ISS On-Orbit Status 10 Apr 2003<br /><br /> All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously<br />or below. Space Day 138 for Expedition 6 (since STS-113 launch on<br />11/23/02).<br /><br />The second reboost by Progress M-47/10P this morning took place as scheduled<br />(6:55am EDT). The burn was nominal, establishing the proper orbital phasing<br />angle for 6S launch and 5S landing in northern Kazakhstan. [Preliminary<br />data indicate an actual delta-V of 1.49 m/s, against 1.48 planned. Altitude<br />increase: 2.6 km. The maneuver consumed 100 kg props; total prop usage,<br />including handover and attitude control burns, was 140 kg. The previous<br />maneuver, on 4/4, used 130 kg (179 kg total).]<br /><br />In preparation for his approaching return to gravity, FE-1 Nikolai Budarin<br />underwent session 2 of the biomedical protocol KARDIO-ODNT, a shortened<br />(one-hour) part of the MBI-5 cardiovascular test of human pericardium (heart<br />muscle) activity as well as primary parameters of central and regional blood<br />circulation at rest and under the effect of lower body negative pressure<br />(LBNP, Russian: ODNT). The test was controlled from MCC-Moscow by an MBI<br />(biomed) specialist. Budarin was assisted by FE-2/SO Don Pettit during the<br />setup of the equipment and the procedure. [The LBNP, generated by the<br />specially designed "Chibis? suit (PVK), applies suction on the lower body<br />ranging from 10 to 60 mm Hg, thereby exerting a functional loading roughly<br />equivalent to 10-60 kg of force on the musculoskeletal system to test the<br />body,s adaptation to prolonged exposure to micro-G. After an initial setup<br />period, during which a large number of electrodes are attached to the test<br />subject's head, body and extremities, cardiographic readings on the<br />oscilloscope of the Gamma-1M medical complex were taken during two Russian<br />ground sites (RGS) comm passes, first without, then with the Chibis suit.]<br /><br />All crewmembers performed their regular daily physical exercise program.<br />For Nikolai, TsUP uplinked a reminder that he will be scheduled for TVIS<br />treadmill workouts twice a day starting 4/14 in preparation for the return<br />to Earth, using nominal SLDs (subject load devices) with a minimum load of<br />52 kg.<br /><br />CDR Ken Bowersox initiated the planned discharge of the EMU (extravehicular<br />mobility unit) batteries used during the EVA on 4/8, for which he retrieved<br />an interface cable from the SPCE (service, performance, and checkout<br />equipment) maintenance kit in the Airlock (A/L).<br /><br />At about 11:00 am EDT, regeneration of the Metox (metal oxide) CO2 adsorbent<br />canisters in the A/L oven was terminated. This allowed Pettit, later in the<br />day, to deactivate the CDRA (CO2 removal assembly) in the Lab.<br /><br />Bowersox and Pettit prepared and reviewed the DOUG (dynamic operations<br />ubiquitous graphics) software version for tomorrow's SSRMS/Robotics<br />operations. [Ops will start out at about 10:45am with the "fast checkout"<br />of the Tip LEE (latching end effector) which could not be performed<br />yesterday because the needed SSRMS redundant string was unpowered due to<br />power constraints. Then, Sox and Don will perform a ten-step single joint<br />maneuver to move the arm into position to grapple MBS PDGF1 (mobile base<br />system power & data grapple fixture #1), after which SSRMS will switch base<br />from the current Lab PDGF to MBS PDGF1 for subsequent performance of a<br />series of LEE operations to complete remaining LEE OCRs (on-orbit checkout<br />requirements). As final task, the arm will be maneuvered to the FMS (force<br />moment sensor) data gathering position #2. This places theTip LEE in a<br />specific orientation which provides desired lighting conditions to collect<br />FMS data. The latter will be collected by the ground at the completion of<br />Ops.]<br /><br />Nikolai Budarin meanwhile terminated the bake-out/regeneration cycle for<br />adsorption bed #1 of the BMP micropurification unit and switched it back to<br />Purify mode. He then started the regeneration cycle on filter channel 2.