NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 30 Sep 2003
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below.
FE/SO Ed Lu spent about 30 min. reviewing the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) payloads for the Spanish Soyuz Mission (SSM), arriving on 10/20 on Soyuz TMA-3/7S with the Expedition 8 crew and Spanish crewmember Pedro Duque. [Particular focus was on PROMISS-2 (study of fundamental processes underlying protein crystallization) and NANO (research of aggregation mechanism and kinetics of ZSM-5 and Silicate-1 nanoslabs in micro-G.]
The crew worked on the internal thermal control loop 2 of the Service Module (SM), removing and replacing the pump panel #2 (4SPN2) which failed several weeks ago, with a new unit flown up in Progress. [The job was timelined for three hours and required demating and remating of the BITS2-12 onboard telemetry measurement system and a tag-up with ground specialists during RGS passes.]
FE/SO Ed Lu completed the one-hour job of cleaning SD2 (smoke detector #2) in the Node.
Later, Ed updated the emergency ODF (operational data file) book by printing out uplinked pages and inserting them in the procedures manual.
Ed also was scheduled to work on the PCS (portable computer system), uploading the new software load for Expedition 8. [This task is being done now to relieve crewtime constraints on the Expedition 8 crew. Three SSC laptops were completed yesterday. The remaining three laptops were worked on today and are also listed on the “job jar” task list.]
Malenchenko conducted the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh life support system (including ASU toilet facilities) and the regular inspection of the active BRPK-1 air/liquid condensate separator system in the Service Module (SM), while Lu prepared the daily IMS inventory delta file.
Both crewmembers worked out with their daily 2.5-h program of physical exercise, on TVIS treadmill, RED expander, and VELO cycle with load trainer. Ed Lu transferred TVIS and RED data files to the MEC (medical equipment computer).
A water sample from Progress 12P taken pre-flight in Russia was analyzed at JSC and found to have elevated levels of carbon tetrachloride, while the Russian results were nominal. Specialists are investigating this discrepancy. [JSC toxicologists determined that the water is acceptable for at least short-term use, so the crew has not yet been informed of the potential water contamination or asked to use an alternate source. U.S. and Russian teams are working on a plan to use alternate water until it can be determined if there is an actual contamination issue.]
The MCA (major constituents analyzer) of the U.S. ECLSS exhibited three shutdowns last week and another over the weekend, in each case due to ion pump overcurrent, an end-of-life signature. It was placed into Life Extending Mode (LEM) for 24 hours to reduce the overcurrent condition. This was temporarily successful, but will not be a permanent fix. [LEM is being used to preserve the life of the MCA so it can be available for critical operations, but while in that mode, no atmospheric data is available. A forward plan is in work for alternative atmospheric monitoring in the absence of the MCA data, as well as resupply.]
Moscow has reported that the Russian space planners are thinking of loading 40 kg air/O2 on Progress 13P and 50 kg air/O2 on 14P. TsUP is planning to decide on the ratio of air vs. O2 approximately one month prior to launch.
One Shuttle LiOH (lithium hydroxide) canister onboard ISS ran out of its certified lifetime on 9/4. This week, two more Shuttle canisters reached their 2.5-year certification limit on 9/26. There are currently 27 LiOH canisters on board that are within their certification limits.
Today’s CEO (crew earth observation) targets, limited in the current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, were Rangoon, Myanmar (nadir pass), Nairobi, Kenya (looking a touch right. [this may also have been an opportunity to shoot Mt. Kilimanjaro, always a difficult target.]), Kabul, Afghanistan (looking right of track in the center of the broad valley), L. Nasser, Toshka Lakes, Egypt (looking for changes in Nasser’s level, and expansion of the Toshka lakes [left–especially the lake furthest away from the Nile].), Hanging Gardens of Babylon (looking right on the Tigris River, about 50 miles south of Baghdad), Eastern Mediterranean Dust (dust likely blowing off Libya into the Mediterranean as a result of winds speeding up around a low pressure system in eastern Europe), La Paz (nadir pass), Hurricane Kate (Dynamic event. Looking left for this strong, stationary tropical storm. Kate remains of high interest to the US Hurricane Center since it could strengthen to hurricane force and could go anywhere), Puerto Rico, Caribbean (looking for costal detail from near-offshore [especially coral reefs] to urban developments along the coastline), St. Thomas, Caribbean (coral reef detail requested), St. Croix, Caribbean (coral reef detail requested), and St. John, Caribbean (coral reef detail requested).
CEO images can be viewed at the websites
See also the website “Space Station Challenge” at
http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/
You know you live on the ISS when…
… you have the best scenic view in the world but you are only allowed to open the window for 15 minutes per year. (Upbeat uplink from Flight Control).
