NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 11 June 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. Saturday — off-duty day for Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips, except for some housekeeping and voluntary work. ISS Commander Krikalev, on his sixth voyage in space and third long-duration mission (one on Mir and two on the ISS), has now surpassed fellow Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov in terms of space endurance. Krikalev will become Number One in August, passing Cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev (747 days).

The crew performed the regular weekly 3-hr task of thorough station cleaning, wearing protective garment. [“Uborka”, done every Saturday, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other surfaces and the CDR’s sleep station with “Fungistat” disinfectant and cleaning fan screens to avoid temperature rises.]

Later, the FE/SO did the daily routine maintenance of the Service Module (SM)’s SOZh environment control & life support system, including its ASU toilet system. [SOZh maintenance today included water transfer from a stowed tank (5PT) to an EDV container for use in Elektron and subsequent disposal of the empty 5PT aboard the 17P cargo ship.]

Phillips also completed the regular weekly maintenance reboot on the operational PCS (Portable Computer System) laptops and the bi-monthly restart of the OCA comm router SSC (Station Support Computer) laptop.

Time again for recharging the Motorola-9505 Iridium satellite phone. The CDR retrieved it from its location in the Soyuz TMA-6 descent module (BO) and initiated the monthly recharging of its lithium-ion battery, a 30-min. process. The charging was monitored every 10-15 minutes as it took place, and upon completion Sergei returned the phone inside its SSSP Iridium kit and stowed it back in the BO’s operational data files (ODF) container. [The satphone accompanies returning ISS crews on Soyuz reentry and landing for contingency communications with SAR (Search-and-Rescue) personnel after touchdown. The Russian-developed procedure for the monthly recharging has been approved jointly by safety officials. During the procedure, the phone is left in its fluoroplastic bag with open flap.]

Both crewmembers held their regular weekly private conferences with his family (PFC) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/NetMeeting video, Sergei at 6:10am EDT, John at 10:55am.

At ~10:00am EDT, the crew engaged in the regular weekly planning conference (WPC) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP/Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events.

Working off his voluntary task list, Krikalev conducted another 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 scenic imagery of Byelorussian Polesye, a section of Kaluga Region in the valley of Ugra River falling into Oka near Kaluga (Kaluga lies where the Oka River valley changes its direction from N to E. There is a lake at the edge of the city), views of Central Russia, the main body of the Volga in proximity and to the north of Astrakhan, Pamir glaciers, the sacred Tibet mountain Kailas, a series of overlapping shots passing over Moldova, Taman mud volcanoes and the Tuzla sand bank, western Georgia and north coast of Sivan, and mountain slopes on the southern coast of Caspian Sea.]

A second item in today’s Russian “job jar” was the long-term recurring task of imaging the externally mounted PKZ-1V Kromka 1-3 contamination experiment tablet. [The Kromka tablet, deployed on handrail 2614 of the DC-1 “Pirs” docking compartment, collects thruster plume effluents. The pictures are taken with the Kodak 760 digital still camera (DSC) from the EVA hatch 1 (VP1) “illyuminator” (window) in the DC-1.]

Also working from the task list, Krikalev used the Nikon D1 (800mm-lens) to take areal photography for Russia’s Environmental Safety Agency (ECON) of selected locations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. [KPT-3 photography is a continuing earth observing experiment for ECON.]

Both crewmembers conducted their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the CEVIS cycle (John), TVIS treadmill (Sergei), 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 2 of a new set).]

Afterwards, the FE transferred the exercise data files to the MEC 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).

Overnight, the Russian Segment’s triple-redundant Central Computer system (TsVM) restarted automatically when Lane 1 apparently dropped out, joining the earlier failed Lane 2. After restart and reintegration of the three mutually redundant subsets, Lane 1 again dropped out. TsVM continues to operate normally on two lanes. [This is a familiar and acceptable configuration, requiring no immediate restart/reintegration unless a second lane quits. Since the new 7.03 software does not support single-lane restart, the entire TsVM will have to be restarted when the time has come.]

