NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 7 June 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.

Before breakfast and exercise, CDR Sergei Krikalev and FE/SO John Phillips completed their second session with the Russian crew health-monitoring program’s medical assessment “Biochemical Urinalysis” (MO-9). Afterwards, the CDR stowed the hardware. [MO-9 is conducted regularly every 30 days (and also before and after EVAs) and is 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 are entered in the medical equipment computer (MEC)’s special IFEP software (In-Flight Examination Program).]

The Science Officer broke out and set up the equipment for tomorrow’s scheduled U.S. PHS (Periodic Health Status) with Blood Labs exam, a clinical evaluation of both crewmembers, each one acting in turn as CMO (crew medical officer) and as the subject. [The task today included an electronic function test and control analysis of the PCBA (Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer), which was then temporarily stowed.]

After configuring the video equipment with VTR-2 (video tape recorder #2), Phillips began today’s FOOT experiment (Foot/Ground Reaction Forces during Space Flight), his second data collection session, by donning the specially instrumented LEMS (lower extremity monitoring suit) pants garment, opening the Lab nitrogen (N2) valve, performing electromyography (EMG) calibration (i.e., electric muscle currents recording) on the right arm and leg, closing the N2 valve and then conducting the data collection session during the course of the day. After ~8.5 hours of activity, the equipment was stowed again. [Wearing the black Lycra biking tights with 20 electrodes and shoes fitted with insoles that measure impact forces on the bottom of the foot for the 12-hr session, Phillips first performed electromyography (EMG) calibration (i.e., electric muscle currents recording) on the right arm and leg. He then completed a typical on-orbit day while his reaction forces against the ISS structure were recorded passively on 14 channels to determine how much stress his legs and feet endure. This provides better understanding of the bone loss and muscle mass loss experienced by astronauts in zero-G (recent studies have shown that as much as 1.58% per month of bone mineral is lost from the proximal femur during 4- to 14-month flights and that greater than 20% of knee-extensor strength is lost in 60- to 80-day flights). Prior to and following TVIS exercise John needed to perform a standing calibration with three marker button presses, to allow the ground to identify if sensors have shifted during exercise. During standing calibration he was to stand up as erect as in 1G, keeping knees straight and heels on the footplates. At the end of the day, he was to check whether EMG electrodes have come loose during the preceding activities. The experiment, by the biomedical engineering department at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, was also conducted previously by Mike Foale and Ken Bowersox.]

Sergei Krikalev had another ~3.5 hr on his schedule for transferring and stowing discarded material on the Progress 17 cargo ship, supported by the IMS (Inventory Management System) and an uplinked 96-items list. [Trash transfers to 17P continue throughout this week.]

The FE performed troubleshooting on the Kodak DCS 760 camera (#1008) that had failed (and was replaced) during the EarthKAM experiment on 4/27.

The CDR did the daily routine maintenance of the SM’s SOZh environment control & life support system, today including the weekly inspection of the BRPK air/liquid condensate separator apparatus as well as the weekly routine checkup of the IP-1 airflow sensors in the various RS hatchways and FGB-to-Node tunnel.

Sergei also prepared the regular IMS “delta” file for export/import to the IMS databases.

Both crewmembers conducted their regular 2.5-hr. physical exercise program on the TVIS treadmill, RED resistive machine and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer. [Sergei’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 3 of a new set).]

Afterwards, the FE transferred the exercise data files to the MEC (medical equipment computer) for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM (heart rate monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

The FE also performed the periodic once-per-month inspection of the RED with canister cords and accessory straps as well as the canister bolts for re-tightening if required.

During an overflight pass over the continental US (CONUS) at ~9:55am EDT, Phillips conducted a proficiency pass for the US VHF (very high frequency) radio link, using the Wallops VHF Site.

At ~9:45am, John and Sergei configured the television hardware for an interactive 20-minute TV interview event, starting at 10:40am, with KNXV-TV at Phoenix, AZ. [This was another in-flight event utilizing the new NASA Television Digital Satellite System. Due to the signal encoding and decoding required, the new digital satellite system has a 5-second audio delay between ISS and ground reception, and vice versa, for which the crew is prepared.]

