NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 26 November 2011
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – Crew rest day. Godspeed Curiosity!
After wakeup, FE-2 Ivanishin performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
CDR Burbank, FE-1 Shkaplerov & FE-2 Ivanishin joined in conducting the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough cleaning of their home, including COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) and Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). [“Uborka”, usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the SM (Service Module) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the sleep stations with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab. Since this was the last scheduled round of Housekeeping for Exp-29, Mike & Satoshi paid special attention to some safeguarding issues to ensure a good configuration in the unlikely event of station decrewing (failure of 28S crew arriving): Flammable materials securely stowed away from UOPs (Utility Outlet Panels), Rack Power Outlets, and Power Strips, no loose items that could become free-floaters during nominal dynamic events, ventilation diffusers clear of stowage, and HEPA filters vacuum-cleaned.]
As part of Uborka house cleaning, Anton & Anatoly completed regular weekly maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2) plus Group E fan grilles in the SM (VPkhO, FS5, FS6, VP) and the BMP Harmful Contaminants Removal System grille in the SM. Before the cleaning, all fan screens were photographed for ground inspection.
The CDR conducted the regular (~weekly) inspection & maintenance, as required, of the CGBA-4 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 4) and CGBA-5 payloads in their ERs (EXPRESS Racks) at Lab O2 & O1, focusing on cleaning the muffler air intakes.
Using the vacuum cleaner, Dan also performed the periodic cleaning of the vent grills of the OpsLAN Server SSC (Station Support Computer) T61p laptops in the Lab (loc. O1), to ensure optimal performance.
After yesterday’s cable swap in the JAXA Kibo JPM on the Kobairo & Ryutai racks on, followed by ground checkouts using the new MMA (Microgravity Measurement Apparatus) cable, Burbank stowed the 5.50 m cable.
Ivanishin completed the daily routine 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.]
Burbank filled out his first weekly FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MEC software. Recorded are the amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. The FFQ is performed once a week to estimate nutrient intake from the previous week and to give recommendations to ground specialists that help maintain optimal crew health. Weekly estimation has been verified to be reliable enough that nutrients do not need to be tracked daily.]
Later, Dan had another time slot set aside for making entries in his electronic Journal on his personal SSC (Station Support Computer). [Required are three journaling sessions per week.]
The CDR equipped MERLIN-2 (Microgravity Experiment Research Locker Incubator 2) in ER6 (EXPRESS Rack 6) with two fresh desiccant packs, then transferred all food items and the tray assembly from MERLIN-1 to MERLIN-2. Next, he removed the old desiccant packs from MERLIN-1 and left the front door open for a 24-hr dryout. [MERLIN is used for cold storage of crew food and drink.]
Ivanishin set up and activated the Kenwood D700 “Sputnik” amateur radio station in the SM, starting the program for the Russian KPT-14 SHADOW-BEACON (Tenj-Mayak) experiment, to run overnight using VHF radio-transmitted time-tagged radio beacon packets from the RS (Russia Segment) in automatic mode. A number of deactivations/reactivations are scheduled tomorrow. [Objective of the experiment is the automatic retranslation of time tag (pre-planned executable) packets from ground stations. SHADOW (or ECLIPSE), sponsored by Roskosmos and its leading Moscow research organization TSNIIMASH (Central Research Institute of Machine Building), employs VHF amateur radio (ham) operators around the globe (via ARISS/Amateur Radio on ISS) to help in observing refraction/scattering effects in artificial plasmas using the method of RF (radio frequency) sounding in space experiments under different geophysical conditions.]
At ~8:15am EST, the three crewmembers held the regular WPC (Weekly Planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events.
At ~10:15am, Anatoly & Anton supported a Russian PAO TV downlink, transmitting their greetings to four different events: (1) to “Around The World” magazine on its 150 year anniversary, (2) to the participants of the Russian Polar Sailboat Expedition, (3) to the citizens of Gagarin, and (4) on the commissioning of Stan-5000 Steel Complex (MKS) of the Objedinennaia Metallurgicheskaia Kompania (OMK) (United Steel Company) in the Nizhny Novgorod region with participation of Russian cosmonauts.
