NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 2 June 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.

After yesterday’s strenuous spacewalk, the crew s sleep cycle today remains shifted. Pavel and Jeffrey are currently asleep, until 3:00pm this afternoon. The cycle will shift back gradually until, by Monday (6/5), the crew will have finally returned to the normal schedule of 2:00am 5:30pm (all times EDT).

Last night’s EVA-16 spacewalk by Williams and Vinogradov was a full success. It began on time at 6:48pm EDT and ended at 1:19am this morning, for a total duration of 6h 31min.  [ISS attitude control was handed over to Houston/MCC at 11:11pm and returned to Moscow/TsUP at 12:26am. It was the 65th spacewalk for station assembly & maintenance, raising total EVA time to 390h 54min, and the first ISS EVA by Jeffrey Williams & Pavel Vinogradov on Increment 13. With it, Vinogradov has now conducted six spacewalks, five of them on the Russian space station Mir where he has logged 26h 19min. For Williams, it was the second EVA, after his first during Shuttle mission STS-101 in 2000 which lasted 6h 44 min. As of now, 41 U.S. astronauts, 13 Russian cosmonauts, one Japanese astronaut and one French spationaut have logged 390h 54min in ISS EVA time. Pavel and Jeff s next spacewalk is currently scheduled for 8/3, but could be delayed to early 2007, according to RSC-Energia.]

CDR Vinogradov and FE/SO Williams accomplished all objectives successfully, with excellent flexibility. When work fell behind timeline on the Russian segment (RS), spacesuit engineers at TsUP determined that the Orlans had enough safety margins for a half-hour extension of the original six-hour suit limit, permitting the crew to complete the EVA with the successful replacement of the external MBS (Mobile Base System) mast CLPA (Camera, Light & PTU Assembly) ORU that had failed on 2/18/05.   [After the installation of the new spare, telemetry quickly confirmed that the CLPA is fully connected and working. Other accomplished tasks were (1) the successful creation of a new non-propulsive vent outlet for waste hydrogen (H2) from the Elektron (utilizing a previously capped ground support port), (2) photography of the WAL2 low gain antenna at the Service Module (SM) aft end, which had interfered with the sun cover of one of the two SM main thrusters on 4/19, (3) removal of cable slack in the area of the WAL3 antenna (suspected as causing reduced WAL3 signal strength seen during testing), and (3) retrieval of the BKDO (Plume Impingement & Deposit Monitoring Unit), (4) Kromka witness plate, and (5) Biorisk payload.]

During translation from the RS to the US segment (USOS), an adapter piece for a Russian foot restraint on the Strela crane, called the Yakor , came loose and drifted away from the ISS.  [Based on crew report, Yakor made no contact with the station. Although efforts are still underway to track the hardware to determine its orbital position and trajectory, preliminary analysis by ground specialists indicates that the possibility of recontact with the ISS is minimal, and that re-entry may not occur for several months. The adapter, pictured below, has dimensions 38cm x 14cm x 20cm and a mass of 3.42 kg (7.54 lb).]

After their wakeup later today at 3:00pm, Pavel s morning inspection will include the routine checkup of DC1 circuit breakers and fuses.  [The monthly checkup in the Pirs Docking Compartment looks at AZS circuit breakers on the BVP Amp Switch Panel (they should all be On) and the LEDs (light-emitting diodes) of 14 fuses in Fuse Panels BPP-30 & BPP-36.]

Afterwards, the CDR will close out and stow the MO-9 Urolux urine biochemistry test, taken by the crew shortly after returning from their extravehicular excursion.

Vinogradov will also complete closeout activities on the ESA NOA (Nitric Oxide Analyzer) session that he had conducted this morning after the EVA.

Meanwhile, Jeff Williams is scheduled to jumper the ITCS (Internal Thermal Control System) in the USOS back to the MT (moderate temperature) loop, after which the ground will transition the ITCS from Dual to the pre-EVA Single-MT mode.

In further post-EVA cleanup activities, the FE is to reconfigure the EVA DCS digital still camera and the Nikon F5 camera, downlink EVA-16 photo imagery via OCA, deactivate the Sony camcorder in the USOS, restore the onboard video configuration by disconnecting the UOP DCP (utility outlet panel/display & control panel) bypass power cable from the Lab Robotics Work Station (after today s ground-controlled SSRMS ops). and power off the PCS (Portable Computer System) A31p laptop in the FGB.

The crew also needs to complete the OpsLAN (Operations Local Areas Network) reconfiguration in the RS which they were unable to do this morning due to a suspected reconnection problem at the FGB/PMA1 (Pressurized Mating Adapter #1) interface.

The CDR is to return the Pille and ID-3 personal radiation dosimeters to their original locations.  [He will first retrieve the ID-3 from the pocket of the Orlan-M suit worn yesterday and attach it on his flight suit for continuous wearing, then take the two Pille sensors A0309 & A0310 from the Orlans and record the readings before placing them in their stowage kit.]

Later, Vinogradov stows the Biorisk-MSC container which he had returned from the DC1 exterior, followed by clean-up ops.  [Biorisk contains a variety of microorganisms which, after their length exposure to space radiation, will be analyzed by Russian scientists after their return to Moscow.]

Pavel also collects the weekly cabin air readings with the Real-Time Harmful Contaminant Gas Analyzer (GANK-4M) system of the SM Pressure Control & Atmospheric Monitoring System (SOGS), which tests particularly for NH3 (ammonia) and HCl (hydrogen chloride).

