ISS On-Orbit Status 2 Apr 2003<br /><br /> All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously<br />or below.<br /><br />FE-2/SO Don Pettit again deployed the acoustic dosimeters, today statically<br />after they had been worn by each crewmember for 24 hours. Before their<br />deployment, Pettit recorded the data from all instruments and changed all<br />batteries. [Tonight, after about 15 hours of measurements, data from each<br />dosimeter will again be recorded and the hardware power-cycled.]<br /><br />FE-1 Nikolai Budarin performed another substantial IFM (in-flight<br />maintenance) in the FGB, changing out of one of its 800A batteries. A new<br />storage unit replaced the failed battery #2,- a 1.5-hr task. The old 800A<br />will be discarded on Progress. This restores all six FGB batteries to<br />service. [Last change-out (Battery #1) was on 2/25.]<br /><br />In the Service Module (SM), Budarin later removed a time synchronization<br />unit (BSV-M) on one of the PPS system power panels and replaced it with a<br />spare delivered by Progress 10P/M-247. [For the R&R, the BITS2-12 onboard<br />measurement telemetry system and the Vozdukh CO2 absorber were switched off<br />and turned back on afterwards.]<br /><br />CDR Kenneth Bowersox began today's FOOT (foot/ground reaction forces during<br />space flight) experiment by setting up the video equipment for recording the<br />subsequent EMG (electromyography, i.e., muscular electric signals recording)<br />calibration and day-long experiment run. The VTR recording was controlled<br />from the ground. Bowersox's teleconference yesterday with the FOOT ground<br />team was well received.<br /><br />For FE-1 Nikolai Budarin, it was time for the second part of the current<br />MBI-8 Profilaktika ("countermeasures") fitness test series, today with the<br />NS-01 load trainer on the VELO (stationary bike) ergometer. [This fitness<br />test consists of four types of exercise, viz., neck tilting (back/forward),<br />simultaneous forearm flexing, trunk extension, and trunk flexes. Each type<br />of exercise consists of a series of 15 motions repeated two times. Load<br />levels are selected by the ground and do not change from test to test. Gas<br />analysis, subjective evaluation of physical exertion levels, and blood test<br />for lactate and Creatine Kinase levels are also performed as a part of this<br />test, using the TEEM-100M gas analyzer, AccuSport analyzer, and Reflotron-IV<br />blood analyzer.]<br /><br />Evaluation of the two completed InSPACE experiment runs in the MSG<br />(Microgravity Science Glovebox) is continuing. [After the first run on 3/31<br />with coil assembly 004 (CA004), lack of any discernable microstructures in<br />the MR fluid indicated that the magnetic field strength may have been too<br />low and/or particle size too small. Yesterday's second run used an<br />increased magnetic field strength (current amplitude increased from 0.350 A<br />to 1.2 A). For the continuation of the InSPACE operations next week, the<br />tentative plan is to increase both field strength and sample particle size.<br />This will be accomplished by utilizing CA003 (which has particles with a<br />diameter of 0.62 microns) and setting a high current amplitude.]<br /><br />Troubleshooting continues on the EVA battery recharging with BC-1 (battery<br />charger 1). [As part of today's BSA (battery stowage assembly) battery<br />recharge termination task, Don Pettit was to attempt to charge the helmet<br />light batteries in BC-1 without the other battery chargers powered on. This<br />would tell engineers if there is a noise interference issue associated with<br />the other chargers. If BC-1 charging is unsuccessful, he was to remove the<br />helmet light batteries from the charger and install them in BC-2,-3 and -4<br />to complete the charge.]<br /><br />As part of EVA preparations, Don Pettit was also scheduled to perform a<br />checkout of the SAFER (simplified aid for EVA rescue) units.<br /><br />Afterwards, the crew conducted an in-depth review of the updated EVA<br />timeline and later tagged up with the ground via S-band. Preparatory to the<br />review and discussion, new timeline material and drawings of the ammonia<br />fluid QD (quick disconnect) couplings for SPD (spool positioning devices)<br />installation were uplinked. [Objectives of the 6.5-hr. EVA oin 4/8 include<br />(1) S0/S1/P1 truss segment tasks like reconfiguring electrical connectors to<br />provide additional inhibit to prevent SSAS (segment-to-segment attachment<br />system) release, and NTA (nitrogen tank assembly) inspection to troubleshoot<br />its heater problem; (2) R&R of the failed MT RPCM 3A (mobile<br />transporter/remote power controller module #3A); (3) reconfiguring of CMG<br />(control moment gyroscope) connections to ensure that no single EPS<br />(electrical power system) failure will result in the loss of two of the<br />three operating CMGs; (4) installation of two SPDs on Lab HX (heat<br />exchanger) fluid QDs; (5) re-installing and securing of a QD thermal cover<br />on the S1 RBVM (radiator beam valve module); (6) freeing the S1 CETA (crew<br />equipment translation aid) railcart light stanchion and completing the light<br />installation aborted during Stage EVA1; (7) and get-ahead tasks as time<br />permits, such as tool retrievals and photo ops.]