NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 26 August 2005

SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2005) to enhance access to related status reports and NASA activities.

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

Now that the LF-1 cargo stowage challenge has been somewhat alleviated by the crew, CDR Sergei Krikalev and FE/SO John Phillips turned to the long-delayed job of unloading Progress 18P cargo ship to the ISS. Three hours were allocated on the crew schedule for the job. The transfer and stowage of supplies and equipment is made particularly time-consuming by the requirement of IMS (Inventory Management System) logging.  [The task was supported by an uplinked Russian 18P transfer/stowage plan, supplemented by a second list for US items on the Progress (food and clothing containers).]

Afterwards, Phillips had another four hours reserved for continuing the unpacking and stowing of LF-1-delivered cargoes, going by a list prepared by MCC-H.  [A second plan for helping the FE to relocate items from temporary locations in the Node will be uplinked next week.]

Later, John collected the periodic reading of the cabin air’s current CO2 partial pressure in the SM and Lab, using the U.S. CDMK (carbon dioxide monitoring kit, #1013), for calldown, along with the battery status, for use in trending analyses.

After setting up the necessary pump-and-hose hookup, Krikalev transferred urine from seven EDV-U liquid waste containers to the two empty Rodnik water tanks in Progress 18 for disposal. Afterwards, the hookup was disassembled again.  [Each of the two spherical Rodnik tanks (BV1 & BV2) consists of a hard shell with a soft membrane (bladder) composed of elastic fluoroplastic. The bladder is used to expel water from the tank by compressed air pumped into the tank volume surrounding the membrane.]

The FE took care of the regular weekly maintenance reboot on the operational PCS (Portable Computer System) laptops and the bi-monthly restart of the OCA comm router SSC (Station Support Computer) laptop.

Using the Russian MO-21 Ecosfera air sampler & incubation equipment, the CDR monitored the station s sanitary-hygiene status by conducting another 40-min. microbial analysis (T+2 days) on the air samples collected on 8/24 and incubated since then in the MO-21 equipment.  [MO-21 determines microbial contamination of the ISS atmosphere, specifically the total bacterial and fungal microflora counts and microflora composition according to morphologic criteria of microorganism colonies.]

John filled out the regular weekly FFQ (food frequency questionnaire), his fourteenth, which keeps a log of his nutritional intake over time on special MEC software.  [On the MEC, John is using his personalized file that reflects the food flown for his Increment. The FFQ records amounts consumed 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. IBMP (Institute of Biomedical Problems)-recommended average daily caloric value of the crew s food intake is 2200-2300 cal. If larger quantities of juices and fruits are taken into account, the value can go to 2400-2500 cal.]

Working off his time available task list, Sergei conducted the regular daily inspection of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment, including filling its water canister for the Lada-7 greenhouse as required.

Also still suggested by the task list for Sergei at his discretion was the audit/inventory of the utensils of the food supply subsystem (SPP), for updating the IMS with regard to stowage locations and quantities behind FGB and SM panels and in a Progress container.

The FE performed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh environment control & life support system, including the ASU toilet system, and he also prepared the regular daily IMS delta /update file for automated export/import to the three IMS databases.

John and Sergei conducted the weekly TVIS routine maintenance, primarily inspecting the condition of the SLDs (subject loading devices), SLD cables and SPDs (subject positioning devices), plus recording time & date values.  [While one crewmember pulls out the cables about 10 inches (approximately 80 lbs of load), the other does the inspection. Temperature readings of motor box and electronics box are recorded on a PCMCIA memory card and downloaded to the MEC for subsequent downlink to the ground.]

At ~1:25pm EDT, the crew conducted their ninth regular (nominally weekly) teleconference with the Lead Flight Director at MCC-H and TsUP/Moscow via S-band/audio, with phone patch between Houston and Moscow.

Both crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the TVIS treadmill, RED resistive machine and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer.  [Sergei 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 3 of a new set).]

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

On Loop B of the EEATCS (Early External Active Thermal Control System), the ammonia pump B of the PFCS (Pump & Flow Control Subassembly) was successfully switched to pump A. This completes PFCS pump swaps from B to A for each EEATCS loop. No crew interaction was required.  [The rationale for performing this activity is to split time between the two internal pumps to try to maximize the overall on-orbit life of the PFCS ORUs (Orbital Replacement Units).]

On Daily Orbits 14 & 1 (10:30am & 3:00pm EDT), TsUP/Moscow conducted a test of Progress thruster command subroutines, first transferring pitch & yaw attitude control to SM thrusters, then after the algorithm test returning control back to Progress thrusters. There was no jet firing involved.

Station attitude continues in XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane), until 9/2, and the P6 solar array wings are set to dual-angle autotrack, with BGA (Beta gimbal assembly) 2B at -36 deg, 4B at +36 deg angle.

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 Rio de la Plata in Sun Glint (DYNAMIC EVENT: Looking well left of track for sun glint beginning in the wetlands of the Parana River and then further east on the large estuary of the Rio de la Plata. The river’s discharge is at its seasonal low and its interaction with the South Atlantic may have produced unique internal wave patterns at the time of this pass), and Patagonian Glaciers (only slow clearing was expected in the wake of a late-winter storm that is currently lashing most of Patagonia. Weather satellite imagery suggested that some partial clearing over the Northern Patagonia Ice Field may have occurred at the time of this pass. Using the long lens and concentrating on the smaller glacier features where they are visible).

 
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 11 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-11/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 11 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 Events (all times EDT):

• 09/07/05 — Progress M-53/18P undocking (6:23am)
• 09/08/05 — Progress M-54/19P launch (9:08am)
• 09/10/05 — Progress M-54/19P docking (10:49am).

19P is manifested to deliver to the ISS the following cargo: 800 kg propellants; 110 kg gas (oxygen/air, thanks to 14 additional gas tanks installed by RSC-Energia externally for an extra delivery capability of 60 kg O2); 300 kg water; 1230 kg dry cargo, comprising 139 Russian cargo items (including a new Elektron-VM Liquid Unit and 16 SFOG candles) and 83 NASA items (including two IBM 760XD laptops).

• 09/30/05 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S launch (~11:54pm)
• 10/03/05 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S docking (~1:20am)
• 10/11/05 — Soyuz TMA-6/10S landing (~9:06pm)
• 11/18/05 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S relocation (from DC-1 to FGB nadir port)
• 12/21/05 Progress M-55/20P launch
• 12/23/05 — Progress M-55/20P docking

Special Note: Tomorrow is the ISS Commander s birthday. Sergei Krikalev, the holder of the world record for longest endurance in space, was born August 27, 1958, in Leningrad, Russia, today St. Peterburg (no’s in Russian).

ISS Orbit  (as of this morning, 6:25am EDT [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 352.9 km
• Apogee height — 353.9 km
• Perigee height — 351.9 km
• Period — 91.60 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0001488
• Solar Beta Angle — 57.9 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 184 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 38673

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.

More information and background material on EVA 4 can be found at the Expedition 9 EVA 4 Reference Page