [Sonokard objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember’s physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.]
FE-5 Williams had Day 2 of her 2nd (FD30) suite of sessions with the controlled Pro K diet protocol (Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery) with diet logging after the urine pH spot test, for a 5-day period after start of collections. After recording her diet input today, Sunita will begin the urine collections for pH value on Sunday (8/12) and blood sampling on Monday (8/13). [For the Pro K protocol, there are five in-flight sessions (FD15, FD30, FD60, FD120, FD180) of samplings, to be shared with the NUTRITION w/Repository protocol, each one with five days of diet & urine pH logging and photography on the last day. The crewmember prepares a diet log and then annotates quantities of food packets consumed and supplements taken. Urine collections are spread over 24 hrs; samples go into the MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) within 30 min after collection. Blood samples, on the last day, are centrifuged in the RC (Refrigerated Centrifuge) and placed in MELFI at -80 degC. There is an 8-hr fasting requirement prior to the blood draw (i.e., no food or drink, but water ingestion is encouraged). MELFI constraints: Maximum MELFI Dewar open time: 60 sec; at least 45 min between MELFI dewar door openings. Background on pH: In chemistry, pH (Potential Hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a watery solution. Pure water is neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at 25 degC. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are “acidic” and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are “basic” or “alkaline”. pH measurements are important in medicine, biology, chemistry, agriculture, forestry, food science, environmental science, oceanography, civil engineers and many others.]
FE-6 Hoshide closed the external shutters of the Lab, Node-3/Cupola & Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) windows to protect them during today’s robotic EP (Exposed Pallet) return to the HTV3 (H-II Transfer Vehicle 3).
Also in preparation for the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) activities, FE-5 Williams set up the Cupola RWS (Robotic Workstation), connecting the bypass cable to provide power to the Cupola DCP UOP (Display & Control Panel / Utility Outlet Panel).
Joe Acaba & Sunita then had ~45 min to operate the SSRMS for transferring, inserting & installing the EP in the HTV. [Overnight, the EP was unberthed from the EFU10 (Exposed Facility Unit 10) by the ground and handed off to the SSRMS from the JEM RMS (Robotic Manipulator System).]
Afterwards, Suni tore down the Cupola RWS setup, while Akihiko Hoshide deactivated the video system and returned SSC11 (Station Support Computer 11) & SSC16 from the JPM to their original sites in Node-2.
Later, Aki transferred new CDs (Compact Disks) from the HTV3 transfer case to the onboard ISS CD Library, with a new master list, and removed old CDs for stowage in the transfer case.
FE-2 Revin set up the electrical compressor equipment with hoses & adapters for the regular water transfer. After first draining the disinfectant solution from SM Rodnik BV2 tank into an EDV-OR container, Sergei initiated the pump-over of water from Progress M-16M/48P (No. 416) water tank #2 to the SM Rodnik BV2.
Afterwards, Revin continued the current round of periodic preventive maintenance of RS (Russian Segment) ventilation systems, working in the FGB (Funktsionalnyi-Grusovoi Blok) cleaning the GZhT-1,-2,-3 gas-liquid heat exchanger screens.
Later, Sergei also completed a reduced quarterly inspection of the TVIS treadmill, checking its harnesses, belt slats, SBSs (Series Bungee Systems) and the belt tension, with Gennady assisting by pulling the cables out for inspection of the SLDs (Subject Loading Devices).
Time again for recharging the Motorola Iridium-9505A satellite phone in the Soyuz Descent Modules, completed by Gennady Padalka for TMA-04M/30S (#704, docked at MRM2), with Yuri Malenchenko looking on for handover, and then by Yuri for TMA-05M/31S (#705, docked at MRM1), a monthly routine job, 2nd time for 30S, first for 31S. [After retrieving the phones from their location in the spacecraft Descent Module (SA, spuskayemyy apparat), the crewmembers initiated the recharge of the lithium-ion batteries, monitoring the process every 10-15 minutes as it took place. Upon completion, the phone was returned inside its sealed SSSP Iridium kits and stowed back in the SA’s ODF (operational data files) container. The satphone accompanies returning ISS crews on Soyuz reentry & landing for contingency communications with SAR (Search-and-Rescue) personnel after touchdown (e.g., after an “undershoot” ballistic reentry, as happened during the 15S return). The Russian-developed procedure for the monthly recharging has been approved jointly by safety officials. During the procedure, the phone is left in its fire-protective fluoroplastic bag with open flap. The Iridium 9505A satphone uses the Iridium constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites to relay the landed Soyuz capsule’s GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates to helicopter-borne recovery crews. The older Iridium-9505 phones were first put on board Soyuz in August 2003. The newer 9505A phone, currently in use, delivers 30 hours of standby time and three hours of talk, up from 20 and two hours, respectively, on the older units.]