The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (CDR), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-2) and ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-1, FE-2).
Tasks listed for Shkaplerov & Ivanishin on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were –
* A ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens, aiming for monitoring of the Gulf of Mexico, Fuego volcano in Guatemala, species survey of the Andes, Sangay volcano, Volcano Huascaran, Vulcan Cordon-Kaul, Vulcan Hudson, Viedma Glacier, Glacier Upsala, and Glacier Chico,
* A 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-east Atlantic, South-East Pacific, and the south-west Atlantic, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop, and
* Another ~30-min. session for Russia’s EKON Environmental Safety Agency, making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on Earth using the NIKON D3X camera with the RSK-1 laptop.
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Twenty-Nine/Thirty — Week 10)
2D NANO Template (JAXA): No report.
3D SPACE: Complete.
AgCam (Agricultural Camera): No report.
ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.
ALTEA SHIELD (NASA/ASI): Radiation data measurements were performed with 5 out of 6 Silicon Detector Units. Since 10/16 one detector unit is off. However, since measurements in all 3 directions are collected, there is no real impact on science.
AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): AMS payload and laptop continue nominal science operations.
APEX (Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit) -Cambium: No report.
APEX-TAGES (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System): No report.
Asian Seed 2010 (JAXA): Returned on ULF6.
BCAT-6 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 6): No report. [Colloids are particles as small as a few tens of nanometers (a thousandth of a thousandth of a millimeter) that are suspended in a medium, usually a liquid or a gas. The name “colloid” comes from the Greek word for “glue”, and expresses very important properties of colloids: when small and light enough, particles can be influenced in their behavior by forces of electromagnetic origin, and make them stick together, or repel each other depending on the configuration. Colloids are widely studied in science because the forces between particles can be controlled and tuned and because particles, while being small enough to be influenced by such forces, are big and slow enough to be seen with a relatively simple and inexpensive laboratory instrument like a microscope. This is why colloids are often studied as model for molecular systems (like standard gases or liquids) where molecules, the individual constituents, are much smaller than colloids and cannot be seen with light. As mentioned, forces between colloids can be tuned giving rise to a rich variety of phenomena. One of them is aggregation, which is when particles stick together and tend to form structures. Among the many ways to induce particle aggregation, one allows to do so by controlling the temperature of the solution in which the particles are immersed, thanks to very weak forces called “critical Casimir forces” that have been predicted more than 30 years ago but just partially verified in experiments. The objective of SODI COLLOID is to measure such forces and produce a controlled aggregation of tiny plastic particles. This would allow to shed light on critical Casimir forces and to make a step towards the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with remarkable optical properties for industrial applications.]
BIOLAB (ESA): No report.
BIORHYTHMS (JAXA, Biological Rhythms): No report.
BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): No report.
BISPHOSPHONATES: No report.
BXF-Facility (Boiling eXperiment Facility, NASA): No report.
BXF-MABE (Microheater Array Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.
BXF-NPBX (Pool Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.
CARD (Long Term Microgravity: Model for Investigating Mechanisms of Heart Disease, ESA): No report.
CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.
CB (JAXA Clean Bench): No report.
CBEF-2 (JAXA Cell Biology Experiment Facility)/SPACE SEED: No report.
CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): No report.
CERISE (JAXA): No report.
CCF (Capillary Channel Flow, NASA): No report.
CFE-2 (Capillary Flow Experiment 2, NASA): No report.
CFS-A (Colored Fungi in Space-A, ESA): No report.
CSI-5/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #5/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): No report.
CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete.
CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack), MDCA/Flex: No report.
Commercial (Inc 23&24, JAXA): No report.
Commercial (Inc 25 & 26, JAXA): No report.
CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): No report.
