NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 3 July 2011
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday – Crew off-duty. Ahead: Week 16 of Increment 27/28.
Time again for recharging the Motorola Iridium-9505A satellite phones in the Soyuz Descent Modules: completed by Andrey Borisenko for Soyuz TMA-21/26S (#231, docked at MRM2) and by Sergei Volkov for TMA-02M/27S (#702, docked at MRM1), a monthly routine job and first time for Andrey & Sergei. (Done last time: 5/18). [After retrieving the phones from their location in the spacecraft Descent Modules (SA, spuskayemyy apparat), the crewmembers initiated the recharge of the lithium-ion batteries, monitoring the process every 10-15 minutes as it took place. Upon completion, the phones were returned inside their SSSP Iridium kits and stowed back in the SA’s ODF (operational data files) container. The satphone accompanies returning ISS crews on Soyuz reentry & landing for contingency communications with SAR (Search-and-Rescue) personnel after touchdown (e.g., after an “undershoot” ballistic reentry, as happened during the 15S return). The Russian-developed procedure for the monthly recharging has been approved jointly by safety officials. During the procedure, the phone is left in its fire-protective fluoroplastic bag with open flap. The Iridium 9505A satphone uses the Iridium constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites to relay the landed Soyuz capsule’s GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates to helicopter-borne recovery crews. The older Iridium-9505 phones were first put on board Soyuz in August 2003. The newer 9505A phone, currently in use, delivers 30 hours of standby time and three hours of talk, up from 20 and two hours, respectively, on the older units.]
CDR Borisenko conducted 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. [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].
Andrey also performed the weekly checkup on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) UOV air purification filter unit of the SM’s & FGB’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on total operating time & “On” durations for reporting to TsUP-Moscow.
Before sleeptime, FE-6 Fossum will do the weekly transfer of HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) and EarQ software data files from the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) to an SSC (Station Support Computer) for downlink to the ground. [Since MEC files cannot be pulled down directly by the ground after the recent SSCv4 software transition, the crew has to transfer the files to a USB drive and from there to an SSC server for subsequent downlink.]
In support of ground-commanded operation of the ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera) hardware, Furukawa opened the US Lab window shutter using the WORF (Window Observational Research Facility) shutter handle. [Shutter opening must be done “slowly and deliberately”. ISSAC is operational and conducting EarthKAM-independent operations in the WORF rack in the Lab. Its predecessor, AgCam, was a multi-spectral camera for taking images, in visible and infrared light, of vegetated areas on the Earth, principally of growing crops, rangeland, grasslands, forests, and wetlands in the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States. It was found to have operational problems and was discontinued in 2009.]
FE-1, FE-3, FE-4, FE-5 & FE-6 were scheduled for 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), Satoshi at ~4:25am, Sergei at ~7:40am, Sasha at 8:25am, Ron at ~9:20am, Mike at ~4:00pm.
The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-3, FE-5, FE-6), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (FE-1, FE-3, FE-4, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-4), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (CDR).
Jobs listed on the voluntary “Job Jar” task list for the USOS crew Fossum, Garan & Furukawa for today were –
Unpacking Progress 42P,
Unpacking Progress 43P,
Prepacking BXF (Boiling eXperiment Facility) hardware for return,
Searching for ERB (Erasmus Recording Binocular) grounding strap,
Removing & replacing failed LHA (Lamp Housing Assembly) in Node-1,
Cleaning & lubricating PWD BA (Potable Water Dispenser Beverage Adapter), and
Replacing WHC KTO (Waste & Hygiene Compartment Solid Waste Container).
Jobs listed for the RS crew Samokutyayev, Borisenko & Volkov today on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” task list were –
Cleaning the GZhT-1,-2,-3 gas-liquid heat exchanger grills in the FGB,
Another ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera photography with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens [uplinked targets were Bear Glacier, the glaciers of the Tien Shan river valley. Irkut, Lake Baikal, Halhingol irrigation system in China, p. Zeya, Khabarovsk Territory, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Katun preserve, Sayan, Libya infrastructure, Crimea, Taman, the Don river valley, Ural, Katun preserve. Europe, Voronezh Region, and the island of Berezhnovka],
A 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,
Installing a pack of SLG wet wipes in the Matryoshka-R radiation protection cover in CQ2 (Crew Quarters 2),
A photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining photo & video data on oceanic color bloom patterns in the Central-East Atlantic, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop, and
Preparing & downlinking more reportages (text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb).
No CEO targets uplinked for today.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:59am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 388.4 km
Apogee height – 395.7 km
Perigee height – 381.2 km
Period — 92.32 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0010713
Solar Beta Angle — -0.2 deg (magnitude bottoming out)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 0 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 72,346
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations————-
07/08/11 — STS-135/Atlantis launch ULF7 (MPLM) – 11:27am
07/10/11 — STS-135/Atlantis docking ULF7 (MPLM) ~11:09am
07/12/11 — EVA (Garan & Fossum) ~8:50am, 6h30m
07/18/11 — STS-135/Atlantis undock ULF7 (MPLM) – 1:59pm
07/20/11 — STS-135/Atlantis landing KSC ~7:07am
07/27/11 — Russian EVA #29
08/29/11 — Progress M-11M/43P undocking
08/30/11 — Progress M-12M/44P launch
09/01/11 — Progress M-12M/44P docking (SM aft)
09/08/11 – Soyuz TMA-21/26S undock/landing (End of Increment 28)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/22/11 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S launch – D.Burbank (CDR-30)/A.Shkaplerov/A.Ivanishin
09/24/11 – Soyuz TMA-03M/28S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/25/11 — Progress M-10M/42P undocking
10/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P launch
10/28/11 — Progress M-13M/45P docking (DC-1)
11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-02M/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit
12/02/11 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock
12/27/11 — Progress M-14M/46P launch
12/29/11 — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1)
02/29/12 — ATV3 launch readiness
03/05/12 — Progress M-12M/44P undock
03/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov
04/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S docking (MRM2)
————–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)
05/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
05/31/12 – Soyuz TMA-06M/31S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/18/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/02/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
10/04/12 – Soyuz TMA-07M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-08M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/02/12 – Soyuz TMA-08M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
03/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-08M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-09M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-10M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-12M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 – Soyuz TMA-12M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 – Soyuz TMA-11M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
