ISS On-Orbit Status 21 Jun 2003<br /><br /> All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously<br />or below. The first of two weekend off-duty days for the crew.<br /><br />Today is Summer Solstice -- longest daylight for the northern hemisphere,<br />i.e., best illumination of its high latitudes for observations from ISS.<br />Features of general scientific interest for documentation by the crew<br />include the distribution of sea ice, snow and ice cover, glaciers, and<br />cyclonic storms in remote areas of the Far North. [In St. Petersburg, there<br />are the famed "White Nights", and in Stockholm/Sweden one can easily read<br />the newspaper on the street at 2:00 o'clock in the morning. Reason: because<br />Earth's rotational axis is inclined 23.5 degrees against its orbit plane and<br />currently tipped towards the Sun.]<br /><br />After breakfast, Commander Yuri Malenchenko disassembled the water transfer<br />equipment which was used yesterday to pump the contents of the 11P/Progress'<br />Rodnik potable water tank to the Service Module (SM)'s Rodnik tank, via DC-1<br />docking module plumbing.<br /><br />Malenchenko and Flight Engineer/Science Officer Ed Lu then performed the<br />regular weekly 3-hr. "uborka stantsii" (station cleaning). [This included<br />removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum<br />cleaner, wet cleaning of the SM dining table and other surfaces with<br />"Fungistat" disinfectant and cleaning fan screens to avoid temperature<br />rises.]<br /><br />Later, Yuri conducted the daily routine maintenance of the SM's SOZh life<br />support system (including ASU toilet facilities), while Ed prepared the<br />daily IMS inventory "delta" file.<br /><br />Both crewmembers completed their daily 2.5-h program of physical exercise,<br />on TVIS treadmill, RED expander and, for Yuri, on the Russian VELO cycle<br />ergometer with load trainer.<br /><br />The crew had their the weekly planning conference with the ground via<br />S-band/audio, to discuss next week's "Look-Ahead Plan" (regularly prepared<br />jointly by MCC-H and MCC-M planners and uplinked ahead of time).<br /><br />A new work item added to the Russian task list for Malenchenko's attention<br />today was cleaning up hard disk "D" in laptop TR1 to free up storage volume<br />for new files. [A list of folders with photo images that have already been<br />successfully downloaded, was provided for deletion. In their stead, CDR<br />"Yura" was to create new folders for photos for Uragan. Diatomeya, EVA,<br />Earth views, ISS interior shots, and CDR-selected subjects.]<br /><br />Also added to the Russian task list on a time-available basis for today was<br />another session for Yuri with the biomedical MBI-9 "Pulse" experiment, for<br />which he set up payloads laptop 3. These MBI-9 cardiological tests are done<br />monthly (last time performed: 5/20). [Execution of the medical<br />cardiological assessment is controlled from the Russian payloads laptop 3,<br />using a set respiration rate (without forced or deep breaths) and<br />synchronizing respiration with computer-commanded "inhale" commands. Before<br />the experiment, arterial blood pressure is measured with the "Tensoplus"<br />sphygmomanometer. After the test, laptop 3 was reconfigured to its original<br />settings.]<br /><br />A third new item on the Russian task list, suggested for tomorrow, is crew<br />familiarization with the video-photo spectrometer VFS-3M. This is in<br />preparation for an IFM (in-flight maintenance) scheduled for 6/25 to restore<br />the system's functionality. [In January this year, a test of the VFS-3M<br />twin-lens video-photometric system had revealed a failure of the computer<br />subsystem of the VFS electronics module (ME). The upcoming task will be a<br />second attempt to restore the system, after Nikolai Budarin had already<br />worked on it on 3/31. The Molniya VFS-3M is used for studying atmospheric,<br />ionospheric and magnetospheric electromagnetic interaction related to storms<br />and seismic activities.]<br /><br />Weekly Science Update (Expedition Seven -- 7th):<br /><br />This week the crew successfully performed the HRF GASMAP 30 Day Health Check<br />and completed another important Interactions session. The MSG Rack was<br />powered nominally in support of completion of a valuable InSPACE run. The<br />ground has admired the beautiful images the crew has been able to capture<br />for the CEO team. Everyone looks forward to beginning EarthKAM operations<br />in a few weeks and resuming EPO activities.<br /><br />GASMAP: Next 30-day health check is next month. Human Research<br />Facility/Workstation (HRF WS): Continuing.<br /><br />Ultrasound: The HRF and Space Medicine teams are looking forward to next<br />week's joint Ultrasound session.<br /><br />Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI): Waiting to begin<br />operations.