NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 11 April 2009
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday.
The crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning. ["Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the SM (Service Module) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the FE’s sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.]
As part of the house cleaning, Padalka conducted regular maintenance inspection & cleaning on fan screens in the FGB (TsV2), DC1 (V3) and SM (VPkhO, VPrK, FS5, FS6 & FS9).
FE-1 Barratt began the second day of his FD15 (Flight Day 15) session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, after the 8-hr overnight fast. This was an all-day session, the first for Dr. Mike, of collecting blood samples (assisted by Koichi Wakata who also took photographs) plus urine samples several times until termination tomorrow after 24 hrs. [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.]
CDR Padalka powered down, dismantled & stowed the DAKON-M hardware of the Russian experiment TEKh-15/IZGIB (“Bend”) which had monitored the Soyuz undocking disturbances. [IZGIB has the objective to help update mathematical models of the ISS gravitation environment, using accelerometers of the Russian SBI Onboard Measurement System, the GIVUS high-accuracy angular rate vector gyrometer of the SUDN Motion Control & Navigation System and other accelerometers for unattended measurement of micro-accelerations at science hardware accommodation locations – (1) in operation of onboard equipment having rotating parts (gyrodynes, fans), (2) when establishing and keeping various ISS attitude modes, and (3) when performing crew egresses into space and physical exercises.]
After the midday meal (10-11am EDT), FE-2 Wakata performed the weekly “T+2d” inflight microbiology analyses for the “Exp-19 Week 1” samples of potable water collected on 4/9 for chemical and microbial analysis from the SVO-ZV tap and the SRV-K Warm tap. [Sample analysis included treatment/processing of water samples in MCDs (microbial capture devices) from the U.S. WMK (water microbiology kit). Analysis also includes processing of water samples in the MWAK (microbial water analysis kit) for inflight coliform bacteria (Escherichia coli) detection. Results of the MWAK will be available after another 2-4 days of incubation.]
The CDR also completed 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 performing US condensate processing (transfer from CWC to EDV containers) if condensate is available.]
Part of the SOZh maintenance today included replacement of three manual pressure gauges (MB), two in the SM, one in the DC1 Docking Compartment with new units, plus the addition of two new gauges (#19, #14) in the SM from stowage.
Mike Barratt performed the daily status check on the BCAT-4 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-4) science payload, running by itself since 4/3. [The status check, conducted on the last image taken by the DCS 760 digital still camera which is controlled by EarthKAM software on an A31p laptop, is to verify proper image focus and camera alignment. The SSC (Station Support Computer) is taking photography of the phase separation occurring in the BCAT Sample 3, with the photo flash going off every half hour.]
The FE-1 performed the (now) daily procedure of flushing the PWD (Potable Water Dispenser) ambient line with ~50mL of water (into a towel/Ziploc bag). PWD water is currently cleared only for hygienic use. [While final analysis of the PWD sample results on the ground is still pending, experts recommend keeping water flowing in the line daily to help control microbial growth. The flushing will be done daily unless at least this amount has been dispensed for other activities during the day).]
On the FCF (Fluids & Combustion Facility) in the CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack) in the Lab, Dr. Mike re-installed the alignment guides to lock down the PaRIS (Passive Rack Isolation System) after yesterday’s ground-commanded MDCA (Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus)test session.
Wakata retrieved and stowed the four passive FMK (Formaldehyde Monitoring Kit) sampling assemblies deployed by him on 4/9 in the Lab (at P3, below CEVIS) and SM (at the most forward handrail, on panel 307), 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.]
Koichi also completed the regular bi-monthly reboots of the OCA Router and File Server SSC (Station Support Computer) laptops.
The crew completed their regular daily 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), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (FE-1, FE-2), and VELO with bungee cord load trainer (CDR). [The CEVIS (Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation), which had shown anomalous workload indications, is currently “No-Go” as engineers are developing a forward plan for an inspection of its internals. All CEVIS exercise is being replaced with TVCIS exercise for the near term.]
Working off the Russian discretionary “time permitting” suggestions list, Gennady conducted another session for Russia’s Environmental Safety Agency (EKON), making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on earth using the Nikon D2X with the SIGMA 300-800mm telephoto lens.
