NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 6 November 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.  Sunday — off-duty day for Bill McArthur & Valery Tokarev, except for housekeeping and final EVA preparations.  

After wake-up at the regular 1:00am EST, the FE performed the usual morning inspection, today also including the periodic checkup behind panel 139 in the Service Module (SM) on a fluid connector of the urine collection system, checking for potential moisture.

Before breakfast and first exercise, the crewmembers completed their second session with the Russian crew health-monitoring program’s medical assessment MO-9/Biochemical Urinalysis.  Afterwards, the FE stowed the hardware.   [MO-9 is conducted regularly every 30 days (and also before and after EVAs) and is also one of five nominal Russian medical tests adopted by NASA for US crewmembers for IMG PHS (Integrated Medical Group/Periodic Health Status) evaluation as part of the “PHS/Without Blood Labs” exam.  The analysis uses the sophisticated in-vitro diagnostic apparatus Urolux developed originally for the Mir program.  Afterwards, the data were entered in the medical equipment computer (MEC)’s special IFEP software (In-Flight Examination Program).]

Later, Tokarev completed the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s environment control & life support system (SOZh), including its toilet system (ASU), plus the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SPKU) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP/Moscow.   [These routinely collected data include the fill dates, water source & water quantities for the KPV potable water container of the condensate water processor (SRV-K2M), two EDV containers (for RP and SV), and replacement date & number for the Elektron’s EDV (KOV) container, and for the EDV-U liquid-waste and KTO solid-waste containers.] 

Valery retrieved three Russian “Pille” radiation dosimeters plus one ID-3M personal dosimeter and configured them for the EVA.   [After taking their current readings, he positioned two Pille units on his EMU/spacesuit (two on the control box, one in the sleeve).  The ID-3M was taken from the EMU’s LCVG (liquid cooling & ventilation garment) pocket, to be worn continuously on his flight suit outfit for reference.  Tomorrow when donning his gear, Valery will place his ID-3 personal dosimeter on the EMU and later return it to the flight suit.]

CDR McArthur set up and readied two Sony PD100 camcorders in the Node and Lab modules, for providing internal situational awareness during the no-IV spacewalk.   [The intent of this unmanned setup is to get as wide a view as possible.  Zooming out the cameras with the use of wide conversion lens will provide the most encompassing views of the modules.  There will be no tapes in the cameras to prevent the camcorders from going to Standby mode.]

Later, the crew busied themselves with gathering and preparing the tools needed for the extravehicular activities and at ~12:10pm tagged up with EVA specialists at MCC-H to discuss spacewalk details.

Also in preparation for the EVA-4, in the Russian segment (RS), FE Tokarev powered off the Elektron oxygen generator and purged its Liquid Unit (BZh-8) with nitrogen from the BPA (nitrogen purge assembly). 

In addition, Valery deactivated the TEKh-25 payload hardware in the RS, which consists of the Skorpio and Spika-S experiments.   [Skorpio’s objective is to monitor environmental radiation parameters with dosimeters inside station compartments at various places and to characterize environmental conditions for conducting scientific and technical experiments.  To operate, Skorpio requires about 6 W of energy.  The Spika-S payload investigates the influence of the space environment, primarily radiation, on selected commercial electronic “next-generation” components. Early Spika experiments on the Mir space station go back as far as 1992.  Its electronics unit, located in the SM working compartment (panel 417), uses about 7 W power, running either in Acquisition or Monitoring mode, and storing its data on a PCMCIA (portable computer memory card international adapter) card.]

Bill performed the regular weekly maintenance reboot on the operational A31p PCS (Portable Computer System) laptops.

Both crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the TVIS treadmill, RED resistive exerciser and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer.   [Valery’s daily protocol prescribes a strict four-day microcycle exercise with 1.5 hr on the treadmill and one hour on VELO plus load trainer (today: Day 4 of the first set).]

After handover of attitude control authority to RS MCS (motion control system)/thrusters, ISS attitude was changed at 5:09-5:24am EST, going from XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane) to LVLH XVV (local vertical local horizontal/x-axis in velocity vector).  Control returned to US CMGs at 6:05am.

Tomorrow’s EVA-4 spacewalk by McArthur and Tokarev from the “Quest” Airlock (A/L) in EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) suits is scheduled to begin with hatch opening at ~9:30am EST.  It is estimated to last 5h 25m (i.e., hatch closure ~2:55pm).   [Primary objectives: installation of an external video camera assembly (CP9 ETVCG, External TV Camera Group) on a stanchion on the P1 segment (lower outboard), and the removal and subsequent jettisoning/throwing off of the FPP (Floating Potential Probe) with its solar arrays and extended probes from the top of the Z1 truss (portside), it in retrograde direction (about 30 deg zenith and 10 deg port of the ISS minus X-axis) with a velocity of at least 0.15 m/s, while the station is in XVV TEA attitude.  There are also two get-ahead tasks, if time permits: retrieval of the S1-1 RJMC (Rotary Joint Motor Controller) plus removal & replacement of an RPCM (Remote Power Controller Module on the MT (Mobile Transporter).  The originally planned installation of a clamp from the MISSE 4 (Materials on the ISS Experiment #4) on the A/L starboard endcone zenith/aft handrail has been deleted since plans for future MISSE placement are still in the making.]

Preparations for the unmanned period during the EVA differ from previous two-man Orlan spacewalks from the Russian segment (RS)’s DC-1 docking compartment, but6 as then, a number of onboard systems will be deactivated, mostly in the RS, before locking out in the U.S. A/L early tomorrow morning.   [Besides systems in the US segment, in the RS McArthur will turn of SM heater fans and the Sputnik-SM Kenwood D700 amateur radio equipment; he will reset the DSD pressure alarm sensors to a lower limit (510 mmHg).  FE Tokarev will power off the Vozdukh CO2 scrubber, the SKV air conditioner, the SRV-K2M water processor and water heater, the EPP electric food warmer, the C&W (caution & warning) panel and comm panels in RS modules.]

No CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo targets uplinked for today.

To date, over 177,000 of CEO images have been taken in the first five years of the ISS.

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:

• http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/

To view the latest photos taken by the expedition 12 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-12/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 12 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 Events (all dates Eastern):

• 11/07/05 — EVA-4 (U.S.; hatch open ~9:30am; hatch closing ~3pm EST)
• 11/15/05 — ISS Reboost (from 19P; manifold #2)
• 11/18/05 — Soyuz TMA-7/11S relocation (from DC-1 to FGB nadir port)
• 12/07/05 — EVA-15 (Russian; under review)
• 12/20/05 — Progress M-54/19P undocking & reentry
• 12/21/05 — Progress M-55/20P launch
• 12/23/05 — Progress M-55/20P docking
• 01/09/06 — 100 days for Expedition 12.

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.