NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 10 March 2008

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Russian Holiday: International Women’s Day (“held over” from 3/8). Underway: Week 21 of Increment 16.

After consulting with Col-CC (Columbus Control Center) specialists, FE-2 Eyharts set up a video camcorder in front of the FSL RIC (Fluid Science Laboratory Rack Interface Controller) to monitor its LEDs, then performed an uplinked troubleshooting procedure on the FSL facility, using wire cutter, wire stripper and crimp tools in an effort to repair its LAN (Local Area Network) jumper that could not be connected with the UIP (Utility Interface Panel) J46 LAN-1 connector last week.

Later, Eyharts conducted photo documentation of the completed WAICO (Waving & Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels) experiment, first configuring the DCS-760 camera equipment, then removing the ECs (Experiment Containers) from the centrifuge, taking imagery inside the BGB (BIOLAB Glovebox) and afterwards replacing the ECs on the gravity-simulating centrifuge.

In the Lab, CDR Whitson connected the regular ITCS LTL (Internal Thermal Control System/Low Temperature Loop) coolant jumper at the LAB1D6 rack in support of ground-commanded activation, at 4:00am-6:00am EDT, of the U.S. CDRA (Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly). [CDRA was turned on to reduce cabin CO2 level prior to 1J/A docking.]

Yuri Malenchenko completed the routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables. [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists of replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers, replacement of an EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine container, replacement of the KOV EDV for the Elektron-intended water, and processing U.S. condensate water as it becomes available in a filled CWC (Contingency Water Container) from the Lab humidifier.]

CDR Whitson performed the periodic deployment of four passive FMK (formaldehyde monitoring kit) sampling assemblies in the Lab (at P3, below CEVIS) and SM (at the most forward handrail, on panel 307) for two days, to catch any atmospheric formaldehyde on a collector substrate for subsequent analysis on the ground. [Two monitors each are usually attached side by side, preferably in an orientation with their faces perpendicular to the direction of air flow.]

Working from the voluntary “available time” suggestions list, Yuri Malenchenko conducted the regular daily checkup on the Japanese experiment GCF-JAXA (Granada Crystallization Facility) in the Russian TBU incubator, maintained at +20 degC, including a temperature check on its ART (automatic temperature recorder).

The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

After the U.S. MCA (Major Constituent Analyzer) executed another ground-commanded “rapid sampling” auto sequence, Malenchenko performed the (currently daily) cabin air repress with O2 from Progress 28P storage (SrPK). Later, MCA mode was changed by the ground to standard sequence of four times each in Lab, Node-1, Airlock, Node-2 and Columbus.

At ~8:25am EDT, the Expedition 16 crew conducted the standard pre-handover teleconference (via S/G2 audio) with the Expedition 17 crew which is currently at GCTC (Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center) at Star City (Zvezdniy Gorodok), near Moscow.

At ~10:45am, Peggy and Yuri linked up with ground specialists at MCC-H for a 15-min debrief to discuss the images downlinked from their recent (3/7) Shuttle RPM (R-bar Pitch Maneuver) skill training. [The skill training prepares the crew for the bottom side mapping of the Endeavour at the arrival of STS-123/1J/A on Wednesday. During the RPM at ~600 ft from the station, the ISS crew will have only ~90 seconds for taking high-resolution digital photographs of all tile areas and door seals on the Orbiter, to be downlinked for launch debris assessment. Thus, time available for the shooting will be very limited, requiring great coordination between the two headset-equipped photographers and the Shuttle.]

At ~4:27am, Leo Eyharts powered up the SM’s amateur radio equipment (Kenwood VHF transceiver with manual frequency selection, headset, and power supply), to conduct, at 4:32am, a ham radio exchange in French with students at the Lycee mixte Rene Gosse, Clermont L’Herault, F-34800, France. [Named after Rene Gosse who was shot by the German Gestapo in 1943, the “Lycee” stands in the very heart of the medieval city of Clermont l’Herault, a renowned tourist place of about 6,000 inhabitants, situated in the Languedoc area, one of the sunniest regions of France. Most of its buildings date from the 14th century and are located on the site of an ancient Dominican monastery. The recently restored chapel of the Penitents, built in southern Gothic style, is still used both by the school to accommodate exams and conferences and by the town council as a cultural centre for various artistic events. Questions to Leo were uplinked by ARISS (Amateur Radio on ISS) beforehand. “Have you ever had a fish in the station? If so how did you manage to contain the water in which he lived? How did it move? How did it bear the take-off?”; “Why don’t you build a station on the moon rather than in space?”; “What is your feeling when you are out of the station and you look at the Earth and space?”; “What is the first sensation you feel when you work outside the station?”; “What are the temperatures outside and inside the station?”; “How do you perceive the Sun from the international space station? Does it look like the one we can see from the Earth?”; “Do the molecules made or transformed in space keep the same properties when they are brought back to the Earth?”]

