NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 31 May 2009
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday – off-duty day for Exp-20 crewmembers CDR Gennady Padalka (Russia), FE-1 Michael Barratt (USA), FE-2 Koichi Wakata (Japan), FE-3 Roman Romanenko (Russia), FE-4 Robert Thirsk (Canada), and FE-5 Frank DeWinne (Belgium).
The FE-2 continued his third session of sleep logging for the experiment SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) from his Actiwatch to the HRF-1 (Human Research Facility 1) laptop as part of a week-long session. [To monitor the crewmember’s sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Koichi wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition and uses the payload software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment’s laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.]
Padalka & Romanenko performed the periodic maintenance of the active Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System) by starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The process will be terminated at ~5:00pm EDT. Bed #1 regeneration was performed yesterday. [Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. The BMP’s regeneration cycle is normally done every 20 days. (Last time done: 5/10-5/11).]
FE-5 DeWinne supported a ground-controlled checkout of the JAXA PROX (Proximity Communication System) from SSIPC (Space Station Integration & Promotion Center)/Tsukuba by turning on the power switch of the PROX rack in the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). [This involved getting behind a HCP (Hardware Command Panel) cable guard cloth flap and activating two switches, while coordinating with MCC-Houston. PROX will be required for the HTV (H-II Transfer Vehicle) arrival before it will be berthed with the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System).]
Padalka & Romanenko performed another inspection of the 4GB4 hydraulic unit of the KOB-2 (Loop 2) of the Russian SOTR Thermal Control System, checking for presence of coolant. [On 5/19, the CDR had replaced a pump unit of the 4SPN1 replaceable pump panel at this location.]
As a standard procedure for newly arrived cosmonauts, Roman spent some time filling out the questionnaire for the Russian biomedical Braslet-M/Anketa ("bracelet/questionnaire") test procedure for IBMP, then transferring the data to the BSR-TM payload telemetry channel for downlinking. [The objective was for Romanenko to report on his use of a number of "bracelet" cuffs in suppressing the adverse effects of micro-G for the "newcomer" aboard the station during the acute phase of adaptation to weightlessness, if there are such indications. Questions pertained to actual use (if used at all, how long worn, Braslet tightness index, cuff adjustments, wearing method, etc. Dr. Valeriy Bogomolov’s "bracelets" are compression cuffs attached to a belt and worn on the upper thighs over the coveralls, intended as countermeasures against the initial micro-G effects of blood filling (vascularity) in the upper torso (heaviness and blood pulsation in the head), facial puffiness, nasal stuffiness, painful eye movement, and vestibular disorders (dizziness, nausea, vomiting). They create artificial blood accumulation in the upper thirds of the thighs, causing some of the circulating blood volume to relocate from the upper body to the lower extremities, thereby (hopefully) correcting the adverse hemodynamic effect of micro-G and thus improving the crewmember’s working capability. The actual compression cuff in the Braslet units is a combination of alternating multi-layer tensile and non-tensile elements, whose distension by body movements creates elastic forces that produce the necessary pressure on the body surface.]
Padalka meanwhile 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, Padalka 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 ASU panel 139 in the SM on a fluid connector (MNR-NS) of the SM-U urine collection system, looking for potential moisture.
At the Lab CHeCS (Crew Health Care System) rack, Wakata mated the ITCS MTL (Internal Thermal Control System Moderate Temperature Loop) return umbilical with QD (Quick Disconnect) to the rack UIP (Utility Interface Panel) to provide cooling to the rack.
FE-3 Romanenko received an orientation briefing on physical exercise procedures and use of the ARED (Advanced Resistive Exercise Device) in the USOS (US Segment). Similarly, FE-4 Bob Thirsk was to be checked out on exercise protocols and the TVIS treadmill.
After Wakata again set up audio/video coverage of the TVIS worksite, he continued troubleshooting the critical exercise device, first deactivating the three remaining TVIS stabilizers, then conducting another exercise run on the treadmill (see Note below). Koichi later downlinked the video & audio for ground inspection.
