NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 22 May 2011
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday. Ahead: Week 10 of Increment 27/28. FE-3 Ron Garan continues on his special Shuttle-crew sleep schedule for EVA support: Wake – 9:26pm last night; Sleep – 12:26pm-8:56pm today. The ISS crew is also sleep-shifting: Wake – 9:00am; Sleep – 8:01pm (till 6:01am tomorrow for additional rest).
Mission ULF-6’s EVA-2 was completed successfully by EV1 Mike Fincke & EV2 Drew Feustel in 8h 7m, accomplishing all objectives. Beginning this morning at 2:05am EDT, the spacewalk ended at 10:12am. [EV1 & EV2 began their “campout” yesterday around noon in the U.S. Airlock (A/L) at ~11:51pm with hatch closure and depressurization of the Crewlock (CL) from 14.7 to 10.2 psi, followed by mask prebreathe (~11:51pm-12:56pm) and sleep from 1:26pm-9:26pm. After wake-up at nighttime and the usual hygiene break/with mask prebreathe for Spanky at 10:01pm-11:11am, the A/L hatch was closed again by Ron Garan & Mark Kelly for EVA preps in 10.2 psi (11:11am-12:41am), followed by EMU purge (12:41am-12:56am) and prebreathe in the EMUs (12:56am-1:46am). Afterwards, with CL depressurization and EV1/EV2 switching to suit power, EVA-2 began at 2:05am. The excursion lasted 8h 7m. It was the 6th longest EVA in history, the 116th EVA from the US Airlock, and the 157th EVA for ISS assembly & maintenance.
During EVA-2, Mike & Drew –
* Refilled NH3 (ammonia) in the P6 radiator through a series of jumpers on the port truss
* Lubricated the Port SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint) race ring in two phases (1st lube & 2nd lube separated by a 200 deg SARJ rotation to spread lubricant across the race ring)
* Installed two S1 RAD (radiator) grapple bar stowage beams
* Installed CLA camera lens cover on the SPDM (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator)
* Lubricated the SPDM LEE (Latching End Effector), and
* Cleaned up.
Removing the Port SARJ covers took longer than expected, requiring an extension of spacewalk duration by over an hour. During SARJ cover removal, several bolts came loose from covers 16 & 17 but were captured and stowed in a trash bag, except for at least one bolt (camera-tracked) and 3 washers that were lost overboard. Cover 17 had only 1 bolt remaining and could not be reinstalled; it was brought back inside.
Before today’s spacewalk, CDR Mark Kelly set up the photo equipment for Mike & Drew. [One of the NIKONs, without flash, failed shortly after egress. The second camera and the helmet cameras were used for SARJ lube documentation.]
After the EVA, activities by Mark, Spanky, Drew, Paolo, Cady & Ron included the usual post-EVA tasks like photographing EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) gloves for inspection, recharging EMUs with water, downloading & downlinking D2XS EVA & glove photographs, recharging EMU and REBA (Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly) batteries, etc.
First thing in post-sleep, prior to eating, drinking & brushing teeth, Cady Coleman performed her 4th liquid saliva collection of the INTEGRATED IMMUNE protocol (Day 4), followed by a dry sample collection. The collections are made every other day for six days. Later in the day, Cady also completed the IMMUNE blood sample draw, with FE-5 Nespoli assisting as Operator. Following the blood draw, the full blood tubes were temp stowed in the blood collection kit until tomorrow when they will be packed together with her saliva samples on the Soyuz for return to ground. [INTEGRATED IMMUNE (Validating Procedures for Monitoring Crew member Immune Function) samples & analyzes participant’s blood, urine, and saliva before, during and after flight for changes related to functions like bone metabolism, oxidative damage and immune function to develop and validate an immune monitoring strategy consistent with operational flight requirements and constraints. The strategy uses both long and short duration crewmembers as study subjects. The saliva is collected in two forms, dry and liquid. The dry samples are collected at intervals during the collection day using a specialized book that contains filter paper. The liquid saliva collections require that the crewmembers soak a piece of cotton inside their mouths and place it in a salivette bag; there are four of the liquid collections during docked operations. The on-orbit blood samples are collected right before undocking and returned to the ground so that analysis can occur with 48 hours of the sampling. This allows assays that quantify the function of different types of white blood cells and other active components of the immune system. Samples are secured in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). Also included are entries in a fluid/medications intact log, and a stress-test questionnaire to be filled out by the subject at begin and end. Urine is collected during a 24-hour period, conventionally divided into two twelve-hour phases: morning-evening and evening-morning.]