<br /><br />Budarin completed his regular daily inspection of the BIO-5<br />Rasteniya-2/Lada-2 ("Plants-2") plant growth experiment.<br /><br />Don Pettit conducted the daily routine maintenance of the SM's SOZh life<br />support system (including ASU toilet facilities), while Sox prepared the<br />daily IMS inventory delta file and performed the regular Lab payload status<br />checkup (PCG-STES010).<br /><br />Don also completed a "zero" calibration run with the CSA-CP (compound<br />specific analyzer-combustion products), then activated and deactivated the<br />CSA-CP for a cabin air composition data take. A planned sampling with the<br />GSC (grab sampler container) was deferred.<br /><br />The crew downlinked two messages of greeting, one to the Gagarin Cosmonaut<br />Training Center (GCTC) in Korolev near Moscow on the occasion of<br />Cosmonautics Day on April 12, the other to address the Fifth International<br />Science/Technical Conference, on the theme "Space Science: Theory and<br />Reality". [Cosmonautics Day observes the date of April 12, 1961, when Yuri<br />Gagarin became the first human in space. John Glenn followed in February<br />1962 as first American and Valentina Tereshkova in June 1963 as first woman.<br />"We wish a wonderful holiday to the command staff, all pilot cosmonauts, and<br />all GCTC specialists on this, our professional holiday."]<br /><br />The conjunction with a Delta 2 rocket body (object #21150), predicted for<br />tonight after midnight, has moved to a calculated miss distance of 31.1 km.<br />No DAM (debris avoidance maneuver) by Progress is required. The planned SM<br />and FGB solar array efficiency test planned for tomorrow remains on<br />schedule, as does the first of two Progress reboosts, scheduled for Friday<br />(4/4).<br /><br />During last night and ending this morning at 7am EST, MCC-H and its support<br />group in Moscow (HSG) performed a BCC (backup control center) dry-run in<br />test mode, with no involvement of ISS crew or vehicle. [BCC utilizes the<br />HSG command server and telemetry server. In test mode, HSG (as BCC) sent a<br />single not-for-uplink PPCP (preplanned command packet) to MCC-M/TsUP, then<br />cancelled it after successful transmission. MCC-M played back the ACT<br />(American contingency telemetry) recorded during the ACT checkout on<br />3/31/03, with HSG confirming successful receipt. TsUP commanding to the<br />Russian segment (RS) via U.S. S-band as well as MCC-H-to-TsUP flow of status<br />telemetry were also not affected, but MCC-H had no real-time telemetry and<br />command capability via Russian ground stations (RGS).] Today's CEO (crew<br />earth observations) targets, currently restricted by flight rule constraints<br />limiting the use of the science window in the Lab, were Cape Town, South<br />Africa (nadir pass over this major port and industrial city of South Africa.<br />Margins of the city, of greatest interest in city-growth studies, extend 30<br />km east from the city center [at the foot of the Table Mountain massif]),<br />Industrialized SE Africa (smog-smoke-dust loadings can accumulate for many<br />days under the semi-permanent high pressure systems that dominate the<br />subcontinent in summer and winter. Looking left and right for oblique<br />images), Johannesburg, South Africa (looking right for the center of the<br />150-mile-long metropolis centered on the gold mining city of Johannesburg),<br />Patagonian Glaciers (unusual situation of cloud banking up on the desert<br />[east] side of the southern Andes, with clear skies on the west [Pacific]<br />side. Crew was to shoot seldom seen west-side glacier tongues), Kuwait<br />City, Kuwait (nadir pass), Western Mediterranean Aerosol (smog buildup<br />likely. Looking left toward source regions of France and northern Italy),<br />Eastern Mediterranean Aerosol (smog buildup likely. Looking left up the<br />Adriatic Sea towards the mouth of the Po valley, a valley with the worst air<br />pollution in Europe. Smog tongues may extend visibly into the eastern<br />Mediterranean), Lower Amazon River Basin (good pass for documenting the<br />position of islands in the complex mouth of the Amazon. Looking just left.