ISS Status Report No. 52 - 2004

International Space Station Status Report #04-52
4 p.m. CDT Friday, Sept. 17, 2004
Expedition 9 Crew

Almost two weeks of troubleshooting apparently paid off today for the
Expedition 9 crew as they restored an onboard oxygen generating unit to
operation.

Work with the Elektron unit, a device that recycles waste water into oxygen,
was one of several maintenance activities completed by Commander Gennady
Padalka and NASA Science Officer Mike Fincke this week.

With guidance from Russian ground controllers, Padalka had replaced the
Elekron's liquids unit with one he had refurbished last week using spare
components. The Elektron is operating without a gas analyzer that was
removed during troubleshooting. The absence of the gas analyzer does not
affect the Elekron's ability to generate oxygen, although it may mean the
crew will be required to more closely monitor the unit's operations. Ground
controllers requested the Elektron be turned off before the crew goes to
sleep tonight to allow data gathered during its operations to be evaluated.

The crew flushed and cleaned several of the Elektron's lines earlier in the
week, as well as cleaning a mounting plate and removing the gas analyzer.

While the Elektron was off, the Station atmosphere was repressurized
Wednesday using oxygen from the Progress supply craft docked to the complex.
The Station has a supply of oxygen available in its own tanks, the Progress
tanks, and oxygen-generating candles that could be used for many months if
it were needed.

Meanwhile, Fincke replaced a flex hose that is used to vent an area between
panes of the window in the U.S. Destiny Lab. After depressurizing the
window's inner panes, he replaced the hose and installed a protective cover.
The previous hose had been damaged and allowed air to leak into the area.

The crew has begun some preparations for their trip home next month. This
week, they tested the UHF and VHF communication systems of the Soyuz
spacecraft that will carry them back to Earth. The communication checks were
done with NASA ground stations at the White Sands Test Facility, the Dryden
Flight Research Center and with the Wallops Flight Facility, allowing NASA
sites to be used to supplement primary Russian ground communications sites.
Fincke also used a camcorder to survey all external U.S. hardware visible
from the Station windows. The video has been downlinked to the ground for
engineers to assess the hardware's condition. Science activities for the
crew included work with the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity
experiment. Assisted by experts on the ground, they conducted body scans
with the equipment to practice the procedures. They also continued providing
information for the Interactions investigation, a computer-based survey that
helps investigators study the interpersonal relations between crewmembers
and ground control teams during long spaceflights.

From their altitude of more than 220 miles, Fincke captured spectacular
views of Hurricane Ivan as it traversed the Caribbean and made landfall on
the U.S. Gulf Coast. Those images can be accessed online at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/...ndxpage46.html

For information on the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future
launch dates, as well as a list of opportunities to see the Station from
anywhere on the Earth, visit: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

For details on Station science operations provided by the Payload Operations
Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., visit:

http://scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/

The next ISS status report will be issued on Friday, Sept. 24 or earlier, if
events warrant.



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--
---------------------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info

"Jacques van Oene" wrote in message
...
Meanwhile, Fincke replaced a flex hose that is used to vent an area
between
panes of the window in the U.S. Destiny Lab. After depressurizing the
window's inner panes, he replaced the hose and installed a protective
cover.
The previous hose had been damaged and allowed air to leak into the area.

Let's hope that this fixes all of the problems with the US Lab's science
window. It's a shame to have such a nice window not work due to such an
engineering and human interface oversight.

Jeff
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