NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 23 July 2008
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.
Before breakfast & first exercise, CDR Volkov, FE-1 Kononenko and FE-2 Chamitoff completed a full session with the Russian crew health monitoring program’s medical assessment MO-9/Biochemical Urinalysis. Afterwards, the FE-1 closed out and stowed the Urolux hardware. [MO-9 is conducted every 30 days (and also before and after EVAs) and is one of five nominal Russian medical tests adopted by NASA for U.S. crewmembers for IMG PHS (Integrated Medical Group/Periodic Health Status) evaluation as part of the "PHS/Without Blood Labs" exam. The analysis uses the sophisticated in-vitro diagnostic apparatus Urolux developed originally for the Mir program. Afterwards, the data are entered in the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer)’s special IFEP software (In-Flight Examination Program).]
The CDR serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out"-to-vacuum cycle on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process will be terminated tonight at ~4:25pm EDT. Filter bed #1 was regenerated yesterday. [Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. The BMP’s regeneration cycle, normally done every 20 days, is currently performed four times more frequently to remove any lingering Freon-218 from the cabin atmosphere (last time done: 7/16&17).]
Continuing the current round of preventive maintenance on the Russian Segment (RS) ventilation system, Oleg Kononenko cleaned the ventilation screens on interior panels of the Funktsionalnyi-Grusovoi Blok (FGB).
Later, Sergey Volkov replaced the four dust collector filters (PF1-4) in the Service Module (SM).
Prior to attitude control authority handover to RS thrusters for maneuvering to ATV reboost attitude, Gregory closed the protective Lab window shutter, keeping it closed until two orbits after returning to U.S. Momentum Management. [For the ATV reboost at 12:18pm EDT, attitude control was handed over to RS at 10:35am, to be returned to US Momentum Management at 1:20pm.]
For the recently arrived FE-2, the CDR and Gregory performed the mandatory CHeCS (Crew Health Care Systems) emergency/contingency medical OBT (on-board training) drill, a one-hour U.S. exercise designed to refresh crewmembers’ acuity in applying HMS (Health Maintenance System) equipment like ACLS (Advanced Cardio Life Support) in an emergency. [The drill gives crewmembers the opportunity to work as a team in resolving a simulated medical emergency onboard ISS and to refresh their memory of on-orbit stowage and deployment locations, equipment use, and procedures. Setting up (but not actually operating/manipulating) onboard equipment such as the RSP (Respiratory Support Pack), ALSP (Advanced Life Support Pack), intubation kit, HMS defibrillator, all stowed in the Lab CHeCS rack, and the CMRS (Crew Medical Restraint System), Gregory and Sergey stepped through the ACLS algorithm manual to resolve a simulated medical emergency onboard ISS. Objectives of the exercise include practicing communication and coordination necessary to perform medical emergency procedures, locating appropriate emergency medical components, and determining each crewmember’s individual method of delivering CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) in zero-G.]
In the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module), Chamitoff activated and checked out the internal TV camera, then installed a payload laptop terminal at the JPM forward Deck4 position, connected to the FD4 UOP (Utility Outlet Panel).
On the JAXA SCOF (Solution Crystallization Observation Facility), Gregory completed post-launch reconfiguration on the experiment equipment (pushing an inside rod down), then photo-documented the set-up.
Kononenko serviced the Matryoshka-R (RBO-3-2) radiation payload which has taken over the ESA/RSC-Energia experiment ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS/ALC) with its Spectrometer (AST) and ALC equipment on DC1 panel 429. [Oleg retrieved the ALC-952 PCMCIA (Portable Computer Memory Card International Adapter), checked up on the size of the new file on it for downlink to TsUP-Moscow via OCA, then re-inserted the #952 card into the AST PCMCIA slot.]
The FE-1 used the standard ECOSFERA equipment, set up yesterday, to conduct microbial air sampling runs for the MedOps SZM-MO-21 experiment, with the POTOK Air Purification System temporarily powered down, taking samples from cabin surfaces along with samples from crewmembers for sanitation and disease studies. Samples were also collected in the ATV, using spare medium-carrying Petri dishes. The sample tubes were then stowed in the Kriogem-03 refrigerator for return on TMA-12. [The equipment, consisting of an air sampler set, a charger and power supply unit, provides samples to help determine microbial contamination of the ISS atmosphere, specifically the total bacterial and fungal microflora counts and microflora composition according to morphologic criteria of microorganism colonies.]
Preparatory to taking dynamic/vibrational data during the ATV reboost, Volkov & Chamitoff replaced the IWIS RSU #1027 (Internal Wireless Instrumentation System/Remote Sensor Unit 1027) with RSU #1026, then set up the IWIS operational configuration. Later, at ~2:00pm, IWIS was powered down again.
The FE-2 gathered the necessary equipment for the OpsLAN (Operations Local Area Network) software reload ahead. Afterwards, Gregory connected SSCs (Station Support Computers) 13 & 14 to the JSL (Joint Station LAN) for the OpsLAN reload. [SSC-13 was connected to the Lab ISL (Integrated Station OpsLAN) Router, SSC-14 to the Node-2 ISL Router via a drag-thru Ethernet cable.]