Williams will do the daily atmospheric status checks for ppO2 (Partial Pressure Oxygen) and ppCO2 (pp Carbon Dioxide), using the CSA-O2 (Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen sensor) and CDMK (CO2 Monitoring Kit).

Jeff is also scheduled to return the U.S. SODF (Systems Operation Data File), Emergency books, CCPK (Crew Contamination Protection Kit) plus CD Library from their temporary location in the DC1 Docking Module to their regular places in the Lab, and afterwards he performs the regular weekly maintenance reboot on the operational PCS laptops.

The daily routine maintenance of the SM’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), including its toilet system (ASU), is today being performed by Pavel.

Late tonight, the FE will conduct the regular weekly audit/inventory of the available CWCs (collapsible water containers) and their contents, to keep track of onboard water supplies.  [Updated cue cards based on Jeff s water calldowns are sent up every other week.

At ~7:15pm EDT, Jeff and Pavel have their standard weekly teleconference with the JSC Astronaut Office (Kent Rominger), via S-band S/G (space-to-ground).

Sleep period will begin at 10:30pm tonight, to extend through 7:00am tomorrow morning.

With the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) powered up, at ~1:25pm EDT CSA/NASA specialists at MCC-Houston began to conduct a two-hour pre-motion survey to verify that the real situation matches Robotics simulators, followed by several hours of ground-controlled motion, to run through ~7:00pm. SSRMS will then be powered down (~7:20pm).  [The objective of today s Robotics ops is to return the robotarm to the previous Lab Clearance, following the same single-joint-at-a-time trajectory, but in reverse, as two days ago, broken into 24 Joint OCAS (operator commanded auto sequence) maneuvers.]

The station continues in LVLH XVV (local vertical local horizontal/x-axis in velocity vector) attitude, as required by the current solar Beta angle magnitude (3.2 deg), until the reboost and the maneuver to LVLH YVV (y-axis in velocity vector) on 6/9.

Station reboost, by 21P rendezvous & docking thrusters (DPO), is scheduled for 6/9 (Friday next week) at 2:47pm EDT.  [Intended to set up proper phasing for 22P (docking 6/26) and STS-121/Discovery (docking 7/3, earliest), the maneuver will apply a delta-V of 0.7 m/s to boost mean altitude by 1.3 km, with a burn duration of 2 min 58 sec.]

Today’s 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 Tropical disturbance, E Pacific (Dynamic event. The Hurricane Center is monitoring a large area of disturbed weather SSW of Acapulco. This low pressure area is drifting north and may become the second tropical storm of the season in the eastern Pacific basin. These systems can develop quickly. Looking into the ISS velocity vector for organized, radial cloud bands and using short focal-length lens requested), and Intertropical Convergence, Pacific (Dynamic event. Opportunity to shoot a good example of this global cloud feature. The Intertropical Convergence Zone is a major linear cloud mass that is often continuous for thousands of kilometers, generated by the convergence of northeasterly and southeasterly winds along the meteorological equator).

To date, more than 198,000 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://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, 3:58am EDT [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 342.2 km
• Apogee height– 348.1 km
• Perigee height –336.3 km
• Period — 91.38 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0008814
• Solar Beta Angle — 3.2 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.76
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 98 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 43082

Significant Events Ahead (all dates subject to change):

• 06/09/06 — ISS reboost with 21P for phasing (2:47pm EDT, delta-V 0.7 m/s)
• 06/19/06 — Progress M-55/20P undocking (DC1) & reentry
• 06/24/06 — Progress M-57/22P launch
• 06/26/06 — Progress M-57/22P docking (DC1)
• 07/01/06 — STS-121/ULF1.1 launch (earliest)
• 07/03-11/06 — STS-121/ULF1.1 docked mission w/ISS (earliest)
• 07/??/06 — US EVA-5
• 08/28/07 — STS-115/12A launch (earliest)
• 08/30-09/06 — STS-115/12A docked mission w/ISS (earliest) P3/P4 trusses
• 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
• 10/10/06 — 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)
• 11/22/06 — Russian EVA-17
• 12/14/06 — STS-116/12A.1 launch (earliest)
• 12/16-23/06 — STS-116/12A.1 docked mission w/ISS (earliest) P5 truss
• 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)
• 01/22/07 — US EVA-6
• 01/26/07 — US EVA-7
• 01/31/07 — US EVA-8
• 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)
• 02/22/07 — STS-117/13A launch (earliest) S3/S4 trusses
• 02/24-03/03/07 — STS-117/13A docked mission w/ISS (earliest)
• 03/08/07 — Progress M-58/23P undocking (SM aft port) & reentry
• 03/09/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S launch (Expeditio <> n 15 + VC12)
• 03/11/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S docking (SM aft port)
• 03/19/07 — Soyuz TMA-9/13S undocking (FGB nadir port)
• ??/??/07 — Soyuz TMA-10/14S relocation (SM aft port to FGB nadir port)
• 06/11/07 — STS-118/13A.1 (earliest).

ISS Altitude History

Apogee height — Mean Altitude — Perigee height

For more on ISS orbit and worldwide ISS naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ on NASA’s Human Spaceflight website. Additional satellite tracking resources can be found at http://www.spaceref.com/iss/tracking.html.