NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 28 Dec 2003

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below. Off-duty Sunday for the crew.
FE Alexander Kaleri completed the weekly routine life support systems (SOZh) maintenance tasks of inspection and collecting SP toilet flush counter and SVO water supply readings in the Service Module (SM) for calldown to TsUP.
At 10:55am EST, the crew conducted a teleconference with the Moscow Support Group (MSG/RRGU) for the Russian New Year celebration, via Ku- and S-band, with audio and video relayed to MCC-Houston.
Foale and Kaleri worked out according to their regular daily physical exercise program of 2.5 hrs on the TVIS treadmill, RED exerciser, and VELO bike (with load trainer).
Tomorrow’s schedule will include the start of a new science program, Miscible Fluids in Microgravity (MFMG), to test how miscible fluids (fluids that completely dissolve in each other) interact without the interference of gravity using honey and water as the test fluids. Also on the crew’s timeline is continued work on CBOSS-FDI (Cellular Biotechnology Support Systems-Fluid Dynamics Investigation) as well as photo imagery of areas in the FGB, which housed its motion control system (SUD).
For today’s CEO (crew earth observations) sessions, the ground uplinked a list of target cities as potential photographic opportunities at the crew’s discretion.
CEO images can be viewed at the websites.
See also the website “Space Station Challenge” at
ISS Orbit (as of this afternoon, 7:51am EST [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 370.2 km
- Apogee — 374.3 km
- Perigee — 366.0 km
- Period — 91.9 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.0006195
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.66
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 140
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 29139
For more on ISS orbit and worldwide ISS naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html