NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 25 November 2004
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. Thanksgiving Day and an (almost) all around off-duty
day for the crew!
There was plenty of time for the station residents to work out on their
exercise equipment, completing their daily 2.5-hr. protocol On TVIS
treadmill, RED resistive (anaerobic) exerciser and VELO ergometer with
bungee cord force loader.
Afterwards, CDR/SO Chiao performed the daily transfer of TVIS and RED
exercise data files and HRM (heart rate monitor) readings to the MEC
(medical equipment computer), afterwards clearing HRM storage by erasure.
On TsUP/Moscow Go, FE Sharipov was to perform the weekly replenishing of the
Elektron’s condensate water supply for electrolysis, his fifth, filling the
KOV thermal loops EDV container with purified (deionized) water from the
newly installed (yesterday) BKO multifiltration/purification column unit.
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Salizhan also attended to the daily routine maintenance of the SOZh
environmental control & life support systems in the SM, including the
servicing of the ASU toilet systems.
Leroy meanwhile filled out his regular weekly FFQ (food frequency
questionnaire), his fourth, which keeps a log of his nutritional intake over
time on special MEC (medical equipment computer) software. Work continues
on the ground to put together the food allocations for launch on Progress
16P. [The FFQ provides for recording consumed amounts during the past week
of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks,
sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces &
spreads, and vitamins. The onboard supply of food rations for the crew is
receiving increased attention by consumable planners after Leroy’s recent
audit, which adjusted estimates by the ground downward. As of 11/21, there
were 105 rations left on board (in 51 containers). With a usage rate of
0.95 ration per crewmember per day, food supply will be down to 88 rations
by Progress 16P arrival (12/25), including just 7 U.S.-type food rations.
Should 16P fail to arrive, food supplies will be down to 24 rations by the
time of 17P arrival (3/2), assuming no schedule change, or 34 rations for a
reduced usage of 0.8 rations/man/day (Note: Soyuz 10S arrives on or about
4/17).]
Working off the Russian discretionary task list, Sharipov ran a test on the
audio file recorder of the VC6 “Delta” program’s ETD experiment
(Investigation of the Coordination of Eye and Head Movements). [ETD
investigates horizontal eye and head movement coordination in micro-G,
measures Listing’s plane, and determines the orientation of the human
vestibulo-ocular coordinate system, using five target marks on the
horizontal plane.]
Troubleshooting on the U.S. MCA (major constituents analyzer) has been
completed and the cause of the biased partial pressure readings is
understood. The MCA has been recalibrated and returned to normal
functionality.
Update on Soyuz 9S relocation: Preparations for the relocation of 9S from
DC1 to FGB on Monday morning (4:32am) continue since there are no perceived
impacts from yesterday’s thruster test. TsUP/Moscow, with concurrence of
the MMT (Mission Management Team), will conduct a brief (5 sec.) firing of
thrusters 17 & 18 during the transposition flight at a distance of ~30m from
the ISS. Afterwards, DPO17 and DPO18 will be deactivated, never to be used
again. The redocking will be conducted with the proven DPOs 27 & 28. With
DPO17, that leaves three braking thrusters available, of which any one could
support the docking by itself. Because of the possibility of SSRMS video
camera contamination by the Soyuz thrusters, an alternate position was
determined for the robotarm and uplinked to allow viewing at minimized risk
of contamination. In preparation for the relocation, the crew will have a
very short Sunday due to a 7.5-hr. shift of sleep cycle from 4:30pm EST to
9:00am, followed by wakeup at 5:45pm. After U.S. segment (USOS) hatch
closing at ~7:15pm, Leroy and Salizhan will spent ~4.5 hrs preparing the RS
for unmanned operation (e.g., shutting down systems that cannot be
ground-controlled), then egress into the Soyuz at midnight, with DC1 hatch
closing at ~12:15am (Monday morning) and undocking at 4:32am, DPO17/18
thruster test at ~4:54am and docking at the FGB nadir port at 5:00am, five
minutes before local sunset. In case of an off-nominal situation with
delayed docking, for any minor problems the crew could dock a little late,
having covered docking in darkness in their training. For a major problem,
it is expected that the Soyuz would coast in free flight for 24 hours rather
than stationkeep for one orbit (90 minutes), which would use up
significantly more Soyuz propellants than coming back next day. Since the
crew’s workday duration for this activity will approach 20 hrs, a Flight
Rule B13-103) that limits maximum crew awake time to 18 hrs will have to be
formally waived.
Today’s CEO photo targets, no longer limited in the current LVLH attitude,
were Hyderabad, India (this overpass provided an opportunity for
high-resolution photography of this megacity. Mapping swaths from the
urban-rural fringe through the city center are useful for tracking urban
growth and fine-scale urban morphology), Muglad Basin fans, SW Sudan
(weather was clear for detailed mapping of this oil-bearing megafan complex.
Mapping swaths across the fans are particularly useful for delineating
individual fan boundaries), Internal Waves, Caribbean Sea (weather was
clearing and provided an opportunity for internal wave photography. Looking
to the right of track close to the shoreline of Venezuela for the sunglint
point), Internal Waves, Bahamas (weather was predicted to mostly clear for
internal wave photography. Looking to the right of track for the sunglint
point), and Flooding, southeast Texas (Dynamic Event. Recent heavy rains
have produced flooding to the west-southwest of Houston. Looking to the
right of track for areas of standing water; some sunglint may also be
visible in flooded areas).
CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:
See also the website “Space Station Challenge” at:
To view the latest photos taken by the expedition 10 crew visit:
- http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-9/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:
- Soyuz relocation DC1-FGB — 11/29 (4:32am);
- Progress 15P undocking & destructive reentry — 12/22;
- Progress 16P launch — 12/23;
- Progress 16B docking — 12/25 (GMT);
- EVA-12 — January 05 (1/27?).
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ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 5:50am EST [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 357.2 km
- Apogee height — 360.2 km
- Perigee height — 354.2 km
- Period — 91.69 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.0004372
- Solar Beta Angle — -27.1 deg (magnitude increasing)
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.70
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 160 m
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 34364
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.