The CDR & FE4 continued their joint preparations for the Russian EVA-31 on 8/20, today taking ~1.5 hrs for reviewing specific spacewalk procedures and then pre-gathering required tools & equipment for the excursion, supported by ground specialist tagup.
Later, Gennady & Yuri prepared the TEKh-44 Sfera (Sphere) satellite which they will deploy during their spacewalk. [After attaching a handle on the deployment tool, they installed the satellite on the tool and subsequently simulated its deployment in space as a test by pushing it out with the hand holding the handle. The setup was photographed.]
Padalka & Malenchenko then joined up for half an hour to prepare a video for the Russian experimental OBR-5 (Obrazovanie-5, Education 5) project VELIKOE NACHALO (“Great Beginning”), in which they depicted and described the Sfera satellite which will be used to update atmospheric parameters of Earth, specifically, the atmospheric density at orbits 100-400 km above the Earth. [Goal of OBR-5 is to develop a method to promote the accomplishments of national piloted cosmonautics using digital IT (information technology), for which RSC Energia has created a “Planet Korolev” website (http://gagarin.energia.ru/ ). The public inputs were/are the results of a questionnaire on this website. One interesting comment was the suggestion to create an Internet portal on which all still living participants of the first human space flight post their recollections. “This it is must to our descendants.”]
The CDR also readied the BIO-2 Biorisk-MSN hardware kit for the external installation of the experiment during the EVA-31.
Working on the WRS-2 (Water Recovery System 2) in Node-3, Joe Acaba reconfigured the ARFTA (Advanced Recycle Filter Tank Assembly) with QD (Quick Disconnect) hose from the periodic backfill mode to UPA (Urine Processor Assembly) processing mode, then removed the QD depress hose along with the tank’s vent adapter.
In the JAXA JPM (JEM Pressurized Module), Acaba later performed another session with the CFE VG2 (Capillary Flow Experiments / Vane Gap 2) experiment, preparing the MWA WSA (Maintenance Work Area / Work Surface Area) and conducting a 2h15m session of fluid test runs with the VG2 vessel. Suni Williams took documentary photography. The equipment was then torn down and stowed away. [CFE takes advantage of the station’s micro-G environment to investigate the special dynamics of capillary flow, i.e., the interaction of liquid with solid that can draw a fluid up a narrow tube and can be exploited to control fluid orientation so that fluid systems on spacecraft perform predictably. Joe performed the “Vane Gap 2” portion of the CFE suite, a study of capillary flow when there is a gap between interior corners of fluid containers, such as in the gap formed by an interior vane and tank wall of a large propellant storage tank, or the near intersection of vanes in a tank with a complex vane network. Interest is in the critical wetting angles and determination of the hysteresis to a higher accuracy than before. CFE results will have applications to management of liquid fuels, cryogens, water-based solutions, and thermal fluids in spacecraft systems.]
Also working in Kibo, Aki Hoshide performed close-out activities on his previous R&R (removal & replacement) of the TCA-L PPA (Thermal Control Assembly for Low Temperature Loop / Pump Package Assembly), today installing & connecting two cabin ducts, then attaching the FDS (Fire Detection System) partition and a closeout panel after checking for FOD (Foreign Object/Debris).
Later, Aki had ~6.5 hrs set aside for the periodic inspection of the PEPs (Portable Emergency Provisions) and their locations, checking PFEs (Portable Fire Extinguishers, PBAs (Portable Breathing Apparatus), HTKs (Extension Hose Tee Kits) and QDMAs (Quick-Don Mask Assemblies. [PFEs: 1 in Node-1, 1 in A/L (Airlock), 2 in Lab,1 in Node-2, 1 in Node-3, 2 in JPM, 1 in JLP, 2 in COL, 1 in PMM, 1 in HTV3. PBA O2 Bottles: 3 in FGB, 5 in A/L, 5 in Node-1, 2 in Lab, 2 in Node-2, 2 in Node-3, 2 in JPM, 1 in JLP, 2 in COL, 1 in PMM, 1 in HTV3. QDMAs or Prebreathe Masks: 3 in FGB, 8 in A/L, 2 in Node-1, 2 in Lab, 2 in Node-2, 3 in Node-3, 2 in JPM, 1 in JLP, 2 in COL, 1 in PMM, 1 in HTV3. EHTKs: 2 in Node-1, 1 in Lab, 2 in Node-2, 1 in Node-3.]
