NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 24 January 2005

SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2004) 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 13 of Increment 10.

Onboard preparations for EVA-12 on Wednesday morning moved into the home stretch with a successful suited dry-run by Chiao and Sharipov in the DC1 docking compartment.

CDR Chiao started the activities at ~3:10am EST by configuring the Nikon F5 digital camera gear for its external use during the spacewalk.

The crew then collected and staged all personal gear required for the EVA.

Subsequently, preparatory for the Orlan dry-run, Leroy tore down and removed the air ducts between the Service Module Transfer Compartment (SM PkhO) and DC-1, skipping ventilation fan V3, configured the communications system and checked out the Orlan suits, their equipment and their BSS interface units. All EVA preps were monitored by the ground via S-Band and VHF.

Donning of EVA gear began at ~4:50am, followed first by checkout of the comm hookups & biomedical parameter telemetry via the BSS interface system for vital signs and equipment monitoring, then culminating in ingress in the Orlans and closure of their backpacks about an hour later.

DC1 hatch closure (isolation) and start of depress for subsequent leak checks was timelined at ~6:00am.

Next came functionality checkout of the suits and their BSS controls, preliminary fit checks at 0.4 at (5.9 psi) suit pressure (requiring some small arm adjusting), and half an hour of testing/training of suited mobility and translation.

The suited mobility and translation exercises began at ~6:30am [These included moving to VL1 (EVA hatch #1), translating to the POV and BSS (EVA support panel and Orlan interface unit), checking out rotation capability with and without lights on, retrieving the camera from the KPU tool carrier and stowing it temporarily on a handrail, then back in the KPU, mating electrical connectors, moving the ROBOTIK payload, and operating with OTAs (Orlan tether assemblies).]

Egress from the Orlans was around 7:15am, followed by a two-hour period of post-training cleanup activities, which included restoration of communications settings to nominal operation and re-installation of the air duct between SM and DC1.

After lunch (~9:50am), FE Sharipov completed the routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh environment control & life support system, including ASU toilet facilities. Working off the discretionary Russian task list, he prepared the regular IMS (inventory management system) delta file for export/import to the IMS databases.

Also on Salizhan’s task list was the regular daily inspection of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment, which researches growth and development of plants under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-5 greenhouse.

The crew performed their daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on TVIS treadmill, RED exerciser and VELO cycle with bungee cord load trainer. Salizhan’s daily protocol currently prescribes a four-day microcycle exercise with 1.5 hr on the TVIS (today: Day 2 of a new set) and one hour on VELO.

CDR/SO Chiao then transferred the daily TVIS and RED exercise data files to the MEC (medical equipment computer) for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium.

No CEO targets today.

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 10 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-10/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 10 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.

Upcoming Key Events:

• * EVA-12 — 1/26/05 (DC1 isolation, suited ingress & start depress 00:48am EST, EVA1 hatch opening 2:27am);
• * Progress 16P undocking & destructive reentry — 2/27/05;
• * Progress 17P launch — 2/28/05.
• * EVA-13 — 3/25/05;
• * Soyuz 10 S launch — 4/15/05;
• * Soyuz 9S undock — 4/25/05 (after 193 days on orbit, 191 days on board ISS).

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.