NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 28 October 2012
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday – Crew off duty. Ahead: Week 6 of Increment 33 (six-person crew).
Dragon Departure: After final power jumper disconnect, hatch closure, vestibule depressurization and monitoring Node-2 nadir port CBM (Common Berthing Mechanism) demating (i.e., removal of CBM bolts & deployment of latches) by ground commanding, Sunita Williams & Akihiko Hoshide operated the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) to unberth the SpaceX-1 Dragon capsule at 7:19am EDT. The commercially procured resupply ship, on its first contracted mission, spent 18d 2h 32m linked to the ISS (capture/release). Dragon carries a downmass of almost a ton of science experiments, hardware and cargo. The capsule was released by the SSRMS at 9:28:33am and initiated a series of departure burns & maneuvers (9:31:04am, 9:33:40am & 9:40:03am) to move beyond the 656 ft (200 m) “approach ellipsoid” around the station (9:43:34am) and begin its return trip to Earth, with deorbit burn executed on time (2:28pm) and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at ~3:20pm, a few hundred miles west of Baja California.
After wakeup, FE-4 Malenchenko performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
Yuri also completed the periodic (daily) reboot of the Russian RSS1 & RSS2 laptops.
Before getting to work with the SSRMS to release the Dragon, Suni & Aki –
. Closed the protective shutters of the Lab and JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) windows,
. Set up the video camcorder to provide live HD viewing of the Lab RWS (Robotic Workstation) Monitor 3 for ground awareness,
. Turned on CUCU (COTS UHF Communication Unit) Power B,
. Routed CCP (Crew Command Panel) cabling from the Lab to the Node-3 Cupola,
. Configured the Lab & Cupola RWSs for monitoring Dragon departure and
. Installed the CCR (Cupola Crew Restraint) to provide SSRMS operator stabilization.
Hoshide later deactivated CUCU again and derouted the CCP cabling.
Continuing her service of the NanoRack payload, the CDR activated mixing tube 11 (#1005) and then shook mixing tubes 1 & 6 (#1005).
FE-4 Malenchenko, with FE-1 Novitskiy & FE-2 Tarelkin attending for knowledge handover, conducted the routine daily & weekly servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM and FGB. [This included the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings of SM & FGB for calldown to TsUP-Moscow, as well as the weekly checkup on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SM’s & FGB’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on total operating time & “On” durations for calldown. SOZh servicing includes 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 as required.]
Yuri also deactivated the GA/gas analyzer (KM0305M1) in the Soyuz TMA-05M/31S (#706) spacecraft, docked at MRM1 Rassvet, and Oleg did the same in “his” Soyuz TMA-06M/32S (#707), docked at MRM2 Poisk. The GA’s were activated on 10/25. [The GAs are turned on periodically to check the cabin air in the Descent Modules.]
In the JAXA JPM, Kevin Ford worked ~4.5 hrs with the ELITE-S2 payload (ELaboratore Immagini TElevisive – Space 2), first mounting and positioning the Elite-S2 cameras in the work area, an exacting requirement for the experiment, and then applying markers to his body and executing the protocols as a first test. [ELITE-S2 acoustic constraint is 5 hrs. Background: This experiment evaluates differences in the way the brain controls conscious & unconscious motions such as breathing, sitting and standing in environments with and without gravity. ELITE-S2 investigates the connection between brain, visualization and motion in the absence of gravity. By recording & analyzing the three-dimensional motion of crewmembers, this study helps engineers apply ergonomics into future spacecraft designs and determines the effects of weightlessness on breathing mechanisms for long-duration missions. The experiment is a cooperative effort with the Italian Space Agency, ASI. The predecessor to this investigation, ELITE-S, was flown on EUROMIR in 1995.]
Kevin also completed his (currently) daily task of filling out his SHD (Space Headache) questionnaire which he started after Soyuz launch on a daily basis and continues on ISS on an SSC/Station Support Computer for every week after his first week in space.
