NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 January 2005

SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2004) to enhance access to related status reports and NASA activities.

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday and New Year’s Day. Happy New Year! C Novym Godom!

From the discretionary Russian task list, FE Sharipov conducted the periodic inspection of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment that researches growth and development of plants under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-5 greenhouse.

The crewmembers performed their daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on TVIS treadmill, RED exerciser and VELO cycle with bungee cord load trainer. Salizhan’s daily protocol currently prescribes a four-day “microcycle” exercise regimen with 1.5 hours on the TVIS and 1 hr. on VELO, with gradually adjusting vertical body load on the load trainer from 46 kg to at least 50 kg (today: Day 1 of a new microcycle).

Afterwards, CDR/SO Chiao performed the prescribed weekly maintenance check of the TVIS and its SPDs (subject positioning devices) as well as its time & date settings.

Salizhan conducted the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh life support system (including ASU toilet facilities).

Overnight: MCC-Houston changed the bias setting for the P6 truss PPS SAs (primary power system/solar arrays). BGA (Beta gimbal assembly) 2B was set to 34 deg to provide shading for the MBS IMCA (mobile base /system/integrated motor controller assembly), and BGA 4B to -44 deg for atmospheric drag reduction.

As of last night, the Elektron was on and functioning, but over the preceding 48 hours the unit has shut down several times due to primary and backup micropump failures (which has happened numerous times in the past due to air bubbles in the feed water). The crew has been able to successfully reactivate the Elektron each time and is scheduled for troubleshooting on 1/3 (Monday).

Also yesterday, the Vozdukh carbon dioxide (CO2) scrubber shut down. The crew attempted unsuccessfully to restart the unit and was then instructed by TsUP/Moscow to deactivate it and close the external AVK-1 and -2 valves (which vent CO2 overboard) until tomorrow. [Russian specialists are developing further troubleshooting activities to be performed by the crew this morning. Prior to crew sleep, the U.S. CDRA (CO2 Removal Assembly) in the Lab was activated in dual-bed ops to control ppCO2 (CO2 partial pressure) until the Vozdukh can be recovered.]

CEO (Crew Earth Observations): ISS overflight information for the Tsunami-devastated regions in South Asia was developed by MCC-H tracking specialists and uplinked today to the crew for 1/6/05.

CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:

• http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov
• http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov
• http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/AstronautPhotography/

See also the website “Space Station Challenge” at:

• http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/

To view the latest photos taken by the expedition 10 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-10/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 10 Flight Crew Plans can be found at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines/

Previous NASA ISS On-orbit Status Reports can be found here. Previous NASA Space Station Status Reports can be found here. Previous NASA Space Shuttle Processing Status Reports can be found here. A collection of all of these reports and other materials relating to Return to Flight for the Space Shuttle fleet can be found here.

Upcoming Key Events:

• * ISS reboost (delta-V: 4 m/s) — 1/15/05;
• * EVA-12 — 1/26/05 (Eastern)
• * Progress 16P undocking & destructive reentry — 2/27/05;
• * Progress 17P launch — 2/28/05.
• * EVA-13 — 3/25/05;
• * Soyuz 10 S launch — 4/15/05;
• * Soyuz 9S undock — 4/25/05 (after 193 days on orbit, 191 days on board ISS).

ISS Altitude History

Apogee height — Mean Altitude — Perigee height