Weekly Science Update (Expedition Eleven — 7th):

Human Research Facility/Gas Analyzer System for Metabolic Analysis Physiology (HRF GASMAP): Next checkout at end of this month.

Human Research Facility/Workstation (HRF WS): Continuing.

Advanced Ultrasound (ADUM): Continuing.

Renal Stone (RS): Next data collection in July.

Foot/Ground Reaction Forces during Space Flight (FOOT): The data from this week’s session have been delivered successfully to the Principal Investigator. “The full day of data collected is due entirely to your thoughtful initiative. We were all wearing grateful smiles when you called down that you had calibrated your insoles earlier than scheduled. The Foot team will work to get you some preliminary analysis and feedback well before your next session. Your terrific effort and dedication to Foot are greatly appreciated by all of us.”

Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS): SAMS is nominal and receiving acceleration data.

Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS): MAMS remains in nominal operations.

Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-STES): PCG-STES is performing nominally.

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3 (BCAT-3): BCAT-3 Slow Growth Sample Module will be left undisturbed in its current location by the E11 crew. In order for the samples to potentially grow crystals that can be photographed during Increment 12 operations, the Sample Module must be left undisturbed.

Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE): In progress. Deployed outside on the U.S. Airlock. Nominal and collecting data. To be exchanged during LF-1.

Dust and Aerosol Measurement Feasibility Test (DAFT): Nothing new.

Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM): The conference between the Science Officer and ground investigators this week was a great opportunity for EarthKAM, and the team appreciates John’s suggestions. They are examining ways to put some of John’s suggestions to work and are looking forward to the next session in July.

Serial Network Flow Monitor (SNFM): Completed.

Fluid Merging Viscosity Measurement (FMVM): Nothing new.

Space Experiment Module (SEM): Nothing new. Experimenters and kids are working to get the next two satchels on ULF1.1.

Miscible Fluids in Microgravity (MFMG): MFMG payload operations are finished.

Educational Payload Operations (EPO): in progress.

Crew Earth Observations (CEO): As of 6/7, a total 2,508 CEO images were downlinked for this Increment. The quality and consistency of the imagery continues to improve. The SO was thanked for his feedback and prompt downlinks of Dynamic Event images, especially as hurricane/typhoon and fire seasons get going in the Northern Hemisphere.

Today’s optional CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets, in the current LVLH attitude no longer limited by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, were Mt. Kilimanjaro, Kenya (looking right for an oblique view of this glacier-capped peak ~2 degrees off track. Kilimanjaro should have been visible between some afternoon clouds. All glacier ice is predicted to have melted by 2015), Tropical Storm Arlene, Gulf of Mexico (Dynamic event. ISS track passed over the main mass of cloud, with the center off right. The storm remains diffuse and may not provide a good visual target, and Beni River dynamics, Bolivia (looking left of track out over the vast flat lowland of the Beni megafan. General views were requested up to 4 degrees off track to help direct future detailed imaging. Cloud buildup over the Andes Mountains–right of track–should not have obscured viewing for the crew).

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.

Some Increment 11 Main Events (not final):

• Progress M-52 (17P) undock — 6/15 (4:13pm EDT);
• Progress M-53 (18P) launch — 6/16 (7:09pm EDT, Baikonur: 6/17, 5:09am)
• Progress M-53 (18P) dock — 6/18 (8:46pm EDT);
• PMA-3 depress — 6/22 (4:50am EDT);
• Reboost — 6/29 (4:21pm, delta-V 2.3 m/s);
• LF-1/STS-114 launch — NET 7/13 (18-day window opens);
• LF-1/STS-114 dock — NET 7/15 (adding 110,713 kg to ISS mass);
• Soyuz TMA-6 (10S) relocate (from DC-1 to FGB) — ~8/16;
• Progress M-54 (19P) launch — 8/24 (dock 8/26);
• ULF1.1/STS-121 launch — NET 9/9 (launch window opens);
• 12A/STS-115 launch — NET 2/16/06;
• 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.