ISS On-Orbit Status 2/14/03<br /><br />All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously<br />or below. Day 83 in space for Expedition 6.<br /><br />The crew woke up to kudos for their great work with the SSRMS/robotarm<br />yesterday, and also for their success with the IMV (intermodular<br />ventilation) troubleshooting.<br /><br />IMV Troubleshooting: After the crew's inspection of the Node aft port IMV<br />fan air straightener and the removal of a large quantity of lint/dust from<br />the conduit, Velocicalc measurements showed a 10-fold increase in airflow<br />through the fan. Airflow between the Lab and the Service Module (SM) has<br />since significantly increased, and the replacement of the Node fan is not<br />now required. [Inspection and cleaning of the other fans followed yesterday,<br />from the "job jar" task list, and the Lab aft port IMV valve and Node aft<br />starboard IMV valve was performed today. To conclude the IMV<br />troubleshooting, the crew today reconfigured IMV orifice plates in the Node<br />to redirect the airflow from the Russian segment (RS) to the Lab, then<br />blocked off the associated IMV ducts in the Node using two dust covers<br />improvised from old ODF (operational data files) cardboard covers, in order<br />to obtain optimum flow through to the Lab. This, in effect, mixes the Lab<br />air first with the Node air, then exposes it to the RS air scrubbing system.<br />Future IMV maintenance ops will be expanded to include periodic cleaning of<br />the newly identified problem areas.]<br /><br />FE-1 Nikolai Budarin and CDR Ken Bowersox performed a checkout of the<br />Russian Orlan spacesuit electronics from the DC-1 module. After<br />reconfiguring ISS-internal communications assets for EVA mode, they first<br />tested the Orlan's BRTA telemetry system, then its Korona-M radio system,<br />using Multimeter (MMTs-01) resistance measurements for continuity and<br />performance checks. Reconfiguration to nominal comm configuration followed<br />at about 12:00pm EST. [During EVA-7, by Valery Korzun and Peggy Whitson on<br />8/16/02, communications interference was caused by a tone generated by the<br />primary subset of the Korona-M radio system in the BRTA.]<br /><br />Budarin changed out the F-V filter insert in the SM ECLS (environment<br />control and life support system) toilet system, a 30-min. task.<br /><br />Bowersox switched the Lab CCAA (common cabin air assembly) back to the port<br />air conditioner from the starboard unit. [Yesterday, he moded the port-CCAA<br />to starboard (SB) because it had been operating for 33 days, the limit for<br />continuous operation without a dryout. Since the SB-CCAA has exhibited<br />frequent "WET" indications in the past, suggesting that water is passing<br />through the heat exchanger into downstream ducting, operation of the<br />port-CCAA is preferred until the root cause of this problem can be<br />identified.]<br /><br />The first CWC (contingency water container) load of US condensate water (20<br />L) was successfully processed in the recently upgraded Russian SRV-K water<br />processing system. (TsUP/Moscow: "Keep fingers crossed").<br /><br />Budarin performed the regular inspection of the BRPK air/condensate<br />separator unit in the SM.<br /><br />FE-2/SO Don Pettit set up Russian SLM (sound level meter) equipment and took<br />readings at 41 different locations in the Lab, Node, Airlock, FGB, Service<br />Module (SM) and Docking Compartment (DC-1), following instructions uplinked<br />overnight. The noise measurement data were then transferred to the MEC<br />(medical equipment computer) and the SLM equipment was stowed.<br /><br />CO2 Update: Pettit also collected his daily ppCO2 (carbon dioxide partial<br />pressure) readings in Lab and SM, one in the morning, one in the evening,<br />using the U.S. CDMK (CO2 monitoring kit). [As a direct result of the IMV<br />improvement, ppCO2 in the Lab has now gone down to 4.3 mmHg, with a<br />delta-ppCO2 of 0.3 mmHg remaining between USOS (US segment) and RS. To<br />improve crew living conditions, US goal is now to keep ppCO2 below 4 mmHg.<br />Vozdukh can not easily be pushed beyond its current efficiency, which is<br />already "at almost maximum", according to RSC-Energia. Any near-term<br />increase in CO2 reduction must be accomplished by the US CDRA (CO2 removal<br />assembly), but this system also needs an IFM (in-flight maintenance).<br />Background: (1) Vozdukh has been operating on only two of its three<br />adsorbent beds for a long time. To recover the failed third channel,<br />replacement of vacuum valve package #3 is required, for which the current<br />crew is not trained. It may also become necessary to replace the entire<br />third adsorbent bed assembly. (2) Running Vozdukh with two beds in Manual<br />mode, rather than the currently used Automatic mode (where switching is<br />controlled by the GA/gas analyzer, itself suspect of being incorrect or not<br />properly calibrated) requires replacement of the second channel's timing<br />unit (delivered on Progress M-247/10P). Designers are being asked to<br />consider clearing the crew for this IFM. (3) CDRA has a breach in its<br />adsorbent beds which caused the recent air supply valves (ASV) stoppage.