NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 26 May 2003
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below. Week 4 of Increment 7, and Day 31 in space for Yuri Malenchenko and Edward Lu.
CDR Malenchenko recharged two batteries for the Russian DVCAM digital video camera for about 4 hrs., then used the camera to take video imagery of the ventilation system’s air ducts in the various hatchways of the RS (Russian segment), paying particular attention to duct bends and any sagging or kinks in duct segments. [Between Service Module (SM) and “Zarya” Functional Cargo Block (FGB) module, between SM and “Pirs” Docking Compartment (DC-1), and between FGB and the radially docked Soyuz CRV (crew return vehicle).]
At 11:00am EDT, the air duct video was downlinked to MCC-M, initiated by the SPP automated daily timeline system.
The crew had 2h 45min on their schedule today to prepare for the EVA/EMU don/doff dry-run on Wednesday (5/28). [Regarding EMU suit fit, special instructions were uplinked for the crew for familiarization with the size differences of the available LCVGs (liquid cooling ventilation garments), biomedical signal conditioners (Ed to use Budarin’s, Yuri to use Pettit’s), HUT (hard upper torso) and LTA (lower torso assembly) segments, and individual boot fits with BSIs (boot sizing inserts).]
In preparation for the EMU dry-run, Malenchenko and Lu also prepared the Airlock’s Equipment Lock (AL/EL), and Ed Lu had another hour scheduled for the task-listed job to evaluate closeout panels in the AL, documenting broken fasteners, current panel configuration and any configuration issues. [On previous flights, crews have noted difficulty with overlapping panels, broken fasteners, etc. in the AL, but no specifics regarding the extent of the problem have been documented as yet. The assessment, which is needed on the ground to assess kick-load and panel grounding concerns, had to be completed today to allow the ground time for assessing the results before the EMU don/doff test on Wednesday.]
Overnight, the ground commanded a VOA (volatile organics analyzer) calibration run, lasting about 3.5 hrs., then began another 3.5 hrs. of sample collection. With the VOA still active, the SO collected air samples with the GSC (grab sample container), required to be done simultaneously with VOA. He also deployed two passive FMK (formaldehyde monitoring kit) sampling badges in the Lab and SM, to catch any atmospheric formaldehyde on a sampling substrate for analysis in JSC laboratory facilities (last time done: 4/21/03). [The FMK operations were photo-documented and the VOA sample collection terminated at 2:05pm.]
Yuri Malenchenko conducted his regular checkup of the on-board pea plants, completing the daily monitoring/servicing of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 zero-G plant growth experiment in the Lada-2 greenhouse.
The crew performed a 30-min computer-stored OBT (on-board training) run, in preparation for the Educational Payload Ops (EPO) session scheduled for Thursday (5/29).
Ed Lu completed the daily routine maintenance of SOZh life support systems (including toilet facility, food containers, water containers and solid waste containers) and the status checkup of the ISS-7 Lab payloads (PCG-STES010, SAMS, MAMS), while Malenchenko prepared the daily IMS (inventory management system) delta file for automatic export/import to update the database.
Both crewmembers completed their daily 2.5-h program of physical (aerobic & anaerobic) exercise, on TVIS treadmill, CEVIS bike, RED expander and on the Russian VELO cycle ergometer with load trainer. Dr. Lu conducted the periodic (every other week) inspection of the RED and monthly bolt tightening (as required).
Troubleshooting is underway on the ground and aboard the U.S. segment (USOS) after problems developed yesterday with the SSC (station support computer) OCA Router laptop. [Early suspicion was a possible overheating problem with the laptop in question, requiring checking the air vents on the laptop’s expansion unit with the OCA router expansion card. If the problem continues today, other troubleshooting options are being considered.]
The crew was notified that a number of MCS (motion control system) displays in the USOS will show incorrect RPC (remote power controller) power-on/off status when interrogated, dating back to before the CMG (control moment gyroscope) reconfiguration on Increment 6 EVA #2. The displays will remain this way until 12A.1, but on-board procedures are updated to direct the crew to the correct display.
Today’s CEO targets (optional), now no longer restricted by the Lab science window ruled off-limit due to flight attitude, were Anatahan volcano (Dynamic event. The island volcano could have been visible between clouds, left of track about 2.5 degrees), Hyderabad, India (with 3.6 million people on the arid central plains of India, this is classed as a megacity, one of the few largest in the world; nadir pass), Buenos Aires, Argentina (nadir pass), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (nadir pass), Lower Amazon River Basin (detailed views requested for capturing shoreline change in the mouth of the planet’s largest river [the Amazon reduces salinities offshore in an area as large as the Mediterranean Sea]), Caracas, Venezuela (looking a touch left), St. Louis, Missouri (night target; nadir pass), Albuquerque, New Mexico (night target; nadir pass), Mexico-Guatemala fires (night opportunity to capture the fires that have generated smoke that drifted thousands of miles from source. Nadir and a touch right), and Osaka, Japan (night target; nadir pass).
CEO images can be viewed at the websites
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 6:56am EDT [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 389.0 km
- Apogee — 393.1 km
- Perigee — 384.9 km
- Period — 92.34 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.0006107
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.59
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 65 m
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 25761
- For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html
