NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 23 August 2010
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Underway: Week 12 of Increment 24.
At wake-up, CDR Skvortsov performed the regular daily early-morning check of the aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which Maxim Suraev had installed on 10/19 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). [The CDR again inspects the filters before bedtime tonight, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.]
Skvortsov’s morning inspection today included the weekly checkup behind ASU/toilet panel 139 in the SM (Service Module) on a fluid connector (MNR-NS) of the SM-U urine collection system, looking for potential moisture.
Upon wake-up, FE-4 Wheelock continued his 4-day session of the medical protocol Pro K (Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery) after the urine pH spot test, his 3rd onboard run, with the final controlled diet and diet logging tonight at ~7:00pm EDT (8 hrs prior to his morning blood draw). Photo documentation is part of the activity. [Under Pro K, the crewmember measures and logs the pH value of a urine sample, to be collected the same time of day every day for 4 days. The crewmember also prepares a diet log and then annotates quantities of food packets consumed and supplements taken.]
Wheels then started his new (FD60) 24-hr urine collections of the Generic HRF (Human Research Facility) urine sampling protocol, for MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) sample storage. [Based on crew feedback, new cold stowage hardware, and IPV (International Procedures Viewer) capabilities, the generic blood & urine procedures for the HRP (Human Research Program) payloads were created to allow an individual crewmember to select their payload complement and see specific requirements populated. Individual crewmembers will select their specific parameter in the procedures to reflect their science complement. Different crewmembers will have different required tubes and hardware configurations, so they should verify their choice selection before continuing with operations to ensure their specific instruction.]
Before sleeptime, Doug will also break out and set up the equipment for his blood sample collection, scheduled tomorrow.
FE-6 Walker underwent her 2nd (FD60) Nutrition/Repository/Pro K generic blood collection, with FE-3 Kornienko assisting with the phlebotomy as operator. Shannon set up the RC (Refrigerated Centrifuge) for spinning the samples prior to stowing them in the MELFI.
Caldwell-Dyson, Wheelock & Walker continued their current week-long activity with the post-wakeup experiment SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight), 3rd for Doug & Shannon, 7th for Tracy, transferring data from their Actiwatches to the HRF-1 laptop. [To monitor his/her sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, the crewmember wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him/her as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition, using the payload software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment’s laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.]
FE-5 Yurchikhin completed the periodic refresh of the IUS AntiVirus program in the Russian VKS auxiliary (non-network) laptops RSS1, RSK1, RSK2, RSE1, which are not loaded from the ground, from a special software program working with Norton AV on the FS (File Server) laptop, first scanning the latter, then transferring the database by flash-card to the other computers and scanning them one by one. [Only the RSS2 laptop is automatically updated (once a week on Fridays from MCC-Houston).]
Afterwards, Fyodor had several hours set aside for continuing trash gathering & transfer to the Progress M-06M/38P cargo ship-turned-trash can, to be undocked on 8/31 and deorbited for burn-up on 9/6.
Caldwell-Dyson prepared the PPFS (Portable Pulmonary Function System) hardware, including MBS (Mixing Bag System), for her 5th session with the VO2max assessment, integrated with Thermolab, scheduled tomorrow. [The experiment VO2max uses the PPFS, CEVIS ergometer cycle, PFS (Pulmonary Function System) gas cylinders and mixing bag system, plus multiple other pieces of hardware to measure oxygen uptake, cardiac output, and more. The exercise protocol consists of a 2-min rest period, then three 5-min stages at workloads eliciting 25%, 50% & 75% of aerobic capacity as measured pre-flight, followed by a 25-watt increase in workload every minute until the crewmember reaches maximum exercise capacity. At that point, CEVIS workload increase is stopped, and a 5-min cool down period follows at the 25% load. Rebreathing measurements are initiated by the subject during the last minute of each stage. Constraints are: no food 2 hrs prior to exercise start, no caffeine 8 hrs prior to exercise, and must be well hydrated.]
Afterwards, Caldwell-Dyson & Walker joined up for several hours in COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) to use the HMS USND (Health Maintenance System / Ultrasound) system in a scanning session on Tracy as Subject. [After Doug Wheelock had cleared stowage to enable USND ops at loc. COL1F4, Shannon set up the USND system, checked it out and cleaned data off the HRF-1 (Human Research Facility 1) USND hard drive. Tracy then submitted herself for an eye examination scan executed by Shannon who served as CMO (Crew Medical Officer). FE-2 later stowed the gear.]
