NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 11 July 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. Underway: Week 12 for Increment 11.

Before breakfast and exercise, CDR Sergei Krikalev and FE/SO John Phillips completed their third session with the Russian crew health monitoring program’s medical assessment “Biochemical Urinalysis” (MO-9). Afterwards, the CDR stowed the hardware. [MO-9 is conducted regularly every 30 days (and also before and after EVAs) and is one of five nominal Russian medical tests adopted by NASA for US crewmembers for IMG PHS (Integrated Medical Group/Periodic Health Status) evaluation as part of the “PHS/Without Blood Labs” exam. The analysis uses the sophisticated in-vitro diagnostic apparatus Urolux developed originally for the Mir program. Afterwards, the data are entered in the medical equipment computer (MEC)’s special IFEP software (In-Flight Examination Program).]

The crew had several hours blocked out for gathering & pre-packing hardware and other cargo to be returned on the Shuttle. [An updated list of ~83 Russian items for return was uplinked to assist in the marshalling ops.]

The CDR serviced the Russian BMP harmful impurities removal system, starting the “bake-out” cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #1 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. Before sleep time today, the bake-out will be terminated. [Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. The BMP currently still uses the same vacuum vent valve for regeneration as the Elektron (the latter for venting hydrogen).]

The FE/SO deployed two passive FMK (formaldehyde monitoring kit) sampling assemblies in the Lab (below CEVIS) and Service Module (SM, most forward handrail), to catch any atmospheric formaldehyde on a collector substrate for subsequent laboratory analysis. (Last time done: 6/14).

In preparation for the LF-1 docked period, the crew assembled and prepared the ETVCG (external television camera group) assembly for its installation in the lower outboard position of the P1 truss during EVA-3.

Krikalev took two photos of the Service Module (SM) aft-end passive docking assembly (SSVP StA) used for the Progress M-53/18P linkup, a standard practice after Russian dockings. These images, taken with the Nikon D1X digital still camera, will be used to refine current understanding of docking conditions. Later in the day, the pictures were downlinked via OCA/S-band. [The objective is to take photo imagery of the scratch or scuff mark left by the head of the docking probe on the internal surface of the drogue (docking cone) ring, now rotated out of the passageway. As other cosmonauts before him, Krikalev used the Kodak 760 digital still camera to take two pictures with the hatch closed down and downlinked them later via OCA.]

Working on the Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment, Sergei today deactivated the greenhouse system for a sampling of the plant growth, photographing the most developed root plant from the root module. The image was then to be downlinked via Regul-Packet or BSR-TM [Rasteniya researches growth and development of plants (currently horse radish) under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-7 greenhouse.]

Krikalev also did the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), including its toilet system (ASU). Later, working off his voluntary “time available” task list, he prepared the IMS (inventory management system) “delta” file for automated export/import top the three IMS databases.

Both crewmembers conducted their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the TVIS treadmill, RED resistive machine and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer. [Sergei’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 1 of a new set).]

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

Another item in today’s Russian “job jar” was a session with the “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program, focusing the Nikon D1X digital camera with f400 or 800 mm lens from an SM window on targets specified by an uplinked list. [Today’s targets included the Far East and the coastline of the Russian Federation, the Island of Sakhalin with its coastline, the Kuril Island at low sun, Armenia and mountain slopes from nadir to Lake Sevan, Dagestan with mountain valleys towards Makhachkala, and Kazakhstan (environmental status at oil fields in the eastern part of Mangyshlak peninsula.]

At ~11:24am EDT (DO-2), TsUP/Moscow prepared the Progress propellant system (KDU) remotely for the subsequent prop transfer from the BG1 tank of 18P to the SM. Transfer of approximately 92 kg fuel (UDMMH) was set to begin at ~1:00pm (DO-3), to be terminated at 3:25pm on DO-4.

Over the weekend, the BVK-1 vacuum valve group of the Vozdukh carbon dioxide (CO2) removal system failed three times. After the first two times, it was restarted in Manual Mode. After the third failure, the valve group was removed & replaced with a spare. Vozdukh was then reactivated in Manual Mode and later transitioned into automatic mode. At present, it appears to be functioning nominally.

Also during the weekend, SSC-8 (Station Support Computer #8), an A31P ThinkPad laptop, suffered a screen failure. The computer is functioning, but the screen is down. [That leaves one operational SSC and the CPSD (Crew Personal Support Disk) machine in the Lab. There are a several options to getting a second SSC functioning in the Lab before STS-114 docking.]

Update on STS-114 Launch: Eileen Collins and Jim Kelly flew training rounds in the STA (Shuttle Training Aircraft) today. Results of the current L-2 meeting will be available later tonight in a scheduled press conference (check KSC website). Launch weather outlook remains unchanged from yesterday: expected is a 30% chance that weather may prevent launch on Wednesday. In the event of a delay, the forecast is slightly less promising, with the chance of weather violating launch constraints rising to 40% on Thursday and Friday.

No CEO (crew earth observations) targets today.

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 11 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-11/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 11 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, 7:02am EDT [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 354.5 km
• Apogee height — 357.2 km
• Perigee height — 351.8 km
• Period — 91.63 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0004066
• Solar Beta Angle — 34.7 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.71
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 60 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 37950

Some Increment 11 Main Events (not final):

• LF-1/STS-114 launch — 7/13 (3:51pm EDT) 18-day window opens;
• LF-1/STS-114 dock — 7/15 (12:26pm EDT), adding 110,713 kg to ISS mass;
• LF-1/STS-114 undock — 7/23 (9:23am EDT);
• LF-1/STS-114 landing @ KSC — 7/25 (11:01am EDT);
• Soyuz TMA-6/10S relocate (from DC-1 to FGB) — ~8/16;
• Progress M-54/19P launch – TBD;
• Progress M-53/18P undock — TBD;
• ULF1.1/STS-121 launch — NET 9/9 (launch window opens);
• ULF1.1/STS-121 dock — 9/11;
• ULF1.1/STS-121 undock — 9/19;
• Soyuz TMA-7/11S launch — 9/27;
• Soyuz TMA-7/11S dock — 9/29;
• 12A/STS-115 launch — NET 2/16/06;
• Soyuz TMA-7/11S relocate (from DC-1 to FGB) — ~10/15;
• 12A.1/STS-116 launch — NET 4/23/06;
• 13A/STS-117 launch — NET 7/13/06.

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.