<br />After the successful recovery by Peggy Whitson on 11/28 (installation of new<br />ASV valves), its operation is kept at a minimum to avoid having it happen<br />again. A spare valve set has been removed from the ground CDRA and is<br />awaiting delivery to the station on the next Progress, after which full CDRA<br />operations will resume.]<br /><br />Pettit completed the weekly transfer of exercise data from the TVIS<br />treadmill, RED resistive exerciser and CEVIS cycle ergometer to the MEC for<br />subsequent downlink.<br /><br />Don also performed the daily routine maintenance of the SOSh life support<br />systems in the SM, while Nikolai prepared the IMS database update file for<br />export/downlink and Sox did the payload status checkup in the Lab<br />(PCG-STES010).<br /><br />Reboost Planning Update: Further analysis of the Progress reboost on 2/11<br />showed a delta-V of 4.2 m/sec, instead of 6 m/sec planned. The shutdown of<br />the thrusters after 1200 sec, instead of 1393 sec, was due to an operator<br />oversight of not inhibiting an onboard calculation translating delta-V<br />(meters/second) into burntime (seconds). But the premature shutoff is<br />insufficient to explain the 1.8 m/sec underspeed, and further investigation<br />is underway. Therefore, for the next reboost, Moscow will conduct a small<br />pre-burn first, on 4/13, as a test. After its evaluation, the actual burn,<br />scheduled for 4/15, will adjust the ISS phase angle for the launch of Soyuz<br />6S on 4/26 and the deorbit of the Expedition 6 crew in Soyuz 5S for landing<br />in the northern landing area in Kazakhstan. To keep the 4/15 burn at a<br />minimum, TsUP proposes an earlier reboost on 3/12. If we protect an<br />ULF-1/STS-114 launch date of 6/15, optimum reboost scenario would be a 5<br />m/sec burn on 3/12 and a 1-2 m/sec burn on 4/15. If, on the other hand, it<br />has been established (not later than 3/5) that ULF-1 will not launch on<br />6/15, an optimum burn on 3/12 would be as much as 10 m/sec. Should ULF-1<br />then be rescheduled to 6/15 after all (decision not later than 1.5 months<br />before), a penalty of 150 kg props would be incurred to bring the station<br />down to a Shuttle-compatible altitude If this rescheduling does not happen,<br />the 150 kg would be a gain. Ballistics teams at Moscow and Houston are<br />continuing to study these critical options, with a decision needed not later<br />than 3/5.<br /><br />Avionics Update: Rev. 3 software transition is proceeding on schedule. A<br />tagup with the crew was conducted today to discuss details of the protracted<br />and involved process where ISS onboard computers are transitioned to a new<br />software (s/w) load. [The first Russian patch on 2/7 prepared RS computers<br />to compensate for initial differences in USOS and RS s/w. After the routine<br />cycling of RS laptops in the past two days, next step is the on-board<br />transition of US computers, using the R3 files uplinked to the SSMMUs (solid<br />state mass memory units) in the past few days. This transition will take<br />place on 2/18-20. On 2/25-26, special preparation and discussions with the<br />crew are planned from TsUP, followed on 2/27 by upload of all display<br />images/frames, requiring 4 hrs crewtime. Transition of the four Russian<br />US-21 matching units of the MCS (motion control system) is to follow on 2/28<br />(first #1 & #3, later #2 & #4), again involving several hours of crewtime,<br />including for installation of permanent jumper cables that are required to<br />compensate for inherent incompatibilities of the new 7.01 s/w with ECLS. The<br />SM's Terminal (TVM) and Central (TsVM) computers will be rebooted on all<br />three subsets on 3/3 and transitioned to 7.01 on 3/5, completing the<br />operations. 3/6-7 are preserved as backup dates.]<br /><br />MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) Update: Progress by ESA/Astrium in<br />developing safe troubleshooting procedures is slower than anticipated. They<br />now appear to become available "very late next week" (~2/21). Actual<br />on-board troubleshooting of the MSG rack would then take place during the<br />week of 2/24.<br /><br />The crew conducted a Russian TV press interview at ~8:00am EST with the<br />VESTI (News) Program in Moscow.<br /><br />Today's targets for the CEO (crew earth observations program) were<br />Congo-Zimbabwe Biomass Burning (with especially fair weather over Zimbabwe<br />this pass, looking right of track for burn scars from previous fire seasons<br />and the coincident land use patterns), Lake Nasser, Toshka Lakes; Egypt<br />(scientists are continuing to monitor the Lake Nasser region for indications<br />of change in the flow of the Nile River or changes in lake levels,<br />especially the new lakes to the west), Subtropical Jet Stream (the<br />subtropical jet stream is active over western Africa and persists, producing<br />dramatic cloud formations. As ISS tracked northeastward off the coast, crew<br />was to look obliquely inland to the right of track to document details of<br />the cloud structures), Eastern Mediterranean Smog (high pressure has held<br />over the central Med for days now allowing the buildup of aerosols in the<br />region. On this pass, the crew was to look right of track down the length of<br />the Adriatic Seas for smog plumes over the water and adjacent land areas),<br />Everglades in Sun Glint (crew was to take advantage of special lighting<br />conditions to capture much of far south Florida in sun glint as it enhances<br />the detection of water bodies and control structures), and Gulf of St<br />Lawrence Sea Ice (it has been a cold, hard winter over eastern North<br />America. The crew was to use this break in the weather to document the<br />extent of sea ice over this important seaway).