NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 12 November 2011
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – Crew off duty.
After wakeup, FE-4 Volkov performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
Also at wake-up, CDR Mike Fossum & FE-5 Satoshi Furukawa completed another post-sleep session of the Reaction Self Test (Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS) protocol. [RST is done twice daily (after wakeup & before bedtime) for 3 days prior to the sleep shift, the day(s) of the sleep shift and 5 days following a sleep shift. The experiment consists of a 5-minute reaction time task that allows crewmembers to monitor the daily effects of fatigue on performance while on ISS. The experiment provides objective feedback on neurobehavioral changes in attention, psychomotor speed, state stability, and impulsivity while on ISS missions, particularly as they relate to changes in circadian rhythms, sleep restrictions, and extended work shifts.]
Fossum checked the running BCAT-6 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-6)-Phase Separation experiment for camera & flashlight battery charge. The Nikon D2Xs camera with EarthKAM software running with the Intervalometer on SSC-18 (Station Support Computer 18) is taking automated flash photography of Sample 3. [After starting on 11/10, the camera is running for a total of 7 days, taking one photo each hour. Camera battery change and Intervalometer restart is done three times a day. Objective of BCAT-6 Phase Separation: to gain unique insights into how gas and liquid phases separate and come together in microgravity. These fundamental studies on the underlying physics of fluids could provide the understanding needed to enable the development of less expensive, longer shelf-life household products, foods, and medicines.]
Mike, Satoshi & Sergey joined in conducting the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough cleaning of their home, including COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) and Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). [“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 sleep stations 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. Since this was the last scheduled round of Housekeeping for Exp-29, Mike & Satoshi paid special attention to some safeguarding issues to ensure a good configuration in the unlikely event of station decrewing (failure of 28S crew arriving): Flammable materials securely stowed away from UOPs (Utility Outlet Panels), Rack Power Outlets, and Power Strips, no loose items that could become free-floaters during nominal dynamic events, ventilation diffusers clear of stowage, and HEPA filters vacuum-cleaned.]
As part of Uborka house cleaning, Volkov completed regular weekly maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2) plus Group E fan grilles in the SM (VPkhO, FS5, FS6, VP) and the Potok Air Purification System pre-filters in SM & FGB. Before the cleaning, all fan screens were photographed for ground inspection.
FE-4 reset the Kenwood TM D700″Sputnik” amateur radio station in the SM in Repeater Mode with the running Russian KPT-14 SHADOW-BEACON (Tenj-Mayak) experiment. Later, the station was turned off. [Objective of the experiment is the automatic retranslation of time tag (pre-planned executable) packets from ground stations. SHADOW (or ECLIPSE), sponsored by Roskosmos and its leading Moscow research organization TSNIIMASH (Central Research Institute of Machine Building), employs VHF amateur radio (ham) operators around the globe (via ARISS/Amateur Radio on ISS) to help in observing refraction/scattering effects in artificial plasmas using the method of RF (radio frequency) sounding in space experiments under different geophysical conditions. This experiment has been run by Dmitri Kondratyev, Oleg Skripochka, Fyodor Yurchikhin, Yuri Malenchenko and Mikhail Tyurin (first time in November 2006.]
Sergey also completed the daily routine 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.]
Fossum filled out his weekly FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MEC 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.]
CDR & FE-4 had their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences) on today’s schedule, via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Sergey at ~7:05am, Mike at ~1:40pm EST.
At ~4:40am, the CDR powered up the SM’s amateur radio equipment (Kenwood VHF transceiver with manual frequency selection, headset, & power supply) and at 4:45am conducted a ham radio session with students at the ISS (Science High School) “G. Marconi” in Bari, Italy. [The institute, founded in 1940, is specialized in technological field and at the same time it is a scientific high school (applied science). There are more than 600 students, and the ARI (Radioamateur Association of Bari) is a part of the ISS “Marconi” body. The Institute has participated in EduSat project, headed by ASI (Italian Space Agency) in collaboration with IMT – Ingegneria Marketing e Tecnologia (Italian SME). The ISS “Marconi” was the main Institute among South Italy High Schools involved in the above project. EduSAT is still in progress and the students are studying aerospace concept such as space environment, space telecommunication, satellite subsystems and so on. A Technological Satellite Simulator has been realized by IMT to help students make experiments in the laboratory.]
