NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 9 November 2010
Today 43 years ago (1967), NASA launched Apollo 4, the first flight of the largest launch vehicle ever to fly successfully – the Saturn V. It was also the first launch from Launch Complex 39, specifically built for Saturn V, the first time that its S-IVB third stage was restarted in orbit and the first time that the Apollo spacecraft reentered the Earth’s atmosphere at speeds approaching those of a lunar return trajectory. There were 4,098 measuring instruments on board the rocket and spacecraft. Most importantly for reaching John F. Kennedy’s Lunar Landing goal before the end of the decade, it was also the first test of George E. Mueller’s famous All-Up doctrine, with all stages plus the 25t spacecraft “live” on first try.
At day’s begin (1:00am EST), FE-1 Kaleri conducted the regular daily early-morning check of the aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which Maxim Suraev had installed 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). [Alex again inspects the filters before bedtime (4:30pm EST) tonight, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.]
Kaleri’s morning inspection today included the weekly checkup behind ASU/toilet panel 139 in the SM (Service Module) on a fluid connector (MNR-NS) of the SM-U urine collection system, looking for potential moisture.
Also at wake-up, Oleg Skripochka terminated his 3rd experiment session, started last night, for the long-term Russian sleep study MBI-12/Sonokard, taking the recording device from his Sonokard sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-Med laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. [Sonokard objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember’s physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.]
Before breakfast, FE-6 Walker began another round of the periodic personal acoustic measurement protocol. In Part 1, Shannon distributed crew-worn acoustic dosimeters from the SMK (Sound Measurement Kit) to the Soyuz 24S crew, i.e., Kaleri, Kelly & Skripochka, for 24 hours (with a microphone on the shirt collar). [Tomorrow, in Part 2, Doug Wheelock will download the dosimeter data to a T61p laptop and stow the instruments. Acoustic data must be taken twice per Increment, each time for the duration of the 16-hour crew workday. This activity was performed on the 24S crew a couple weeks ago but the ground did not receive data from that session. Other sessions have been performed since then with good results and therefore the crew needed to repeat the activity.]
CDR Wheelock & FE-1 Kaleri performed troubleshooting on the TVIS treadmill, using a Shure microphone attached to a high torque locker tool (as boom) to take audio measurements of noise. [Noise coming from TVIS was reported by the crew last night, and TVIS exercise was put on hold until further notice. The diagnostic audio capture was performed with TVIS running in the unmanned mode.]
FE-3 Kelly & FE-6 Walker had ~3h15m reserved for setting up the equipment, cameras & beacons in the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) work areas for the experiment SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) and conducted a very successful test run of Session 25A involving Formation Flight, Human Machine Interaction, and HS Zero Robotics with all 3 satellites and 5 beacons (plus the beacon tester). With dimmed GLAs (General Luminaire Assemblies), the satellite(s) were programmed & deployed and then commanded through their tests from an SSC (Station /Support Computer) laptop. [SPHERES was originally developed to demonstrate the basics of formation flight and autonomous docking, using beacons as reference for the satellites, to fly formation with or dock to the beacon. A number of programs define various incremental tests including attitude control (performing a series of rotations), attitude-only tracking, attitude and range tracking, docking with handheld and mounted beacons, etc. The payload consists of up to three self-contained 8-inch dia. free-floating satellites which perform the various algorithms (control sequences), commanded and observed by the crew members which provide feedback to shape algorithm development. Each satellite has 12 thrusters and a tank with CO2 for propellant. The first tests, in May 2006, used only one satellite (plus two beacons – one mounted and one hand-held); a second satellite arrived on ULF1.1, the third on 12A.1. Formation flight and autonomous docking are important enabling technologies for distributed architectures.]
Shannon Walker undertook her 3rd session with the JAXA experiment BIORHYTHMS (Biological Rhythms), for which she put on the electrodes of the DWH (Digital Walk Holter) for ECG (Electrocardiogram) recording, then started the data take for the next 24 hrs. [BIORHYTHMS is performed by Walker & Wheelock, with 3 data collection sessions for each of them. Body mass is measured with SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device). Each session collects 24 hrs worth of ECG data. On Day 1, the Holter ECG harness is donned for recording. On Day 2, it is removed, and the ECG data are downloaded to the MLT (Microgravity Laptop terminal).]
In Node-1, Shannon later replaced the LHA (Lamp Housing Assembly) at loc. OS2-1 with a spare, and a second LHA in Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) at loc. OA5.
