NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 4 April 2009

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Day 8 of joint E18/19 operations for CDR Fincke, CDR-19 Padalka, FE-1 Lonchakov, FE-1-19 Barratt, FE-2 Wakata, and SFP Simonyi. Saturday — [Today starts “Yuri’s Night 09′ The World Party For Space”, a week-long global celebration of human space exploration with over 150 parties in 40 countries on 6 continents, culminating in the actual Yuri’s Night on April 12 with the 48th observance of the first human spaceflight, piloted by Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and the 28th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle flight (STS-1), crewed by John Young and Bob Crippen. Let’s join in! Pojechali!]

Yuri Lonchakov & Mike Fincke spent an hour in the TMA-13 Descent Module (SA) supporting Part 2 of the ground-commanded Part 2 of the checkout of the SUD (Motion Control System), Mode 2/”Docked”. [Included in the checkout were pressurization of the KDU Combined Propulsion System Section 2 and Tank 2, a test of the pilot’s RUO rotational hand controller, and a hot firing of the DPO braking thrusters. KDU maneuver thrusters and DPO lateral thrusters were not fired. For the test, the science windows in the US Lab and Kibo module were shuttered, and station attitude was handed over to Russian thruster control at 7:09am EDT, commanded to free drift at 7:24am, then back to LVLH XVV (Local Vertical Local Horizontal/x-axis in velocity vector) attitude. The one-minute firing started on Daily Orbit 1 at ~7:30am. Attitude control was returned to the U.S. segment (USOS) at 7:50am.]

In the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module), FE-2 Wakata set up the G1 video camcorder with MPC (Multipurpose Converter) and IPU (Image Processing Unit) for high definition TV plus the NIKON D2Xs camera and JAXA E3 camera, then conducted the Commercial3 program. [This involved shooting high-definition onboard scenes featuring his wristwatch and other objects for commercial use, then opening the JPM window shutters and taking photos of the earth with JEM E3 Camera for commercial use. Later, the activity was closed down and the equipment stowed.]

After Mike Fincke started METOX (Metal Oxide) regeneration on two METOX CO2 absorption canisters (#0016, #0022) from the 15A spacewalks yesterday in the US Airlock, Mike Barratt, with Col. Mike assisting, today terminated the “bakeout” process.

FE-1-19 Barratt also performed the weekly “T+2d” inflight microbiology analyses for the samples collected on 4/2 from the PWD Hot tap after the recent 17-hr iodine soak of its microbial filter.

Gennady Padalka conducted the periodic (currently daily) checkout & performance verification of IP-1 airflow sensors in the various RS (Russian Segment) hatchways, including the passageways PrK (SM Transfer Compartment)-PrK-RO (SM Working Compartment), PkhO (SM Transfer Tunnel)-RO, PkhO-DC1, PkhO-FGB PGO, FGB PGO-FGB GA, FGB GA-Node-1. [This checkup is especially important when the ventilation/circulation system has to cope with a larger crew on board, currently six persons, and one of the two Russian SKV air conditioners off (SKV-1) because it is beyond its service life.]

Yuri Lonchakov set up the high-definition SONY HVR-Z1J camcorder for recording his activites as he installed ESA’s BIO-4 experiment units PLC (POLCA) & GVG (GRAVIGEN) in the KUBIK3 thermally controlled container. Afterwards, the video setup was torn down again.

For the fourth time, Koichi Wakata continued preparing the MELFI (Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for the ISS) for upcoming sample storage by inserting more Icepacs, i.e., retrieving two -32 degC Icepac belts and placing them into Dewar 2.

Mike Barratt performed the daily status check on the BCAT-4 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-4) science payload, running by itself since yesterday (4/3). [The status check, conducted on the last image taken by the DCS 760 digital still camera which is controlled by EarthKAM software on an A31p laptop, is to verify proper image focus and camera alignment. The SSC (Station Support Computer) is taking photography of the phase separation occurring in the BCAT Sample 3, with the photo flash going off every half hour.]

The CDR-19 performed the routine daily 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 and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.]

Padalka also completed the daily IMS (Inventory Management System) maintenance, updating/editing its standard “delta file” including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

Gennady downlinked the educational video “Life in the ISS” of himself and Mike Fincke which he had shot in his own time on 4/1. [The footage is intended for a documentary being prepared by the TV company TVTs for the recent successful Russian contest for children to create the crew patch for Soyuz TMA-14. The video should be downlinked not later than 4/5, and the documentary will be premiered on 4/11 by Roskosmos to promote Russia’s activities in space.]

Fincke, Wakata, Lonchakov & Barratt completed their regular daily 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR-19, FE-2), TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1/2.5h), and ARED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2, FE-1-19).