ISS Amateur/Ham Statistics Update: 17 contacts for Mike, 11 contacts for Satoshi, 28 for Exp-28, 14 for Inc 29/30, 116 during 2011, and 682 total Project events.
At ~7:40am, the three crewmembers held the regular WPC (Weekly Planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events.
At ~10:35am, the crew joined for supporting a Russian PAO TV event, downlinking multilingual greetings to the participants of the Russian Olympians Ball on 11/25 at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall in Moscow dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-4/2x), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-5), and T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR, FE-4, FE-5).
Tasks listed for Sergey Volkov on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were –
* Continuing the preparation & downlinking of more reportages (written text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb),
* Another ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens, aiming for the Vulcan Hierro, South Island Canary Islands, Glacier Allalin Kursk Reserve, Lipetsk Metallurgical Plant holdings in the Voronezh area, Hong Kong, Kursk Reserve, floodplain and the Volga delta, monitoring oil pollution of the Caspian Sea, Aral Sea region, Pamir: Bear Glacier, Kerch Strait, Taman Laganakskoe plateau, Krasnaya Polyana, Kolka glacier, River Terek, Baku, Glacier Allalin;
* Inspecting & photographing the space behind SM panel 338 (to develop a procedure for installation of the S Ju309 mono unit on Regul-OS work area 3 to replace the SA25-3 device removed in April 2011),
* Photographing the CP (Central Post) SSC laptop connection to the TVS television system,
* Conducting the daily inspection of the running Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) payload with its LADA-01 greenhouse, verifying proper watering of the KM A32 & A24 root modules, and
* Another ~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.
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Twenty-Nine — Week 8)
2D NANO Template (JAXA): No report.
3D SPACE: Complete.
AgCam (Agricultural Camera): No report.
ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.
ALTEA SHIELD (NASA/ASI): Radiation data measurements were performed with 5 out of 6 Silicon Detector Units. Since 10/16 one detector unit is off. However, since measurements in all 3 directions are collected, there is no real impact on science.
AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): AMS Payload and Laptop operations are nominal. As of 11/10 AMS has acquired data for 7,970,436,974 events. 11/9: Three STRBD TRRJ adjustments brought the gamma angle to 60o, allowing AMS Transition Radiation Detector gas pump temperature to settle at around 11degC after dipping below 10 degC on 11/9.
APEX (Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit) -Cambium: No report.
APEX-TAGES (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System): No report.
Asian Seed 2010 (JAXA): Returned on ULF6.
BCAT-6 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 6): “Peter Lu, the Harvard PI, along with Dave Weitz have prepared some movies of the results from sample 5. Very impressive, shows sample “blob” correlation lengths as a function of time. Many thanks for the beautiful photography.” [Colloids are particles as small as a few tens of nanometers (a thousandth of a thousandth of a millimeter) that are suspended in a medium, usually a liquid or a gas. The name “colloid” comes from the Greek word for “glue”, and expresses very important properties of colloids: when small and light enough, particles can be influenced in their behavior by forces of electromagnetic origin, and make them stick together, or repel each other depending on the configuration. Colloids are widely studied in science because the forces between particles can be controlled and tuned and because particles, while being small enough to be influenced by such forces, are big and slow enough to be seen with a relatively simple and inexpensive laboratory instrument like a microscope. This is why colloids are often studied as model for molecular systems (like standard gases or liquids) where molecules, the individual constituents, are much smaller than colloids and cannot be seen with light. As mentioned, forces between colloids can be tuned giving rise to a rich variety of phenomena. One of them is aggregation, which is when particles stick together and tend to form structures. Among the many ways to induce particle aggregation, one allows to do so by controlling the temperature of the solution in which the particles are immersed, thanks to very weak forces called “critical Casimir forces” that have been predicted more than 30 years ago but just partially verified in experiments. The objective of SODI COLLOID is to measure such forces and produce a controlled aggregation of tiny plastic particles. This would allow to shed light on critical Casimir forces and to make a step towards the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with remarkable optical properties for industrial applications.]