Yurchikhin & Skripochka undertook a session each with the MedOps protocol MO-5, “Cardiovascular Evaluation during Graded Exercises” on the VELO cycle ergometer, a standard Russian fitness test, assisting each other in turn as CMO (Crew Medical Officer). [The 50-min assessment, supported by ground specialist tagup via VHF and telemetry monitoring from RGS (Russian Ground Sites, 6:20am & 7:54am EST), uses the Gamma-1 ECG (electrocardiograph) equipment with biomed harness, skin electrodes and a blood pressure and rheoplethysmograph cuff wired to the cycle ergometer’s instrumentation panels. For the graded exercise, the subject works the pedals after a prescribed program at load settings of 125, 150, and 175 watts for three minutes each. Data output involves a kinetocardiogram, rheoplethysmogram, rheoencephalogram and a temporal pulsogram.]
In Node-3, Scott Kelly & Doug Wheelock cleared access to the WRS (Water Recovery System) by temporarily removing the WHC (Waste & Hygiene Compartment) Kabin, enabling them to perform the periodic routine replacement of the RFTA (Recycle Filter Tank Assembly). MPC (Multi-Protocol Converter) was temporarily activated for ground monitoring via camcorder. [The old unit was stowed for return and the Tox-2 caps & plugs of the spare were stowed for re-use. The crew later closed out the R&R (removal & replacement) and re-installed the Kabin. The RFTAs collect the substances cleaned from the pretreated urine by the UPA as it turns it into water.]
Wheels conducted a lengthy (3h15m) inflight maintenance in Node-2, troubleshooting the reduced ventilation in the starboard CQ (Crew Quarters, S5) by isolating the degraded airflow path and cleaning it. [By temporarily covering the stbd CQ exhaust airflow sensor, a false positive failure signal was to be created allowing determination which channel (intake or exhaust) is degraded. If nothing happened upon covering the sensor, the failure was in the exhaust leg; if a “Dual Fan Failure Warning” was annunciated, the culprit is the intake leg.]
Later, the CDR serviced EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) batteries in the A/L BSA (Airlock Battery Stowage Assembly), initiating the charger in C-D-C (Charge-Discharge-Charge) mode.
In the Soyuz 24S spacecraft, Kaleri performed more troubleshooting on the SPS Analog/Digital Converter of the Descent Module’s “Neptun-ME” console (PKSA), which failed during ascent, today first checking the PM1,2-SPS fuse in its fuse box, then conducting a health check on the SPS power box using the MultiMeter instrument to measure voltages between pins. [Preliminary results from the Russian specialists have indicated that the problem is hardware related, preventing the SPS from receiving power.]
Afterwards, FE-1 Kaleri –
* Performed a gross fit check of the NH3 (ammonia) respirator,
* Did 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], and
* Completed the daily IMS (Inventory Management System) maintenance by 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).
Continuing preparations for the EVA-26 spacewalk on 11/15 and the onboard dry-run on 11/12, Fyodor Yurchikhin switched the BRTA-2 telemetry unit for the Orlan-MK #4 suit to SK-2 radio frequency, then installed the BNP portable repress tank in the SM RO (Work Compartment), for making up cabin pressure after the DC1/airlock losses.
Doug Wheelock conducted the periodic (approx. weekly) WRS (Water Recovery System) sampling using the TOCA (Total Organic Carbon Analyzer) in Node-3, after first initializing the software and priming (filling) the TOCA water sample hose. [After the approximately 2 hr TOCA analysis, results were transferred to the SSC-5 (Station Support Computer 5) laptop via USB drive for downlink, and the data were also logged.]
Skripochka, Kaleri & Yurchikhin had ~1h reserved for a special Symbolic (commemorative) Activity, in honor of the Young Cosmonauts organization of Chuvashia (Chuvash Republic) by unstowing the organization’s flag, signing it and reading an address, video-recorded by Fyodor with the SONY HVR-Z7. [Chuvashia is the birthplace of three cosmonauts: Andrian Grigorievich Nikolaev, Musa Khiromanovich Manarov & Nikolai Mikhailovich Budarin. Chuvashia keeps the memory of space pioneers alive with great effort, to promote achievements of national cosmonautics, to educate the younger generation in the spirit of serving their country. The memorial to A. G. Nikolaev, twice Hero of the USSR, was built in Shorshely (Light Springs) village, where Cosmonaut-3 was born. The Baikonur-Cheboksary Cosmonautics Association has created a Baikonur micro community in Cheboksary with a main street bearing the name of Academician Sergey Pavlovich Korolev, and a St. George’s chapel, to honor space pioneers. There are 55 units of young cosmonauts in the Chuvash Republic. Competitions and rallies among young cosmonauts are held annually on the eve of commemorative dates. Quite a few of Chuvashia school graduates are successfully studying in “space” universities. This is why the Young Cosmonauts of Chuvashia Flag was brought to orbit; upon return to Earth, it will serve as a symbol of national cosmonautics for the younger generation.]
FE-1, FE-2, FE-5 & FE-6 were scheduled for their standard PMCs (Private Medical Conferences), via S- & Ku-band audio/video, Alex at ~8:10am, Shannon at ~12:25pm, Oleg at ~1:15pm, Fyodor at ~3:30pm EST.
