NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 5 Jun 2004
All ISS systems continue to function nominally except those noted previously. Reduced-duty day for the crew.
As generally on Saturdays, CDR Padalka and FE/SO Fincke performed the regular weekly station cleaning, their sixth.
Mike Fincke conducted the regular once-a-week maintenance reboot on the three operational PCS (portable computer system) laptops.
The FE also successfully completed the reloading of all SSC (station support computer) laptops with their new software load (version 7.1; and plus vers. 3.1 for the SSC server). The CDs with the software upgrade were delivered on Progress 14P.
Padalka checked up on the automatic termination of the overnight charging procedure on the 825M3 Orlan backpack batteries initiated yesterday. The charge condition of the batteries will be monitored for another day. [If the battery charger (ZU-S had not turned off automatically after 20 hrs, Gennady was to turn off charging mode manually.]
Fincke performed the daily leak check on the Lab window pressure test equipment. Yesterday’s reading of the equipment’s internal pressure was 16.1 Torr (mmHg) or 0.31 psi.
Mike also terminated the maintenance charging of the NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries for the EMU helmet lights and pistol grip tool (PGT), afterwards stowing the batteries.
The CDR completed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh life support system.
Mike Fincke had his weekly private family conference via audio/S-band.
On request of the Science Officer, the ground uplinked the EPO (educational payloads operations) demonstration video of onboard first aid that he recorded last week during his “Saturday Afternoon Science” activity.
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Nine — 6th):
GASMAP: The crew was thanked for their support during another successful GASMAP Routine Health Check on 6/2.
Human Research Facility/Workstation (HRF WS): Continuing.
Advanced Ultrasound (ADUM): Nothing new.
Hand Posture Analyzer (HPA: Nothing new.
In-Space Soldering Investigation (ISSE): Nothing new.
Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI): Nothing new.
Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS): While the SAMS hardware is down, MAMS’s HiRAP is being used to characterize the vibratory environment in the US Lab.
Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS): Both MAMS OSS and HiRAP are operating nominally.
Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-STES): Nominal.
Protein Crystal Growth Monitoring by Digital Holographic Microscope (PromISS): Nothing new.
Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE): Planned.
Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3 (BCAT-3): The BCAT team thinks that sample 10 may be starting to crystallize. This is unexpected, but great news. The plan was to homogenize the samples and do a repeat run during Increment 10.The new plan is to leave the current samples undisturbed for a while and see if sample 10 continues to crystallize. The crew was asked tocontinue to minimize disturbance of theBCAT samples, so investigators can continue to monitor them in their current state.
Renal Stone (RS): Nothing new.
Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SHERES): Nothing new.
Foot/Ground Reaction Forces during Space Flight (FOOT): Nothing new.
Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE): In progress. Deployed outside on the U.S. Airlock. Nominal and collecting data.
Cellular Biotechnology Support Systems-Fluid Dynamics Investigation (CBOSS-FDI): Nothing new.
Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller (BSTC): The BSTC checkout is currently planned for later in June.
Yeast Group Activation Packs (Yeast GAP): Nothing new.
Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM): There is one more session scheduled for this Increment.
Earth Science Toward Exploration Research (ESTER): Nothing new.
Serial Network Flow Monitor (SNFM): Second capture of packet traffic on payload LAN was accomplished on 6/1, including successful transfer of capture file from EXPRESS Rack 5 to EXPRESS Rack 2. Downlink was accomplished an hour later via ARIS POP (Active Rack Isolation System/Payload On-orbit Processor) computer in Rack 2 and analysis is underway. Looking ahead to SNFM traffic capture on 6/25.
Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures-2 (CSLM-2): Planned.
Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA): Nothing new.
Miscible Fluids in Microgravity (MFMG): Nothing new.
Educational Payload Operations (EPO): More demos in planning.
Crew Earth Observations (CEO): In a CEO review of the excellent imagery to date in response to the ground-provided target list, researchers have decided to remove the following city targets for this increment as having met their requirements: Guadalajara, Hyderabad, and Kinshasa. In addition it was further decided to wait for anticipated seasonal changes in the Betsiboka Delta, Pinacates Biosphere, Lake Poopo, and the Toshka Lakes. The crew is making great progress with acquiring useful imagery of the selected science sites. One of the ISS/CEO images of the Pinacates site has been published on NASA’s Earth Observatory website this weekend. The article highlights the unique biological diversity of this region and the intended use of astronaut photography to monitor changes there.
Today’s optional 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, except for the shutter closure and condensation-prevention plan (limited to 90 min. in 24 hours), were Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (nadir pass. The crew may have needed two 180mm-lens images for this city of 3+ million people), Dust in Chad (Dynamic event. Dust, visible yesterday (6/4), should still have been blowing SW during this pass. The source point(s) seem to be the low point in the Chad basin [the center of old Lake Megachad, hundreds of miles north of present Lake Chad]. This depression is known as a general source of African dust that often travels as far as the Americas. Understanding the local source points within the general area is of scientific interest), Alexandria, Egypt (nadir pass. Crew may have needed two 180mm-lens images for this long narrow city which is strung out along a coastal sand bar, Egypt’s equivalent of the Outer Banks), Tigris-Euphrates, Turkey (nadir pass over this zone which is seeing rapid infrastructural development, primarily of dams on the two rivers, with all the attendant new roads, fields, power lines and villages), and Von Karman vortices, Canary Islands (Dynamic event. Trains of cloud vortices have been set up over the Canary Islands which should lead to open or even closed eddy patterns downwind of the islands. Looking right [also the upwind direction] towards the islands).
CEO images can be viewed at the websites.
See also the website “Space Station Challenge” at