A second periodic task from the voluntary work list for Padalka called for updating the Russian networked laptops (RSK1, RSS1, RSS2) and non-networked laptops (RSE1, RSE-med) with latest Symantec AntiVirus software.
At ~8:00am EDT, Gennady, Michael & Koichi downlinked two PAO TV messages of greetings, one to the participants of the Third International Seminar/Meeting “Global Road Map for Flight Safety and Russia”, to be held 4/14-15 in Moscow, the other to the attendees of tonight’s informational program “This Evening” on the NTV network, on the eve of Cosmonautics Day. [The Russian participants in the Safety seminar include the directors of Rosaviatsiya, Transportation Minister Igor Levitin, and the directors of the major aviation companies of Russia. International civil aviation is represented by Mr. William Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation; Mr. Brian Starset, a representative of the US Federal Aviation Administration; and representatives from Boeing and Airbus. These meetings between civil aviation leaders in Russia and representatives of international civil aviation have become traditional. This time, the meeting will be dedicated to the subject of the Global Road Map for Flight Safety, which can be called a tool or guide for implementing the Global Aviation Safety Plan, adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).- NTV was founded in 1993, and remains the only private Russian channel that has federal status. The NTV audience in Russia exceeds 120 million people. In addition to Russia, NTV broadcasts to the countries of the CIS and also Western Europe, the Middle East, US, and Canada. NTV has a network of correspondence points throughout Russia and the CIS, and also in New York, Berlin, London, and Brussels. The hosts of “This Evening” are Olga Belova and Aleksandr Yakovenko.]
At ~9:30am, the crew conducted their regular WPC (Weekly Planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s "Look-Ahead Plan" (prepared jointly by MCC-Houston and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners) via S-band/audio, reviewing the monthly calendar, upcoming activities, and any concerns about future on-orbit events.
At ~4:15pm, Mike Barratt is scheduled for his weekly PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop).
Afterwards, Barratt transferred the exercise data file to the MEC laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on ARED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Nineteen — Week 1)
3-D SPACE: Ongoing. Re-scheduling for the first session for Mike Barratt currently under coordination
ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.
ALTEA DOSI (NASA/ASI): “The DAU-NACK error message (DAU Not ACKnowledged) means that DAU sent a command to some subsystem, in this case the VSU (Visual Stimulator Unit), which did not respond. This is obvious as the VSU is off, because it is not needed during DOSI. So the problem is that the DAU should not have sent that command. We found that the command was issued in the house keeping data stream and we were wondering if Mike did see the DAU-NACK message, and we now know that he did. We are working on the best strategy to correct the configuration file and avoid that the DAU asks that command. We are almost ready to prepare the relative OCR. Thank you for all your hard work.”
BCAT-3/4 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 3/4): “We had samples 8, 9, and 10 (the polydisperse, monodisperse, and seeded crystal samples) photographed. We see indications of crystals, but nothing overwhelming like what we might expect by now, given what we saw in November. It looks like the total scattering angle ((light input angle) + (camera angle)) is quite different than what was used last November, when the hints of crystals were vibrant. Sample 2 is phase separating nicely and when we (Peter Lu at Harvard) image processed the photographs they look like they’ll be great. The camera got bumped and this limited the field of view for a little while, but that was fixed and things are looking good. I should add that the twin sample on earth for sample 2 in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is showing no phase separation, once again indicating how important microgravity is to get these experiments to work. Sample 4, another phase separation sample, is slated to be run next week and we are excited about that. Time allowing, we may get some more crystal pictures of samples 8, 9, and 10.”
Biological Rhythms (JAXA): First session for Barratt is planned for next week. Two runs are for Barratt, two are planned for De Winne.
BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): “Mike, thank you for all your efforts to reach the end of the first BISE in-flight session. We were stalled for some time by the ‘penguin’ however at the end, you have tamed it! The data has been validated by the PI team and is simply perfect. Looking forward to the next session.”
BISPHOSPHONATES: “Koichi, thanks for your continued support of this experiment.”
CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.
CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): “Mike, we are currently planning your first CCISS session for 4/15 & 4/16.”
CFE (Capillary Flow Experiment): Reserve.
CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete.
CSI-3/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #2/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): Complete. The CSI-03 Experiment of Butterflies and Spiders in space returned on STS 119. Development and testing of the follow on experiment, CSI-03 Resupply, is currently underway and scheduled for an August launch.
CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete.
CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack): Ongoing.
CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): Complete.
DomeGene (JAXA): “On GMT87 and 88, all the activity of DomeGene has finished. Thank you for your support.”
EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): Complete.
EDR (European Drawer Rack): The rack is continuously active in support of the PCDF (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility) experiment. EDR is providing power/data and temperature control (via cooling loop) to PCDF.
ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned.
ENose (Electronic Nose): Operating.
EPM (European Physiology Module): Underway.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations): Reserve.
EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): Koichi Wakata downlinked this week’s report.
ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.
EuTEF (European Technology Exposure Facility): Platform nominal, except for re-occurring MIL-Bus errors. MIL-Bus error re-occurred on 4/8, leading to an interruption of ~10hrs of science data acquisition. DOSTEL, EXPOSE, FIPEX, MEDET: On-going science acquisition – nominal; DEBIE-2: the instrument continues to start generating empty science packets at regular intervals (of 30 to 34hrs). Science acquisition is pursued with regular power cycling of the instrument (work-around). EVC: Activities on 4/6 to acquire imagery were unsuccessful. Further activities currently planned for 4/9. On 3/31, some MEDET commanding have been successfully performed to modify the acquisition parameters of the instrument.
FACET (JAXA): “Thank you for your support on the successful start of the FACET experiment this week. A total of 40 sessions are planned. Experiments will be running during crew sleep time with commanding from ground operation center.”
FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory): MMA measurements performed from 4/7 (8:45pm EDT) until 4/8 (1:35am). However, a problem occurred during the data downlink procedure which lead to the fact that the records were not retrieved (yet).
GEOFLOW: Aborted. “The return of the Experiment Container is confirmed with 15A.”
HDTV System (JAXA): To be launched by HTV1.
Holter (JAXA): One of two sessions for FE-2 is slipped from Increment 18. Scheduled on 5/21.
HQPC (JAXA): To be launched by 34P.
ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.
IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): Complete.
Integrated Immune: “Mike, thanks for your willingness to support back-to-back Integrated Immune sessions. The samples from the 15A stage look great and the data is currently being processed. The ground team is looking forward to your last set of blood samples to return on the Soyuz with you.”
KUBIK-FM1/ KUBIK-FM2 Centrifuge/Incubators: Completed.
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): Completed.
Marangoni Experiment for ISS in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): In progress.
MAXI (JAXA): Exposed Payload, to be launched on 2JA.
Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MISSE (Materials ISS Experiment): Ongoing.
Moon Photography from ISS (JAXA EPO): One run performed on the last day of Increment 18.
MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox): Complete.
MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC1 “Pirs”.
MULTIGEN-1: Completed.
NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete.
NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY: Ongoing.
PADLES (JAXA, Passive Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): Deployed at 12 planned positions in JEM. Plan to return by 17A.
PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): On 4/4, the script for the first full growth cycle (called EP4 Cycle 1) could be successfully completed. The Cycle 2 for the same reactor (EP4 Cycle 2) would only start after 17S undock. A shorter nucleation cycle on reactor EP1 was performed to benefit if the time gap until 17S undock. On 4/4, the LSU (Light Scattering Unit) went off inadvertently. This could be resolved by power cycling PCDF. The run EP1 Cycle 1 was restarted and completed nominally. On 4/8 – after Soyuz 17S undock, the EP4 Cycle 2 was started and is running nominally. It is expected to end on 4/14.
PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): Complete.
PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.
POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): On 3/26, two plant biology experiments have been uploaded with Soyuz 18S. The experiment containers for POLCA and GRAVIGEN have been installed in the KUBIK incubator on 4/4 and the centrifuge was started. All conditions were nominal. Also the ground reference experiment was started immediately after. On 4/7, the swap of POLCA containers was performed by the crew. And later on the same day, POLCA and GRAVIGEN containers were transferred from the KUBIK incubator to the BIOKIT-6 for return on Soyuz 17S. KUBIK close-out activities have been completed on 4/8. All experiment containers have been confirmed retrieved at the landing site.
RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete.
SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): Ongoing.
SAMPLE: Complete.
SEDA-AP (JAXA): Exposed Payload,- to be launched by 2JA.
SHERE (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment): Complete.
SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): “Koichi, we are currently planning your second week of Sleep logging for next week. You will have one more Sleep logging session this increment to meet the requirement. Mike, we are currently planning the monthly download/initialization session for next week.”
SMILES (JAXA): Exposed Payload, to be launched by HTV1.
SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory): Currently out of sun visibility, thus on Feeder#2. On 4/7, SOLAR was brought on to prepare for Soyuz 17S undock. It was left on Feeder#1 to allow for SOLSPEC calibration activities on 4/8. Afterwards the platform was put back on Feeder#2.
SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): Experiment completed by Mike Fincke. Blood and urine samples are now stowed in MELFI for return on 2J/A.
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): Reserve.
SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): Reserve.
Swab (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): Complete.
TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.
ULTRASOUND: Planned.
VLE (Video Lessons ESA): VLE-1 completed.
WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels): Complete/Planned (2J/A Stage).
CEO (Crew Earth Observations): “Greetings to the Increment 19 crew from the staff of Crew Earth Observations! We are looking forward to working with you in support of our payload. We are now submitting Daily Target lists to notify you of viewing opportunities for our science sites with additional details and recommendations specific to each target. We have received no imagery yet this week tagged as your increment. Once we do, we will use this summary as one of the ways to provide feedback to you on your progress and success at acquiring our targets. We will also offer feedback on the overall quality and composition of your photos as needed, and, let you know about how your imagery is being used or published. Please feel free to notify us of anything we can do to improve our products or our feedback to you. We are dedicated to your success in Crew Earth Observations.”
CEO photo targets uplinked for today were Ankara, Turkey (capital city), Japanese cities (looking left and right for coastal cities), Warsaw, Poland (Capital city. Nadir pass), Slate Islands Impact Crater, Canada (looking at nadir or just left of track. The crater appears as an island just off the north coast of Lake Superior between the ISS track and the shoreline), Winnipeg, Manitoba (Provincial capital. Looking right of track. Lake Winnipeg is the visual cue: the city is at the south end of the lake complex), and Redoubt Volcano, Alaska (Dynamic event. Looking far left for any plume that may appear above the cloud layer or between cloud masses. The volcano is intermittently active. Based on past activity, the current eruption phase is expected to continue for weeks to months).
CEO photography can be studied at this “Gateway” website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (as of 9/1/08, this database contained 770,668 views of the Earth from space, with 324,812 from the ISS alone).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:42am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude — 352.9 km
Apogee height – 358.9 km
Perigee height — 346.9 km
Period — 91.60 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.000893
Solar Beta Angle — -43.1 deg (magnitude bottoming out)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 75 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 59546
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
05/06/09 — Progress 32P undocking & deorbit
05/07/09 — Progress 33P launch
05/12/09 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
05/12/09 — Progress 33P docking
05/27/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S launch
05/29/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S docking (FGB nadir)
06/13/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
Six-person crew on ISS
07/17/09 — Progress 33P undock & deorbit
07/20/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S relocation (to DC1)
07/24/09 — Progress 34P launch
07/26/09 — Progress 34P docking (SM aft)
08/06/09 — STS-128/Discovery/17A – MPLM (P), LMC
09/01/09 — H-IIB (JAXA HTV-1) — tentative
11/10/09 — Soyuz 5R/MRM2 (Russian Mini Research Module, MIM2) on Soyuz — tentative
11/12/09 — STS-129/Atlantis/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola — tentative
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P), LMC — tentative
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1 — tentative
05/31/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4 — tentative
12/XX/11 — Proton 3R/MLM w/ERA.
