NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 April 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.

FE/SO Jeff Williams began his workday at the HRF1 (Human Research Facility 1) by initiating the regular recharge process on the MedOps cardiac defibrillator battery #1 to full capacity and subsequently performing it also on battery #2. Each charge took ~4 hrs. The task concluded with an open-circuit battery voltage check with the MultiMeter gauge.  [The NiCads have to be charged every 60 days along with a defib checkout.]

The crew performed scheduled maintenance of the Russian telephone/telegraph subsystem (STTS), with health checks of all comm panels (PA) in and between the Service Module (SM), FGB and Docking Compartment (DC1), VHF receiver tests, and an audit of headsets.  [The “Voskhod-M” STTS enables telephone communications between the SM, FGB, DC1 Docking Compartment and U.S. segment (USOS), and also with users on the ground over VHF channels selected by an operator at an SM comm panel, via STTS antennas on the SM s outside. There are six comm panels in the SM with pushbuttons for accessing any of three audio channels, plus an intercom channel. Other modes of the STTS include telegraphy (teletype), EVA voice, emergency alarms, Packet/Email, and TORU docking support.]

Vinogradov also worked on the restoration of the Russian Packet comm channel by replacing its laptop with an IBM ThinkPad 760XD machine (#6065) provided by the US from onboard spares, and swapping the HDDs (hard disk drives) of the laptops.

Yesterday, Pavel located the missing transfer hatch handles and the power supply unit for the SM #2 air conditioner (SKV2), which was lost last year.  [Now that the hardware has been located, an SKV2 power supply removal and replacement (R&R) is likely to be scheduled in the future. Still remaining on Pavel s discretionary time available task list for today was the search for the IK0501 gas analyzer converter (for measuring humidity partial pressure) and for a short air duct section (used for Soyuz docking during Expedition 1).]

The FE/SO performed the scheduled lens change on the EarthKAM system at the Lab science window, going from 50mm to the 180mm-lens configuration. The lens change had to be performed while EarthKAM was not taking pictures. No pictures can currently be taken since the window is currently closed for the reboost burn, to be reopened tomorrow morning.  [EarthKAM was activated on 4/18, but ran into some trouble which was traced to the camera. After Jeff exchanged cameras, EarthKAM is now back in business. The payload runs without crew intervention through Saturday. EK is using a Kodak ESC 460C electronic still camera with 50mm and 180mm lenses, powered by 16Vdc from a 28 Vdc adapter, taking pictures by remote operation from the ground, without crew interaction. It is available for students who submit image requests and conduct geographic research. The requests are uplinked in a camera control file to the IBM 760XD SSC laptop which then activates the camera at specified times and receives the digital images from the camera s storage card on its hard drive, for subsequent downlink via OpsLAN.]

The Science Officer was thanked for yesterday s Contact Line 2 work on the CFE (Capillary Flow Experiment) investigation and for his early removal of the equipment.  [ Thanks again for the video; it was the best CFE has seen thus far! ]

Working on the SM SOZh environment control & life support system s plumbing system, CDR Pavel Vinogradov removed and replaced the filter/reactor in the powered-down SRVK-2M condensate water processor.  [The SRVK-2M was subsequently reactivated, and the old filter was stowed for disposal on Progress 20. For the filter replacement, the CDR turned off the SKV air conditioner temporarily.]

Pavel also performed the daily routine SOZh maintenance, including ASU toilet systems and today also the periodic checkout/verification of IP-1 airflow sensors in the various Russian segment (RS) hatchways, such as the FGB-to-Soyuz tunnel and the FGB-to-Node passageway.

Afterwards, the CDR updated/edited the standard IMS delta file , including locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

Jeff conducted the daily atmospheric status check for ppO2 (Partial Pressure Oxygen) and ppCO2 (pp Carbon Dioxide), using the CSA-O2 (Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen Sensor) and CDMK (CO2 Monitoring Kit).

Both crewmembers worked out in their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE), TVIS treadmill (CDR), RED (FE) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE).  [Pavel Vinogradov s daily protocol prescribes a strict four-day microcycle exercise with 1.5 hr on the treadmill in unmotorized mode and one hour on VELO plus load trainer (today: Day 1 of the first set).]

Afterwards, Williams 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).

As all new station crews, CDR Vinogradov and FE Williams had one hour each set aside on today s schedule for ISS familiarization and adaptation, to help in adjusting to their new surroundings and activities.  [This unstructured and discretionary session has become a valuable standard requirement for new station occupants for the first two weeks.]

TsUP/Moscow completed Progress M-55/20P propellant transfer from the cargo ship s KDU refueling system to the low-pressure fuel and oxidizer tanks (BNDG & BNDO) 1, 2, 3 in the FGB module between 3:00-6:00pm EDT yesterday. No crew action was required.  [Russian specialists reported that all ISS-intended props were transferred, i.e., 186 kg fuel (unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine, UDMH) & 340 kg oxidizer (nitrogen tetroxide, N2O4). 20P arrived on 12/23/05 with a cargo load totaling ~2580 kg (5680 lbs), comprised of 880 kg (1940 lbs) of propellants (fuel/oxidizer) for the Station’s Russian thrusters, 83 kg (183 lbs) of oxygen and air for the ISS atmosphere, 210 kg (463 lbs) of water to augment onboard supplies, plus ~1400 kg (3,100 lbs) of spare parts, repair gear, life support system replaceables (including new U.S. TCCS {Trace Contaminant Control Subassembly} hardware), experiment equipment, and Christmas/New Year presents for the crew.]

