NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 26 April 2009
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday – off-duty day for CDR Padalka, FE-1 Barratt, FE-2 Wakata. Ahead: Week 4 of Increment 19.
With POIC (Payload Operations Integration Center) in Huntsville/Alabama currently under power outage, Mike Barratt performed status checks several times during the day on critical payload equipment usually monitored from POIC, specifically on the –
* GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator) [comparing setpoint & actual temp, should remain below -95 degC],
* MERLIN (Microgravity Experiment Research Locker Incubator), and
* MELFI (Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for the ISS) [checking on Dewars 1,2,3 – should remain below -90 degC, Dewar 4 should be at -2 degC, and gas bearing temp – should be below 40 degC.]
For the new run of the GFI-1 “Relaksatsiya” (Relaxation) Earth Observation experiment scheduled tomorrow, CDR Padalka broke out the hardware, installed it with its UFK “Fialka” ultraviolet camera, SP spectrometer and VKJ camcorder at Service Module (SM) window #9 and initiated battery charging for the SONY DCR-TRV900E camcorder. [Tomorrow’s operation deals with hyperspectral observations of the Earth atmosphere and surface. “Relaxation”, in Physics, is the transition of an atom or molecule from a higher energy level to a lower one, emitting radiative energy in the process as equilibrium is achieved.]
Padalka 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. Additionally, Gennady checked up on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SM’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on total operating time & “On” durations for reporting 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.]
Gennady also conducted the periodic checkup behind panel 139 in the SM on a fluid connector (MNR-NS) of the SM-U urine collection system, looking for potential moisture.
FE-2 Wakata completed the daily procedure of flushing the PWD (Potable Water Dispenser) ambient line with ~50mL of water (into a towel/Ziploc bag). PWD water is currently cleared only for hygienic use. [While final analysis of the PWD sample results on the ground is still pending, experts recommend keeping water flowing in the line daily to help control microbial growth. The flushing will be done daily unless at least this amount has been dispensed for other activities during the day).]
For tonight’s S6 Solar Array Characterization thruster firings (12:05am-12:10am EDT) during crew sleep, Koichi closed the protective shutters of the science window in the US Lab and Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). [The IWIS (Internal Wireless Instrumentation System) is programmed to again take structural dynamics data during the test.]
The crew completed 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), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (FE-1, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (CDR).
At ~12:00pm EDT, Koishi had a CDE (Crew Discretionary Event) teleconference via S-band/audio & Ku-band/video with the JAXA SSIPC (Space Station Integration & Promotion Center) flight control team at Tsukuba/Japan to discuss his upcoming activities with the EPO experiments Try Zero-G, ISS Moon Score, HITEN and SPIRAL.
The crew had their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences) scheduled, via S-band/audio & Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Gennady at ~7:15am, Koichi at ~10:25am, Mike at ~4:25pm.
The Russian discretionary “time permitting” task list today still showed six work items for Gennady, leading off with a session of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program, using the NIKON D2X digital camera to take 800mm-lens telephotos for subsequent downlinking on the BSR-TM payload data channel. [Uplinked targets for today were the Galapagos Isles and Darwin Island.]
The other five voluntary tasks for Padalka were –
* Spread over the next few days, remove eight ventilation fans in the SM and replace them with new units delivered on Progress [fans to be R&R’d are designated VPF1, VPF2, VV2RO, VPO5, VPO6, VPO11, VAP1, and VSU],
* Conduct an audit of Russian photo equipment, specifically checking camera lenses for protective caps and searching for any missing caps, plus cleaning lenses with Lenspen rubber bulb and tissue paper,
* Clean the CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensor matrix of the Nikon D3 & Nikon D3X digital cameras of any dust particles and check on the result,
* Do another session for Russia’s Environmental Safety Agency (EKON), making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on earth using the Nikon D2X with the SIGMA 300-800mm telephoto lens, and
* Gather trash for disposal on Progress 32P, to be undocked on 5/6.
No CEO (Crew Earth Observation) 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, 7:43am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude — 351.9 km
Apogee height – 357.7 km
Perigee height — 346.1 km
Period — 91.58 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0008545
Solar Beta Angle — 8.3 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 64 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 59781
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
05/06/09 — Progress M01M/32P undocking & deorbit
05/07/09 — Progress M-02M/33P launch (on Soyuz-U, 51st rocket of this type)
05/11/09 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
05/12/09 — Progress M-02M/33P docking
05/27/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S launch
05/29/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S docking (FGB nadir)
06/05/09 — Russian EVA-22
06/10/09 — Russian EVA-23
06/13/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
Six-person crew on ISS
07/17/09 — Progress 33P undock & deorbit
07/20/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S relocation (from SM aft to DC1)
07/24/09 — Progress 34P launch
07/26/09 — Progress 34P docking (SM aft)
08/06/09 — STS-128/Discovery/17A – MPLM (P), LMC
09/01/09 — H-IIB (JAXA HTV-1) launch – tentative
09/07/09 — H-IIB (JAXA HTV-1) berth
09/30/09 — Soyuz TMA-16/20S launch
10/02/09 — Soyuz TMA-16/20S docking (SM aft, until MRM2 w/new port)
10/08/09 — H-IIB (JAXA HTV-1) unberth
10/11/09 – Soyuz TMA-14/18S undock
10/15/09 — Progress 35P launch
11/10/09 — 5R/MRM2 (Russian Mini Research Module, MIM2) on Proton — tentative
11/12/09 — STS-129/Atlantis/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
12/07/09 — Soyuz TMA-17/21S launch
12/26/09 — Progress 36P launch
02/03/10 — Progress 37P launch
02/??/10 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola — tentative
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P), LMC — tentative
04/02/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S launch
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1 — tentative
04/27/10 — Progress 38P launch
05/29/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S launch
05/31/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4 — tentative
06/??/10 – ATV2 – Ariane 5 (ESA)
06/25/10 — Progress 39P launch
08/11/10 — Progress 40P launch
09/29/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S launch
12/??/11 — Proton 3R/MLM w/ERA.
10/19/10 — Progress 41P launch
12/??/11 – 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton.