CDR Padalka transferred the new NASA experiment HiMassSEE from Progress 48P to the ISS and handed the kits over to FE-6 Hoshide for stowage. [HiMassSEE (Spacecraft Single Event Environments at High Shielding Mass) measures space radiation interactions with spacecraft structure & shielding using several passive track detector technologies to provide a more accurate definition of ISS payload accommodation, characterizing the combined primary & secondary ionizing radiation environments in the high shielding mass environment on board the station. It also strives to support the selection and verification of avionics and materials through the precise description of nuclear reactions induced by secondary particle showers inside the ISS. The median shielding mass, where the HiMassSEE experiment is located, is estimated to be between 20 and 50 g/cm2 Aluminum (Al) equivalents. One of the major role’s of the experiment is to determine the accuracy of some of the prediction models used on board. HiMassSEE also provides flight demonstration of recently developed FNTDs (Fluorescence Nuclear Track Detectors). The advanced materials that are studied for radiation damage are nonvolatile ferroelectric RAM, graphene film nanoelectronic materials, chalcogenide RAM, magneto resistive RAM, rare Earth element vanadate Quantum Dots, and MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) flash memory.]
In COL, Suni Williams configured the equipment for the ESA ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular) Ambulatory Monitoring experiment and then began her 2nd session, after preparing the Actiwatches, electrode sites, attaching the harness and donning the Cardiopres with the assistance of Joe Acaba who also took photos. At ~12:30pm EDT, Sunita observed the initial 10-min rest period under quiet, restful conditions before going about her business. [ICV activities consist of two separate but related parts over a one-week time period: an ultrasound echo scan & an ambulatory monitoring session. Today, wearing electrodes, the HM2 (Holter Monitor 2) for recording ECG (Electrocardiogram) for 48 hours, the ESA Cardiopres to continuously monitor blood pressure for 24 hours, and two Actiwatches (hip/waist & ankle) for monitoring activity levels over 48 hours, Suni started the ambulatory monitoring part of the ICV assessment, switching Makita batteries for the Cardiopres as required. During the first 24 hrs (while all devices are worn), ten minutes of quiet, resting breathing are timelined to collect data for a specific analysis. The nominal exercise includes at least 10 minutes at a heart rate ≥120 bpm (beats per minute). After 24 hrs, the Cardiopres is doffed and the HM2 HiFi CF Card and AA Battery are changed out to allow continuation of the session for another 24 hours. After data collection is complete, the Actiwatches and both HM2 HiFi CF Cards are downloaded to the HRF PC1, while Cardiopres data are downloaded to the EPM (European Physiology Module) Rack and transferred to the HRF PC1 via a USB key for downlink. The sessions are scheduled at or around FD14, FD30, FD75, FD135 and R-15 (there will be fewer sessions if mission duration is less than six months). The FD75 echo scan will include an exercise component with a second scan (subset of the first) completed within 5 minutes after the end of exercise. The primary objective of the accompanying CCISS (Cardiovascular Control on return from the ISS) experiment is to maximize the information about changes in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular function that might compromise the ability of astronauts to meet the challenge of return to an upright posture on Earth.]
After her 2nd session with the BLR48 (Biological Rhythms 48/BIORHYTHMS) experiment ended, Suni removed the DWH (Digital Walk Holter) and Actiwatch Spectrum from her body, saved the data from both ECG (electrocardiogram) Holters in the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) and analyzed them. Aki later saved & stowed the two Actiwatches (#9001, #9002).
Sergei Revin completed another 30-min. session for the DZZ-13 (Distantsionnoye zondirovaniye zemli/Remote Sensing of Earth-13) “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining SONY HDV-Z7E camcorder footage and NIKON D3-U01 (f=80mm) imagery of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-Eastern Pacific and the South American coastline, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop.
Sergei also took care of the daily IMS (Inventory Management System) 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).
Yuri performed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers, replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers and filling EDV-SV, KOV (for Elektron), EDV-ZV & EDV on RP flow regulator.]
