NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 27 February 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. Sunday, second weekend rest day for the crew. Ahead: Week 19 of Increment 10.

Cargo ship M-51 (16P) undocked on time (11:06:30am EST), and fired its separation burn three minutes later. It is now headed for ~10 days of autonomous orbital operations before its fiery reentry and splashdown in the “regular” Progress deep-sea graveyard of the Pacific Ocean. [In the US segment, the SDMS (Structural Dynamic Measurement System) was activated to record vibrational data beginning two minutes prior to undocking through three minutes after. US P6 solar arrays (SAs) and Service Module (SM) SAs were feathered during vehicle departure as protection against plume contamination.]

The crew monitored the undocking on the VKU-2 video monitor. [Objective: to visually assess the StA docking assembly in the SM aft end near the interface surface as a check for any foreign material and to look for any drastic changes visible in the Progress motion pattern after undocking.]

After attitude control handover to the Russian segment (RS) at 8:40am, the station maneuvered from sun-pointing XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane) to earth-fixed LVLH (local vertical/local horizontal) at 8:45am and then, after a brief period of free drift for the 16P undocking, to GFI-1 experiment attitude at 11:13am.

At ~12:00pm, FE Sharipov installed the geophysical GFI-1 Relaksatsiya (“relaxation”) experiment, reconfiguring the Russian payload Laptop 3 for the experiment and mounting the UV (ultraviolet) camera with spectrometer unit at SM window #9. Purpose: to observe and video-record the Progress 351/16P thruster plumes during the time period of 1:50-2:15pm (braking burn) with the Earth’s limb as background. [Relaksatsiya deals with the geophysical study of the chemoluminescent chemical reactions and atmospheric light phenomena (emissions, i.e., molecular relaxation processes) that occur during high-velocity interaction between the exhaust products from space vehicles and the rarified atmosphere at orbital altitude and during the entry of space vehicles into the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Objective of the current experiment is to record the Progress thruster plumes and the Earth limb (by UV-video). After 16P has moved out of sight, the equipment will be disassembled for FGB stowage and Laptop 3 returned to its permanent location, as a crew-discretionary task list item.]

Later today, at 2:32pm, the station maneuvers back to XPOP. Shortly thereafter, the P6 2B solar array (SA) will be moded to Autotrack (for shading the MBS IMCA [mobile base system/integrated motor controller assembly]), and SA 4B to -44 deg for drag reduction-bias.

With the Elektron O2 generator still off, Salizhan Sharipov worked on the Russian BMP harmful impurities removal system, starting the “bake-out” cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. Before sleep time today, the bake-out will be terminated. [Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. The BMP is currently still using the same vacuum vent valve for regeneration as the Elektron (the latter for venting hydrogen).]

Salizhan performed the daily routine inspection of the SOZh/ECLSS life support system in the SM and completed the weekly task of collecting water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP/Moscow. [The toilet flush (SP) counter is still inoperative and will be replaced with a spare unit.]

Working off the voluntary Russian task list, Salizhan performed 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 conducted their regular daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on TVIS, RED exerciser, CEVIS cycle 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 treadmill and one hour on VELO (today: Day 2 of a new set).]

No CEO (crew earth observations) photo 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:

• Progress M-52 (17P) launch – Monday, 2/28 (2:09pm EST);
• Progress M-52 (17P) docking – Wednesday, 3/2 (3:15pm EST);
• EVA-13 — 3/25;
• Soyuz TMA-6 (10S) launch — 4/15 with Expedition 11 (CDR Sergei Krikalev, FE/SO John Phillips);
• Soyuz TMA-5 (9S) undocking — 4/25 with Exp. 10 crew (after 193 days on orbit, 191 days on board ISS);
• LF1 (STS-114) — NET 5/12;
• Progress M-53 (18P) launch — 6/10;
• ULF1.1 (STS-121) — NET 7/10;
• Progress M-54 (19P) launch — 8/24;
• Soyuz TMA-7 (11S) launch — 9/27.

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 6:52am EST [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 358.0 km
• Apogee height — 360.9 km
• Perigee height — 355.0 km
• Period — 91.70 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0004383
• Solar Beta Angle — 34.5 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.70
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 82 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 35843

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.