NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 November 2005

SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2005) to enhance access to related status reports and NASA activities.

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.  Tomorrow the ISS community (involving more than 100,000 people in space agencies and at 500 contractor facilities in 37 U.S. states and in 16 countries) observes the Fifth Anniversary of permanent station occupancy, since arrival of Expedition 1 (Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko & Sergei Krikalev) on November 2, 2000, at 5:23am EST.

After crew wakeup at 1:00am EST, FE Valery Tokarev’s regular morning inspection today included the routine inspection of DC-1 circuit breakers and fuses.   [The monthly checkup in the “Pirs” Docking Compartment looks at AZS circuit breakers on the BVP Amp Switch Panel (they should all be On) and the LEDs (light-emitting diodes) of 14 fuses in Fuse Panels BPP-30 & BPP-36.]

CDR/SO Bill McArthur performed the final close-out steps on the major TCCS (Trace Contaminant Control Subsystem) troubleshooting procedure which the crew completed yesterday ahead of schedule, by making the final connections with the Process Air Return (PAR) duct inside the Air Revitalization (AR) rack.   [During the troubleshooting, the crew removed each major component of the TCCS and recorded flow measurements taken at the PAR.  These proved to be much lower than original PAR readings.  Ground engineers are now evaluating the data from the test and are expected to have a recommendation by tomorrow on the suspect ORU (orbit replaceable unit) causing the low flow.]

The crew worked several hours in the Service Module (SM) to replace its ten smoke detectors which had reached their end-of-life.   [After TsUP/Moscow deactivated the Russian “Signal-VM” smoke alarm system in the Russian segment (RS), Valery and Bill disconnected the BITS 2-12 onboard telemetry measurement system, turned off its VD-SU monitoring mode and replaced the ten DS-7A SDs with new units (eight of which were unloaded from Progress 19 yesterday, plus two from FGB stowage). Afterwards, the FE reconnected telemetry cables and activated VD-SU mode and BITS2-12 power.  The ground then turned the Signal-VM back on and restored the warning software algorithm which had been “masked” for the activity.]

In further preparation for the EVA-4 next Monday (11/7), Bill McArthur reviewed uplinked leak safing procedures for the Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) of the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS).   [One of the possible failures during the upcoming spacewalk is a leak and automatic shutdown of the MTL.  With no IV (intravehicular crewmember) aboard, some internal systems could overheat after some time.  In this unlikely event, the EVA would be terminated immediately, if communication with the crew functions.  If there is no comm, McArthur and Tokarev would use agreed-upon LOC (loss of communications) criteria to terminate the EVA on their own and ingress ASAP to perform leak safing with prepositioned jumpers.]

For the new Russian experiment DZZ-11 Volni (“Waves”) in the category of earth natural resources & ecology monitoring, Tokarev unstowed LSO hardware, mounted an optical filter on one of the two micro cameras and installed the camera assembly on its mounting bracket at SM window #3. Photographs of the setup were then made and transferred to the EGE2 laptop for downlink via the BSR-TM channel.   [Volni is using the French LSO equipment to observe wave disturbances (of natural and man-made origins) in the intermediate-altitude atmosphere.  The original objective of LSO was to study rare optical phenomena occurring in the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere, so-called “sprites” (i.e., puzzling glow phenomena observed above thunderstorm clouds).]

As part of regular monthly preventive maintenance of RS air ventilation systems, Valery spent about an hour in the Funktsionalnyi-Grusovoi Blok (FGB), removing and replacing Zarya’s two dust collector filters PF1 & PF2.  Moving then to the Pirs docking compartment, the FE also cleaned the DC-1’s V1 & V2 fans and screens.

In the Soyuz TMA-7’s Orbital Module, Tokarev performed the monthly cleaning of the screen/grid of its fan & air heater assembly (BVN) to assure adequate air ventilation for the relocation of the spacecraft to the FGB nadir-facing port (ASPB) on 11/18.

Later, the FE did the daily routine maintenance of the Environment Control & Life Support System (SOZh) in the SM, including its toilet system (ASU), while McArthur updated/edited the computerized IMS (Inventory Management System) “delta” file for automated export/import to the three IMS databases (MCC-H, TsUP, Baikonur).

Both crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program on their exercise equipment, Bill on the TVIS treadmill and RED resistive machine, Valery on TVIS and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer.   [Valery’s daily protocol prescribes a strict four-day microcycle exercise with 1.5 hr on the treadmill and one hour on VELO plus load trainer (today: Day 3 of a new set).]

Afterwards, Bill transferred the TVIS and RED exercise data files to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data of the RED workout, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

After careful review of the crewmembers’ running data/records on TVIS at 7 mph top speed, ground engineers have now raised the speed placard for the two station residents to 8 mph.

Last weekend, the U.S. MCA (Major Constituents Analyzer) in the Lab’s AR rack exhibited a shift in the data for each of the observed constituents.  Engineers are investigating the anomaly, the root cause of which is currently not understood, but there is no impact to the EVA-4.   [MCA partial pressures showed a shift in oxygen (ppO2), nitrogen (ppN2) and methane (ppCH4).]

Today’s CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets, limited in the current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, which is available for only ~1/4 of each orbit when not facing forward (in ram), were Mt. Kilimanjaro, Kenya (the tiny ice fields of Africa’s highest peak have melted rapidly in the past century and are not expected to last another decade.  As ISS tracked NE-ward over east Africa, the crew was asked to aim left of track for this majestic volcanic peak and its vanishing snow and ice), Lake Poopo, Bolivia (the lakes and playas of Bolivia’s Altiplano region have demonstrated a high sensitivity to the El Nino Southern Oscillation [ENSO].  The crew used this fair weather pass to baseline lake levels and the presence or lack of water in the large, bright playas during the ENSO neutral period), and Internal waves, Southern New Zealand (fair weather was expected over the eastern Tasman Sea as ISS approached New Zealand’s South Island.  Looking forward and left of track for sea surface glint, especially along the NW coast of the island).

To date, over 177,000 of CEO images have been taken in the first five years of the ISS.

  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 12 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-12/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 12 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.

ISS Orbit  (as of this morning, 7:08am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 346.3 km
• Apogee height — 347.6 km
• Perigee height — 344.9 km
• Period — 91.46 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0002049
• Solar Beta Angle — 31.3 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.74
• Mean altitude gain in last 24 hours — 87 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 39729

Upcoming Events (all dates Eastern):

• 11/02/05 – Fifth Anniversary of permanent ISS occupancy
• 11/07/05 — EVA-4 (U.S.; hatch open ~9:30am; hatch closing ~3pm EST)
• 11/10/05 — ISS Reboost (from 19P; manifold #2)
• 11/18/05 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S relocation (from DC-1 to FGB nadir port)
• 12/07/05 — EVA-15 (Russian; under review)
• 12/20/05 — Progress M-54/19P undocking & reentry
• 12/21/05 — Progress M-55/20P launch
• 12/23/05 — Progress M-55/20P docking
• 01/09/06 — 100 days for Expedition 12.

ISS Altitude History

Apogee height — Mean Altitude — Perigee height

For more on ISS orbit and worldwide ISS naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html. In addition, information on International Space Station sighting opportunities can be found at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ on NASA’s Human Spaceflight website. The current location of the International Space Station can be found at http://science.nasa.gov/temp/StationLoc.html at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Additional satellite tracking resources can be found at http://www.spaceref.com/iss/tracking.html.