NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 9 Jul 2003

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously or below.
The crew awoke to kudos for yesterday’s great performance on the PAO/TV event with students and NASDA Shuttle-Astronaut Dr. Mamoru Mohri assembled in Tokyo, Japan. [“You made a lot of faces smile over there.”]
CDR Yuri Malenchenko tackled a major 2-hr. IFM (in-flight maintenance) on the Service Module (SM) condensate water recovery system, removing and replacing the no. 2 condensate separation & pumping unit (BRPK-2). [After deinstalling the old unit and tagging up with TsUP (which deactivated power on the BITS2-12 on-board data telemetry system), he disconnected the BITS and installed a previously used BRPK plus a new pipe conduit delivered on Progress 11P, following instructions listed in an on-board IFM procedures data file.]
FE/SO Dr. Ed Lu meanwhile spent time in the Lab working on U.S. segment (USOS) computers, first rebuilding and restoring two Station Support Computer (SSC) laptops (IBM 760XD ThinkPads #6071 & #6039) with a new 3.0 Gb hard drive, and later the SAMS IUC (space acceleration measurement system/interface control unit) laptop hard drive.
Ed Lu also conducted another inventory audit (#4). Today’s focus was on battery packs for the CDMK and CSA-CP (carbon dioxide monitor kit and compound specific analyzer-combustion products) instrumentation. [Objective: To verify the stowage locations, current usage status, and a count of the modified CDM/CSA-CP battery packs. With swapouts not possible at present due to the Shuttle stand-down, the inventory is required to determine the number of additional battery packs to be manifested on 13P and subs. Referring to uplinked tabular lists, Ed recorded location, status and configuration of the CHeCS (crew health care systems) power supplies (there should be 31 packs onboard, 19 delivered on 9A and 12 on 11P).]
Malenchenko completed his regular daily inspection of the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment which studies growth and development of plants (peas) under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-2 greenhouse.
Both crewmembers conducted their regular daily physical exercise program of 2.5 hrs., and Ed Lu completed the monthly maintenance of the TVIS treadmill.
The Science Officer today performed the routine maintenance of SM life support systems (SOZh) and the regular daily status checkup of the autonomous Lab payloads, while the CDR prepared the daily inventory management system (IMS) “delta” file for updating the IMS database and completed..
Ed Lu began recording video scenes of a two-day on-board tour for a “Live on ISS” PAO TV program, to be edited by him on 7/11 (Friday) and later downlinked, with live crew narration, on 7/17 (Thursday next week). At that time, the downlink will be aired on NASA TV. [Scenes of interest include an end-to-end station “fly-through”, starting from the Lab and ending at the SM, highlights of the Lab interior, the MSG (microgravity science glovebox), EarthKAM and TVIS treadmill, the Airlock and its spacesuits, if visible, the FGB and its stores, the Soyuz TMA-1 CRV, views of outside trusses, etc.]
EarthKAM operations are continuing on board, under remote commanding.
Today’s CEO targets, no longer limited in the current LVLH attitude and including the targets of the Lewis & Clark 200-year memorial locations, were Eastern Mediterranean Aerosols (low visibility reported between the Syrian coast and Cyprus [3-4 miles visibility], probably smog from Italy. Looking left of track with sea as background, and some coastal features to help orient interpreters. Techniques for shooting aerosols are oblique views, shorter lenses, and slight over-exposure if possible), Athens, Greece (nadir pass), Madrid, Spain (nadir pass), Western Mediterranean Dust (low visibility [1-4 miles] reported from cities in southernmost Spain and along the Algerian coast. Smog expected as the culprit, probably from the Rhone valley of France), Algiers, Algeria (nadir pass), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (nadir pass), Brasilia, Brazil (nadir pass), Las Vegas, Nevada (looking a touch right), Tucson, AZ (looking right for the city. Remnants of the big fire on the Catalina Mts just north of town are still active), Machu Picchu, Peru (this famous site of Inca ruins lies on a ridge in a great bend of the Urubamba River which can be seen on both sides of this most visited tourist point in South America), and Kinshasa, Zaire (nadir pass. Better opportunity than usual).
CEO images can be viewed at the websites
See also the website “Space Station Challenge” at http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/
Besides the daily CEO (crew earth observation) target list, the station residents were also provided with times of ISS equatorial night crossings for observing the current equatorial-tropical storm zone.
U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 1:30pm EST).
Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):
- Elektron O2 generator is powered On (16 amp mode). Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is On (in Manual Mode 5/3). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is Off. TCCS (trace contaminant control subsystem) is operating. MCA (major constituents analyzer) is operating. BMP Harmful Impurities unit: absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode, bed #2 in Purify mode (unit is off). RS air conditioner SKV-1 is On; SKV-2 is Off.
- SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 742; temperature (deg C) — 27.3; ppO2 (mmHg) — data invalid; ppCO2 (mmHg) — data invalid.
- SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) — 751; temperature (deg C) — 20.0.
- FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) — 748; temperature (deg C) — n/a.
- Node: Pressure (mmHg) — 740.07; temperature (deg C) — 22.9 (shell); ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
- U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) — 743.39; temperature (deg C) — n/a; ppO2 (mmHg) — n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) — n/a.
- Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) — 743.49; temperature (deg C) — n/a; shell heater temp (deg C) — 23.3, ppO2 (mmHg) — 168.8; ppCO2 (mmHg) — 3.9.
- PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 23.3
- PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) — 20.6.
(n/a = data not available)
Propulsion System (PS):
- Total propellant load available: 3803 kg (8384 lb) as of 6/26 [SM(774) + FGB(2447) + Progress M(182) +Progress M-1(400)]. (Capability: SM — 860 kg; FGB — 6120 kg).
Electrical Power Systems (EPS):
- Both P6 channels fully operational. BGA (beta gimbal assembly) 2B and 4B both in directed position (Blind/triple-angle mode, non solar-tracking, drag reduction)..
- SM batteries: Battery #4 is disconnected (failed 6/16); all other batteries (7) are in “Partial Charge” mode. Batteries #1, #2 and #3 showing degraded capacity.
- FGB batteries: Battery #3 is offline; battery #2 is in “Cycle” mode; all other batteries (4) are in “Partial Charge” mode.
- Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 in Standby mode; PCU-2 in Standby mode.
Command & Data Handling Systems:
- C&C-1 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-3 is in standby.
- GNC-1 MDM is prime; GNC-2 is Backup.
- INT-1 is operating; INT-2 is Off.
- EXT-2 is On (primary), EXT-1 is Off (both now upgraded to R3).
- LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
- PL-2 MDM is Off; PL-1 MDM is Operational.
- APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.
- SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.
- SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.
Attitude Control Systems:
- 3 CMGs on-line (CMG-1 failed).
- State vector source — U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)
- Attitude source — U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)
- Angular rate source — RGA-1
Flight Attitude:
- LVLH -YVV (local vertical/local horizontal = “earth-fixed”: z-axis in local vertical, -y-axis in velocity vector [yaw: -10 deg, pitch: -9.3 deg, roll: 0 deg]), with CMG/TA (thruster assist) Momentum Management.
- Solar Beta angle: 29.2 deg (magnitude increasing).
Communications & Tracking Systems:
- FGB MDM-1 is powered Off; FGB MDM-2 is operational.
- All other Russian communications & tracking systems are nominal.
- S-band is operating nominally (on string 2).
- Ku-band is operating nominally.
- Audio subsystem is operating nominally [IAC-1 (internal audio controller #1) being analyzed after self-test error. IAC-2 is prime.]
- Video subsystem operating nominally.
- HCOR (high-rate communications outage recorder) is operating nominally.
Robotics:
- SSRMS/Canadarm2 based at MBS PDGF #1 with Keep Alive (KA) power on both strings.
- MBS: KA power on both strings.
- MT: latched and mated at WS4.
- POA: KA power on both strings.
- RWS (robotics workstations): Lab RWS is On (DCP connected); Cupola RWS is Off.
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:32am EDT [= epoch]):
- Mean altitude — 386.8 km
- Apogee — 392.3 km
- Perigee — 381.3 km
- Period — 92.29 min.
- Inclination (to Equator) — 51.63 deg
- Eccentricity — 0.0008124
- Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
- Solar Beta Angle — 29.2 deg (magnitude increasing)
- Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours — 70 m
- Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. ’98) — 26448
- For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, see
- http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html
Did you know that…
…a total of 12,000 lbs of food has been consumed onboard ISS as of this Friday, 11 June, 2003?
…USOS solar arrays are currently generating 17.2 kilowatts of user power? That’s enough to power 300 average light bulbs or 50 top-of-the-line home theater systems.