<br />[The regeneration of the air purifier filter beds is repeated every 20 days.<br />Each bakeout to space vacuum takes about 24 hours.]<br /><br />Budarin performed his regular daily inspection of the BIO-5<br />Rasteniya-2/Lada-2 ("Plants-2") experiment which researches growth and<br />development of plants under spaceflight conditions. Later, he transferred<br />the accumulated data files to a floppy disk for storage, and conducted<br />photography of the payload. [The experimental seeds of acacia-leaf type pea<br />are planted between wicks in a root tray, with environmental control powered<br />on. Regular daily maintenance of the experiment involves monitoring of<br />seedling growth, humidity measurements, moistening of the substrate if<br />necessary, and photo/video recording.]<br /><br />"Kolya" Budarin also continued the periodic preventive maintenance of the<br />air ventilation system in the RS, today changing out the four dust filter<br />inserts (PF1-4) in the SM (last changeout: 3/19).<br /><br />Sox took care of the regular daily maintenance of the SOZh life support<br />system in the SM, while Don prepared the daily inventory update file for<br />downlink to the IMS (inventory management system) database. Science<br />Officer Pettit had a good MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) session with<br />the InSPACE (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from<br />Colloidal Emulsions) payload. The glovebox worked without a hitch. [After<br />activation and visual inspection of the rack, Pettit exchanged the InSPACE<br />coil assemblies in the box and replaced video tapes in the MSG recorders.<br />Later in the day, the experiment (run 27) was started, with Don monitoring<br />its operation and replacing video cassettes as required.]<br /><br />The post-EVA session of the PuFF (pulmonary function in flight) assessment<br />by Bowersox and Pettit yesterday yielded good data downlinks. Last PuFF<br />session for Expedition 6 is scheduled for next week.<br /><br />After yesterday's installation of the EarthKAM (EK) equipment at the Lab<br />science window, pictures are being received on the ground, as requested by<br />the participating schools. It is planned to have the payload active through<br />next Monday (4/14). EK images are immediately posted on the Internet at<br />http://datasystem.earthkam.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/datasys/ek_images_station<br /><br />The CGBA (commercial generic bioprocessing apparatus) isothermal containment<br />module (ICM) facility remains active. Purpose of its current operation is<br />not to conduct science research but to verify various temperature<br />configurations over the next few days. [On Stage 9A, CGA worked as expected,<br />but it was stymied by a human error committed during ground ops, that did<br />not let it get to the expected temperature at a certain point in the<br />mission. The ground team worked around the issue as best as it could and<br />got reasonable results from experiments with yeast and renal cell, but a<br />salmonella experiment was lost. The current system check is to make sure<br />that nothing, radiation or otherwise, has compromised the performance of the<br />equipment, so that new CGBA experiments, possibly flying up on a Progress<br />flight, would not be endangered.]<br /><br />Since last December, the ARCTIC-1 refrigerator/freezer has been inoperative<br />due to a failed thermo-electric cooling unit. A repair procedure to restore<br />some capability to the system by bypassing the failed unit has now been<br />finalized for review and approval. [The procedure would reduce ARCTIC's<br />cooling capability, but tests are needed to show by how much. If ARCTIC's<br />functionality can be reasonably restored, new research activities are being<br />looked at which might be flown up on Progress.]