ISS On-Orbit Status, 14-12-2003

ISS On-Orbit Status 14 Dec 2003

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted previously
or below.

The crew had an off-duty Sunday, except for some necessary maintenance
tasks.

In the morning, FE Alexander Kaleri downlinked TV greetings to Academician
A. N. Konovalov of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Academy of Medical
Science on the occasion of his 30th professional anniversary.

The FE completed the weekly routine SOZh life support systems maintenance
tasks of inspection and collecting SP toilet flush counter and SVO water
supply readings in the Service Module (SM) for calldown to TsUP.

Sasha's SOZh maintenance also included the regular inspection of the
air/condensate separator (BRPK).

The oxygen-producing Elektron water electrolysis machine is currently down.
[After the primary pump (MNO) failed last night at ~9:08pm EST, the system
automatically transitioned to the backup pump (MNR) and kept Elektron in the
19Amp mode. Then, at ~9:49pm, MNR failed also, causing an off-nominal
shutdown of the Elektron. The same sequence of events happened a few hours
earlier, starting with MNO shutdown Saturday (12/13) at 4:35am, followed by
MNR failure at 10:25am. This also happened on 12/9, after which the O2
generator was successfully restarted on 12/10 at 2:14am EST. An Elektron
shutdown has no immediate impact since there are about 21 kg (12 days'
worth) of O2 stored in the Progress 12P resupply tank.]

The crew worked out according to their regular daily physical exercise
program of 2.5 hrs on the TVIS treadmill, RED exerciser, CEVIS cycle
ergometer and VELO bike (with load trainer).

As reported, exercise on TVIS has been approved in the passive mode
(stabilizers On) until motorized capability is recovered. [The ground has
identified the parts that are necessary to repair the gyroscope's top &
bottom bearings and is working to manifest the necessary parts on Progress
13P. By the time they are delivered, IFM (in-flight maintenance) procedures
will have been developed to repair the gyro for full restoration of TVIS
operations.]

Working off the Russian task list, Kaleri conducted another brief session of
the Russian Uragan earth imaging program, using the Kodak 760 DSC (digital
still camera) with 800mm-lens from SM window #9, now available again in LVLH
attitude. [Today's task featured imagery of the Cyprus coastline with
Nicosia, the port city of Dertiol in Turkey, the northern slopes of Mount
Kazbek and the Kolka glacier in the Caucasus, and the cities of Sofia,
Bucharest, Odessa, Nikolaev Kherson and Rostov-on-Don.]

Also on Sasha's discretionary task list for today was an audit of experiment
kits (films and videotapes) for the Diatomeya oceanographic research
program.

At JSC, MCC-H network servers are back up after undergoing an upgrade of
their firewall software yesterday.

Two opportunities for ham radio passes were identified for today for
Australia/New Zealand and Japan and provided to the crew.

All four MT UMAs (Mobile Transporter Umbilical Mating Assemblies) were
successfully reset yesterday, and the crew was told to again disconnect the
Lab RWS DCP (Robotics Workstation/Display & Control Panel) power bypass
cable. [On 12/11, while performing standard cleanup from an earlier EXT MDM
computer transition, MCC-H controllers noticed that only one of four MT UMA
"mate" microswitches indicated "mated". Concerned that the UMAs may be in
"backdrive", which, although unlikely, could result in a loss of power to
the MBS (Mobile Service System) and SSRMS, controllers re-drove the UMAs on
12/12 and successfully re-acquired all four "mate" microswitches. The SSRMS
and MBS needed to be powered down for this activity (and back up
afterwards), for which the crew had connected the Lab RWS DCP.]

Tomorrow's crew schedule includes a leak check of the Node starboard hatch.
This will involve an Airlock (A/L) depress, for which MCC-H will activate
the A/L CCAA (common cabin air assembly) for thermal conditioning. On
Tuesday morning, the crew will equalize the pressure and make the A/L
accessible again.

Today's optional CEO (crew earth observation) targets, limited in the
current XPOP attitude by flight rule constraints on the use of the Lab
nadir/science window, were Niger River delta (Dynamic event: Unusually clear
weather likely to persist. Few images of the delta exist due to equatorial
cloud), Navassa Island, Caribbean (400mm-lens advised: looking a touch right
for this 3 mile-long island, which is about nine times the size of the Mall
in Washington D.C. A 1998 scientific expedition described the island as a
unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity; the following year it became a
National Wildlife Refuge), Bahamas (400mm-lens advised: islands, protruding
coral reefs, and the shallow submerged coral platform are the subjects of
interest. The tidally driven patterns of white shell on the platform are
known to change shape through time), Mexico City, Mexico (nadir pass),
Washington, D.C. (nadir pass), Tucson, Arizona (nadir pass), Albuquerque,
New Mexico (nadir pass), American Samoa, Pacific (pass crossed the center of
this series of islands. The islands have been inhabited for at least 3000
years), Jarvis Island, Pacific (Jarvis is completely surrounded by a coral
reef), Necker Island, Hawaiian chain (looking a touch right. [Immediately
prior to this site the crew could see French Frigate Shoals at nadir, one of
the most dramatic and intricate reefs seen from space; the shoals are well
photographed and have been removed from CEO's target list]), and Wake Island
(nadir pass over this historic 5 mile-long reef-enclosed lagoon, based on
the crater of a submerged volcano).

CEO images can be viewed at the websites.

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

See also the website "Space Station Challenge" at

http://voyager.cet.edu/iss/

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:02am EST [= epoch]):

Mean altitude -- 371.5 km
Apogee -- 375.6 km
Perigee -- 367.5 km
Period -- 92.0 min.
Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.63 deg
Eccentricity -- 0.0006045
Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.65
Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours -- 60 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 28919
For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times, see
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html




--
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Jacques :-)

Editor: www.spacepatches.info