CsPins (JAXA): No report.
CubeLab: No report.
CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete.
DECLIC-ALI (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids & Crystallization-ALICE-like, CNES/NASA): Study of the boiling phenomena using the cells observed in transmission and in interferometry, at different constant temperatures under Tc (DOC and IOC). We have taken 30,000 images.
DomeGene (JAXA): Complete.
DOSIS (Dose Distribution Inside ISS, ESA): No report.
EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): No report.
EDR (European Drawer Rack, ESA): No report.
EKE (Endurance Capacity by Gas Exchange and Heart Rate Kinetics During Physical Training, ESA): No report.
ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned.
EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Nominal water pump servicing was performed by ground commanding on 10/13.
ENose (Electronic Nose): No report.
EPM (European Physiology Module): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Eye in the Sky; Sleep 2): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Sesame Street): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Kids in Micro-G): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Earth/Moon/Mars Demo): No report.
EPO LES-2 (ESA): No report.
EPO GREENHOUSE (ESA): No report.
EPO 3-min Video (JAXA): No report.
EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): No report.
EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Closed out on 3/15.
EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report.
EPO Lego Bricks (NASA, JAXA): No report.
EPO-5 SpaceBottle (Message in a Bottle, JAXA): No report.
EPO Moon Score (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Try Zero-G (JAXA): No report.
EPO Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): No report.
EPO Poem (JAXA): No report.
EPO-6 Spiral Top 2 (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Doctor Demo (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Green Tea Preparation (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Ink Ball (JAXA): No report.
EPO-7 Video (JAXA):
ERB-2 (Erasmus Recording Binocular, ESA): [ERB-2 aims are to develop narrated video material for various PR & educational products & events, including a 3D interior station view.] No report.
ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.
FACET-2 (JAXA): No report.
FERULATE (JAXA): No report.
FIR/LMM/CVB (Fluids Integrated Rack / Light Microscopy Module / Constrained Vapor Bubble): No report.
Fish Scales (JAXA): Completed on FD7/ULF-4 and returned on STS-132.
FOAM STABILITY (ESA): No report.
FOCUS: No report.
FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory, ESA): Engineering assessment on the temperature fluctuation anomalies that occurred during the first set-points of the last GEOFLOW-2 science runs (11/7,) is on-going; the root cause has not yet been exactly identified. There are indications that quite high pump-consumption currents are linked to the observed temperature deviations.
FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report.
GENARA-A (Gravity Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis A/ESA): No report.
GEOFLOW-2 (ESA): The science team agreed to the engineering recommendation, i.e. to restart the science runs at so-called high working environment. On 11/22 GEOFLOW-2 science runs were resumed starting with a no-rotation run (i15) at Tcold highest with initial delta-T at 9.8K and decreasing by steps of 0.4K. Real time images showed good quality and so far no temperature deviations have been observed. [Background: Everybody is familiar with liquids. In an average day we get to use, handle or drink water or other liquids. And everybody knows how fluids (that is liquids and gases) behave: when subjected to a net force, may be pressure, a temperature difference or gravity, they can move freely. Scientists have been studying how fluids move for centuries, and managed to write mathematical formulas that can describe and predict such movements. Unfortunately, these equations are extremely complex and only approximate solutions are known. As a result, our quantitative understanding of fluid movement is just partial. This is especially true for natural phenomena where the forces can be enormous and unpredictable, like in oceans or in the atmosphere. Or the interior of the earth, where rocks are exposed to pressures and temperatures so incredibly high that they slowly move and adapt their shape. That is, over hundreds of years rocks flow just like a very viscous liquid. Scientists try to study such flows but cannot observe them directly due to the fact that they take place deep beneath the surface of our planet. The only way is to have computers simulating those movements starting from the equations, but how to check whether computers are correct? This is what Geoflow II is trying to answer on board the International Space Station. Geoflow II is a miniature planet that has some of its essential ingredients: a fluid can freely move inside a spherical container that rotates, has temperature differences and has a simulated gravity directed towards the centre just like in a real planet. By taking pictures of the fluid movements, scientists are able to understand the essential characteristics of the flows and determine whether computer simulations are correct or whether they need to be refined and improved towards a better understanding of the elusive movements that take place inside our planet.]