<br /><br />The Molniya-SM experiment using French LSO equipment, observing from Service<br />Module (SM) window #3, had another proposed run today on the Russian<br />optional task list. The experiment will be dismantled on 4/14 (Monday),<br />hopefully after catching some sprites. [Objective of LSO is to study rare<br />optical phenomena occurring in the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere,<br />so-called "sprites" (i.e., puzzling glow phenomena observed above<br />thunderstorm clouds). LSO was originally part of Claudie Haigneré's French<br />"Andromeda" payload package of taxi mission 3S that could not be performed<br />as planned during Increment 4 due to an ISS flight attitude conflict. LSO<br />research objectives are very similar to those of the Russian Molniya-SM,<br />being about storm phenomena and other related events in the Earth's<br />equatorial regions. LSO is controlled from the French EGE-1 laptop, which<br />needs to be loaded with orbital sighting predictions using an up-to-date<br />NORAD tracking TLE (two-line element).]<br /><br />Budarin performed another observation and photography session with the<br />Russian GFI-8 Uragan ("hurricane") program, as cloud cover permitted.<br />[Areas of interest today were Serversky Donets near Kharkov, "Dalnyaya<br />Polubyanka" black-earth soils at an erosion test site, flooding at the River<br />Don inflow, Veshenskaya Stanitsa (village), and panoramic small-scale shots<br />of the Volga River. Photos were taken with the Nikon D1 digital camera.]<br /><br />At 2:13pm EDT, the crew engaged in a live-TV downlink in an interactive<br />17-min. session with students and teachers from Southwest Region Schools in<br />Anchorage, Alaska. A list of student questions had been uplinked<br />beforehand. ["Can satellite pictures help to predict weather patterns that<br />might affect Alaska months in advance?"; "How do astronauts wash in space?";<br />"Do you enjoy your job of being an astronaut?"]<br /><br />Earlier today (4:15am), the crew downlinked greetings from ISS during the<br />by-now traditional annual comm pass with the participants of the XIIIth<br />Aerospace Festival for Ulyanovsk schoolchildren. [The festival is sponsored<br />by the Soyuz All-Russian Young Aerospace Association (VAKO). VAKO President<br />is Alexander A. Serebrov, a former Soyuz/Mir cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-17, 1993).]<br /><br />The U.S. solar array efficiency testing yesterday was successfully<br />concluded. Good data were downlinked and are currently being analyzed.<br /><br />Weekly IMMT (ISS Mission Management Team) updates of on-board ISS<br />consumables continue to show good margins for water, food, propellants,<br />EVA/EMU capability (incl. cooling water and battery life), and remaining<br />TVIS treadmill and RED resistive exerciser lifetime, based on two-man<br />occupancy for Increment 7 and the SSCB (Space Station Control<br />Board)-recommended logistics plan. [The latter involves three Progress<br />vehicles this year (11P on 6/10, 12P on 9/1, 13P on 11/22) and two Soyuz<br />spacecraft (6S on 4/26, 7S on 10/20).]<br /><br />At Johnson Space Center, NASA today is holding the formal Flight Readiness<br />Review (FRR) for the upcoming mission 6S/Soyuz TMA-2 with Edward Lu and Yuri<br />Malenchenko (backups Mike Foale and Alexander Kaleri), and the return of<br />Expedition 6 on 5S/Soyuz TMA-1. At the end, a readiness poll will be taken<br />by the Assoc. Admin. for Space Flight, William F. Readdy. [The FRR looks at<br />the ISS Program (including Increment 7, 6S pre-launch and 5S post-landing<br />ops, ISS de-manning philosophy, and detailed systems and subsystems status),<br />Russian Segment (RS) readiness, Mission Ops, EVA, Flight Crew, Space and<br />Life Sciences, Safety, Reliability & Quality Assurance, etc. Early results<br />indicate that the on-orbit station, including the RS, currently has no<br />issues that would prohibit 6S launch or Expedition 7 installation on board,<br />and that the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle is ready for flight, provided that all<br />launch preparations of the Soyuz rocket at Baikonur are successfully<br />completed. Launch is scheduled for 4/26, at 9:53am local Baikonur time<br />(11:53pm on 4/25 EDT). 6S docking is expected at 4/28, 9:54am Moscow time<br />(1:54am EDT).]