NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 30 January 2010

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – crew rest day.
At wake-up, FE-4 Kotov began his day with the regular daily checkup of the aerosol filters at the Elektron O2 generator. [The filters were installed by FE-1 Suraev on 10/19/09 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). Photographs are to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.]
The five-member crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning, including COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) and Kibo. ["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.]
As part of the house cleaning, Maxim & Oleg conducted regular maintenance inspection & cleaning on Group E fan screens in SM and TsV2 in the FGB.
CDR Williams completed the regular bi-monthly reboots of the OCA Router and FS SSC (File Server Station Support Computer) laptops.
About 10 min after A31p FS reboot, Jeff also rebooted all T61p ISS servers laptops.
In preparation of Progress 36P arrival (2/4), Williams installed the alignment guides on the CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack) in the Lab to protect the PaRIS (Passive Rack Isolation System) from structural dynamics disturbances.
The CDR filled out his weekly FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). [On the FFQs, NASA 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.]
FE-6 Creamer took IMV (Intermodule Module Ventilation) flow measurements for specific locations in the SM (Service Module), Lab, Node-2 & Node-1, using the electronic Velocicalc instrument at the various IMV outlets.
Williams, Creamer & Noguchi each performed a VolSci (Voluntary Weekend Science) activity: –
- After setting up the camcorder for recording video, Jeff reviewed instructions and then conducted the EPO (Educational Program Operations) discussion & demo of “Centripetal Force & Acceleration”, on practical uses of centripetal force & acceleration onboard the ISS [for example, centrifugal force, i.e. slow crewmember rotation (~15 RPM), is being used in zero-G to “degas” CWCs (Contingency Water Containers) and other water bags];
- TJ worked in COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) on the BLB BGB (BIOLAB Bioglovebox), checking leak tightness (hermeticity) of BGB seals and gloves, and
- Soichi set up the MD (Marangoni Deformation) core on the MWA I/F (Maintenance Work Area Interface) B in Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module), performed a leak check and prepared for a new experiment run by taking out silicone oil from the used MS PTV05 Cassette and supplying it to the MD30 Cooling Disk.
The crewmembers worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-5), TVIS treadmill (FE-1, FE-4), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (CDR, FE-1, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR, FE-6), and VELO ergometer bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-4).
At ~12:25pm, TJ had his weekly PFC (Private Family Conference), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop).
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Twenty-Two — Week 9)
3-D SPACE: No report.
AgCam (Agricultural Camera): No report.
ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.
ALTEA DOSI (NASA/ASI): No report.
APEX (Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit) -Cambium: No report.
APEX-TAGES (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System): No report.
BCAT-4/5 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 4/5): No report.
BIOLAB (ESA): No report.
BIORHYTHMS (JAXA, Biological Rhythms): No report.
BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): No report.
BISPHOSPHONATES: “Jeff & Soichi, thanks for completing your pill ingestion. Your next session is scheduled for 1/31.”
CARD (Long Term Microgravity: Model for Investigating Mechanisms of Heart Disease, ESA): No report.
CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.
CB (JAXA Clean Bench): No report.
CBEF (JAXA Cell Biology Experiment Facility)/SPACE SEED: CBEF fan repair (micro-G section) on 1/29.
CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): No report.
CERISE (JAXA): Samples will return on the next shuttle.
CETSOIL (ESA): MSRR-1 activities have continued with the processing of the MICAST#3 Sample Cartridge Assembly (SCA) on 1/26 & 1/27. After the MSL facility activation, an issue occurred with an incorrect sample temperature reading preventing the chamber lid opening for the SCA exchange. Luckily, a manual workaround was able to override the thermocouple readings, which allowed the chamber lid to be opened. The SCA was exchanged for MICAST#6 on 1/25. This cartridge will be processed next week. Our plan is to process a total of four SCAs which will later be brought back on STS-130 (20A).
CFE (Capillary Flow Experiment): Reserve.
CSI-3/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #2/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): Ongoing.
CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete.
CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack), MDCA/Flex: No report.
CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): Complete.
Commercial Photo (JAXA): No report.
CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete.
DECLIC (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids & Crystallization, CNES/NASA): No report.
DomeGene (JAXA): Complete.
DOSIS (ESA): Acquiring science data.
EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): No report.
EDR (European Drawer Rack, ESA): The rack is continuously active in support of the Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility (PCDF) experiment. EDR is providing power/data and temperature control (via cooling loop) to PCDF.
ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned.
EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): No report.
ENose (Electronic Nose): No report.
EPM (European Physiology Module): No report.
EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA): Jeff completed the EPO-Rotation Set-Demo. EPO is currently waiting to obtain video copies and review the video. The video could be used towards the YouTube Project and EPO education activities.
EPO LES-2 (ESA): No report.
EPO 3-min Video (JAXA): No report.
EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): Ongoing.
EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Photography.
EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report.
EPO Moon Score (JAXA): No report.
EPO Try Zero-G (JAXA): No report.
EPO Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): Making an origami (1/28, Soichi)
EPO Poem (JAXA): No report.
EPO Spiral Top (JAXA): No report.
ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.
FACET (JAXA): No report.
FIR/LMM/CVB (Fluids Integrated Rack / Light Microscopy Module / Constrained Vapor Bubble): No report.
FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report.
FOAM STABILITY (ESA): Tapes were returned on ULF3.
FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory, ESA): No report.
GEOFLOW: No report.
HAIR (JAXA): No report.
HDTV System (JAXA): Was delivered by HTV1.
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): No report.
ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.
ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): No report.
IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.
INTEGRATED IMMUNE: No report.
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): No report.
IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report.
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): No report.
Marangoni UVP (JAXA): “The experiment setup was completed, and we succeeded in making the silicone oil liquid bridge without any obvious leak! We can now re-start the experiment. Many many thanks to Soichi for his great job of leak repair!” [with Elmer’s Glue!]
MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, JAXA): Continuing observation operation.
Marangoni UVP: Leak repair from 01/11-01/15.
MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report.
MDCA/Flex: See under CIR.
Microbe-1 (JAXA): No report.
Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report.
MISSE (Materials ISS Experiment): Ongoing.
MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox): Complete.
MSL (Materials Science Laboratory): Processed SCAs from CETSOL and MICAST were returned on ULF3.
MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC-1 “Pirs”.
MULTIGEN-1: Completed.
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.
PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 3; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): No report.
PASSAGES (JAXA): No report.
PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): No report.
PCG (JAXA, Protein Crystal Growth): No report.
PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): Complete.
PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.
POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete.
RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete.
RadSilk (JAXA): Samples were returned to ground on ULF3.
RST/Reaction Self Test (Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS): “Jeff, TJ, and Soichi: thank you for participating in Reaction Self Test!”
SAIBO Rack (JAXA): “CB port cap reattached, 1/28.”
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 observation operations.
SHERE (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment): Complete.
SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report.
SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): “Jeff and TJ: Thanks for completing another week of Sleep logging. Jeff, you are currently scheduled to perform the next Actiwatch download/initialization session next week. During this session you will also replace the 9v battery in the Actiwatch reader.”
SMILES (JAXA): Continuing observations.
SODI/IVIDIL (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Influence of Vibration on Diffusion in. Liquids, ESA): IVIDIL hardware has been removed from the MSG on 1/28. Experiment considered complete. “Thanks to all crew who contributed!”
SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory) Currently out of sun visibility.
SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): No report.
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): No report.
SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): No report.:
SPINAL (Spinal Elongation): No report.
SWAB (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): No report.
THERMOLAB (ESA): “Thanks Jeff for your fourth THERMOLAB session. The data has been provided to the science team.”
TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.
ULTRASOUND: Planned.
VASCULAR (CSA): “Jeff, thanks for completing your blood draw.”
VO2max (NASA): “Jeff, thanks for completing your fourth VO2max session! We received the data on the ground and everything looks good. We liked your recommendation of temp stowing the PPFS hardware in the JPM; hope that went well. If in the future you’d like to save a little time, it would be okay to temp stow the MBS.”.
VLE (Video Lessons ESA): VLE-1 completed.
WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels): No report.
YEAST B (ESA): No report.
CEO (Crew Earth Observations): Through 1/26, the ground has received a total of 32,811 frames of ISS-22 CEO imagery for review and cataloguing. “That’s over 8,000 frames since last week! We are pleased to report your acquisition of imagery for the following CEO Target Requests: Kabul, Afghanistan – good mapping session – we will try again for less clouds; Muscat, Oman – several frames – will try again for better focus; Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – excellent context views – we are looking now for more frames from that session acquired with the long lens; and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea – nailed it – must try again with better lighting conditions. One of your detailed views of the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti was annotated and compared with imagery from Increment 20 for NASA/PAO. This past weekend, one of your excellent responses to a recent CEO Target request (Dubai “Palms” and “World”, United Arab Republic) was published on NASA/GSFC’s Earth Observatory website. In one particularly fine view, you acquired not only a detailed view of both of these internationally renowned man-made structures, but also visible is the shadow of the world’s tallest structure, the Burj Tower. That was quite a coup! Thanks, our hats are off to you.”
CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo targets uplinked for today were Madrid, Spain (clear weather was predicted to hold over Madrid during this overpass. The capital city of Spain is also the third-largest metro area in Europe [after Paris and London]. Looking slightly to the right of track during the descending pass over the target. Overlapping mapping frames of the urban area were requested), and Sudbury Impact Crater, Ontario, Canada (weather was predicted to be clear over this impact crater. ISS had a nadir-viewing pass over the impact crater, which is likely to be snow-covered. The originally circular Sudbury Impact Crater, formed approximately 2 billion years ago, has been deformed into an elliptical shape by subsequent geological processes. Overlapping mapping frames, taken along track, were requested).
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
02/02/10 — Progress M-04M/36P launch (10:45pm EST)
02/04/10 — Progress M-04M/36P docking (~11:26pm EST)
02/07/10 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 “Tranquility”+Cupola (launch 4:39am EST)
02/09/10 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A docking (~1:25am)
- 02/11/10 — EVA-1 (10:35pm)
- 02/12/10 — EVA-2 (10:05pm)
- 02/13/10 — Cupola relocation
- 02/15/10 — EVA-3 (10:05pm)
02/17/10 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A undock (7:15pm)
02/19/10 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A KSC landing (11:17pm)
03/18/10 — Soyuz TMA-16/20S undock/landing
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/18/10 — STS-131/Discovery/19A – MPLM(P), LMC (launch ~1:30pm EST)
04/02/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S launch – Skvortsov (CDR-24)/Caldwell/Kornienko
04/04/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————–
04/27/10 — Progress M-03M/35P undock
04/28/10 — Progress M-05M/37P launch
04/30/10 — Progress M-05M/37P docking
05/14/10 — STS-132/Atlantis/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM-1 (~2:00pm EST)
05/10/10 — Progress M-04M/36P undock
05/31/10 — Soyuz TMA-17/21S undock/landing
————–Three-crew operations————-
06/14/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S launch – Wheelock (CDR-25)/Walker/Yurchikhin
06/16/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————–
07/xx/10 — US EVA-15
07/xx/10 — Russian EVA-25
06/28/10 — Progress M-06M/38P launch
07/02/10 — Progress M-06M/38P docking
07/26/10 — Progress M-05M/37P undock
07/27/10 — Progress M-07M/39P launch
07/29/10 — Progress M-07M/39P docking
07/29/10 — STS-134/Endeavour (ULF6 – ELC3, AMS-02) (~7:30am EST)
08/30/10 — Progress M-06M/38P undock
08/31/10 — Progress M-08M/40P launch
09/02/10 — Progress M-08M/40P docking
09/15/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S undock/landing
09/16/10 — STS-133/Discovery (ULF5 – ELC4, PMM) (~12:01pm EST)
09/18/10 — STS-133/Discovery (ULF5 – ELC4, PMM) docking
09/22/10 — STS-133/Discovery (ULF5 – ELC4, PMM) undock
09/30/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S launch – Kelly (CDR-26)/Kaleri/Skripochka
10/xx/10 — Russian EVA-26
10/26/10 — Progress M-07M/39P undock
10/27/10 — Progress M-09M/41P launch
10/29/10 — Progress M-09M/41P docking
11/15/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S undock/landing
11/18/10 — ATV2 launch– Ariane 5 (ESA) U/R
11/30/10 — Soyuz TMA-21/25S launch – Kondratyev (CDR-27)/Coleman/Nespoli
12/15/10 — Progress M-08M/40P undock
12/17/10 — ATV2 docking
02/08/11 — Progress M-09M/41P undock
02/09/11 — Progress M-10M/42P launch
02/11/11 — Progress M-10M/42P docking
03/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/26S launch
xx/xx/11 — Progress M-11M/43P launch
05/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/27S launch
12/??/11 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton.
Of Note: On Tuesday (1/26), the third volume (800 pages) of “Rockets and People” (Rakety i lyudi), the remarkable memoirs of 97-year old Russian space pioneer Academician Boris Evseyevich Chertok, was presented to Dr. Chertok and colleagues in Moscow at Bauman Moscow Technical University. The four-volume memoirs are being published, with the support of the ISS Program Office, by the NASA HQ History Division (Series Editor: Dr. Asif Siddiqi). B.E. Chertok was one of the Deputies (Guidance & Control Systems) of Soviet Russia’s Chief Designer of Space Vehicles, Sergei P. Korolev, the man behind Sputnik 1 and Yuri Gagarin.