Sunita conducted another brief photo session of the YTSL (YouTube SpaceLab) payload, deactivating CGBA-5 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5), photographing the six GAPs (Group Activation Packs), returning them to CGBA-5 using the restraint system and re-cabling plus re-powering the CGBA. Live SD video was required during AOS (Acquisition Of Signal) periods. [Through an agreement with NASA, Space Adventures is sponsoring the YTSL world-wide contest for students 14-to-18 years old. Over the past year, students submitted entries in the areas of physics or biology via a two-minute YouTube video. The top two experiments were selected in March 2012 through online voting and by an international panel of experts, including William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration Mission Directorate, and Leland Melvin, NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Office of Education. The winning experiments — from Egypt and Michigan — are being conducted on the ISS. One experiment studies how bacteria grow in space to see if different nutrients can block the growth. The other winning entry looks at how a Zebra spider — which jumps on its prey instead of catching it in a web on Earth — will hunt its prey in microgravity. There are actually two “Egyptian” spiders, a red backed spider named Nefertiti and a Zebra spider named Cleopatra.]
FE-5 also filled out her regular FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MDLT (Medical Laptop). It was Suni’s 3rd. [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MDLT software. Recorded are the amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. The FFQ is performed once a week to estimate nutrient intake from the previous week and to give recommendations to ground specialists that help maintain optimal crew health. Weekly estimation has been verified to be reliable enough that nutrients do not need to be tracked daily.]
Joe had a time slot/placeholder reserved each for making entries in their electronic Journals on the personal SSC. [Required are three journaling sessions per week.]
At ~4:10am EDT, the six crewmembers held the regular (nominally weekly) tagup with the Russian Main Flight Control Team (GOGU/Glavnaya operativnaya gruppa upravleniya), including Shift Flight Director (SRP), at TsUP-Moscow via S-band/audio, phone-patched from Houston and Moscow.
At ~3:10pm, the crew will hold their regular weekly tagup with the Lead Flight Director at JSC/MCC-Houston.
Before Presleep, FE-3 Acaba turns on the MPC (Multi-Protocol Converter) and start the Ku-band data flow of video recorded during the day to the ground, with POIC (Payload Operations & Integration Center) routing the onboard HRDL (High-Rate Data Link). After about an hour, Joe turns MPC routing off again. [This is a routine operation which regularly transmits HD onboard video (live or tape playback) to the ground on a daily basis before sleeptime.]
The crew worked out on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-6), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (CDR, FE-2, FE-4), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (FE-3, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-3), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (CDR, FE-2, FE-4).
Tasks listed for Revin, Malenchenko & Padalka on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were –
• A ~30-min. session for Russia’s EKON Environmental Safety Agency, making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on Earth using the NIKON D3X camera with the RSK-1 laptop, and
• More preparation & downlinking of reportages (written text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb).
CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today were King George’s Sound, W. Australia (HMS BEAGLE Site: Looking left of track for this major bay, recognizable by its highly convoluted coastline. In February 1836, Darwin landed here, but the stop seems to have been unimportant for his natural history studies. Darwin hosted a great dance for the local aboriginal people. The Beagle ran aground in a storm when setting sail but was refloated. The first European explorer to discover King George Sound was the Englishman George Vancouver in 1791), and Ampato Glaciers, Peru (ISS had a good weather mid-afternoon pass for this target area, with key features to the right and near nadir as ISS tracked northeastward toward the Peruvian coast. This rapidly melting set of small ice fields and glaciers, located in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, is scattered over the summits of a cluster of lofty [19-21 thousand-ft] volcanic peaks, centered near the stratovolcano of Ampato. At this time, the crew was to try for a mapping strip of the scattered snowcapped summits near nadir and right of track).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 9:27am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 401.9 km
Apogee height – 402.9 km
Perigee height – 400.9 km
Period — 92.60 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0001445
Solar Beta Angle — 64.9 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.55
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 78 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 78,647
Time in orbit (station) — 5012 days
Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4299 days.
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations—————-
08/20/12 — Russian EVA-31
08/30/12 — US EVA-18
09/06/12 — HTV3 undocking
09/08/12 — HTV3 reentry
09/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/25/12 — ATV3 undocking
10/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitsky/E.Tarelkin
10/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/01/12 — Progress M-17M/49P launch
11/03/12 — Progress M-17M/49P docking
11/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
12/05/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/07/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
12/26/12 — Progress M-18M/50P launch
12/28/12 — Progress M-18M/50P docking
03/19/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
04/02/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
04/04/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/16/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/31/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