<br /><br />Today's CEO (crew earth observations) targets, including near-vertical<br />targets from the city target list due to the current LVLH attitude, were Dar<br />es Salaam, Tanzania (nadir pass over this East African port and capital<br />city. ESC [electronic still camera]), Eastern Mediterranean Dust (dust was<br />again predicted to be blowing north off the Egyptian coast), Buenos Aires,<br />Argentina (nadir pass; ESC), Sao Paulo, Brazil (nadir pass; ESC), Recife,<br />Brazil (nadir pass over this ancient Portuguese city; ESC), Dakar, Senegal<br />(nadir and a touch right; ESC), Algiers, Algeria (nadir and a touch left;<br />ESC), Rome, Italy (nadir and a touch right; ESC), Lake Poopo, Bolivia (nadir<br />pass. Crew was to shoot shorelines), Caracas, Venezuela (nadir and a touch<br />right; ESC), London, England, Great Britain (nadir pass; ESC. It is months<br />since the ground has been able to call out London for daylight photography.<br />Crew was to try to get the city in as few shots as possible, for ease of<br />analysis), Havana, Cuba (nadir pass; ESC) Los Angeles, California (nadir<br />pass; ESC) and Las Vegas, Nevada (nadir pass; ESC). CEO images can be viewed<br />at the websites http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov<br /><br />U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 1:55pm EST).<br /><br />Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):<br /><br />Elektron O2 generator is powered On (24 Amp Mode). Vozdukh CO2 scrubber is<br />On (manual mode 5). 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,<br />bed #2 in Regeneration mode. RS air conditioner SKV-1 is On; SKV-2 is Off.<br /><br /><br />SM Working Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) -- 735; temperature (deg C) --<br />27.1; ppO2 (mmHg) -- data invalid; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- data invalid.<br />SM Transfer Compartment: Pressure (mmHg) -- 751; temperature (deg C) --<br />19.3.<br />FGB Cabin: Pressure (mmHg) -- 752; temperature (deg C) -- 22.0.<br />Node: Pressure (mmHg) -- 743.25; temperature (deg C) -- 22.1 (shell); ppO2<br />(mmHg) -- n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- n/a.<br />U.S. Lab: Pressure (mmHg) -- 745.52; temperature (deg C) -- 22.7; ppO2<br />(mmHg) -- n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- n/a;<br />Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock): Pressure (mmHg) -- 748.76; temperature (deg<br />C) -- 21.4; shell heater temp (deg C) -- 22.5, ppO2 (mmHg) -- 170.4; ppCO2<br />(mmHg) -- 1.3.<br />PMA-1: Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 22.8<br />PMA-2: Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 19.3<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 4/3/03. (Capability: SM -- 860 kg; FGB -- 6120 kg).<br />before today's reboost<br /><br />Electrical Power Systems (EPS):<br /><br />Both P6 channels fully operational. BGA (beta gimbal assembly) 2B and 4B<br />both in dual-angle "directed" mode (eclipse drag reduction configuration,<br />"night glider").<br />SM batteries: Battery #4 is disconnected; all other batteries (7) are in<br />"Partial Charge" mode.<br />FGB batteries: Battery #5 is disconnected; all other batteries (5) are in<br />"Partial Charge" mode.<br />Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 and PCU-2 both in Standby mode (after the EVA)<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-1 MDM is prime; GNC-2 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 />LVLH TEA (local vertical/local horizontal = "earth-fixed": z-axis in local<br />vertical, x-axis in velocity vector [yaw: -10 deg, pitch: -9.1 deg, roll: 0<br />deg]), with CMG/ TA (thruster assist) Momentum Management).<br />Solar Beta Angle: -9.1 deg (magnitude increasing).<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 strings<br />(after EVA).<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, 11:45am EDT [= epoch]):<br /><br />Mean altitude 393.3 km<br />Apogee -- 395.6 km<br />Perigee -- 391.1 km<br />Period -- 92.42 min.<br />Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.63 deg<br />Eccentricity -- 0.0003284<br />Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.58<br />Solar Beta Angle: -9.1 deg (magnitude increasing)<br />Mean altitude gain in last 24 hours -- 2600 m<br />Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 25047<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