<br /><br />Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS): SAMS is nominal and currently<br />analyzing data in support of general characterization of the ISS<br />acceleration environment.<br /><br />Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS): MAMS is nominal and<br />currently analyzing data in support of general characterization of the ISS<br />acceleration environment.<br /><br />Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-STES):<br />PCG STES is operating nominally. Temperatures are holding steady.<br /><br />Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal<br />Emulsions (InSPACE): The test on 6/18 provided interesting structure<br />development. At 10 Hz, which starts to approach steady conditions, there<br />are fewer dispersed smaller structures and the view through the structure is<br />improved. Conversely, when Ed Lu switched to 2 Hz the image became murky<br />because there was more opportunity for dispersion during the field "off"<br />state, which allows particles to separate out from the structures. This<br />week's InSPACE run was the second last planned test with the largest<br />particles. In fact, the planned test matrix is almost complete. There are<br />only three remaining runs: one with the large particles and two with the<br />smallest particles. Upon completion of these tests, InSPACE will be stowed.<br /><br />Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE): In progress. Deployed outside. Nominal<br />and collecting data.<br /><br />Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM): Waiting to<br />begin operations in July.<br /><br />Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures-2 (CSLM-2): Waiting to begin<br />operations.<br /><br />Educational Payload Operations (EPO): Will resume activities next month.<br /><br />Crew Earth Observation (CEO): The first Lewis & Clark target of the<br />Missouri River at Omaha-Council Bluffs will be published on Earth<br />Observatory this weekend (website see below). A very nice shot! The<br />ground will continue work at refining descriptions of these challenging<br />historical targets over the coming weeks to better help the crew spot them<br />and let them know when to get them. Today's optional CEO targets, limited in<br />the current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab<br />nadir/science window, and including the targets of the Lewis & Clark<br />200-year memorial locations, were Tigris-Euphrates, Turkey (the crew's<br />descending [NW to SE] pass ran the length of the Tigris-Euphrates valleys.<br />Looking either side of track for views of land use and especially water<br />control systems like dams, reservoirs, canals, levees, and irrigation<br />complexes), Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes (as the crew approached this target<br />area from the northwest, they were to look right of track, trying for views<br />of the new lakes forming and spreading in the desert west of the Nile. Also<br />looking at the upper end of Lake Nasser for changes in water color and lake<br />level), Gulf of Maine plankton (there was marginal weather this pass, but<br />the crew was to take advantage of this opportunity to document this active<br />area of plankton blooms. Research vessels are "chalking" the plankton and<br />then tracking it with satellite and ship as they are physically mixed and<br />biologically grazed from the system. The patches are several kilometers in<br />length, and should be quite visible from space. Looking right of track and<br />trying to keep some coastal features in view for reference purposes), and<br />Fort Mandan, ND (LEWIS & CLARK SITE: Clouds were expected to close in from<br />the south, but this pass may still have been in time for this site. This is<br />where the expedition spent the winter of 1804-5 and where Sacagawea and her<br />husband joined the group. The site is near the present town of Stanton.<br />Looking left of track and south of the large reservoir, Lake Sacagawea.<br />Stanton is on the west bank of the Missouri near where it turns sharply from<br />south to east). CEO images can be viewed at the websites<br /><br />http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov<br />http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov<br /><br />See also the website "Space Station Challenge" at<br />http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/<br /><br />ISS Orbit (as of this afternoon, 3:14am EDT [= epoch]):<br /><br />Mean altitude -- 388.3 km<br />Apogee -- 393.0 km<br />Perigee -- 383.6km<br />Period -- 92.32 min.<br />Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.63 deg<br />Eccentricity -- 0.0006963<br />Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.60<br />Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours -- 80 m<br />Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 26172<br />For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, see<br /> http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html