BIOLAB (ESA): No report.
BIORHYTHMS (JAXA, Biological Rhythms): No report.
BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): No report.
BISPHOSPHONATES: No report.
BXF-Facility (Boiling eXperiment Facility, NASA): No report.
BXF-MABE (Microheater Array Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.
BXF-NPBX (Pool Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.
CARD (Long Term Microgravity: Model for Investigating Mechanisms of Heart Disease, ESA): No report.
CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.
CB (JAXA Clean Bench): No report.
CBEF-2 (JAXA Cell Biology Experiment Facility)/SPACE SEED: No report.
CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): No report.
CERISE (JAXA): No report.
CCF (Capillary Channel Flow, NASA): No report.
CFE-2 (Capillary Flow Experiment 2, NASA): No report.
CFS-A (Colored Fungi in Space-A, ESA): No report.
CSI-5/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #5/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): No report.
CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete.
CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack), MDCA/Flex: No report.
Commercial (Inc 23&24, JAXA): No report.
Commercial (Inc 25 & 26, JAXA): No report.
CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): No report.
CsPins (JAXA): No report.
CubeLab: No report.
CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete.
DECLIC-ALI (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids & Crystallization-ALICE-like, CNES/NASA): The sequence ALI-SC4 started on 11/7 for 25 days. The scientific objective of this week is to make measurements of turbidity on the observation cell. We have taken 3000 images.
DomeGene (JAXA): Complete.
DOSIS (Dose Distribution Inside ISS, ESA): No report.
EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): No report.
EDR (European Drawer Rack, ESA): No report.
EKE (Endurance Capacity by Gas Exchange and Heart Rate Kinetics During Physical Training, ESA): No report.
ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned.
EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Nominal water pump servicing was performed by ground commanding on 10/13.
ENose (Electronic Nose): No report.
EPM (European Physiology Module): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Eye in the Sky; Sleep 2): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Sesame Street): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Kids in Micro-G): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Earth/Moon/Mars Demo): No report.
EPO LES-2 (ESA): No report.
EPO GREENHOUSE (ESA): No report.
EPO 3-min Video (JAXA): No report.
EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): On 10/31, Satoshi completed JAXA Report 16 as a task list item, it was the final report for News Paper Company.
EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Closed out on 3/15.
EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report.
EPO Lego Bricks (NASA, JAXA): “Thank you Satoshi for completing the Communications and Global Positioning Satellite build.”
EPO-5 SpaceBottle (Message in a Bottle, JAXA): No report.
EPO Moon Score (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Try Zero-G (JAXA): No report.
EPO Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): No report.
EPO Poem (JAXA): No report.
EPO-6 Spiral Top 2 (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Doctor Demo (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Green Tea Preparation (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Ink Ball (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Video (JAXA):
ERB-2 (Erasmus Recording Binocular, ESA): [ERB-2 aims are to develop narrated video material for various PR & educational products & events, including a 3D interior station view.] No report.
ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.
FACET-2 (JAXA): No report.
FERULATE (JAXA): No report.
FIR/LMM/CVB (Fluids Integrated Rack / Light Microscopy Module / Constrained Vapor Bubble): No report.
Fish Scales (JAXA): Completed on FD7/ULF-4 and returned on STS-132.
FOAM STABILITY (ESA): No report.
FOCUS: No report.
FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory, ESA): No report.
FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report.
GENARA-A (Gravity Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis A/ESA): No report.
