NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 31 March 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.
Finishing up on post-EVA cleanup activities, FE Salizhan Sharipov started the discharge process on the second of two Orlan 825M3 battery units, later terminating it.
The crew restored the DC1 docking compartment and the Service Module Transfer Compartment (SM PkhO) to pre-EVA conditions.
Sharipov took microbial samples from panel surfaces in the FGB. The samples were then stored for return on Soyuz 9.
Salizhan performed the routine daily inspection of the SOZh environment control & life support system in the SM, including the regular maintenance of the ASU toilet facilities.
The FE also completed the daily inspection of the Rasteniya/Lada-5 greenhouse equipment. [Rasteniya ( plants )-2 studies growth and development of plants (peas) under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-5 greenhouse.]
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Leroy prepared the regular IMS (inventory management system) delta file for export/import to the IMS databases
The FE used the automatic temperature recorder (ART) for the regular temperature check on the BIO-11 Statokonia payload with the ULITKA ( snail ) incubator that he had set up in the SM on 3/3. [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.]
The CDR opened the VGA (verification gas assembly) valve of the MCA (Major Constituents Analyzer) in support of the subsequent periodic (roughly monthly) ground-controlled full calibration of the analyzer. A few hours later, Leroy closed the valve again. [The MCA uses the mass spectrometer with a magnetic field to separate ionized air sample constituents in a work chamber that is kept at vacuum by a high-performance ion pump.]
Yesterday, the ISS cabin oxygen levels declined to the lower part of the nominal range, so the crew repressurized the ISS cabin using oxygen from the 17P tanks and from the Orlan suit bottles, which contained post-EVA residual oxygen. The pressure was raised by approximately 5 mmHg. The oxygen level is appropriate to support crew metabolic needs.
Also yesterday, Chiao and Sharipov performed an inspection of 24 onboard CWCs (contingency water containers) to determine if the inlet and outlet fittings are damaged. They found that eleven CWCs had no cracks and the remaining thirteen had large cracks. The latter were stowed in two mesh bags. Specialists on the ground are evaluating further actions for disposal or return of these CWCs.
The crew performed their daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on TVIS treadmill, RED exerciser 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 TVIS (today: Day 3 of a new set) and one hour on VELO.
Chiao then transferred the daily TVIS and RED exercise data files to the MEC (medical equipment computer) for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium.
The crew downlinked two PAO/Video messages of greeting via the Russian TV system, one to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Zvezdniy Gorodok (Star City) near Moscow on the occasion of Cosmonautics Day on April 12, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the first human’s flight into space, the other to address the participants of the 31st “Gagarin Lectures” International Youth Scientific Conference, a traditional annual event commemorating Juri Gagarin s flight.
At 10:20am, the crew engaged in an educational/PAO event, exchanging Q&A s with approximately 500 students from Sheridan Communication and Technology Middle School in New Haven, Conn. via S- and Ku-band, which was aired on NASA TV.
At ~10:40am, CDR Chiao conducted a successful proficiency pass for the US VHF (very high frequency) radio link, using the Dryden, White Sands, and Wallops VHF Sites.
Update on CMGs and Attitude: Control moment gyro #3 (CMG-3) continues to perform nominally. ISS will not maneuver to XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane) from the current LVLH XVV (local vertical local horizontal/x-axis in velocity vector), to avoid additional stresses on the CMG. [A roll bias of +10 deg and a yaw bias of +4 deg to the XVV attitude are being introduced currently to keep the Ku-Band antenna from exceeding lower (cold) non-operational limits. The 11.22 deg maneuver will take approximately 31 hours to complete at a maneuver rate of 0.0001 deg/sec. This might be the longest and slowest maneuver in US space history. The last CMG maneuver was a turn to the docking attitude for UF2 on 6/1/02.]
Update on Elektron: The Elektron O2 generator continues to be down after three failed restart attempts today. [The crew attempted to reactivate the Elektron today after trying to remove bubbles from the system by purging the buffer tank with nitrogen, filling with water and performing another purge. During the first two attempts of Elektron activation, the Elektron operated for several minutes before failing. A third attempt was made later in the crew day, and it operated for 80 minutes before both the primary and backup pumps failed again. Tonight, TsUP/Moscow will reactivate the Elektron from the ground in order to bypass the automatic purge. Additional troubleshooting is scheduled for tomorrow and is likely to include attempts to remove bubbles from the liquid unit. The bubbles have caused problems a number of times in the past.]
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Houston Flight Control has tracked a Chinese rocket body with a potential conjunction with ISS. Updated orbital parameter predictions for the body have stabilized at a 14.9 km miss distance, and no maneuver will be required.
Today’s CEO (crew earth observations) photo targets, in the current LVLH attitude no longer limited by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab nadir/science window, were Internal waves, Sea of Okhotsk (weather was predicted to be mostly clear for internal wave photography in the Japan Sea. Looking to the right of track and behind for the sunglint point), Internal waves, E & W Florida coasts (internal waves may be visible on both the Gulf and Atlantic coastlines of Florida. Looking to the right of track for the sunglint point. Detailed imagery of internal waves is requested to record fine structure. Overlapping frames that can be referenced back to a land feature are desirable for geolocating and cataloging the images), and Stardust Landing Site, Utah (this overpass provided an opportunity for familiarization with the Stardust landing ellipse. The main objective for photography is identification of regions within the ellipse that contain surface water.
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 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:
- Soyuz TMA-6 (10S) launch — 4/14 (8:46pm EDT); with Expedition 11 (CDR Sergei Krikalev, FE/SO John Phillips & VC8 cosmonaut Roberto Vittori/ESA-Italy); launch time at Baikonur: 6:46am on 4/15.
- Soyuz TMA-6 docking — 4/16 (10:17pm EDT);
- Soyuz TMA-5 (9S) undocking — 4/24 (2:36pm EDT) with Exp. 10 crew (after 193 days on orbit, 191 days on board ISS) and VC8 cosmonaut Vittori;
- Soyuz TMA-5 landing — 4/24 (6:01pm EDT (Kustanai: 4:01am on 4/25) ;
- LF1 (STS-114) launch — 5/15;
- Progress M-53 (18P) launch — 6/10;
- ULF1.1 (STS-121) launch — NET 7/12;
- Progress M-54 (19P) launch — 8/24;
- Soyuz TMA-7 (11S) launch — 9/27.
ISS Altitude History
Apogee height — Mean Altitude — Perigee height