<br /><br />CEO images can be viewed at the website<br />http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov<br /><br />U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 12:45pm EST).<br /><br />Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):<br />Elektron O2 generator is powered On (32 Amp mode). Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is<br />On (auto mode). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is Off. TCCS (trace contaminant<br />control subsystem) is operating. MCA (major constituents analyzer) is<br />operating. BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode, bed<br />#2 in Purify mode. RS air conditioner SKV-1 is On; SKV-2 is Off.<br /><br />SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) -- 753; temperature (deg C) -- 26.9;<br />ppO2 (mmHg) -- 183.0; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- 2.5 (suspect).<br />SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) -- 751; temperature (deg C) --<br />20.9.<br />FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) -- 752; temperature (deg C) -- 22.3.<br />Node: Pressure (mmHg) -- 746.43; temperature (deg C) -- 24.1 (shell); ppO2<br />(mmHg) -- n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- n/a.<br />U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) -- 748.65; temperature (deg C) -- 22.8; ppO2<br />(mmHg) -- 169.1*; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- 4.9*;<br />Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) -- 748.76; temperature (deg<br />C) -- 21.0; shell heater temp (deg C) -- 21.7, ppO2 (mmHg) -- n/a; ppCO2<br />(mmHg) -- n/a.<br />PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 24.5<br />PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 12.9<br />(n/a = data not available)<br />(* = sample location currently unavailable until completion of R3 s/w upload<br />on 2/20)<br /><br />Propulsion System (PS): Total propellant load available [SM(811) + FGB(2777)<br />+ Progress(444)] -- 4032 kg (8889 lb) as of 2/14/03. (Capability: SM -- 860<br />kg; FGB -- 6120 kg).<br /><br />Electrical Power Systems (EPS):<br />Both P6 channels fully operational. Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 2B and 4B<br />both in auto track (sun following) mode.<br />SM batteries: Battery #7 is in "Cycle" mode (freshly installed); all other<br />batteries (7) are in "Partial Charge" mode.<br />FGB batteries: Battery #1 is off line; all other batteries (5) are in<br />"Partial Charge" mode.<br />Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 and PCU-2 both in Standby mode.<br /><br />Command & Data Handling Systems:<br />C&C-3 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-1 is in standby.<br />GNC-1 MDM is prime; GNC-2 is Backup.<br />EXT-1 is On (primary), EXT-2 is off.<br />LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.<br />PL-2 MDM is On (primary); PL-1 MDM is off (diagnostic<br />APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.<br />SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 2 redundant lanes (of 3) operational. Lane 1 is<br />out of the set (as of 11/14/02).<br />SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.<br /><br />Attitude Source:<br />3 CMGs on-line (CMG-1 failed).<br />State vector -- U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)<br />Attitude -- U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)<br />Angular rates -- U.S. RGA-1<br /><br />Flight Attitude:<br />XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane = "sun-fixed" [yaw: 0 deg,<br />pitch: -8.8 deg., roll: 0 deg]), with CMG/Thruster Assist Momentum<br />Management).<br />Solar Beta Angle: -47.0 deg (magnitude increasing).<br /><br />Communications & Tracking Systems:<br />FGB MDM-1 is powered Off; FGB MDM-2 is operational.<br />All other Russian communications & tracking systems are nominal.<br />S-band is operating nominally.<br />Ku-band is operating nominally.<br />Audio subsystem operating nominally.<br />Video subsystem operating nominally, but VTR1 is off.<br />HCOR (high-rate communications outage recorder) is operating nominally.<br /><br />Robotics:<br />SSRMS/Canadarm2 based at MBS PDGF2 with Keep Alive (KA) power on both<br />strings.<br />MBS: KA power on both strings.<br />MT: latched at WS4, with KA power.<br />POA: KA power on both strings.<br />RWS (robotics workstations): Lab RWS is Off; Cupola RWS is Off.<br /><br />ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 6:26am EST [= epoch]):<br />Mean altitude -- 392.4 km<br />Apogee -- 400.7 km<br />Perigee -- 384.1 km<br />Period -- 92.41 min.<br />Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.63 deg<br />Eccentricity -- 0.0012256<br />Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.58<br />Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours -- 120 m<br />Solar Beta Angle -- -47.0 deg (magnitude increasing)<br />Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 24186<br /><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