For SFP Charles Simonyi, scheduled VC-16 activities today included –

• Holding the daily comm session via TLF (phone) with his advisory team at TsUP/Moscow,
• Conducting a ham radio session,
• Working with his email,
• Conducting his IP-Phone call to the ground, and
• Performing Earth photography plus copying the pictures to his HDD (Hard Disk Drive) for return.

Weekly Science Update (Expedition Nineteen — Week 1)

3-D SPACE: First session for Koichi was successfully performed on 3/23. “Thank you for alerting us before you began, that you had to attend to robotic operations during the experiment protocol. We have confirmed with the scientist(s) that this has no consequences to the experiment objectives. Also, ground teams greatly appreciated Koichi’s feedback at the end of the session about the digital table pen.”

ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.

BCAT-3/4 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 3/4): Planned.

BIO-4: “Thank you so much for all the hard work you did on the BCAT-4 experiment today. Your precision picture taking and tenacity to get everything accomplished are very much appreciated! We are looking at the images as they are being posted on NASA’s Digital Imagery Management System (DIMS) exchange and are very encouraged and excited about studying what we are seeing. We will give you feedback on what we discover about the crystals in the (Chaikin/Hollingsworth) NYU samples 8-10 which have never grown (i.e., formed order out of disorder) on Earth. Sample 2 (Weitz and Lu) is a Harvard sample that our PI says is well focused and he also thanks you and requests that you keep up the good work.”

BIOLAB (BLB): Two anomalies are being investigated: 1) leak of the Life Support System (LSS) loop; 2) bad alignment of bellow door for Rotor B.

BISPHOSPHONATES: “Koichi, thanks for your continued support of this experiment.”

CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.

CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): “Mike, thanks for completing your last on-orbit CCISS session and for your help in fixing the Actiwatch Reader. We look forward to seeing you on the ground in Russia.”

CFE (Capillary Flow Experiment): Reserve.

CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete.

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): Ongoing.

CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): Complete.

DomeGene (JAXA): “On GMT87 and 88, all the activity of DomeGene has finished. Thank you for your support.”

EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): Complete.

EDR (European Drawer Rack): The rack is continuously active in support of the PCDF (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility) experiment. EDR is providing power/data and temperature control (via cooling loop) to PCDF. Some initial glitches have been encountered with the EDR Video Management Unit (VMU), via which high-rate science data is routed and recorded (contingency imagery data storage). Science data is nevertheless transmitted to ground.

ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): Planned.

ENose (Electronic Nose): Operating.

EPM (European Physiology Module): Underway.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations): Reserve.

ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.

EuTEF (European Technology Exposure Facility): Platform nominal, except for re-occurring MIL-Bus errors. DEBIE-2: the instrument continues to start generating empty science packets at regular intervals (of 30 to 34hrs). Science acquisition is pursued with regular power cycling of the instrument (work-around);.DOSTEL / EXPOSE: On-going science acquisition – nominal. FIPEX: weekly script for science acquisition has been successfully uplinked on 4/1. MEDET: On-going science acquisition – nominal. On 3/31, some commanding have been successfully performed to modify the acquisition parameters of the instrument. TRIBOLAB: Test on Ball Bearing experiment on 3/27 was unsuccessful. Instrument is back in stand-by mode (SBM).

FACET: “As a result of trouble shooting for Thermo Module #3 of SCOF Ice Crystal Cell in GMT92 (replacement from Ice Crystal cell to Facet cell), it has been cleared that the cause of failure was TM #3 of SCOF Ice Crystal Cell, not driver board in SCOF Experiment Facility. So we will start the FACET experiments as planned.”

FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory): Ongoing.

GEOFLOW: Aborted. “The return of the Experiment Container is confirmed with 15A.”

HDTV System Test DL (JAXA): Complete.

Holter: From GMT92 to 93, the first measurement (and last in this increment) was conducted by Koichi.

ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.

IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): Complete.

InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): Complete.

Integrated Immune: “Mike, thanks for your willingness to support back-to-back Integrated Immune sessions. The samples from the 15A stage look great and the data is currently being processed. The ground team is looking forward to your last set of blood samples to return on the Soyuz with you.”

KUBIK-FM1/ KUBIK-FM2 Centrifuge/Incubators: Completed.

LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): Completed.

Marangoni Experiment for ISS in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): In progress.

Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.

MISSE (Materials ISS Experiment): Ongoing.

Moon Photography from ISS (JAXA EPO): Complete.

MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox): Complete.

MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC1 “Pirs”.

MULTIGEN-1: Completed.

NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete.

NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY: “Mike, thanks for the great work in completing your FD180 Nutrition session. It has truly been a pleasure having you participate in the Nutrition experiment in-flight operations. The PI appreciated the laugh on console this week from your April Fool’s joke but was not fooled. Thanks again! Koichi, thanks for all your the hard work and attention to detail in completing your FD15 session within the timeline constraints. We received all of the information you placed in crew notes and are very thankful. Your next Nutrition session is your FD30.”

PADLES (Passive Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): In progress.

PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): On 3/24 evening, the first PCDF science run has been started. After the 15A Shuttle undock, a re-run of this first cycle for PCDF reactor 4 was started on 3/28. An off-nominal reboot of PCDF occurred on 4/1 and again on 4/2. The script was restarted after every occurrence. Science impact is under assessment and consists in loss of imagery for some hours and change in the temperature profile for this cycle.

PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): Complete.

PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.

RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete.

SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): Ongoing.

SAMPLE: Complete.

SHERE (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment): Complete.

SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): “Mike, your only remaining activity is to doff the Actiwatch on ISS prior to undock. Another crewmember will download the data that you are currently taking. Koichi, thanks for completing your first week of sleep logs. Your remaining activities include monthly Actiwatch downloads, two more weeks of sleep logging, and doffing the Actiwatch on the Shuttle.”

SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory): Recent Sun observation window started on 3/23 , slightly later than predicted (i.e. on 3/22), due to high Yaw, Pitch, Roll angles for ISS. Nominal science acquisition for both SOLSPEC and SOLACES. Three criss-cross manoeuvres have been successfully performed on 3/30. The Sun observation window ended on 4/2.

SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): Experiment completed by Mike Fincke. Blood and urine samples are now stowed in MELFI for return on 2J/A.

SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): Reserve.

SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): Reserve.

Swab (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): Complete.

TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.

ULTRASOUND: Planned.

VLE (Video Lessons ESA): VLE-1 completed.

WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels): Complete/Planned (2J/A Stage).

CEO (Crew Earth Observations): Through GMT Day 87 we have received a total of 25,735 frames of your CEO imagery for review and cataloguing. Photos with times corresponding to our CEO target times are reviewed first and this week include: Etosha Pan Inundation, Namibia – 13 frames – target acquired – under review; Mount Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 4 frames; and White Island Volcano, North Island, New Zealand – 3 frames. Your beautiful, detailed view of the Atafu Atoll, Tokelau Islands, South Pacific Ocean will be published on NASA/GSFC’s Earth Observatory website this weekend. This early January photo, with its excellent focus and composition is an excellent illustration of atoll development. Nice shot! As we reach the conclusion of Increment 18 the CEO team would like to express its appreciation to the crew for its diligent support of our payload and its objectives. Your imagery has greatly enhanced out collections and provided us with a number of “best ever views” of our targets. We’ve immensely enjoyed working with you and look forward to seeing you in the near future.”

CEO photo targets uplinked for today were Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes, Egypt (looking right to document water levels in the Toshka lakes and Lake Nasser. The chain of lakes was generated by diverting water from Lake Nasser into depressions in Egypt’s southern desert. Waters in these lakes rose for several years after construction of the feeder canals from Lake Nasser. But for the last few flood seasons water levels have been declining — as shown by the gray rims around the lakes in this ISS17 image. This trend is expected to continue since longer-term Nile discharge is largely controlled by fluctuations of rainfall in equatorial Africa related to El Nino), and Island wake clouds, Canary Islands, NE Atlantic Ocean (Dynamic event. Looking left and nadir for likely wake clouds downwind (south) of the Canary Island chain. Under high pressure conditions, wake clouds often meander strongly–producing so-called von Karman vortices).

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 morning, 7:26am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude — 353.4 km
Apogee height – 359.6 km
Perigee height — 347.2 km
Period — 91.61 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0009211
Solar Beta Angle — -30.2 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 56 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 59435

Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
04/07/09 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S undocking (11:52pm EDT)
04/08/09 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S deorbit burn (2:24am); landing (~3:15am)
05/06/09 — Progress 32P undocking & deorbit
05/07/09 — Progress 33P launch
05/12/09 — STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
05/12/09 — Progress 33P docking
05/27/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S launch
05/29/09 — Soyuz TMA-15/19S docking (FGB nadir)
06/13/09 — STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch – JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
Six-person crew on ISS
07/17/09 — Progress 33P undock & deorbit
07/20/09 — Soyuz TMA-14/18S relocation (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) — tentative
11/10/09 — Soyuz 5R/MRM2 (Russian Mini Research Module, MIM2) on Soyuz — tentative
11/12/09 — STS-129/Atlantis/ULF3 – ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 — STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola — tentative
02/11/10 — STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P), LMC — tentative
04/08/10 — STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1 — tentative
05/31/10 — STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4 — tentative
12/XX/11 — Proton 3R/MLM w/ERA.