NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 6 Oct 2003
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below. Week 23 of Expedition 7 is underway, and this was their Day 162 in space.
Before breakfast, both crewmembers completed another session of the periodic Russian medical experiment protocols PZEh-MO-7 (calf volume measurement) and PZEh-MO-8 (body mass measurement). CDR Yuri Malenchenko set up the MO-8 “scales” equipment and later broke it down and stowed it away. [Calf measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and lower foot as fixed reference points, to provide a rough index of deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures. For determining body ass in zero-G, where things are weightless (but not massless), the Russian IM “scales” measure the inertial forces that arise during the oscillatory motion of a mass driven by two helical metering springs with known spring constants. By measuring the time period of each oscillation of the unknown mass (the crewmember) and comparing it to the period of a known mass, the crewmember’s mass is calculated by the computer and displayed].
The crew spent about an hour with early preparations for their return on Soyuz-212/6S on 10/28.
Yuri Malenchenko unstowed the Motorola-9505 Iridium satellite phone and recharged its lithium-ion battery. [After making the necessary electrical connections, the charging process proceeded, expected to take about 2.5 – 4 hrs, depending on battery charge level. The phone was off during the process. After briefly turning it on in the Airlock to check battery status, Malenchenko disassembled the phone and stowed it. The charging process was videotaped for the record.]
Malenchenko conducted a close audit of the entire RS (Russian segment) comm network hardware. The inventory included jumper cables, adapter plugs, HDDs (hard disk drives), and PCMCIA memory cards. [During previous crew handovers, a portion of hardware stowage data was not provided; consequently, this hardware is presumed “lost”. TsUP recommended that Yuri call down needed data right away to specialists on standby.]
The CDR prepared the daily IMS delta file for automatic export/import to update the database and completed the periodic inspection and functionality checkup of the BRPK-2 air/liquid condensate separator in the SM.
Ed attended to the daily routine maintenance of the SM SOZh life support system (including ASU toilet facilities) and also performed the regular routine status checkup of the ISS-7 autonomous Lab payloads.
Both crewmembers worked on the TVIS (treadmill with vibration isolation and stabilization) and completed its six-month maintenance and weekly inspection. Ed Lu also checked on the voltage level of the TVIS battery.
Ed Lu conducted a VHF (very-high frequency) communications check with the CONUS ground stations at Dryden, White Sands and Wallops. [VHF comm on two channels will be supporting Russian assets in the Service Module (SM) and Soyuz during the upcoming Soyuz 7S launch on 10/18 and the return of 6S on 10/28.]
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.
There are no CEO (crew earth observations) targets from 10/2 thru today, while ESTER operates.