Yesterday’s propellant transfers from Service Module (SM) and Progress 17 to the FGB low pressure prop tanks involved 90 kg of Progress props and 135 kg of SM props, for a total of 225kg.

Overnight, one of the two PCUs (Plasma Contactor Units, Z14B) experienced a health flag (bit flip) in its ORU firmware. The EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) chip was refreshed from SRAM (static random access memory) and is now running again nominally. [The PCU has the same firmware as other on-orbit ORUs with the ECC (Error Correction Code) in the EEPROM disabled, which makes it more susceptible to bit flips.]

At his “job jar” discretion, Krikalev conducted another session with the “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program, focusing the Nikon D1X No. 3 digital camera with 800-mm lens on targets called out on an uplinked list. [Today’s targets included general views of Byelorussian Polesye, close up imagery of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, the game reserve south of Kursk, plus quarry and farm land to the south of Voronezh, the large island where the Volga River makes a bend across its left tributary, Tashkent and a river valley to the left, glaciers of Lenin Peak, of the Russian Geographic Society and of Medvezhy, mud volcanoes on Taman Peninsula, logging areas in the mountains of Krasnodar Territory, etc.]

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 Urumqi, China (this nadir pass provided an opportunity for detailed mapping of this industrial and cultural center of northwestern China. Overlapping frames from NW to SE across the urban center are desired for land cover change analysis), Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire (this LTER site [Long Term Environmental Research, see 5/14 Status report] includes the Berkshire Mtns. of western Massachusetts and regenerating hardwood forests. Overlapping nadir frames are desired along the orbit track. Variable clouds may have been present; within-frame cloud cover greater than 30% will significantly lessen the usefulness of the imagery), Harvard Forest, Vermont (the Harvard Forest LTER site contains a variety of hardwoods and wetlands, and is a key monitoring site for climate change. This nadir pass provided an opportunity for overlapping context frames along the orbit track. Variable cloud cover may have been present; within-frame cloud percentages higher than 30% will significantly lessen the usefulness of the imagery), Plum Island Ecosystem, Maine (the Plum Island LTER site focuses on nutrient dynamics and land cover changes within watersheds and estuaries. This nadir pass provided an opportunity for overlapping context frames along river courses and the coastline. Variable cloud cover may have been present; within-frame cloud percentages higher than 30% will significantly lessen the usefulness of the imagery), and Sevilleta Wildlife Area, New Mexico (weather was predicted to be clear over this desert LTER site. The Sevilleta site monitors change in surface energy balances and desert grassland dynamics).

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 11 crew visit:

• http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-11/ndxpage1.html at NASA’s Human Spaceflight website.

Expedition 11 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.

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 9:53am EDT [= epoch]):

• Mean altitude — 351.5 km
• Apogee height — 354.5 km
• Perigee height — 348.4 km
• Period — 91.57 min.
• Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
• Eccentricity — 0.000453
• Solar Beta Angle — -21.2 deg (magnitude decreasing)
• Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.72
• Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 120
• Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) – 37417

Some Increment 11 Main Events (not final):

• Progress M-52 (17P) undock — 6/15 (4:13pm EDT);
• Progress M-53 (18P) launch — 6/16 (7:09pm EDT, Baikonur: 6/17, 5:09am)
• Progress M-53 (18P) dock — 6/18 (8:46pm EDT);
• Reboost — ~6/22 (delta-V 1.5 m/s);
• LF-1/STS-114 launch — 7/13 (18-day window opens);
• Soyuz TMA-6 (10S) relocate (from DC-1 to FGB) — ~8/16;
• Progress M-54 (19P) launch — 8/24 (dock 8/26);
• ULF1.1/STS-121 launch — NET 9/9 (launch window opens);
• 12A/STS-115 launch — NET 2/16/06;
• 12A.1/STS-116 launch — NET 4/23/06;
• 13A/STS-117 launch — NET 7/13/06.

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.