HAIR (JAXA): No report.
HDTV System (JAXA): No report.
Hicari (JAXA): Ground Activities “Vacuum Process at GHF Material Processor” were started on 11/17. We are expecting ten days of continuous operations to get the proper degree of vacuum.
Holter ECG (JAXA): No report.
HQPC (JAXA): Was delivered by 34P.
HREP (HICO/Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean & RAIDS/Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System/JAXA): HICO has taken 4573 images to-date and the Best-of-August images are included under the HREP tab on this worksheet. The most recent HICO images include San Francisco, parts of the coastline of Australia and Martha’s Vineyard. RAIDS is collecting secondary Science data including nighttime atmospheric disk photometry, spectra and temperatures. Extreme Ultra Violet airglow spectroscopy and optical contamination studies will also be performed.
HydroTropi (Hydrotropism & Auxin-Inducible Gene Expression in Roots Grown under Microgravity Conditions/JAXA): No report.
ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.
ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): “Thanks Dan for all your hard work with the Resting Echo Scan on 11/25.”
IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.
INTEGRATED IMMUNE: “Dan, the Integrated Immune team really appreciates all your efforts during your early mission blood and saliva collections given the compressed schedule. We look forward to working with you throughout the Increment.”
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): No report.
IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report.
ISS Amateur/Ham Radio: No report.
ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, NASA): No report.
IV Gen (Intravenous Fluids Generation): No report.
KID/KUBIK6: No report.
KUBIK 3 (ESA): No report.
LMM/PACE-2 (Light Microscopy Module / Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment): No report.
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): No report.
Marangoni Exp. (JAXA): “Thank you, Dan, for completing the VRUs exchange at IPU on 11/21, this work will let us start the MEIS experiment on time after the 29S arrival. Once again, thank you very much.”
Marangoni DSD – Dynamic Surf (JAXA): Payload name was change from Marangoni DSD to Dynamic Surf.
Marangoni UVP (JAXA): No report.
MARES (Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System, ESA/NASA): No report.
Matryoshka-2 (RSA): No report.
MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.
MDCA/Flex-2: “Dan: Nice job replacing the CIR Manifold Bottle on 11/19. You installed a bottle containing a gas mixture that will support four FLEX test point days. We look forward to working with you on upcoming CIR and FIR operations! Late last week and early this week, CIR/MDCA performed eight test points from the science matrix at four different chamber atmospheres. We repeated three test points so we could try them with their fuel droplets tethered to the fiber (instead of free floating). A summary of these test points will be included in next week’s input.”
MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report.
Microbe-2 (JAXA): Sample returned by ULF6.
Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MISSE-8 (Materials ISS Experiment 8): MISSE-8 is operating nominally and the Communication Interface Board (CIB) has not reset for four consecutive weeks now. MISSE-8 is still investigating potential correlations of CIB resets to active MISSE-8 experiments and sub-experiments. PASCAL has performed nominal commanding that produced IV curves of the solar cells. IV curves are plots of the current versus voltage for solar cells and tell a lot about how these are performing. The SpaceCube experiment is running code for new radiation hardening by software.
MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report.
MPAC/SEED (JAXA): No report.
MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox-Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment): No report.
MSPR (Multi Purpose Small Payload Rack, JAXA): No report.
MSL (Materials Science Laboratory, ESA): Science program is on hold pending engineering assessment after the MSRR / MSL power-down due to P/L MDM crashes on 9/29. The installation of the Termination Plug on 10/28 allowed for a ground-commanded MSL furnace characterization test which was successfully performed on 11/15. Data analyses of this health check test are on-going to assess the proper functioning of the Solidification and Quenching Furnace (SQF) after the incident.
MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC-1 “Pirs”.
MULTIGEN-1: Completed.
MYCO 3 (JAXA): On 9/22, Mike and Satoshi completed sample collection.
MyoLab (JAXA): Completed on 4/20.
NANOSKELETON (Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity, JAXA): No report.
NEURORAD (JAXA): No report.
NEUROSPAT (ESA/Study of Spatial Cognition, Novelty Processing and Sensorimotor Integration): No report.
NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete.
NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY/ProK: No report.
ODK (Onboard Diagnostic Kit, JAXA): On 10/27, Satoshi completed the Questionnaire as a task list item.
PACE-2 (Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment 2, NASA): (please see under FIR and LMM/PACE-2.
PADIAC (Pathway Different Activators, ESA): No report.
PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 3/4; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): We are looking forward to receiving our 17 dosimeters on 11/28 that came down on 27S.
PASSAGES (JAXA): “Great job, thanks, Dan, for performing your first PASSAGES session on 11/23! Your valuable feedback is very much appreciated and will certainly be taken into account.”
PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): No report.
PCG (JAXA, Protein Crystal Growth): Returned on 26S on 9/16.
PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): See PCG.
PLSG (Plant Signaling, NASA/ESA): No report.
PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.
POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete.
Portable PFS: “Thanks, Mike, for performing the P-PFS maintenance calibration activities on 11/11.”
Pro K: No report.
RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete.
RadSilk (JAXA): No report.
Reaction Self Test (RST/Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS): “Dan, we thank you for your participation in Reaction Self Test.”
Robonaut (NASA): No report.
RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): No report.
SAIBO Rack (JAXA): No report.
SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): No report.
SAMPLE: Complete.
SCOF (Solution Crystallization Observation Facility, JAXA): No report.
SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.
SHERE II (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment II): No report.
SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report.
SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): No report.
SMILES (JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.
SODI/IVIDIL (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Influence of Vibration on Diffusion in Liquids, ESA): No report.
SODI/COLLOID (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Colloid): Further troubleshooting steps concentrated on the optimization of the image quality. In order to reach image quality that is sufficient for science data return, a series of iteration steps were performed in week #09 and #10. During these very short test runs camera exposure times, black level parameters and laser gain levels for the movable and fixed modules were adjusted. Since any change of one of these settings directly influences the other parameters, images were acquired and downlinked after each iteration step in order to check for the impact of the parameters’ update. The current settings for the red lasers result in good quality in terms of image contrast. However, the settings for the infrared laser still need to be optimized. Recently downloaded images are under investigation. The way forward is to perform phase stepping tests with the updated parameters to finalize the phase stepping algorithm settings for the final phase images. Thereafter, a control step test intends to check for the final settings for all lasers and all sample cells before resuming science runs.
SODI-DSC (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Diffusion & Soret Coefficient, ESA): No report.
SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory, ESA): Since 10/31 we are out of Sun Visibility Window (SVW) and no science measurements have been performed. SolACES remains in warm-up configuration to protect the optics from degradation after 27S undocking on 11/21..
SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): No report.
Space-DRUMS (Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System): No report.
Space Food (JAXA): No report.
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): No report.
SPHINX (SPaceflight of Huvec: an Integrated eXperiment, ESA): No report.
SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): No report.
SPINAL (Spinal Elongation): No report.
SPRINT: No report.
SS-HDTV (Super Sensitivity High Definition Camera, JAXA): No more runs planned on Task List for Satoshi.
STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): MHTEX is running nominally in a steady state mode. Canary took data during the 27S undocking event. VADER is continuing lifetime testing of the VEDs at a reduced cycle rate. DISC has taken more images this week and is processing images that were taken in previous weeks.
SWAB (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): No report.
TASTE IN SPACE (ESA): No report.
THERMOLAB (ESA): “Dan, since you will be performing your first session of the THERMOLAB / VO2max experiment next week, we thought we could provide you with some background description on the experiment.”
TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.
TREADMILL KINEMATICS: No report.
TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report.
ULTRASOUND: Planned.
UMS (Urine Monitoring System (NASA): No report.
VASCULAR (CSA): “No report.
VCAM (Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Module, NASA): No report.
VESSEL ID System (ESA): On 11/21 no data were received during the Columbus LAN switch failure. The potential impact on science is under assessment. Beside this incident, nominal measurements with the NORAIS receiver were performed.
VESSEL IMAGING (ESA): “Thank you, Dan, for performing the familiarization session on 11/23 and your first session of the VESSEL IMAGING experiment on 11/25. You did a great job, the science team received good data. Please, find below some background information on the VESSEL IMAGING experiment.” [It is known that the ability of blood vessels to vasoconstrict – the ability of the muscular vessel wall to narrow the diameter of the blood vessel – is impaired during and after a human has been in space. “Vessel Imaging” is using the Ultrasound scanner on board the ISS to take images of the five different blood vessels in the lower abdomen and in the legs to study what changes occur to cause the blood vessels to be less able to vasoconstrict. For each vessel, a 5 second scan is performed to observe the blood vessel during several heart beats, followed by a scan where the ultrasound scan-head is tilted to allow a “cut through the blood vessel wall”. The same scans are also performed before flight, and these pre-flight images are used as the baseline to which the in-flight data is compared with. The images are analyzed to detect any changes in the blood vessel wall properties, such as wall thickness, elasticity or structure, changes in the size of the blood vessel or blood flow (volume) while the crewmember is in orbit.]
VIABLE (eValuatIon And monitoring of microBiofiLms insidE the ISS Payload Touch, NASA): No report.
VO2max (NASA): No report.
VLE (Video Lessons ESA): No report.
WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels; ESA): No report.
YEAST B (ESA): No report.
CEO (Crew Earth Observation): No report.
CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked today were Washington, D.C. at night (night pass. Looking left of track up Chesapeake Bay), Antananarivo, Madagascar (WORLD CAPITALS COLLECTION SITE: Looking to the left of track for the capital city Antananarivo. The urban area of ~1.4 million is located roughly in the center of the island. Context views of the urban area and surroundings are requested), Niamey, Niger (WORLD CAPITALS COLLECTION SITE: Looking left for Niger’s capital city on the Niger River, the visual cue for the crew. With a population of only 250,000 in 1980, the city is now thought to house 1.5 million people), Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, West Africa (WORLD CAPITALS COLLECTION SITE: Looking just left for this capital city [population ~160,000] on the north shore of Bioko Island. Some clouds are likely but this is one of the best viewing opportunities encountered in months), and Chiang Mai, Thailand, at night (near nadir night pass over the largest city in northern Thailand [2.9 million in the metro area]. The city attracts more than 5 million tourists each year [local and foreign], and has a famous Night Bazaar that may make it even more visually prominent. Chiang Mai is the most culturally significant city in northern Thailand, being the capital of its province and a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna (1296 – 1768).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 5:52am EST [= epoch])
* Mean altitude – 391.4 km
* Apogee height – 412.2 km
* Perigee height – 370.6 km
* Period — 92.38 min.
* Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
* Eccentricity — 0.0030672
* Solar Beta Angle — -15.5 deg (magnitude decreasing)
* Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.59
* Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours – 95 m
* Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 74,624
* Time in orbit (station) – 4754 days
* Time in orbit (crews, cum.) – 4041 days
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Three-crew operations————-
11:30/11 — ISS Reboost (SM main engine)
12/21/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit
12/23/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
TBD — Progress M-13M/45P undock
TBD — Progress M-14M/46P launch
TBD — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1)
xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon — (Under Review)
02/29/12 — ATV3 launch readiness
TBD — Soyuz TMA-22/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov — (Target Date)
04/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S docking (MRM2) — (Target Date)
————–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/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-05M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
05/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-05M/31S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
10/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 – Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