ISS Reboost:  Ignition of the SM main engines is scheduled today at 3:49pm EDT, for a burn time of 10s, an expected delta-V of 0.35 m/s and a mean altitude increase of ~0.7 km. For the necessary station maneuvering, attitude control authority will be handed over from the US to the Russian MCS (motion control system) at ~1:45pm EDT and returned to CMG (Control Moment Gyroscope) momentum management at 4:55pm.  [Primary objective of the reboost is to test the SM main engine jets (KD1 & KD2) which have never been fired with the SM linked to the ISS. Intended for orbit correction, they are located at the SM aft end, symmetrically on the sides of the center docking port.]

Update on SSC (Station Support Computer) issues:  Crew attempts to recover SSC-10 yesterday were unsuccessful. Ground teams are developing a troubleshooting plan for the SSC-10 laptop, located in the Node; they are also continuing to monitor SSC-7, which was recovered and is back in service with KFX (Ku Band File Transfer) running nominally.  [SSC-10, which has a failed display, had been designated as a KFX-dedicated machine, and SSC-7 was the designated back-up. The new configuration on-board has SSC-6 serving as prime for KFX, with SSC-7 as back-up.]

Update on RPCM (Remote Power Controller Module) LA1B_H:  The removal and replacement (R&R) of the failed RCPM in the Lab will be performed on Monday (4/24). Access to the RPCM will require moving the TeSS (Temporary Sleep Station) rack temporarily out of the way. A review session will precede the R&R next Friday (4/21).

Update on Progress M-56/21P:  Prelaunch processing activities at Baikonur continue. Today, designers inspection of the cargo ship in Energia s Spacecraft Assembly & Testing Facility was completed, and the payload shroud was rolled on (see picture, below).

Today’s CEO (Crew Earth Observation) photo target, in the current LVLH attitude no longer limited by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, was Rio de La Plata, South America (Dynamic Event. The station s orbit track passed over the center of the Rio de la Plata, the widest estuary in the world. Weather was predicted to be clear, providing an excellent opportunity for mapping coverage. Like most estuaries, this one is experiencing significant environmental pressures from human settlement. A suggested mapping strategy was to acquire overlapping frames along track as ISS followed the feeder rivers [the Uruguay and Parana] to the head of the estuary. Once the station entered the wider estuary, the crew was to acquire overlapping frames along the northeastern and southwestern shorelines.)

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. Increment 12 alone produced 12,962 pictures.

CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:

CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:

• http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station/CEO.html
• 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 13 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-13/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 13 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, 7:03am EDT [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 343.2 km
• Apogee height — 349.4 km
• Perigee height — 336.9 km
• Period — 91.40 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0009302
• Solar Beta Angle — 60.0 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.75
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 61m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 42390

Significant Events Ahead (all dates subject to change):

• 04/19/06 — SM main engines test/ISS reboost (3:49pm EDT; 0.35 m/s delta-V)
• 04/20/06 — Retest of SM yaw thruster (-RZ, manifold-2)
• 04/24/06 — Progress M-56/21P launch
• 04/26/06 — Progress M-56/21P docking (SM aft port)
• 05/20/06 — Progress M-56/21P loading complete; hatches closed
• 06/14-16/06 — Russian EVA-16
• 06/17/06 — Progress M-55/20P undocking (DC1) & reentry
• 06/18/06 — Progress M-57/22P launch
• 06/20/06 — Progress M-57/22P docking (DC1)
• 07/01/06 — NET STS-121/ULF1.1 launch
• 07/??/06 — US EVA-5
• 08/28/07 — NET STS-115/12A launch
• 09/13/06 — Progress M-56/21P undocking (SM aft port) & reentry
• 09/14/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S launch (Expedition 14 + VC11)
• 09/16/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S docking (SM aft port)
• 09/24/06 — Soyuz TMA-8/12S undocking (FGB nadir port) & reentry
• 10/08/06 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S relocation (SM aft port to FGB nadir port)
• 10/18/06 — Progress M-58/23P launch
• 10/20/06 — Progress M-58/23P docking (SM aft port)
• 11/16/06 — NET STS-116/12A.1 launch
• 12/19/06 — Progress M-57/22P undocking (DC1) & reentry
• 12/20/06 — Progress M-59/24P launch
• 12/22/06 — Progress M-59/24P docking (DC1)
• 02/06/07 — Progress M-59/24P undocking (DC1) & reentry
• 02/07/07 — Progress M-60/25P launch
• 02/09/07 — Progress M-60/25P docking (DC1)
• ??/??/07 — Progress M-58/23P undocking (SM aft port) & reentry
• 03/09/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S launch (Expedition 15 + VC12)
• 03/11/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S docking (SM aft port)
• 03/19/07 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S undocking (FGB nadir port)
• 03/22/07 — NET STS-117/13 <> A launch
• ??/??/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S relocation (SM aft port to FGB nadir port)
• 06/14/07 — NET STS-118/13A.1.

   (NET = no earlier than)

Today at Baikonur/Kazakhstan, Progress M-56/21P was inserted in its payload shroud after passing designers inspection (4/19/06).

• Photo Report: Designers Inspection of Progress M-56 Cargo Vehicle Completed
• Photo Report: Progress M-56 Transport Cargo Vehicle Docked With Transfer Compartment

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.