Continuing her support of POIC (Payload Operations Integration Center/Huntsville) in COL on the SAME (Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment) payload, Shannon activated the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) and then changed out the tape for ground-controlled operation. After a ~4hr run, FE-6 performed the scheduled shutdown of the experiment. [Recording the SAME runs had failed on 8/2, probably due to the tape sticking or an incorrect counter which resulted in a full tape. Shannon’s tape change was hoped to correct the problem.]
With the VCA1 (Video Camera Assembly 1) set up to monitor activities in COL, Wheelock worked on the FSL VMU (Fluids Science Laboratory / Video Management Unit) hardware, downgrading it by swapping the Hard Disks HDD1 & HDD2 plus the DLT (Digital Line Tape) back to the former configuration. [The DLT and new HDDs were installed by Soichi Noguchi on 3/5, but the FSL has had communication problems ever since, which repeated troubleshooting attempts were unable to resolve.]
Later, Doug started another sampling run with the EHS GC/DMS (Gas Chromatograph/Differential Mobility Spectrometer), deactivating the system ~5 hrs later. [This was the 16th session with the new GC/DMS unit (#1004), after the previous instrument (#1002) was used for approximately 100 runs. Also known as AQM (Air Quality Monitor), the system is controlled with “Sionex” expert software from the SSC-12 laptop. The AQM demonstrates COTS (Commercial Off-the-Shelf) technology for identifying volatile organic compounds, similar to the VOA (Volatile Organics Analyzer). This evaluation will continue over the course of several months as it helps to eventually certify the GC/DMS as nominal CHeCS (Crew Health Care Systems) hardware.]
In the WHC (Waste & Hygiene Compartment), Wheels performed preventive maintenance by replacing the LI (Liquid Indicator (LI) and air hoses with new spares.
In an attempt to regain command capability to access science data of the JAXA MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-Ray Image) payload, MCC-Houston remotely transited the primary C&C MDM (Command & Control Multiplexer/Demultiplexer) computer to the standby C&C. In support of the transition, Wheelock then reconnected all powered PCS (Portable Computer System) laptops to the new prime, C&C-2. [C&C-1 is now backup, and C&C-3 is on standby. The MAXI experiment is mounted external to the Kibo module on the EFU (Exposed Facility Unit).]
Shannon transferred CubeLab-2 from stowage to the ER (EXPRESS Rack) location, then installed and activated the frame and CubeLab module(s). CubeLab-1 hardware was installed by FE-6 on 7/12. [CubeLab is a low-cost 1-kg platform for educational projects. It is a multipurpose research facility that interfaces small standard modules into the ERs (EXPRESS Racks). The modules can be used within the pressurized space station environment in orbit, with a nominal length, width, and height of 100 mm and a mass of no more than 1 g. Up to 16 CubeLab modules can be inserted into a CubeLab insert inside an ER.]
Alexander conducted 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 and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.]
Mikhail completed the daily IMS (Inventory Management System) maintenance by 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).
Doug Wheelock assembled & configured his Glenn harness with its transducer instrumentation hardware (taken from Shannon’s Glenn harness) for exercising on the T2/COLBERT treadmill, starting his first SDTO (Station Development Test Objective) session with the instrumented harness tomorrow. [Recent data have shown that several transducers are not providing usable data. In order to maximize data acquisition, ground specialists have identified six viable transducers plus two spares for Shannon’s use. These 8 transducers will be combined from both instrumentation kits and spares launched on Progress 38P. Doug has 3 exercise sessions on T2 between each data collection session, and there will be 4 collection sessions using each Harness (Glenn for T2, followed by the TVIS harness for TVIS).]
The crew worked out on today’s 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-2, FE-6), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (FE-2, FE-3, FE-4, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR, FE-3, FE-4) and VELO ergometer bike with bungee cord load trainer (CDR, FE-5). [T2 snubber arm inspection is no longer needed after every T2 session but is regularly being done after the last T2 session of the day.]
The TVIS treadmill is currently exhibiting a minor anomaly: there is some off-nominal noise during operation, and one of the slats appears to be partially buckled. Engineering teams in Houston are assessing. Skvortsov & Kornienko (who need to be physically “in shape” for their return on Soyuz 22S) were given the Go to use the T2 advanced treadmill instead.
