NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 11 February 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.  

Today’s leading task for the crew was another ADUM session (Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Micro-G).  After wakeup, CDR/SO Leroy Chiao set up the equipment, including video and electronic still cameras.  Having fasted for six hours and imbibed 350ml of water one hour prior to start, Chiao was the subject of the planned B-scan (abdominal) imaging.  Later in the day the crew performed Z-scans (bone) on each other, taking turns as operator and subject.  Afterwards, Chiao deactivated the hardware and cleaned up.   [The session required prior HRF (Human Research Facility) and video tape recorder (VTR) activation by the ground, followed by power-up of the HRF computer and the ADUM hardware & software by the crew.  Using the CMRS (crew medical restraint system) for strapping down the subject, and electrodes for ECG (electrocardiogram) recording, scans were taken, their images recorded and the scanning & post-scan activities videotaped and still-photographed for downlink.  ADUM investigates the diagnostic capability of ultrasound (U/S) in medical contingencies relevant to the space environment and demonstrates the ability of minimally trained crewmembers to perform and interpret advanced U/S examinations. The U/S images are downlinked to the ground for interpretation.  This telemedicine has important applications to emergency medical care in remote areas of the earth, as well as for astronaut crews traveling beyond low earth orbit.]

Finishing up the current Russian satellite navigation system (ASN-M) outfitting in the Service Module (SM) for the European ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle), FE Salizhan Sharipov today connected the ASN-M to the onboard data measuring & storage system (SBI), completing the installation.  The goal is to complete all of the internal ATV satellite navigation hardware and cable installation activities by 2/16 to support Russian Segment GPS testing.  Two additional external ASN antennas will be installed during the Russian EVA-13 on 3/25.   [For the task, the ground first had to turn off the BITS2-12 onboard telemetry measurement system and its VD-SU control mode and later powered it up again.  As previously, the work was supported by S-band tagup with ground specialists.   ASN-M will use GLONASS satellites (the Russian GPS equivalent) to provide navigational data to the ATV and to update the ISS state vector (SV, position & velocity plus time) without using the ground (which currently has to uplink daily SV updates) or requiring SV transfers from the U.S. segment (USOS) from time to time.  The ASN equipment was originally factory-installed in the SM but was found faulty and had to be returned to the ground.  After repair it was shipped again to the station on Progress 11 and re-installed by Yuri Malenchenko on 7/8/03, followed by various troubleshooting attempts and the current ATV mods.]

Leroy Chiao had two hours set aside for the scheduled Robotics/SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) training operations.  Objectives of the exercise were to (1) maintain operator proficiency with the MSS (mobile service system), (2) perform engineering tests to troubleshoot the sticky grapple fixture problem, and (3) return the SSRMS to the EVA-12 viewing position.   [Today s exercise represented the first use of the new MSS R3.1 software, which provides major enhancements over the previous MSS 2 version, mostly in display/overlay sophistication and accuracy.  The task involved maneuvering the arm to the Lab FRGF (flight releasable grapple fixture), followed by pre-grapple and manual grappling of the fixture.  The FRGF was then to be released and the end effector backed out using a special push-off and dither technique with a limped wrist joint to counteract the loads-and-friction-induced sticking phenomenon encountered earlier.  Once the grapple pin was cleared, MCC-Houston was to evaluate the results of the release test and the allocated time remaining to determine if there was sufficient time for an additional capture/release cycle.]

The FE topped off the water supply of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) plant growth experiment and, from the Russian discretionary task list, completed the regular daily inspection of the Lada-5 greenhouse equipment.  [Rasteniya studies growth and development of plants (peas) under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-4 greenhouse.]

Salizhan also completed routine maintenance on the SM toilet facilities (ASU), replacing their pretreat container (E-K) plus hose with a new assembly and discarding the old one.   [E-K contains five liters of pre-treat solution, i.e., a mix of H2SO4 (sulfuric acid), CrO3 (chromium oxide, for oxidation and purple color), and H2O (water).  The pre-treat liquid is mixed with water in a dispenser (DKiV) and used for toilet flushing.]

The CDR performed the routine daily maintenance of the SOZh environment control & life support system.  He also prepared the regular IMS (Inventory Management System) delta file for the daily automated export/import to the three IMS databases on the ground.

