NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 5 February 2012
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday C Crew off duty. Ahead: Week 11 of Increment 30 (six-person crew).
>>>Today 41 years ago (1971), Apollo 14, crewed by CDR Alan Shepard, CMP Stuart Roosa and LMP Edgar Mitchell, landed at Fra Mauro on the Moon, During two EVAs, Shepard and Mitchell collected 42 kg of rocks, and Big Al became the first human to hit a golf ball on another world (actually two). The Command Module, having remained in lunar orbit with Stu Roosa, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 2/9. It was the 8th flight in the Apollo Program and the 3rd to land on the Moon.<<<
After wakeup this morning, FE-2 Ivanishin performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
Continuing their support of the SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity) experiment, CDR Burbank & FE-5 Kuipers logged their daily diet of the current Session 2 (Low Salt Diet) on their electronic log.
FE-6 Pettit took photographs of his diet and pH logsheets of his Pro K (Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect against Changes in Bone Metabolism during Spaceflight and Recovery) session ending on 1/27 and saved them on the OpsLAN computer for downlink. [For Pro K, there are five in-flight sessions (FD15, FD30, FD60, FD120, FD180) of samplings, to be shared with the NUTRITION w/Repository protocol, each one with five days of diet & urine pH logging and photography on the last day (science sessions are often referred to by Flight Day 15, 30, 60, etc. However, there are plus-minus windows associated with these time points so a “Flight Day 15” science session may not actually fall on the crewmember’s 15th day on-orbit). The crewmember prepares a diet log and then annotates quantities of food packets consumed and supplements taken. Urine collections are spread over 24 hrs; samples go into the MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) within 30 min after collection. Blood samples, on the last day, are centrifuged in the RC (Refrigerated Centrifuge) and placed in MELFI at -80 degC. There is an 8-hr fasting requirement prior to the blood draw (i.e., no food or drink, but water ingestion is encouraged). MELFI constraints: Maximum MELFI Dewar open time: 60 sec; at least 45 min between MELFI Dewar door openings.]
At ~9:35am EST, Don turned on the MPC (Multi Protocol Converter) and started the Ku-band data flow of video recorded during the Lego Land Yacht EPO (Education Program Operation) session to the ground, with POIC (Payload Operations & Integration Center) routing the onboard HRDL (High-Rate Data Link). After about 8.5 hrs, FE-6 will turn MPC routing off again.
Anton Shkaplerov conducted the routine daily 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 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].
CDR, FE-4, FE-5 & FE-6 conducted 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), Andre at ~3:00am, Oleg at ~5:00am, Don at ~11:15am, Dan at ~2:30pm EST.
The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (CDR, FE-6), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-2, FE-4), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (CDR, FE-4, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-5), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-1, FE-2).
Tasks listed for Shkaplerov, Kononenko & Ivanishin on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were C
* 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, aiming for Darwin Island, Volcano Cordon-Kaul and the glaciers of Patagonia,
* A 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-Eastern Pacific, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop,
* 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,
* A video recording by the cosmonauts to be used in a joint project of Roskosmos TV Studio with Karusel (Carousel) TV Channel for children ages 8 to 12 years, the “It’s Time to go to space!” program, which has a segment where Russian cosmonauts are discussing their work &, answer viewers’ questions (currently they are working on a New Year episode). The footage was then to be downlinked to TsUP-Moscow,
* A video recording by the cosmonauts to be used by the United Media Group TV studio which is developing a series of programs titled “Science 2.0” [all programs and science documentaries created for this project are aired on “Russia2”, “Russia24” and “My Planet” channels. So far some documentaries have already been shown as part of “Science 2.0” including “Space: One Step to Launch”, “The evolution of the Spacesuit”, “A Launch Site in French Guiana”, and a film about nutrition in space. Currently, the studio is developing a documentary about space medicine (which includes the daily physical exercise regimen using training equipment onboard ISS RS). and
* Taking documentary photographs through SM windows of the removable cassettes S #9-S and SKK #2-DC1, installed on the cylindrical portion of the SM propulsion compartment between planes I and IV, and on the DC1 Docking Compartment.
No CEO targets uplinked for today.
Conjunction Alert: Flight Controllers are tracking a conjunction with Object 27098 (PSLV debris) with two TCAs (Times of Closest Approach) at Tuesday, 2/7, at 10:50am & 12:22pm EST. Controllers are currently logging this conjunction as a low-concern level because the debris object does not exhibit extremely high drag characteristics (although it is draggier than ISS, which is typical) and the predicted space weather is expected to be quiet for the next three days. These features should lead to fairly stable miss distances overall. If a DAM (Debris Avoidance Maneuver) should become necessary, it would have an estimated TIG (Time of Ignition) of 8:32am on Tuesday. [PSLV = Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, an Indian four-stage launcher. This object is a piece from the fragmentation of the fourth stage of the 2001 launch of this launcher type. The breakup occurred approximately two months after its successful launch and payload deployment.]
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 5:26am EST [= epoch])
Mean altitude C 391.4 km
Apogee height C 405.1 km
Perigee height C 377.7 km
Period — 92.38 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0020234
Solar Beta Angle — 32.2 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.59
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 75 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 75,731
Time in orbit (station) — 4825 days
Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4112 days
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations—————-
02/16/12 — Russian EVA-30
03/09/12 — ATV3 launch — (target date)
03/19/12 — ATV3 docking — (target date)
04/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-22/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon launch
xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon berthing
xx/xx/12 — SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon unberth
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S launch C G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Volkov (target date)
05/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S docking (MRM2) (target date)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
TBD — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA C launch on Proton (under review)
04/xx/12 — Progress M-14M/46P undock
04/18/12 — Progress M-15M/47P launch
04/20/12 — Progress M-15M/47P docking
TBD — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) C docking (under review)
xx/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S launch C S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
06/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/26/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch C K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
09/28/12 C Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/26/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch C C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
11/28/12 C Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/19/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
04/02/13 C Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch C P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
04/04/13 C Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/16/13 C Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/13 C Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch C M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/31/13 C Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 C Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 C Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch C M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 C Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 C Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 C Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch C K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 C Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 C Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