ATV Update: ATV-1 “Jules Verne” lifted off on time Saturday night at 11:03:11pm EST. Ascent and the circularization burn by the upper stage were nominal. Separation from the Ariane 5 upper stage occurred at 12:09:42am. Deployment of solar arrays and PCE (Proximity Communications Equipment) antenna boom were also nominal. Yesterday (Sunday), ATVCC (ATV Control Center/Toulouse) deferred the first two phasing burns, TP1 (9:06am EDT) and TP2 (9:40am EDT), to first analyze an apparent problem with PDE-2 (Propulsion Drive Electronics #2), one of four PDEs, each one of which controls 7 of the 28 ACS (Attitude Control System) thrusters and one of the four OCS (Orbit Correction System) engines. Rescheduling the TP burns and any impact on tomorrow’s scheduled CAM test remained undetermined this morning.

ISS Crew Sleep Shift Planning: To synchronize the ISS crew’s timeline with STS-123/1J/A docking and subsequent docked activities, the wake/sleep cycle of Peggy, Yuri and Leo will undergo a number of shifts which, for an on-time launch tomorrow morning at 2:28am, start tomorrow (FD1). For the first six days, the wake/sleep shift schedule is as follows (all times EDT):

• FD1
• Wake: 2:00am – 12:00noon
• Sleep: 12:00noon – 4:00pm (“nap”)
• FD2
• Wake: 4:00pm (3/11) – 6:30am (3/12)
• Sleep: 6:30am – 3:00pm
• FD3
• Wake: 3:00pm (3/12) – 8:00am (3/13)
• Sleep: 8:00am – 4:30pm
• FD4
• Wake: 4:30pm (3/13) – 8:00am (3/14)
• Sleep: 8:00am – 4:30pm
• FD5
• Wake: 4:30pm (3/14) – 7:00am (3/15)
• Sleep: 7:00am – 3:30pm
• FD6
• Wake: 3:30pm (3/15) – 7:00am (3/16)
• Sleep: 7:00am – 3:30pm

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

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).

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 9:27am EDT [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 341.2 km
Apogee height — 342.0 km
Perigee height — 340.4 km
Period — 91.36 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0001254
Solar Beta Angle — 1.2 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.76
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 180 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 53296

Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible.):
03/11/08 — STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A launch/1J/A, w/SLP-SPDM, JEM ELM-PS (JLP) – 2:28am EDT, for a record 16+1+2 mission duration, incl. 5 EVAs;
03/12/08 — ATV1 “Jules Verne” CAM (Collision Avoidance Maneuver) demo, 3:59:28am EDT; orbit raising burns;
03/12/08 — STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A docking – ~11:27pm EDT
03/19/08 — ATV1 “Jules Verne” parking point (loiter) arrival 8:00am EDT ~1200 mi. in front of ISS;
03/24/08 — STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A undocking — ~7:55pm;
03/26/08 — STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A deorbit – ~7:33pm; landing (KSC) — ~8:35pm;
03/27/08 – ATV1 end of loiter; leave parking point – ~2:00am;
03/29/08 — ATV1 Demo Day 1
03/31/08 — ATV1 Demo Day 2
04/03/08 — ATV1 Demo Day 3 (docking) ~10:39am EDT
04/07/08 — Progress M-63/28P undocking (DC1) & reentry
04/08/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S launch – ~7:16am
04/10/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S docking (DC1) – ~8:43am
04/19/08 — Soyuz TMA-11/15S undocking/landing (FGB nadir port)
05/10/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S relocation (from DC1 to FGB nadir port)
05/14/08 — Progress M-64/29P launch
05/16/08 — Progress M-64/29P docking (DC1)
05/25/08 — STS-124/Discovery/1J launch – JEM PM “Kibo”, racks, RMS
05/27/08 — STS-124/Discovery/1J docking
06/05/08 — STS-124/Discovery/1J undocking
08/07/08 — ATV1 undocking
08/12/08 — Progress M-65/30P launch
08/14/08 — Progress M-65/30P docking (SM aft port)
08/28/08 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
09/09/08 — Progress M-64/29P undocking (from DC1)
09/10/08 — Progress M-66/31P launch
09/12/08 — Progress M-66/31P docking (DC1)
10/01/08 — NASA 50 Years
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 (SM aft port)
10/16/08 — STS-126/Discovery/ULF2 launch – MPLM Leonardo, LMC
10/18/08 — STS-126/Discovery/ULF2 docking
10/23/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S undocking (FGB nadir)
11/03/08 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S relocation (from SM aft to FGB nadir)
11/20/08 — ISS 10 Years
11/26/08 — Progress M-67/32P launch
11/28/08 — Progress M-67/32P docking (SM aft port)
12/04/08 — STS-119/Discovery/15A launch – S6 truss segment
12/06/08 — STS-119/Discovery/15A docking
12/15/08 — STS-119/Discovery/15A undocking
1QTR CY09 — STS-127/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
2QTR CY09 — STS-128/17A – MPLM, last crew rotation
05/??/09 — Six-person crew on ISS (following Soyuz 18S-2 docking)
3QTR CY09 — STS-129/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
4QTR CY09 — STS-130/19A – MPLM
1QTR CY10 – STS-131/ULF4
2QTR CY10 — STS-132/20A – Node-3 + Cupola
3QTR CY10 – STS-133/ULF5.