NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 2 November 2005

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All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.   >>>Today is the Fifth Anniversary of Permanent Human Occupancy of the station, counted from arrival of Expedition 1 (Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Krikalev) on 11/2/2000 at 5:23am EST.  Since that time, the ISS has seen 97 visitors from 10 countries, of which 29 have lived on board as members of 12 Expeditions.  As of now, 50 missions have been launch to the ISS, starting with the FGB/Zarya module on a Proton from Baikonur on 11/20/98: 33 Russian Proton & Soyuz rockets, and 17 U.S. Shuttles.  To date, a total of 62 EVAs have been conducted: 28 originating from a Shuttle, 34 from the ISS (US: 18; RS: 16), accumulating a total duration of over 373 hours (not man-hours).  In the past five years, the station inhabitants have consumed about 19,000 meals plus 16,000 snacks, totaling 13,6 metric tons of food.

Today, the crew worked on the Russian STR thermal control system’s KOB-2 loop to remove a replaceable unit (BS) containing the electric pump (ENA) of the replaceable pump panel 4SPN1 and to replace it with a new one from FGB stowage.  The failed ENA pump will be returned to the ground.   [For the IFM, which was supported by a tag-up with ground specialists via VHF, the Elektron was temporarily deactivated.  Also, the BITS2-12 telemetry system and VD-SU control mode were powered down until the BITS-2-12 connector had been mated with the newly installed pump.]

CDR Bill McArthur continued the new round of regular monthly preventive maintenance of Russian segment (RS) air ventilation systems, begun yesterday by Tokarev, today cleaning the protective mesh screens of the two TsV ventilation fans in the Funktsionalnyi-Grusovoi Blok (FGB).

Valery worked on the force loader (NS-1) of the Russian VELO cycle ergometer (VB-3), outfitting it with a large supporting plate, including two foot plates and connecting bracket.  These were delivered on Progress 19 and unstowed by the FE two days ago.

In preparation for next Monday’s EVA-4, McArthur initiated battery charging for the DCS 760 digital still camera to be used during the spacewalk.  Later, he configured the camera with the 28mm lens and its protective thermal blanket covering.

Using a special MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) application, both crewmembers in turn took their first periodic on-orbit hearing assessment (O-OHA) test, a NASA environmental health systems examination to assess the efficacy of acoustic countermeasures.   [The O-OHA audiography test involves minimum audibility measurements for each ear over a wide range of frequencies (0.25-10 kHz) and sound pressure levels, with the crewmembers using individual-specific Prophonics earphones, Bose ANC headsets and the SLM (sound level meter).  To conduct the testing, the experimenter is supported by special EarQ software on the MEC, featuring an up/down-arrow-operated slider for each test frequency that the crewmember moves to the lowest sound pressure level at which the tone can still be heard.  The baseline test is required not later than about Flight Day 14 for each new Expedition and is then generally performed once per month.]

The FE performed the periodic replenishing of the Elektron’s water supply for electrolysis, his second, filling the KOV thermal loops’ EDV container with purified (deionized) water from the BKO multifiltration/purification column unit, following carefully written instructions.   [The procedure is specially designed to prevent air bubbles larger than ~20 mm from getting into the new BZh-8 Liquid Unit where they could cause Elektron shutdown.  In the procedure, the EDV water is carefully drawn from the BKO and the air/liquid separator unit (GZhS) while the crewmember checks for any air bubbles in the EDV (and, if visible, estimates their number, with up to 10 bubbles of less than 20 mm diameter permitted).  Elektron water is also supplied from USOS condensate in a CWC (collapsible water container) that is checked for its contents of air bubbles and is rejected if the estimated total air bubble volume is more than 30 cubic centimeters (1 cm air bubble is about 0.5 ccm).]

Valery completed the routine SOZh/ECLSS maintenance in the Service Module (SM), including the weekly routine checkup of the IP-1 airflow sensors in the various RS hatchways and FGB-to-Node tunnel, while Bill updated/edited the regular IMS (Inventory Management System) delta file for its automated export/import to the three IMS databases (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

Early in the morning, at ~2:45am EST, the FE also conducted the weekly IMS tagup with specialists at TsUP/Moscow, discussing open issues concerning identification of equipment and storage locations for the IMS databases via S-band.

In support of the subsequent TEKh-22 “Identifikatsiya” experiment to identify sources of disturbance on the ISS, on Daily Orbit 2 (DO2, ~11:31am EST) TsUP/Moscow activated the Russian ALO Linear Optical Accelerometer and three sets of IMU microaccelerometer sensors (two in SM, one in FGB), before Tokarev began his daily workout on the VELO cycle.   [Purpose of the Identifikatsiya session was to verify the levels of dynamic excitation/loading of the ISS structural elements caused by the VELO during nominal physical exercise.  The experiment will also be conducted with the RED resistive exerciser.]

Both crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program on their exercise equipment, Bill on the TVIS treadmill and RED, Valery on TVIS and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer.   [Valery’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 4 of a new set).]

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

The CDR also performed the weekly treadmill maintenance, primarily checking the condition of the SPDs (subject positioning devices) and recording time & date readings.

At ~8:10am, the crewmembers supported a televised PAO/media exchange with ABC News Now (Ned Potter) and CBS News (Peter King/Bill Harwood) which focused mainly on today’s Fifth Anniversary of permanent human occupancy of ISS.

During the Russian DO2 comm window, TsUP/Moscow reconfigured the DPO thrusters of Progress 19, used on 10/26 for the reboost test, for the time when station attitude control is handed over from the U.S. CMGs. [Manifold #2 was selected for ops; #1 was inhibited.]

The crew has recently reported degraded quality of the IP (Internet Protocol) phone connection, including static and an echo.  Engineering teams are reviewing the available information to determine whether an improvement can be made.

Today’s CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets, limited in the current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, which is available for only ~1/4 of each orbit when not facing forward (in ram), were Mekong River Delta (with Typhoon Kai-Tak weakening over the interior of northern Vietnam, conditions may be acceptable for mapping views of the Mekong River delta in the south. Major dam construction upriver is expected to significantly alter the delta’s formation and land use in the coming decades.  The crew was to try mapping the coastal areas only), Patagonian Glaciers (weather was marginal this pass, but it was the best light of the day.  Looking for glacier features either through cloud breaks or on the more sheltered eastern flanks of the Andes.  Using the long lens settings and concentrating on the smaller, less-photographed glaciers where possible), and Internal waves, Northern Patagonian Shelf (this pass had good potential for detecting glint-enhanced internal wave patterns in the vicinity of the Valdes Peninsula and northeastward.  As ISS approached the coast, the crew was to look left of track).

To date, over 177,000 of CEO images have been taken in the first five years of the ISS.

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, 7:29am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 346.1 km
• Apogee height — 347.4 km
• Perigee height — 344.8 km
• Period — 91.46 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.000197
• Solar Beta Angle — 28.4 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.74
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 172 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 39745

Upcoming Events (all dates Eastern):

• 11/02/05 – Fifth Anniversary of permanent ISS occupancy
• 11/07/05 — EVA-4 (U.S.; hatch open ~9:30am; hatch closing ~3pm EST)
• 11/10/05 — ISS Reboost (from 19P; manifold #2)
• 11/18/05 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S relocation (from DC-1 to FGB nadir port)
• 12/07/05 — EVA-15 (Russian; under review)
• 12/20/05 — Progress M-54/19P undocking & reentry
• 12/21/05 — Progress M-55/20P launch
• 12/23/05 — Progress M-55/20P docking
• 01/09/06 — 100 days for Expedition 12.

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.