NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 6 November 2007
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Crew rest day.
Station sleep cycle is now back to the regular 1:00am – 4:30pm EST.
For FE-2 Dan Tani, it was Day 1 of the two-day activities of the HRF CCISS (Human Research Facility/Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS) experiment. CDR Peggy Whitson assisted with electrode placement and documentary photography. [CCISS studies the effects of long-duration spaceflight on crewmembers’ heart functions & blood pressure (=”cardiovascular”) and on the blood vessels that supply the brain (=”cerebrovascular”). Learning more about the changes in cardiovascular & cerebrovascular systems in zero-G could lead to specific countermeasures that might better protect future space travelers. Today’s activities focus on hardware set-ups including the Holter harness for heart rate monitoring (with PCMCIA card), the CBPD (Continuous Blood Pressure Device) cuffs, and two Actiwatches (not the same as for SLEEP). For the Baro study of CCIS, using finger cuffs, heart rate and blood pressure were recorded for resting and timed breathing for 5 min. Between today and tomorrow, there is also a 24-hr passive data collection period. Exercise, caffeine or food are not allowed prior to the Baro study.]
Peggy Whitson worked on updating and deploying new SODF (Station Operation Data File) Warning Books. [The new books are valid for post-P6 activation. They are deployed in the Lab, Service Module (SM), and FGB.]
FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko performed the regular daily maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM, including routine ASU toilet facilities replacings.
The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR), TVIS treadmill (FE-1, FE-2), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2), and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).
Yuri then transferred the crew’s exercise data file to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).
At ~7:35am EST, the FE-1 downlinked two PAO TV messages of greetings via S-band to TsUP/Moscow: (1) to Yaroslavl Region Militia Officers on the Day of Militia (“…Yaroslavl Militia honorably and courageously protects law and order at the birthplace of Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, Hero of the Soviet Union and first woman cosmonaut…”) ; (2) the other to TsUP Director Vladimir Ivanovich Lobachev who will have his 70 th birthday on 11/8 (“…for almost a quarter of a century, you’ve been at the helm of the Mission Control Center. We know that you started your professional career working under the direct supervision of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev… Vladimir Ivanovich, we would like to express our deep gratitude to you for your truly fatherly care for us space workers. Once again, happy birthday to you!”)
Later, at ~8:40am, FE-2 Dan Tani held a crew conference via Ku- & S-band with the next FE-2, Garrett Reisman, who will be his successor after arriving on STS-123 in February next year. [Performed every other week, these 30-min. crew conferences are being included in the current station crew’s schedule to pass on the lessons learned to the upcoming Expedition Crew. The purpose is to begin the handover process prior to the arrival on orbit through Videocons and Data Exchanges between the current crew and the upcoming crew. These tagups should start toward the end of the 1 st month on orbit.]
EWIS Update: After FE-2 Tani yesterday reconnected EWIS (External Wireless Instrumentation System) 1553 cabling in the Lab, EWIS has been successfully activated. [The structural dynamics measuring system is monitoring in “trigger” mode dynamics of the P4, P5 and S4 truss segments. Data of the activation are currently being reviewed by engineers.]
STS-120 Landing Preview: For tomorrow’s planned touchdown of STS-120/Discovery, KSC has two opportunities: i.e., from Orbits 238 & 239. Weather at KSC is forecast GO.
- First opportunity (Orbit 238):
Deorbit Burn (TIG) – 12:00pm EST
Landing — 1:02pm;
- Second opportunity (Orbit 239):
Deorbit Burn (TIG) – 1:34pm
Landing – 2:36pm
No CEO (Crew Earth Observations) target uplinked for today.
CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (about 700,000 NASA digital photographs of Earth are downloaded by the public each month from this “Gateway” site);
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/AstronautPhotography
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 4:54am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude — 342.1 km
Apogee height — 344.3 km
Perigee height — 340.0 km
Period — 91.38 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0003148
Solar Beta Angle — -48.6 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.76
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 70 m (Shuttle-caused delta-V)
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 51321
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Standard, some changes possible):
11/07/07 — STS-120/Discovery/10A landing @ KSC (FD16/1:02pm EST)
11/09/07 — EVA-5 (Peggy Whitson/Yuri Malenchenko)
11/12/07 — PMA-2 relocation to Node 2 (PMA-2 umbilicals stowed on 10A EVA-5)
11/14/07 — Node-2 (Harmony) plus PMA-2 relocation to front of Lab
11/20/07 — US EVA-10 (Peggy Whitson/Dan Tani)
11/24/07 — US EVA-11 (Peggy Whitson/Dan Tani)
12/06/07 — STS-122/Atlantis/1E launch — Columbus Module, ICC-Lite (NET)
12/08/07 — STS-122/Atlantis/1E docking
12/15/07 — STS-122/Atlantis undocking
12/18/07 — STS-122/Atlantis landing
12/22/07 — Progress M-61/26P undocking (DC1) & reentry
12/23/07 — Progress M-62/27P launch
12/25/07 — Progress M-62/27P docking (DC1)
01/31/08 — ATV-1 “Jules Verne” launch/Ariane V (Kourou, French Guyana)
01/31/08 — 50-Year Anniversary of Explorer 1 (1 st U.S. satellite on Redstone rocket)
02/06/08 – Progress M-62/27P undocking
02/07/08 — Progress M-63/28P launch
02/09/08 — Progress M-63/28P docking
02/14/08 — ATV-1 docking (SM aft port)
02/14/08 — STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A launch/1J/A — SLP-SPDM, JEM ELM-PS (NET)
02/16/08 — STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A docking
02/27/08 — STS-123/Endeavour undocking
02/29/08 — STS-123/Endeavour landing
04/08/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S launch
04/10/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S docking (DC1)
04/19/08 — Soyuz TMA-11/15S undocking (FGB nadir port)
04/23/08 — Soyuz TMA-12/16S relocation (from DC1 to FGB nadir port)
04/24/08 — STS-124/Discovery/1J launch – JEM PM “Kibo”, racks, RMS.
04/26/08 — STS-124/Discovery/1J docking
05/02/08 — STS-124/Discovery/1J undocking
05/14/08 — Progress M-64/29P launch
05/16/08 — Progress M-64/29P docking (DC1)
07/29/08 — ATV-1 undocking (from SM aft port)
08/11/08 — Progress M-64/29P undocking (from DC1)
08/12/08 — Progress M-65/30P launch
08/14/08 — Progress M-65/30P docking (SM aft port)
09/13/08 — Progress M-66/31P launch
09/15/08 — Progress M-66/31P docking (DC1)
09/20/08 — (NET) STS-126/Discovery/ULF2 launch – MPLM(P), LMC
10/01/08 — (NET) STS-126/Discovery/ULF2 undocking.
10/11/08 — Progress M-65/30P undocking (from SM aft port)
10/14/08 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S launch
10/16/08 — Soyuz TMA-13/17S docking (SM aft port)
04/??/09 — Six-person crew on ISS
04/15/09 — Constellation’s Ares I-X Launch.
Note: The daily ISS On-Orbit Status reports can also be found at