Using the "Chibis" garment from yesterday, Oleg Kononenko underwent the MBI-5 KARDIO-ODNT exercise, with Sergey assisting as CMO (Crew Medical Officer). MBI-5 is an extensive cardiovascular test of human pericardium (heart muscle) activity as well as of primary parameters of central and regional blood circulation at rest and under the effect of lower body negative pressure (LBNP, Russian: ODNT). MBI-5 was closed out at ~12:00pm, followed by a medical health conference for Sergey & Oleg with ground specialists via S- band. [The LBNP applies a lower than ambient pressure to the body from the hips down to simulate 1g loads normally experienced on Earth. This acts as an orthostatic stressor and can be used to study deconditioning of the human cardiovascular system in space. The Chibis provides gravity-simulating stress to the body’s cardiovascular/circulatory system for evaluation of Sergey’s orthostatic tolerance (e.g., the Gauer-Henry reflex) after 14 weeks in zero-G. The MBI-5 protocol again consisted of first imbibing 150-200 milliliters of water or juice, followed by a sequence of progressive regimes of reduced (“negative”) pressure, set at -25, -30, -35 and -40 mmHg for five minutes each, while shifting from foot to foot at 10-12 steps per minute. The body’s circulatory system interprets the pressure differential between upper and lower body as a gravity-like force pulling the blood and body fluids “down”. MBI-5 data output include blood pressure readings with the Tenzoplus Sphygmomanometer, today without telemetry data monitoring but reporting of heart rate and blood pressure to TsUP-Moscow.]
In preparation of the next SHERE (Shear History Extension Rheology Experiment) session, which will use the CGBA (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus), the FE-2 installed a fluid module tray inside the CGBA.
The CDR took the periodic readings of potentially harmful atmospheric contaminants in the SM, using the CMS (Countermeasure System), a component of the GANK-4M Real-Time Harmful Contaminant Gas Analyzer suite, which uses preprogrammed microchips to measure H2CO (Formaldehyde, methanal), CO (Carbon Monoxide), NH3 (Ammonia) and C8H8 (Styrol, Phenylethen) (for today, instead Benzol), taking one measurement per microchip. [CMS is a subsystem of the Russian SKDS Pressure Control & Atmosphere Monitoring System.]
The FE-1 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 and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.]
The crew conducted their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), TVIS treadmill (FE-1), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (CDR). Later, Kononenko transferred the exercise data file to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).
At ~2:50pm EDT, the crew will convene for their standard bi-weekly teleconference with the JSC Astronaut Office (Steve Lindsey), via S-band S/G-2 audio & phone patch.
CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo targets uplinked for today were Kwanza Basin (this region of extreme northwestern Angola is undergoing rapid land use changes as resource development is increasing. CEO researchers requested context mapping views during this pass. It was mid-afternoon as ISS approached from the SW. Morning low clouds will have burned off by then, especially in the interior. Trying for a detailed mapping swath of the clear area), and Lake Poopo, Bolivia (Lake Poopo is located at the southern end of the Altiplano region of Bolivia. Greg has recently acquired good imagery of this target area with the 180mm lens settings. These photos indicate that the lake water levels are very low. On this pass, Greg was to look just left of track and try for detailed views of only the lake and its shorelines, especially the southern end).
CEO photography can be studied at this “Gateway” website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (as of 3/1/08, this database contained 757,605 views of the Earth from space, with 314,000 from the ISS alone).
ISS Orbit (awaiting reboost results).
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible.):
08/30/08 — Progress M-64/29P undocking, from FGB nadir
09/05/08 — ATV1 undocking, from SM aft port (loiter until ~9/25 for nighttime reentry/observation)
09/10/08 — Progress M-65/30P launch
09/12/08 — Progress M-65/30P docking (SM aft port)
10/01/08 — NASA 50 Years
10/08/08 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
10/11/08 — Progress M-65/30P undocking (from SM aft port)
10/12/08 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S launch
10/14/08 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S docking (FGB nadir port)
10/23/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S undocking (DC1 nadir)
11/10/08 — STS-126/Endeavour/ULF2 launch – MPLM Leonardo, LMC
11/12/08 — STS-126/Endeavour/ULF2 docking
11/20/08 — ISS 10 Years
11/26/08 — Progress M-66/31P launch
11/28/08 — Progress M-66/31P docking
02/10/09 — Progress M-67/32P launch
02/12/09 — Progress M-67/32P docking
02/12/09 — STS-119/Discovery/15A launch – S6 truss segment
03/25/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S launch
05/15/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
07/30/09 — STS-128/Atlantis/17A – MPLM(P), last crew rotation
05/27/09 — Six-person crew on ISS (following Soyuz 19S docking, May ’09)
10/15/09 — STS-129/Discovery/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P)
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1
05/31/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4 (contingency).