Aki Hoshide & Suni Williams filled out their standard FFQs (Food Frequency Questionnaires) on the MDLT (Medical Laptop Terminal). It was their 13th time. [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MDLT 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.]
Using the ILRT (ISS Library Reference Tool) link on the SSC home page, Ford reviewed MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) training material.
FE-3 also had an hour of free time for general orientation (adaptation, station familiarization & acclimatization) as is standard daily rule for fresh crewmembers for the first two weeks after starting residence, if they choose to take it.
Aki Hoshide completed another session with the Japanese psychological POMS (Profile of Mood States) experiment, filling out his questionnaire for downlink to ground specialist.
CDR, FE-2 & FE-6 had their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Evgeny at ~6:15am, Aki at ~11:45am, Suni at ~4:10pm EDT.
At ~7:05am, Kevin Ford held his (currently) daily post-launch PMC (Private Medical Conference), via S- & Ku-band audio/video.
Evgeny Tarelkin familiarized himself with T2/COLBERT exercise procedures by observing marathon-runner Sunita working out on the machine.
The crew worked out on the TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-4/2x), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (FE-3), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR, FE-6) and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-2). [CDR & FE-6 are on the special experimental SPRINT protocol which diverts from the regular 2.5 hrs per day exercise regime and introduces special daily sessions involving resistive and aerobic (interval & continuous) exercise, followed by a USND (Ultrasound) leg muscle self scan in COL. No exercise is being timelined for Suni on Friday, for Aki on Thursday. If any day is not completed, Suni & Aki pick up where they left off, i.e., they would be finishing out the week with the last day of exercise on her off day. Suni’s protocol for today shows T2 (interval, 2 min.), with ARED/CEVIS (cont.), T2 (int., 30 sec.), ARED/CEVIS (cont.), EVA, and T2 (int., 4 min.) for the next 5 days. Aki’s protocol for today shows T2 (int., 30 sec.), ARED/CEVIS (cont.), T2 (int., 4 min.), ARED/CEVIS, EVA and no exercise on the following 5 days.]
Tasks listed for FE-4 Malenchenko on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were –
* More preparation & downlinking of reportages (written text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb),
* A ~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, and
* 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 and PI emission platform using the SKPF-U (Photo Image Coordinate Reference System) to record target sites on the Earth surface, and
* A 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining SKPF-U (Photo Image Coordinate Reference System) HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of color bloom patterns in the waters of South-Eastern Pacific (SEPO), then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop.
No CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:22am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 413.2 km
Apogee height – 424.5 km
Perigee height – 402.0 km
Period — 92.83 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.65 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0016625
Solar Beta Angle — -33.9 deg (magnitude peaking)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.51
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 65 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 79,872
Time in orbit (station) — 5091 days
Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4378 days.
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————– Inc-33: Six-crew operations ————-
10/31/12 — Progress M-17M/49P launch (3:41am EDT)
10/31/12 — Progress M-17M/49P docking (~9:40am EDT)
11/01/12 — US EVA-20
11/19/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————– Inc-34: Three-crew operations ————-
12/05/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/07/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————– Inc-34: Six-crew operations ————-
02/11/13 – Progress M-16M/48P undocking
02/12/13 – Progress M-18M/50P launch
02/14/13 – Progress M-18M/50P docking
03/15/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————– Inc-35: Three-crew operations ————-
04/02/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
04/04/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
04/23/13 — Progress M-18M/50P undock/landing
————– Inc-35: Six-crew operations ————-
05/16/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————– Inc-36: Three-crew operations ————-
05/29/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/31/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking
————– Inc-36: Six-crew operations ————-
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————– Inc-37: 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
————– Inc-37: Six-crew operations ————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————– Inc-38: 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
————– Inc-38: Six-crew operations ————-
03/xx/14 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————– Inc-39: Three-crew operations ————-