FE-6 Coleman also undertook her 23rd weekly U.S. “Bisphosphonates” biomedical countermeasures session, ingesting an Alendronate pill before breakfast. The required ~10h fast period started for her last night. This is usually done in Mondays but was pulled a day ahead due to tomorrow’s Soyuz undocking. [The Bisphosphonates study should determine whether antiresorptive agents (that help reduce bone loss) in conjunction with the routine in-flight exercise program will protect ISS crewmembers from the regional decreases in bone mineral density documented on previous ISS missions. Two dosing regimens are being tested: (1) an oral dose of 70 mg of Alendronate taken weekly starting 3 weeks prior to flight and then throughout the flight and (2) an intravenous (IV) dose of 4 mg Zoledronic Acid, administered just once approximately 45 days before flight. The rationale for including both Alendronate and Zoledronic Acid is that two dosing options will maximize crew participation, increase the countermeasure options available to flight surgeons, increase scientific opportunities, and minimize the effects of operational and logistical constraints. The primary measurement objective is to obtain preflight and postflight QCT (Quantitative Computed Tomography) scans of the hip. The QCT scans will provide volumetric bone density information of both cortical and trabecular (spongy) bone regions of the hip.]
In preparation for tomorrow’s undocking, CDR Kondratyev –
* Worked in the 25S spacecraft’s Orbital Module (BO), disconnecting & taking out the electronic LKT local temperature sensor commutator (TA251MB) of the BITS2-12 onboard telemetry measurement system and its PZU-1M ROM (read-only memory) unit, for stowage and recycling in a future vehicle,
* Activated the ASU toilet facility in the Soyuz spacecraft,
* Checked out & maintained communications from 25S with the ground using RGS (Russian Groundsite) VHF, and
* Spent another 2h 45m on loading & packing return cargo in the 25S Descent Module (SA) and excessed cargo & trash in the Orbital Module (BO).
The three Russian crewmembers conducted the MO-22 Sanitary-Epidemiological Status check, part of the Russian MedOps program done usually before Soyuz departures. [To monitor for microflora, Dima, Sasha & Andrey collected samples from surface areas of interior panels and hardware at 24 locations in the SM, FGB, MRM1, MRM2, DC1 and, ATV2, also from himself, using cotton swabs and special test tubes which were then stowed in 25S for return to the ground.]
Aleksandr & Paolo retrieved Japanese SS-HDTV (Super Sensitive High Definition Television) kits from Progress 42P and transferred them to the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) for unpacking and subsequent OBT (Onboard Training).
Activities completed by FE-2 Andrey Borisenko included –
* The periodic checkout & performance verification of IP-1 airflow sensors in the various RS hatchways [inspected IP-1s are in the passageways PrK (SM Transfer Tunnel)-RO (SM Working Compartment), PkhO (SM Transfer Compartment)-RO, PkhO-DC1, PkhO-FGB PGO, PkhO-MRM2, FGB PGO-FGB GA, and FGB GA-Node-1. This checkup is especially important now when the ventilation/circulation system has to cope with a larger crew on board, currently twelve persons],
* The daily monitoring of the running Russian TEKh-15/DAKON-M IZGIB (“Bend”) experiment in the SM (Service Module) which is taking structural dynamics data during the Shuttle docked phase. The data were later copied from the BUSD Control & Data Gathering Unit to a USB-D-M-3 stick for downlink to the ground. The BUSD archive was then deleted and the DAKON-M restarted, [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],
* Removing & transferring the Russian payload BTKh-29 Zhenshen-2 (Ginseng-2) in its Bioecology container to Soyuz 25S for return, and
* Performing 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.]
FE-1 Samokutyayev deactivated the crystallization process in the Russian payload BTKh-42 STRUKTURA (Structure) and transferred it in the LUCH-2 kit to the Soyuz spacecraft for return.
Paolo Nespoli serviced the FCF (Fluids Combustion Facility) in the FIR (Fluids Integrated Rack), changing out the Bio sample on the Bio Base. [After configuring the US Lab camcorder to cover activities for POIC (Payload Operations & Integration Center/Huntsville), Paolo opened the lower & upper FCF doors, rotated the LMM SBA (Light Microscopy Module / Spindle Bracket Assembly) from Operate position to Service position, removed the used sample from the Bio Base, returned it to the Bio kit and installed a new sample from Slot 2 in the kit onto the Base. He then rotated the LMM SBA back to Operate position and closed the rack doors then turned on two switches and notified POIC that FIR was prepared for ground-commanding the RPC (Remote Power Controller).]