The crew worked out on today’s 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (CDR, FE-5, FE-6), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-3, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-3) and VELO ergometer bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1, FE-2, FE-5). [T2 snubber arm inspection is no longer needed after every T2 session but must be done after the last T2 session of the day.]
CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo targets uplinked for today were Kathmandu, Nepal (ISS had a midday pass with fair weather expected for this target as it approached from the southwest. This capital city with a population near 700,000 is Nepal’s largest urban area as well as its most developed one. It is situated in a bowl-shaped valley located within the southern front ranges of the Himalayas. Overlapping mapping frames of the urban area were requested), Kabul, Afghanistan (today’s pass over Kabul will be near-nadir at midday with fair weather expected. The Afghan capital of nearly 3 million is situated in a narrow valley between the Hindu Kush Mountains and the Kabul River. As ISS tracked northeastward over the rugged interior, the crew was to look for this target and try for overlapping mapping frames of the urban area), and St. Paul Rocks Islets, Brazil (HMS Beagle Site: Darwin and the Beagle briefly visited this isolated, equatorial Atlantic site in early February of 1832. This tiny group of islets and rocks is also known as the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago. The islands are of particular interest to geologists as they expose rocks associated with the Earth’s mantle above sea level. At this time, the crew was to look just right of track for the islands as ISS approached the area from the SW. With late morning light and a few clouds they should have been able to photograph all of them in a mapping pass.)
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:54am EST [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 351.6 km
Apogee height – 356.7 km
Perigee height – 346.4 km
Period — 91.57 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.65 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0007642
Solar Beta Angle — -25.0 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours – 125 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 68,633.
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/12/10 — Russian EVA-26 dry-run
11/15/10 — Russian EVA-26
11/15/10 — Progress M-05M/37P deorbit (from free flight)
11/29/10 — Soyuz TMA-19/23S undock/landing (End of Increment 25)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/10 — STS-133/Discovery launch (NET – not earlier than)
12/15/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/25S launch – Kondratyev (CDR-27)/Coleman/Nespoli
12/17/10 — Soyuz TMA-20/25S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations————-
01/24/11 — Progress M-08M/40P undock
01/28/11 — Progress M-09M/41P launch
01/31/11 — Progress M-09M/41P docking (DC1)
02/xx/11 — Russian EVA-28
02/15/11 — ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” launch
02/19/11 — Progress M-07M/39P undock
02/26/11 — ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” docking (SM aft)
02/27/11 — STS-134/Endeavour (ULF6 – ELC3, AMS-02) launch
02/29/11 — STS-134/Endeavour (ULF6 – ELC3, AMS-02) docking
03/11/11 — STS-134/Endeavour (ULF6 – ELC3, AMS-02) undock
03/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-01M/24S undock/landing (End of Increment 26)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/20/11 — Soyuz TMA-21/26S launch – A. Borisienko (CDR-28)/R.Garan/A.Samokutayev
03/22/11 — Soyuz TMA-21/26S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations————-
04/26/11 — Progress M-09M/41P undock
04/27/11 — Progress M-10M/42P launch
04/29/11 — Progress M-10M/42P docking (DC1)
05/xx/11 — Russian EVA-29
05/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-20/25S undock/landing (End of Increment 27)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/27S launch – M. Fossum (CDR-29)/S. Furukawa/S. Volkov
06/01/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/27S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations————-
06/12/11 — ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” undock (SM aft)
06/21/11 — Progress M-11M/43P launch
06/23/11 — Progress M-11M/43P docking (SM aft)
08/29/11 — Progress M-11M/43P undocking
08/30/11 — Progress M-12M/44P launch
09/01/11 — Progress M-12M/44P docking (SM aft)
09/16/11 – Soyuz TMA-21/26S undock/landing (End of Increment 28)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/28S launch – D.Burbank (CDR-30)/A.Shkaplerov/A.Ivanishin
10/02/11 – Soyuz TMA-23/28S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/25/11 — Progress M-10M/42P undocking
10/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P launch
10/28/11 — Progress M-13M/45P docking (DC-1)
11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-24/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit
12/02/11 — Soyuz TMA-24/29S docking (MRM1)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
12/??/11 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton.
12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock
12/27/11 — Progress M-14M/46P launch
12/29/11 — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1)
03/05/12 — Progress M-12M/44P undock
03/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-23/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-25/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Valkov
04/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-25/30S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
05/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-24/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/12 – Soyuz TMA-26/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
05/31/12 – Soyuz TMA-26/31S docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/09/12 — Soyuz TMA-25/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/23/12 — Soyuz TMA-27/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O. Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
09/25/12 – Soyuz TMA-27/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
10/07/12 — Soyuz TMA-26/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-28/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
11/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-28/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-27/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
03/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-29/34S launch.
03/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-29/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