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 (FE-2), ARED (CDR, FE-1, FE2) and VELO cycle ergometer with bungee cord load trainer (CDR, FE-1). [On the CEVIS, the actual loads remain slightly lower than the commanded loads, but this was expected. A manual correction of the pertinent calibration coefficient via the control panel touch screen will be done at a later time when the new value has been determined.]
The three newcomers had another PMC (Private Medical Conference) via S- & Ku-band audio/video, their third, Roman at ~11:00am, Frank at ~11:30am, Bob at ~2:00pm, EDT.
The FE-1, FE-2, FE-3 & FE-5 have their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences) on their schedule, via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Mike at ~3:55pm, Koichi at ~12:42pm, Roman at ~6:10am, Frank at ~6:45am EDT.
On Gennady’s “time permitting” discretionary task list, another session of the GFI-8 "Uragan" (hurricane) earth-imaging program called for NIKON D2X digital camera photography (with 800mm telelens) of high priority targets such as fires on the Volga-Akhtyubinsk alluvial plain and in the Volga river delta, floods in the Volga-Akhtyubinsk alluvial plain and Volga river delta, Krasnaya Polyana and its mountain ski resort, the Laganaki plateau, etc.
At ~4:05am, the crew supported three Russian PAO TV events. [The six crewmembers first downlinked congratulations & conversed with the participants of the symposium "Humans in Space," then welcomed the Russian & Belorussian Youth Forum in Moscow (5/31-6/2), and thirdly congratulated Russian youth on Russia Day. (Background: By executive order of the RF President, 2009 has been declared the Year of Youth in Russia. The main goals of this year are developing the creative, scientific, and professional potential of youth, getting them actively involved in the social and economic restructuring of the country, and nurturing patriotism and civic responsibility. On June 12, Russia Day will be celebrated in Red Square in Moscow, and the ISS crew’s address will be played to the participants, while displaying the “Year of Youth” flag delivered on Soyuz 19S and the Ribbon of St. George.) The crew also wished the Republic of Kazakhstan’s Manager of the President’s Affairs, Saribai Sultanovich Kalmurzaev, a happy 60th birthday, and concluded the session with a conversation between Gennady and Yuri Mikhailovich Baturin, former pilot-cosmonaut of Russia, scientist, and journalist who will write an article in Novaya Gazeta.]
TVIS Update: This upcoming week, TVIS engineers will be working on new IFM (Inflight Maintenance) steps to access the treadmill’s electronics box and flip small switches to allow for the stabilizer gain settings to be adjusted via the control panel if this is needed at a later date. This switch will override the software and ensure that the crew does not have to perform the stabilizer deactivation steps at every TVIS exercise session. Steps will also be developed for the crewmembers to open and inspect the anomalous forward right stabilizer. Work is already in progress to manifest spare parts on 2 J/A, and this assessment will help gain further insight into the current failure.
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 noon, 7:12pm EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude — 349.6 km
Apogee height – 355.9 km
Perigee height — 343.3 km
Period — 91.53 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0009374
Solar Beta Angle — -9.6 deg (magnitude peaking)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.73
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 89 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 60332
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
06/03/09 — Orlan Suited Dry-Run (training)
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 (7:12am)
06/29/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A landing (12:18am EDT, KSC)
07/17/09 – Progress M-02M/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 MRM-2 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/MRM-2 (Russian Mini Research Module 2) 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/XX/10 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola — tentative
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P), LMC — tentative
03/05/10 — Progress 38P launch
04/02/10 — Soyuz TMA-18/22S launch
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM-1 — tentative
04/30/10 — Progress 39P launch
05/30/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S launch
06/30/10 — Progress 40P launch
07/29/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4 — tentative
07/30/10 — Progress 41P launch
09/30/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/24S launch
10/30/10 — Progress 42P launch
11/??/10 — ATV2 – Ariane 5 (ESA)
12/??/11 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton
