NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 4 April 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. Underway: Week 24 of Increment 10.
CDR/SO Leroy Chiao continued preparing personal items and equipment for return on STS-114/Discovery (LF-1).
As next step of readying the MBRL space-to-space radio for the European ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle), FE Salizhan Sharipov installed the cable connection from the external antenna behind Service Module (SM) panels 128, 129, 130. Supported by tag-up with ground specialists, he then checked out the connection with a “Standing Wave Coefficient” (KSV) test. [The first ATV, “Jules Verne”, is expected to arrive next year.]
Following the procedures reviewed with the ground yesterday, Chiao performed troubleshooting on the VOA (Volatile Organic Analyzer), intended to diagnose the failed system for future repair work.
The FE worked on the ASU toilet facilities in the SM to replace a lifetime-expired hose with a new spare.
Salizhan also performed the daily routine inspection of the SOZh life support system in the SM, while Leroy prepared the regular IMS (inventory management system) delta file for export/import to the IMS databases
The CDR filled out the regular weekly FFQ (food frequency questionnaire), his 22nd, which keeps a log of his nutritional intake over time on special MEC (medical equipment computer) software.
The crew conducted their regular daily 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on TVIS, 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 treadmill and one hour on VELO (today: Day 3 of a new set).]
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.
Working off the voluntary Russian task list, Salizhan performed the regular daily inspection of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment, including filling its water canister as required. [Rasteniya researches growth and development of plants under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-5 greenhouse.]
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As a second task list item, Sharipov conducted another periodic temperature check of the TBU thermostat that contains the GCF-JAXA (Granada Crystallization Facility for Japan) payload for protein crystal growth studies in zero-G.
At 12:10pm EDT, the crew conducted the traditional news conference with media at JSC and KSC, discussing Increment 10, which is approaching its end.
At ~12:45pm, Sharipov and Chiao set up the Russian TV equipment in the SM and downlinked a televised message of greeting to the concluding session of the Sixth All-Russian “Sozvezdie” (Constellation) Open Olympiad, which features a “Man-Earth-Space” youth scientific, academic, and research project competition on environmental protection, an annual event at Korolev near Moscow. Participants are a large number of school children and students from all regions of Russia. [ISS crew: “Saving the Earth is the main goal of mankind because the Planet has no future without a bird’s song, clear sky, pure air and water. For the world to live and prosper, space science probes the Universe and contributes its insights to resolving global human problems including those in the ecological sphere. However, space scientists will not be able to succeed alone. It is essential that everybody understands their personal responsibility for the health and fate of the Planet Earth.”]
Earlier in the day, Salizhan conducted a TV and voice loop comm check between ISS and Roskosmos in Moscow, in preparation for the planned TV downlink to the attendees of the upcoming Cosmonautics Day Gala Night, observing the 44th anniversary of Gagarin’s flight.
The Elektron O2 generator is currently down, with primary and backup micropump failed. Further steps at troubleshooting are being discussed.
During two 5-min “windows” today (8:12am/2:36pm) researchers on the ground again conducted the European/Russian laser-beam experiment SPQR (Specular Point-like Quick Reference). [SPQR, installed at SM window #3 along with its Nikon D1X camera, tests a ground-based imaging system, using special optics and image processing, to determine the feasibility of detecting external damage to a spacecraft in orbit from the ground. It uses a pyramidal corner reflector (CCR, Cube Corner Reflector) at the SM window, to reflect a laser beam emitted by a ground station back to the ground. The crew was advised not to look out the portholes during the sessions, the times of which were uplinked, and there are no CEO targets scheduled during the brief sessions. The SPQR Hazard Report indicates that the laser power at the ISS remains well below the threshold for injury.]
No CEO (crew earth observations) 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:
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.
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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
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.