GEOFLOW-2 (ESA): After being on-hold due the USOC preparing for other experiment’s operations, on 11/7 the GEOFLOW-2 science runs were resumed – starting with the no-rotation run i10 (at Tcold lowest and initial delta-T at 9.9K, decreasing by steps of 0.4K). However, due to anomalies (see FSL: temperature deviations and MVIS lock-up) GEOFLOW-2 science runs are on-hold awaiting the outcome of the engineering investigations. [Background: Everybody is familiar with liquids. In an average day we get to use, handle or drink water or other liquids. And everybody knows how fluids (that is liquids and gases) behave: when subjected to a net force, may be pressure, a temperature difference or gravity, they can move freely. Scientists have been studying how fluids move for centuries, and managed to write mathematical formulas that can describe and predict such movements. Unfortunately, these equations are extremely complex and only approximate solutions are known. As a result, our quantitative understanding of fluid movement is just partial. This is especially true for natural phenomena where the forces can be enormous and unpredictable, like in oceans or in the atmosphere. Or the interior of the earth, where rocks are exposed to pressures and temperatures so incredibly high that they slowly move and adapt their shape. That is, over hundreds of years rocks flow just like a very viscous liquid. Scientists try to study such flows but cannot observe them directly due to the fact that they take place deep beneath the surface of our planet. The only way is to have computers simulating those movements starting from the equations, but how to check whether computers are correct? This is what GeoFlow II is trying to answer on board the International Space Station. GeoFlow II is a miniature planet that has some of its essential ingredients: a fluid can freely move inside a spherical container that rotates, has temperature differences and has a simulated gravity directed towards the centre just like in a real planet. By taking pictures of the fluid movements, scientists are able to understand the essential characteristics of the flows and determine whether computer simulations are correct or whether they need to be refined and improved towards a better understanding of the elusive movements that take place inside our planet.]
HAIR (JAXA): No report.
HDTV System (JAXA): No report.
Hicari (JAXA): No report.
Holter ECG (JAXA): No report.
HQPC (JAXA): Was delivered by 34P.
HREP (HICO/Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean & RAIDS/Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System/JAXA): HICO has taken 4451 images to-date. The most recent HICO images include the Florida coast near Choctawhatchee Bay and Panama City, Coral Bay in Australia, and part of Lake Erie. The HREP Instrument Interface Unit (IIU) was rebooted on Day 314 and this action restored the RAIDS low-rate telemetry containing the Science data. RAIDS is appreciative of the efforts of NASA engineers to help troubleshoot the problem. RAIDS plans to continue collecting secondary Science data once again. The secondary Science includes nighttime atmospheric disk photometry, spectra and temperatures. Extreme Ultra Violet airglow spectroscopy and optical contamination studies will also be performed.
HydroTropi (Hydrotropism & Auxin-Inducible Gene Expression in Roots Grown under Microgravity Conditions/JAXA): No report.
ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.
ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): “Satoshi, you have now completed all of your ICV on-orbit sessions! We understand that the tasks associated with ICV are challenging and the experiment team truly does appreciate all of your considerable efforts to ensure experiment success. With the R-15 session behind us, we look forward to seeing you on the ground for some final BDC sessions.”
IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.
INTEGRATED IMMUNE: “Mike & Satoshi, thanks to all of you for a successful blood draw on 9/14. The PI team is looking forward to analyzing the data.”
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): No report.
IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report.
ISS Amateur/Ham Radio: “Satoshi, you completed your 11th and final planned event on 11/9 with a successful contact with the Rehabilitationszentrum (rehab hospital) in Switzerland. Nine children asked thirteen questions. The impact on the kids was amazing! Local newspapers covered the event, and the audience consisted of about 50 people, the kids, and hospital nurses. Mike, your contact with the Donald P. Sutherland School in New York was successfully completed on 11/10. An estimated 200+ attendees were in the audience and four television stations were on hand. All fourteen questions were answered with solid contact throughout the pass. Thank you Mike and Satoshi for your support!” To date, ISS Ham statistics include: 17 contacts for Mike, 11 contacts for Satoshi, 28 for Exp 28, 14 for Inc 29/30, 116 during 2011, and 682 total Project events.
ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, NASA): No report.
IV Gen (Intravenous Fluids Generation): No report.
KID/KUBIK6: No report.
KUBIK 3 (ESA): No report.
LMM/PACE-2 (Light Microscopy Module / Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment): No report.
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): No report.
Marangoni Exp (JAXA): No report.
Marangoni DSD – Dynamic Surf (JAXA): Payload name was change from Marangoni DSD to Dynamic Surf.
Marangoni UVP (JAXA): No report.
MARES (Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System, ESA/NASA): No report.
Matryoshka-2 (RSA): No report.
MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.
MDCA/Flex-2: “Mike: Excellent job replacing the CIR FOMA Cal Unit and the CIR IAM F/O Cable #1. You replaced the CIR FOMA Cal Unit and closed and opened bottle valves to support the calibration of CIR’s FOMA (Fuel/Oxidizer Management Assembly) on GMT 314. This calibration needs to be completed yearly to ensure that all the pressure transducers in the CIR are accurate. We especially appreciate your diligence with inspecting and photo documenting the faulty F/O cable. We did determine during the CIR’s powered operations later in the day on GMT 313, that the newly installed F/O is successfully transmitting data. Great news! Good work cleaning and installing this cable! On 11/8, we also determined that the settings we changed on the ground successfully fixed the problem with the CIR’s main software controller (FCF I/O Processor). After the change to the FLEX-2 configuration, the FCF I/O Processor was unusually slow processing telemetry because there was a bottleneck with data getting to the ground. With both these problems fixed and with a calibrated FOMA, we’re ready to return to FLEX test points in Week 9.
MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report.
Microbe-2 (JAXA): Sample returned by ULF6.
Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MISSE-8 (Materials ISS Experiment 8): MISSE-8 is operating nominally and the Communication Interface Board (CIB) has not reset these past two weeks. MISSE-8 is still investigating potential correlations of CIB resets to active MISSE-8 experiments and sub-experiments. PASCAL has performed nominal commanding that produced IV curves of the solar cells. IV curves are plots of the current versus voltage for solar cells and tell a lot about how these are performing. The SpaceCube experiment is running code for new radiation hardening by software.
MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report.
MPAC/SEED (JAXA): No report.
MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox-Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment): No report.
MSPR (Multi Purpose Small Payload Rack, JAXA): No report.
MSL (Materials Science Laboratory, ESA): Science program is on hold pending engineering assessment after the MSRR / MSL power-down due to P/L MDM crashes on 9/29. After installation of the MSL Termination Plug into the Core Facility Chamber on 10/27 further health check tests are performed from ground to assess the proper functioning of the MSL Solidification and Quenching Furnace (SQF).
MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC-1 “Pirs”.
MULTIGEN-1: Completed.
MYCO 3 (JAXA): On 9/22, Mike and Satoshi completed sample collection.
MyoLab (JAXA): Completed on 4/20.
NANOSKELETON (Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity, JAXA): No report.
NEURORAD (JAXA): No report.
NEUROSPAT (ESA/Study of Spatial Cognition, Novelty Processing and Sensorimotor Integration): No report.
NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete.
NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY/ProK: No report.
ODK (Onboard Diagnostic Kit, JAXA): On 10/27, Satoshi completed the Questionnaire as a task list item.
PACE-2 (Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment 2, NASA): (please see under FIR and LMM/PACE-2.
PADIAC (Pathway Different Activators, ESA): No report.
PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 3/4; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): Upcoming: removal of 17 Area Dosimeters in JPM and JLP to return on 27S.
PASSAGES (JAXA): No report.
PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): No report.
PCG (JAXA, Protein Crystal Growth): Returned on 26S on 9/16.
PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): See PCG.
PLSG (Plant Signaling, NASA/ESA): No report.
PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.
POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete.
Portable PFS: No report.
Pro K: No report.
RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete.
RadSilk (JAXA): No report.
