NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 25 December 2008

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

Merry Christmas!

CDR Fincke & FE-2 Magnus started their day with another download of last night’s data of the SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment from their Actiwatches to the HRF-1 (Human Research Facility 1) laptop as part of the week-long session with SLEEP. [To monitor the crewmember’s sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Mike & Sandy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition and use 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, as part of the crew’s discretionary “job jar” task list. It was the second session for Mike, the first for Sandra.]

FE-1 Lonchakov performed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM (Service Module), including the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP-Moscow. [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.]

Yuri also completed the periodic (currently daily) checkout/verification of IP-1 airflow sensors in the various RS (Russian Segment) hatchways, including the passageways PrK (SM Transfer Compartment)–PrK–RO (SM Working Compartment), PkhO (SM Transfer Compartment)–RO, PkhO–DC1, PkhO–FGB PGO, FGB PGO–FGB GA, FGB GA–Node-1.

In the DC1 Docking Compartment, the FE-1 terminated the discharge process on the first 825M3 Orlan battery pack in the ZU-S recharge unit and started it on the second set.

A newly added voluntary task for Mike Fincke & Sandy Magnus on their discretionary task list for today were the periodic inspection & cleaning of the FDS (Fire Detection & Suppression) system’s SDs (smoke detectors) and bacteria filters in the US Airlock, Node-1, Node-2 and Lab.

As a second suggested task at her discretion, Sandy was to tear down and stow the BCAT-4 (Binary Colloid Alloy Test 4) hardware, including the 28V DC equipment and DCS-760 EarthKAM camera gear, which has been running in Node-2 since 12/20 as a VolSci (Voluntary Science) activity.

Filling out the regular FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) for the fourth time on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) remains on Mike Fincke’s “job jar” task list.

For talking with their families on the Christmas holiday, the CDR & FE-2 were scheduled for PFCs (Private Family Conferences), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Mike at ~12:40pm, Sandy at ~2:20pm EST.

The station residents conducted 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), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-1, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

No CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo targets uplinked for today.

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, 8:38am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 353.8 km
Apogee height — 358.9 km
Perigee height — 348.7 km
Period — 91.62 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.000756
Solar Beta Angle — -31.9 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 80 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 57864

Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
01/14/09 — ISS reboost w/SM thrusters
02/09/09 — Progress M-01M/31P undocking & deorbit
02/10/09 — Progress 32P launch
02/12/09 — Progress 32P docking
02/12/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A launch – S6 truss segment
02/14/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A docking
02/24/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A undocking
02/26/09 — STS-119/Endeavour/15A landing (nominal)
03/25/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S launch
03/27/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S docking (DC1)
04/05/09 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S undocking
04/07/09 — Progress 32P undocking & deorbit
05/12/09 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
05/15/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
05/27/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S launch
Six-person crew on ISS
08/06/09 — STS-128/Discovery/17A – MPLM (P), LMC, last crew rotation
08/XX/09 — Soyuz 5R/MRM2 (Russian Mini Research Module, MIM2) on Soyuz
09/XX/09 — H-IIB (JAXA HTV-1)
11/12/09 — STS-129/Atlantis/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P), LMC
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1
05/31/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4
12/XX/11– Proton 3R/MLM w/ERA.