ISS Status Report No. 06 - 2004

International Space Station Status Report #04-6
7 a.m. CST, Thursday, January 29, 2004
Expedition 8 Crew

An unmanned Russian Progress resupply ship blasted off successfully today
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver 2½ tons of food, fuel
and supplies to the residents of the International Space Station.

As the Station flew over the Red Sea, the ISS Progress 13 craft lifted off
its Central Asian launch pad right on time at 5:58 a.m. CST (1158 GMT), and
less than 10 minutes later, settled into orbit and deployed its solar arrays
and navigational antennas. Its computers are loaded with preprogrammed
commands for engine firings and rendezvous maneuvers that will lead it to an
automated linkup to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Saturday
morning at 7:15 a.m. CST (1315 GMT).

The Progress 13 docking to the ISS will be broadcast live on NASA Television
on Saturday beginning at 6:30 a.m. CST (1230 GMT).

The launch of the new resupply vehicle occurred a little over 24 hours after
an identical Progress ship departed the ISS. The ISS Progress 12 undocked
Wednesday from Zvezda at 2:36 a.m. CST (0836 GMT) and was later commanded to
plunge back into the atmosphere where it burned up. The old Progress was
filled with trash and other items no longer needed on board the Station.

The new Progress is loaded with spare parts, fresh food and fuel for
Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight
Engineer Alexander Kaleri, who are in the fourth month of a planned 6½-month
mission on the ISS. The Progress is also carrying scientific equipment for
European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands, who is
scheduled to be launched April 19 with the new Expedition 9 crew to the ISS.
Kuipers will spend a little over a week conducting an independent science
program under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and
Space Agency. Kuipers will return to Earth in late April on a Soyuz vehicle
with Foale and Kaleri.

The crew had a busy week, focusing on packing the Progress 12 with trash
from the Station. Crewmembers also performed scientific experiments and
regular station maintenance.

On Monday, Foale worked to set up the EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by
Middle Schools) experiment in the Zvezda Service Module. More than 50
schools in Europe, Asia and South America, participated in an Earth
observation session beginning Tuesday, requesting photos of specific
locations and receiving those photos via the Internet to study geography,
geology, botany and Earth science.

Also on Tuesday, the crew closed the hatch to the Progress 12 vehicle for
the final time, and took a few minutes to talk to National Football League
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue during his tour of the Mission Control Center.
Tagliabue is in Houston for Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVIII. On Wednesday, Foale
chatted with members of the rock band Aerosmith during their tour of the
control center. The band will perform during the Super Bowl pregame show,
which will include a tribute to NASA and Columbia crewmembers on the
anniversary of the shuttle accident.

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/

Details on Station science operations can be found on an Internet site
administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at:

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

The next ISS status report will be issued on following the ISS Progress 13
docking on Saturday, Jan. 31, or earlier, if events warrant.




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Jacques :-)

Editor: www.spacepatches.info