Later, Sharipov conducted his regular weekly IMS tagup with specialists at TsUP/Moscow, discussing open issues concerning identification of equipment and storage locations for the IMS databases.

Leroy did his daily checkup of the Total Dose reading and End File values of the TEPC (Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter), which he had relocated to the Node on 1/31, and called the data down at the evening DPC (daily planning conference).   [This is currently a daily requirement since the UOP (utility outlet panel) near the TEPC s temporary location (for two weeks) does not allow automated telemetry monitoring by the ground.]

Chiao also completed the regular once-a-week maintenance reboot on the operational PCS (Portable Computer System) laptops and the restart of the SSC (Station Support Computer) OCA comm router laptop (every two weeks).

Afterwards, Chiao filled out the regular weekly FFQ (food frequency questionnaire), his fifteenth, which keeps a log of his nutritional intake over time on special MEC (medical equipment computer) software.   [The FFQ records amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins.  IBMP-recommended average daily caloric value of the crew s food intake is 2200-2300 cal.  If larger quantities of juices and fruits are taken into account, the value can go to 2400-2500 cal.]

In the SM, Sharipov replaced a filter in the gas analyzer of the Vozdukh CO2 (carbon dioxide) scrubber.

Leroy Chiao collected and stowed the two FMK (formaldehyde monitoring kit) monitors, deployed by him on 2/9 in the Lab (below CEVIS) and SM (most forward handrail).

The crew worked out in accordance with their daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise protocol on TVIS treadmill (aerobic), RED exerciser (anaerobic) and VELO cycle with bungee cord load trainer (aerobic plus anaerobic).   [Salizhan’s daily protocol currently prescribes a four-day microcycle exercise with 1.5 hr on the TVIS (today: Day 4 of a new set) and one hour on VELO.]

Chiao then transferred the daily 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, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium.

At ~1:35pm EST, the crew held their standard (once every two weeks) teleconference with the JSC Astronaut Office (Kent Rominger), via S-band S/G.

At ~3:25pm, Chiao and Sharipov are also scheduled for their regular (nominally weekly) teleconference with the ISS Flight Director at MCC-Houston.

Today’s CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets, limited in the current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the science window, which is available for only ~1/4 of each orbit when not facing forward (in ram), were Egon Volcano, Indonesia (Dynamic Event.  Gunung Egon volcano on Flores Island has produced elevated levels of sulfur and minor lava over the past few days, and these may be precursors to a major eruption.  Weather was predicted to be mostly clear providing an opportunity for high-resolution oblique photography of the volcano.  The summit of the volcano is sparsely vegetated and sometimes contains filled crater lakes), Vicenza, Italy (Dynamic Event.  Clouds are holding north of the Alps, providing an opportunity to photograph the Po Valley region of northern Italy. Pollution levels along the southern boundary of the Alps in the vicinity of Vicenza, Italy are of particular interest due to the ban on automobile use that took place in that city last week.  Vicenza is located to the northwest of Venice along the front ranges of the Alps.  Looking to the left of track for smog and haze boundary edges), Internal Waves, North Atlantic (weather continued to be clear off the western Iberian Peninsula for internal wave photography.  Looking to the right of track for the sunglint point), and Internal Waves, Bahamas (weather was predicted to be mostly clear in the vicinity of Cuba for internal wave photography.  Looking to the right of track along the southern coastline of Cuba for the sunglint point).

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 — 2/15 (~8:22pm EST, ~1.8 m/s; phasing for 17P launch);
• Progress M-51 (16P) undocking & destructive reentry — 2/26/05;
• Progress M-52 (17P) launch — 2/28/05.
• EVA-13 — 3/25/05;
• Soyuz TMA-6 (10S) launch — 4/15/05 with Expedition 11 (CDR Sergei Krikalev, FE/SO John Phillips);
• Soyuz TMA-5 (9S) undock — 4/25/05 with Exp. 10 crew (after 193 days on orbit, 191 days on board ISS);
• Progress M-53 (18P) launch — 6/10/05;
• Progress M-54 (19P) launch — 8/24/05;
• Soyuz TMA-7 (11S) launch — 9/27/05.

ISS Orbit  (as of this morning, 7:13am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 356.6 km
• Apogee height — 363.1 km
• Perigee height — 350.0 km
• Period — 91.67 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0009738
• Solar Beta Angle — -38.5 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.70
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 120 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 35592

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.