NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 28 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.  Sunday — off-duty day for Sergei Krikalev & John Phillips, except for some housekeeping and voluntary tasks.  Ahead:  Week 19 for Increment 11. 

As part of today’s morning inspection after wake-up, CDR Krikalev did the periodic checkup behind panel 139 in the Service Module (SM) on a fluid connector of the urine collection system, checking for potential moisture.

Sergei also performed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), which today included the weekly inspection of the air/liquid condensate separator apparatus (BRPK) as well as the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP/Moscow.

Both crewmembers conducted 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 1 of a new set).]

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.

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.

ISS Orbit  (as of this morning, 11:40am EDT [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 352.6 km
• Apogee height — 353.5 km
• Perigee height — 351.6 km
• Period — 91.59 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.0001392
• Solar Beta Angle — 60.8 deg (magnitude increasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 85 m
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 38708

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.