At ~12:20pm EDT, Shannon Walker had her weekly PMC (Private Medical Conference), via S- & Ku-band audio/video.
AT ~4:30pm, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson is scheduled for her 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).
No CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo targets uplinked for today.
Progress 38P Commission Report: According to the now published Russian Commission report on the aborted 38P rendezvous approach on 7/2, the failure was due to the KURS automated rendezvous & docking system’s receiver (KURS-P) on 38P being shut down by an automatic emergency command when the transmitter on the ISS (KURS-A) was not activated at the same time as KURS-P (at 8 km). This caused the latter to receive only noise, resulting in an emergency shutdown. Subsequent activation of KURS-A then squelched the noise, allowing 38P to approach to 2.8 km, but the system still contained the emergency command which cancelled the standard KURS test planned at this point. Progress M-06M/38P then flew by the ISS on its passively-safe flyby path (as per ballistic trajectory design), without requiring any abort burns. Two days later (7/4), 38P docked successfully to the SM aft port under KURS autopilot control. To prevent noise from getting into the KURS receiver in the future, it will be activated much later, at 3 km (just before the test), and the transmitter at 8 km. The ground will also verify that KURS-P on Progress is receiving a strong signal, before the crew starts their steps. Also, in an unrelated issue, one of the three channels on the ISS-based command unit has an anomaly, and it will be replaced. For 39P docking, this unit will be used in the two-channel configuration).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:39am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 355.4 km
Apogee height – 360.7 km
Perigee height – 350.2 km
Period — 91.65 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0007761
Solar Beta Angle — 62.8 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.71
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours – 53 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 67,406.
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations—————–
08/31/10 — Progress M-06M/38P undock – 7:27am EDT
09/06/10 — Progress M-06M/38P deorbit – ~8:25am EDT
09/08/10 — Progress M-07M/39P launch – 7:11am EDT
09/10/10 — Progress M-07M/39P docking – ~8:40am EDT\
09/xx/10 — ISS reboost
09/24/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S undock/landing (End of Increment 24; CDR-25 – Wheelock)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/08/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S launch – Kelly (CDR-26)/Kaleri/Skripochka
10/10/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/26/10 — Progress M-05M/37P undock
10/27/10 — Progress M-08M/40P launch
10/29/10 — Progress M-08M/40P docking
11/01/10 — STS-133/Discovery launch (ULF5 – ELC4, PMM) ~4:33pm EDT – “target”
11/10/10 — Russian EVA-26
11/17/10 — Russian EVA-27
11/26/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S undock/landing (End of Increment 25)
————–Three-crew operations————-
12/10/10 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S launch – Kondratyev (CDR-27)/Coleman/Nespoli
12/12/10 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
12/15/10 — Progress M-07M/39P undock
12/xx/10 — Russian EVA-28
12/26/10 — Progress M-08M/40P undock
12/27/10 — Progress M-09M/41P launch
12/29/10 — Progress M-09M/41P docking
02/26/11 — STS-134/Endeavour (ULF6 – ELC3, AMS-02) ~4:19pm EDT – “target”
03/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S undock/landing (End of Increment 26)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/26S launch – A. Borisienko (CDR-28)/R, Garan/A.Samokutayev
04/01/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/26S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
04/26/11 — Progress M-09M/41P undock
04/27/11 — Progress M-10M/42P launch
04/29/11 — Progress M-10M/42P docking
05/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S undock/landing (End of Increment 27)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S launch – M. Fossum (CDR-29)/S. Furukawa/S. Volkov
06/01/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
06/21/11 — Progress M-11M/43P launch
06/23/11 — Progress M-11M/43P docking
08/30/11 — Progress M-12M/44P launch
09/01/11 — Progress M-12M/44P docking
09/16/11 – Soyuz TMA-22/26S undock/landing (End of Increment 28)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-24/28S launch
10/02/11 – Soyuz TMA-24/28S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/20/11 — Progress M-10M/42P undocking
10/21/11 — Progress M-13M/45P launch
10/23/11 — Progress M-13M/45P docking
11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-25/29S launch
12/02/11 — Soyuz TMA-25/29S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
12/??/11 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton.
12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock.