Nespoli also –
* Performed the periodic snubber arm inspection on the T2/COLBERT treadmill, checking the joints of the arm stacks to track the structural integrity of the hardware following exercise sessions,
* Powered up the amateur/ham radio station in the SM,
* Closed the protective shutters on the science windows in the Lab & Node-3/Cupola for the Port SARJ lubrication during the EVA and later opened them again, and
* Installed the VDS (Video Distribution System) video cap in Node-2 which enables pass-through reception of video from the Endeavour with the Orbiter docked.
Cady Coleman worked with PLT Box Johnson on the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) in support of the SPDM lubrication job during the EVA-2. [SPDM first was released from the Lab, then maneuvered to the LEE lube position and later returned to the Lab. The SSRMS was then walked off to the MBS PDGF-2 (Mobile Base System Power & Data Grapple Fixture 2) where it will remain until late inspection on Flight Day 11.]
Cady also collected 17 RAM (Radiation Area Monitor) dosimeters in the ISS and stowed them for return on 25S.
Servicing the CGBA-5 Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5) with its CSI (Science Insert), Cady deactivated and decabled CGBA-5, accessed CSI-05, performed spider feeding activity, swapped Camera Modules, closed up CGBA, recabled and reactivated it. [SHAB (Spider Hab) video is monitoring for 24 hours after feeding activity unit.]
At ~11:31am, the traditional PAO-televised “Change of Command” ceremony took place with all crewmembers, officially marking the transfer of the ISS reins from Dmitri Kondratyev to Andrey Borisenko. Borisenko now commands Expedition 27 and will command Expedition 28. Dmitri, Cady & Paolo will return to Earth tomorrow in their Soyuz spacecraft.
FE-2 & FE-5 had their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Andrey at ~10:50am, Paolo at ~1:36pm EDT.
CDR & FE-6 had their weekly PMCs (Private Medical Conferences) via S- & Ku-band audio/video, Dima at ~1:01pm, Cady at ~2:26pm.
The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-3, FE-6), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-3, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-2, FE-5) and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-2).
No CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today.
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/23/11 — Soyuz TMA-20/25S undock – 5:32pm EDT (End of Increment 27)
ISS Photography Flyabout – 5:57pm
ISS in photography attitude – 6:13pm
Soyuz TMA-20/25S deorbit burn – 9:36pm
05/23/11 — Soyuz TMA-20/25S landing – 10:27pm (8:27am local on 5/24)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/11 — STS-134/Endeavour undock – 11:53pm
06/01/11 — STS-134/Endeavour landing – ~2:32am
06/07/11 — Soyuz TMA-02M/27S launch – M. Fossum (CDR-29)/S. Furukawa/S. Volkov
06/09/11 — Soyuz TMA-02M/27S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations————-
06/xx/11 — ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” undock (SM aft)
06/21/11 — Progress M-11M/43P launch
06/23/11 — Progress M-11M/43P docking (SM aft)
06/28/11 — STS-135/Endeavour launch ULF7 (MPLM) ~3:30pm EDT NET
06/30/11 — STS-135/Endeavour docking ULF7 (MPLM) NET
07/27/11 – Russian EVA #29
08/29/11 — Progress M-11M/43P undocking
08/30/11 — Progress M-12M/44P launch
09/01/11 — Progress M-12M/44P docking (SM aft)
09/16/11 – Soyuz TMA-21/26S undock/landing (End of Increment 28)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S launch – D.Burbank (CDR-30)/A.Shkaplerov/A.Ivanishin
10/02/11 – Soyuz TMA-03M/28S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/25/11 — Progress M-10M/42P undocking
10/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P launch
10/28/11 — Progress M-13M/45P docking (DC-1)
11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-02M/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit
12/02/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock
12/27/11 — Progress M-14M/46P launch
12/29/11 — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1)
02/29/12 — ATV3 launch readiness
03/05/12 — Progress M-12M/44P undock
03/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov
04/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S docking (MRM2)
————–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)
05/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
05/31/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/31S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/18/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/02/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
10/04/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-08M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/02/12 – Soyuz TMA-08M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-12M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-12M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