Reaction Self Test (RST/Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS): “Mike and Satoshi, we appreciate your reaction to our self test experiment. Keep hitting that space bar. No pun intended.”
Robonaut (NASA): No report.
RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): No report.
SAIBO Rack (JAXA): No report.
SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): No report.
SAMPLE: Complete.
SCOF (Solution Crystallization Observation Facility, JAXA): No report.
SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.
SHERE II (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment II): No report.
SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report.
SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): No report.
SMILES (JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.
SODI/IVIDIL (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Influence of Vibration on Diffusion in Liquids, ESA): No report.
SODI/COLLOID (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Colloid): During the final runs, the so-called “demixing runs”, temperatures above the critical point were applied to the experimental cells potentially leading to an irreversible transition (= phase separation) in the samples. On 11/3 the “demixing runs” were completed for all COLLOID cells. In addition, a “demixing run” was also completed for the reference cell providing additional data prior to the experiment close-out. After successful completion of the COLLOID#2 experiment, the science team is looking forward to getting the COLLOID#2 Flash Disk returned on Earth in order to complete their data analyses (so far based on downlinked data).
SODI-DSC (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Diffusion & Soret Coefficient, ESA): “Thanks, Satoshi, for installation of SODI-DSC inside the MSG facility on 11/7!” During initialization of SODI-DSC there was a problem on connecting the Image Processing Unit (IPU) with one of the two camera units, and since power-cycling did not solve the problem SODI was de-activated. On 11/9 this communication problem due to an incorrect network address (aka MAC address) was solved via ground commanding. After this configuration file update, SODI DSC was successfully initialized and the checkout runs were completed. The outcome of the checkout runs allow for fine-tuning of the laser and camera parameters to optimize the science return. On 11/9 the first science run was started. Unfortunately, in the morning of 11/10 the SODI lasers were found to be off. A power cycling brought both the SODI lasers and cameras back to nominal status but executing the image acquisition command led to the lock-up of SODI. Science runs are on-hold awaiting the outcome of engineering assessment.
SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory, ESA): Since 10/30 we are out of Sun Visibility Window (SVW) and no science measurements have been performed. After 45P docking, SolACES is still in warm-up configuration in order to protect from degradation of the optics during the upcoming un-/docking events – 28S docking on 11/16, 27S undocking on 11/21.
SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): No report.
Space-DRUMS (Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System): No report.
Space Food (JAXA): No report.
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): No report.
SPHINX (SPaceflight of Huvec: an Integrated eXperiment, ESA): No report.
SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): No report.
SPINAL (Spinal Elongation): No report.
SPRINT: No report.
SS-HDTV (Super Sensitivity High Definition Camera, JAXA): No more runs planned on Task List for Satoshi.
STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): MHTEX is currently being reprimed prior to beginning the next test objective. Canary downlinked and is analyzing data from previous data takes. VADER is currently planning a new series of tests of the VEDs. DISC has taken more images this week and is processing images that were taken in previous weeks.
SWAB (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): No report.
TASTE IN SPACE (ESA): No report.
THERMOLAB (ESA): No report.
TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.
TREADMILL KINEMATICS: “Satoshi, thank you so much for completing your Treadmill Kinematics sessions. Your contribution will help improve health for future crew members. Awesome Fossum, thank you so much for completing your Treadmill Kinematics sessions. Your contribution will help improve health for future crew members.”
TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report.
ULTRASOUND: Planned.
UMS (Urine Monitoring System (NASA): No report.
VASCULAR (CSA): “No report.
VCAM (Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Module, NASA): No report.
VESSEL ID System (ESA): Nominal measurements with NORAIS receiver.
