International Space Station Status Report #24 - 2005

Report #24
3 p.m. CDT, Friday, May 6, 2005
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips moved full speed
ahead into their Expedition 11 maintenance and science work aboard the
International Space Station during their third week in space.

Krikalev replaced a liquid processing component of the Russian Elektron
oxygen generation system on Thursday, but it failed almost immediately
prompting additional troubleshooting Friday. The system separates hydrogen
and oxygen molecules from water, and injects the oxygen into the Station's
atmosphere. Late Friday systems experts in Russia reviewed information
gained from the earlier efforts. Oxygen is being supplied as needed from
tanks in the Progress cargo ship, one of several oxygen supplies available.

Phillips was called upon to do some on-the-spot maintenance of a balky
treadmill on Friday. It had stopped working, so he inspected electrical
connections and prepared to downlink data from his last run so that
biomedical engineers on the ground can try to track down the problem.
Resistive exercise equipment and stationary bicycles will be used to provide
the 2 1/2 hours a day of exercise prescribed for each crew member.

Also Friday, both crewmembers used the Robotics Work Station in the Destiny
laboratory module to guide the Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm through
movements designed to enable later remote operation by ground controllers.
The hour-long session also served as proficiency training for the crew.

Earlier in the week, Krikalev fixed the Russian dehumidifier by clearing
blockage from one of the system's lines. Krikalev also transferred
wastewater from the Station into the Progress cargo ship's storage tanks.
Phillips packed items that will be returned to Earth on the Space Shuttle
Discovery, and did routine checks of emergency medical equipment.

Scientific investigations for the week focused on work with a kidney stone
experiment. Both crew members took pills - either a placebo or potassium
citrate, which has been proven effective in reducing the formation of kidney
stones in patients on Earth - recorded what they ate and drank and collected
urine specimens for 24 hours. The samples will be returned to doctors on the
ground for analysis and correlation with the dietary intake information.

Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov
remained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia,
undergoing medical examinations and debriefings following their landing in a
Soyuz spacecraft after six-months on orbit. They are expected to return to
Houston in mid-May.

Information on the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future launch
dates, as well as Station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth,
is available on the Internet at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

The next ISS status report will be issued on Friday, May 13, or earlier if
events warrant.




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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info