<br />This largest river on the planet moves islands at unexpectedly fast rates),<br />and Northern South America fires (Dynamic event: Numerous fires reported<br />along the northern edge of the Amazon rainforest in eastern Colombia and<br />southern Venezuela. Looking left and right and shooting obliques to<br />document extent of smoke pall). CEO images can be viewed at the websites<br />http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and http://earthobservatory.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 /><br />Elektron O2 generator is powered Off. Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is On (manual<br />mode 5). U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is Off. TCCS (trace contaminant control<br />subsystem) is operating. MCA (major constituents analyzer) is operating.<br />BMP Harmful Impurities unit: Absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode, bed #2 in<br />Purify mode. RS air conditioner SKV-1 is On; SKV-2 is Off.<br /><br /><br />SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) -- 745; temperature (deg C) --<br />27.6; ppO2 (mmHg) -- 183.1 (suspect); ppCO2 (mmHg) -- 2.4 (data suspect).<br />SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) -- 751; temperature (deg C) --<br />20.2.<br />FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) -- 752; temperature (deg C) -- 22.0.<br />Node: Pressure (mmHg) -- 739.44; temperature (deg C) -- 23.1 (shell); ppO2<br />(mmHg) -- n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- n/a.<br />U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) -- 741.48; temperature (deg C) -- 22.2; ppO2<br />(mmHg) -- n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- n/a;<br />Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) -- 741.58; temperature (deg<br />C) -- 20.9; shell heater temp (deg C) -- 21.4, ppO2 (mmHg) -- 166.6; ppCO2<br />(mmHg) -- 4.2.<br />PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 25.8<br />PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 14.7<br /><br />(n/a = data not available)<br /><br />Propulsion System (PS):<br /><br />Total propellant load available [SM(774) + FGB(2746) + Progress(474] ---<br />3994 kg (8805 lb) as of 3/27/03. (Capability: SM -- 860 kg; FGB -- 6120<br />kg).<br /><br />Electrical Power Systems (EPS):<br /><br />Both P6 channels fully operational. BGA (beta gimbal assembly) 2B and 4B<br />both in Autotrack (sun-following).<br />SM batteries: All batteries (8) are in "Partial Charge" mode.<br />FGB batteries: Battery #2 is in "Cycle" mode; all other batteries (5) are<br />in "Partial Charge" mode.<br />Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 and PCU-2 both in Standby mode.<br /><br />Command & Data Handling Systems:<br /><br />C&C-1 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-3 is in standby.<br />GNC-2 MDM is prime; GNC-1 is Backup.<br />INT-1 is operating; INT-2 is Off.<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<br />APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.<br />SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational. Being<br />upgraded.<br />SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational. Being<br />upgraded.<br /><br />Attitude Control Systems:<br /><br />3 CMGs on-line (CMG-1 failed).<br />State vector source -- U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)<br />Attitude source -- U.S. SIGI-1 (GPS)<br />Angular rate source -- RGA-2<br /><br />Flight Attitude:<br /><br />XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane = "sun-fixed" [yaw: -179.0 deg,<br />pitch: -8.8 deg., roll: 0 deg]), with CMG TA (thruster assist) Momentum<br />Management.<br />Solar Beta Angle: 25.4 deg (magnitude decreasing).<br /><br />Communications & Tracking Systems:<br /><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 (VTR1 is operable again).<br />HCOR (high-rate communications outage recorder) is operating nominally.<br /><br />Robotics:<br /><br />SSRMS/Canadarm2 based at Lab PDGF 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, 3:21am EST [= epoch]):<br /><br />Mean altitude -- 388.8 km<br />Apogee -- 394.4 km<br />Perigee -- 383.3 km<br />Period -- 92.33 min.<br />Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.63 deg<br />Eccentricity -- 0.0008265<br />Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.59<br />Solar Beta Angle: 25.4 deg (magnitude decreasing)<br />Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours -- 200 m<br />Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 24917<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