VESSEL IMAGING (ESA): “Thank you, Satoshi, for performing your second and final VESSEL IMAGING session on 11/10. The data were successfully downlinked.” [It is known that the ability of blood vessels to vasoconstrict – the ability of the muscular vessel wall to narrow the diameter of the blood vessel – is impaired during and after a human has been in space. “Vessel Imaging” is using the Ultrasound scanner on board the ISS to take images of the five different blood vessels in the lower abdomen and in the legs to study what changes occur to cause the blood vessels to be less able to vasoconstrict. For each vessel, a 5 second scan is performed to observe the blood vessel during several heart beats, followed by a scan where the ultrasound scan-head is tilted to allow a “cut through the blood vessel wall”. The same scans are also performed before flight, and these pre-flight images are used as the baseline to which the in-flight data is compared with. The images are analyzed to detect any changes in the blood vessel wall properties, such as wall thickness, elasticity or structure, changes in the size of the blood vessel or blood flow (volume) while the crewmember is in orbit.]
VIABLE (eValuatIon And monitoring of microBiofiLms insidE the ISS Payload Touch, NASA): No report.
VO2max (NASA): No report.
VLE (Video Lessons ESA): No report.
WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels; ESA): No report.
YEAST B (ESA): No report.
CEO (Crew Earth Observation): Through 11/9, the ground has received 29,995 CEO frames for review and cataloging. “We are pleased to report your acquisition of imagery this week with times corresponding to those of our CEO Daily Target Lists for the following targets: Ubinas Volcano, Peru – not acquired; Hawaii in sun glint – some imagery of area acquired – under evaluation for content; Islamabad, Pakistan – several good frames acquired – under evaluation for content; Dakar, Senegal – not acquired; Great Barrier Reef, Queensland – numerous good frames acquired – under evaluation for content; Tashkent, Uzbekistan – under review; Beirut, Lebanon – not acquired; Yerevan, Armenia – not acquired; Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati – several excellent frames acquired – under evaluation for content; Kalahari Desert biomass burning, SW Africa – under review; Mexico City, Mexico – under review; Southeastern USA night imagery pass – nice automated sequence has been made into a video; Chisinau, Moldova – not acquired; Middle East cities at night pass – nice automated sequence has been made into a video. Your gorgeous image of Rowley Shoals in the Timor Sea off the northwestern Australia coast was published on NASA/GSFC’s Earth Observatory website this past weekend. This nicely composed shot is nearly cloud-free and beautifully maps the trio of atolls forming this renowned nature preserve with its impressive biodiversity. Very nice shot! Additionally, a YouTube channel for Crew Earth Observations has been created that now contains all the videos we have made from your automated camera sessions where we’re approaching 10,000 views in just the first 7 days! Also we have reports that your videos have been used on the RTVE Spanish news channel, displayed at the museum of the Space Exhibition Centre Cosmodome in Laval, Canada, published by the BBC World Service-Spanish Americas section website, and even featured in the Chicago Tribune on November 2.”
No CEO targets uplinked for today.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:49am EST [= epoch])
* Mean altitude – 387.5 km
* Apogee height – 402.4 km
* Perigee height – 372.7 km
* Period — 92.31 min.
* Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
* Eccentricity — 0.0021925
* Solar Beta Angle — -69.3 deg (magnitude peaking)
* Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
* Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours – 137 m
* Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 74,407
* Time in orbit (station) – 4740 days
* Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4027 days
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Three-crew operations (Increment 29)————-
11/13/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/28S launch – D.Burbank (CDR-30)/A.Shkaplerov/A.Ivanishin (11:14pm EST)
11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/28S docking (MRM2) (~12:45am)
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/21/11 — Soyuz TMA-02M/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29) (~5:57pm/9:25pm)
————–Three-crew operations————-
12/xx/11 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon — (Under Review)
12/21/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit — (Target Date)
12/23/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S docking (MRM1) — (Target Date)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
TBD — Progress M-13M/45P undock
TBD — Progress M-14M/46P launch
TBD — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1)
02/29/12 — ATV3 launch readiness
TBD — Soyuz TMA-22/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov — (Target Date)
04/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S docking (MRM2) — (Target Date)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
05/05/12 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – launch on Proton (under review)
05/06/12 — Progress M-14M/46P undock
05/07/12 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) – docking (under review)
05/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-05M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
05/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-05M/31S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
10/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/xx/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————-
