NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 27 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. Saturday — off-duty day for Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips, except for some housekeeping, cleanup and voluntary work. S dnyem rozhdeniya, Sergei! [It’s the ISS Commander’s birthday. Born August 27, 1958, in Leningrad/Russia, today St. Peterburg (no “s” in Russian), he’s now looking back at 47 years.]
On the occasion of his birthday, CDR Krikalev held two PFCs (private family conferences) today (at ~7:55am & 9:25am EDT), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/NetMeeting video (which employs a USB camera at the SSC laptop).
FE/SO Phillips also had his weekly PFC via S-band/audio and Ku-band/NetMeeting video, at ~11:35am.
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The Expedition 11 crew completed the regular weekly 3-hr. task of thorough station cleaning, wearing protective garment. [“Uborka”, done every Saturday, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other surfaces and the CDR’s sleep station with “Fungistat” disinfectant and cleaning fan screens to avoid temperature rises.]
The CDR performed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh environment control & life support system, including the ASU toilet system.
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 4 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).
Working off the Russian discretionary “time available” task list, Krikalev used the automatic temperature recorder (ART) for the regular temperature check on the BIO-11 “Statokonia” payload with the ULITKA (“snail”) incubator, set up in the SM with new material delivered on 18P. [BIO-11 studies the composition of statoconia, i.e., the organ of equilibrium in snails, and other phenomena exhibited by “ulitka” in zero-G and post-flight.]
As a second “job jar” item, Sergei performed his fourth session with the biomedical MBI-9 “Pulse” experiment, preceded by setting up the equipment. [Execution of the medical cardiological assessment is controlled from the Russian payload laptop, using a set respiration rate (without forced or deep breaths) and synchronizing respiration with computer-commanded “inhale” commands. First, arterial blood pressure is measured with the “Tensoplus” sphygmomanometer, followed by the “Pulse” test to record the ECG (electrocardiogram) and a report to TsUP in the next comm pass.]
At ~11:00am, the crew held their regular weekly planning conference (WPC) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP/Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events.
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Eleven — 18th):
Human Research Facility/Gas Analyzer System for Metabolic Analysis Physiology (HRF GASMAP): After the recent GASMAP “health” check, payload specialists expect that it was the last in HRF Rack 1, with the next one after GASMAP’s move to the newly arrived HRF Rack 2.
Human Research Facility/Workstation (HRF WS): Continuing.
Advanced Ultrasound (ADUM): Continuing.
Renal Stone (RS): In progress.
Foot/Ground Reaction Forces during Space Flight (FOOT): Complete.
Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS): SAMS is Off.
Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS): MAMS remains in nominal operations.
Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-STES): Complete and returned to the PI.
Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3 (BCAT-3): BCAT-3 Slow Growth Sample Module will be left undisturbed in its current location by the E11 crew. In order for the samples to potentially grow crystals that can be photographed during Increment 12 operations, the Sample Module must be left undisturbed.
Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE): In progress. New MISSE-5 “suitcase” deployed and unfolded during EVA outside on the U.S. Airlock. Reactivated after EVA-14. Nominal and collecting data. Old unit was returned on LF-1.
Dust and Aerosol Measurement Feasibility Test (DAFT): Nothing new.
Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM): Complete.
Serial Network Flow Monitor (SNFM): Complete.
Fluid Merging Viscosity Measurement (FMVM): Nothing new.
Space Experiment Module (SEM): Nothing new. Experimenters and kids are working to get the next two satchels on ULF1.1.
Miscible Fluids in Microgravity (MFMG): MFMG payload operations are finished.
Educational Payload Operations (EPO): Complete.
Crew Earth Observations (CEO): Through 8/22 the ground has received for review and cataloging a total of 5,108 of ISS CEO images. With the station’s current daylight orbit tracks temporarily confined to the Southern Hemisphere in late winter, few worthwhile targets are available. Investigators did just catalog some excellent context views the crew shot of both Patagonian Ice Fields. These will be used to indicate to crews areas that need additional photography acquired. A strikingly detailed CEO image with some glint enhancement of Buzzards Bay, MA will be published on the Earth Observatory Website of NASA/GSFC this weekend.
Today’s optional 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 two passes over Internal waves, N Patagonian Shelf (at the first pass at least partial clearing was expected for the Atlantic side of Patagonia. As ISS approached the coast from the NW, the crew was to aim for glint left of track [northeastward] in the vicinity of Bahia Blanca. The second pass entered the target region from the W. Looking forward and left of track for glint. Again trying in the vicinity of Bahia Blanca).
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:
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.
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ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 11:25am EDT [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 352.6 km
- Apogee height — 353.3 km
- Perigee height — 352.0 km
- Period — 91.59 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.0001023
- Solar Beta Angle — 59.8 deg (magnitude increasing)
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 200 m
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 38673
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
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.
