NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 13 February 2006

SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2006) 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 19 for Expedition 12.

The crew completed the first part of the three-part semi-annual maintenance of the TVIS treadmill, located in the Service Module (SM) floor “pit”.   [The first day focused on routine six-month inspections (i.e., checking for damage and cleaning screens), preparation work and beginning of roller bearing replacements.  During inspection, a “stain” was discovered on the bottom of the running belt, and ground engineers are awaiting imagery for study.  Later tonight, the TVIS was to be put in a safe configuration and temporarily stowed overnight in the pit to maintain proper cabin airflow and protect the hardware.  Tomorrow’s work is targeted for completion of roller bearing replacements, inspections (lubricating components and checking for loose fasteners), replacing a damaged wire rope of the clamp rope assembly, and returning TVIS to nominal configuration.  The third day is scheduled in the event that there is any additional damage noted during the inspections or the maintenance.  Once the procedure is completed, assuming no anomalies are encountered, CDR McArthur will perform an activation and checkout session, which includes an unmanned 10-minute speed characterization test and one nominal TVIS exercise session.  After data downlink, ground engineers require three hours for review, before they give a “GO” for Valery’s TVIS exercise session and nominal TVIS operations.  Assuming favorable engineering analysis, both crewmembers are to resume the bungee/eyebolt harness configuration used prior to this TVIS maintenance.]

Tokarev set up the U.S. “Makita” power tool charger in the Node and starting charging its battery pack (#1012).   [The Makita drill will be required for tomorrow’s scheduled condensate water sample transfer from the filled KAV condensate container, i.e., for drilling a 7-mm dia hole in the plastic cap at the bottom of the KAV for transferring samples to two empty drink bags.]

The FE also unstowed ESA’s “Immuno” experiment from Progress 20, transferred it to the SM and set up its Saliva-Immuno Kit for tomorrow’s scheduled stress test session.   [Objective of the experiment is to investigate immune neuro-endocrine reactions in the space environment by studying samples of saliva, blood and urine using collection kits and the biomedical (MBI) protection kit along with a stress-test questionnaire filled out by the subject.]

Valery performed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), including its toilet system (ASU) and the weekly inspection of the air/liquid condensate separator apparatus (BRPK), while the daily updating/editing of the standard IMS “delta file”, including locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur) was today carried out by McArthur.

The CDR also ran another periodic atmospheric status check for ppO2 (Partial Pressure Oxygen) and ppCO2 (pp Carbon Dioxide), using the CSA-O2 (Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen Sensor).

FE Tokarev conducted a 2-hr. audit/inventory of onboard water transfer equipment, using an uplinked checklist for filling in missing information.  [The audit first focused on five listed BP pumping units, then extended to EDV, pressure and connecting adapters, hoses, receiving devices plus kits with Rodnik hardware and accessories.]

Valery also performed the regular check of the Japanese experiment GCF-JAXA (Granada Crystallization Facility) in the Russian TBU incubator, maintained at 20 degC, including a temperature check on its ART (automatic temperature recorder).   [This daily monitoring/temp checking, carried on the Russian voluntary “time available” task list, will continue until 4/30.]

A second discretionary task on the Russian work list for Tokarev was the daily status check of the Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment.   [Rasteniya researches growth and development of plants under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-8 greenhouse.  The regular maintenance of the experiment (each Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) involves monitoring of seedling growth, humidity measurements, moistening of the substrate if necessary, topping off the water tank if ~20-25% of the total amount (4 liters) remains, and photo/video recording.  Once weekly, data from the Lada greenhouse control unit are recorded on floppy disk for weekly downlink via REGUL-Packet or the new BSR-TM at a suitable occasion.]

Both crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the CEVIS cycle ergometer, RED resistive exerciser and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer.   [Valery’s daily protocol for today required 1.5 hr on the RED, instead of the TVIS, and one hour on VELO plus load trainer (today: Day 3 of the first set).]

Afterwards, McArthur 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).

TsUP-Moscow reported this morning that Saturday’s 8min 42sec test burn by Progress 20 at the DC1 nadir port — a first — went as planned. Delta-V was 47 m/s, and 20P used 37.9 kg propellants for attitude maneuvers plus holds and 45.8 kg for ISS translation.  U.S. MAMS (Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System) structural dynamics data were recorded throughout the test.

Humidity has been accumulated in the Lab condensate tank since about 1:30pm EST yesterday.  Rate of collection is slowing and is expected to stop soon.   [RSC-Energia is checking whether the increased humidity in the U.S. segment is connected to the switch between the Russian SKV air conditioners which is standard procedure every Friday and Monday (for SKV life conservation).]

EVA equipment engineers have determined that the low SOP (secondary oxygen pack) readings on EMU #3010 were a data (transcription) error. The suit is good until October at the current nominal SOP decay rate, which is within specification.  No EMUs are leaking.

No CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo targets uplinked for today.

To date, more than 186,000 of CEO images have been taken in the first five years of the ISS, almost one third of the total number of images taken from orbit by astronauts.

  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, 7:34am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 346.1 km
• Apogee height — 351.2 km
• Perigee height — 341.1 km
• Period — 91.46 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0007529
• Solar Beta Angle — 22.5 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.74
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 53 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 41367

Events Ahead (all dates Eastern & tentative):

• 02/21/06 — ISS reboost (by 19P; mvr. back to XPOP after burn)
• 03/03/06 — Progress M-54/19P undocking & reentry (mvr. to LVLH XVV after undock)
• 03/10/06 — ISS reboost (by SM thrusters; mvr. back to XPOP after burn)
• 03/30/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S launch (Pavel Vinogradov/Russia, Jeffrey Williams/US, Marcos Pontes/Brazil)
• 04/01/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S docking (DC1; mvr. to LVLH XVV after dock)
• 04/09/06 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S undocking & reentry (mvr. to XPOP after undock)
• 04/16/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S relocation (DC1 to FGB nadir port)
• 04/24/06 — Progress M-56/21P launch
• 04/26/06 — Progress M-56/21P docking
• 05/03/06 — ULF1.1 launch (NET, not earlier than)
• 06/15/06 — U.S. EVA (under review)
• 06/19/06 — Progress M-55/20P undocking & reentry
• 06/28/06 — Progress M-57/22P launch
• 06/30/06 — Progress M-57/22P docking
• 07/01/06 — 12A launch (under review)
• 08/01/06 — Russian EVA-16 (under review)
• 09/13/06 — Progress M-56/21P undocking & reentry
• 09/14/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S launch
• 09/16/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S docking (DC1)
• 09/24/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S undocking & reentry
• 10/18/06 — Progress M-58/23P launch
• 10/20/06 — Progress M-58/23P docking
• 12/19/06 — Progress M-57/22P undocking & reentry
• 12/20/06 — Progress M-59/24P launch
• 12/22/06 — Progress M-59/24P docking.

 
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.