Jacques van Oene
October 29th 04, 11:13 PM
Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington Oct. 29, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-4769)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS04-037
The crewmembers aboard the International Space Station
took a brief break early this week following handover from
their departing colleagues. The crew is acclimatizing
themselves to their new home and orbiting laboratory.
Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer
Salizhan Sharipov activated one experiment, the Earth
Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKAM). They
participated in several ongoing medical studies related to
lengthy stays in microgravity and performed routine
maintenance tasks. Their six-month mission will include two
spacewalks and preparations for the resumption of Space
Shuttle flights and end with a scheduled return to Earth on
April 25, 2005.
Early in the week, the pair received word from Mission
Control Elektron oxygen generation system telemetry readings
were normal, and the device was approved for around-the-clock
operations. The Elektron had been used only when the crew was
awake until Sharipov and departing Expedition 9 Commander
Gennady Padalka were able to install several replacement
parts during joint crew operations.
The return to normal operations came after engineers in
Russia used the new hardware to verify the Elektron was
successfully separating oxygen and hydrogen atoms from
recycled water after the repairs. Mission Management Team
members reviewed and validated the recommendation on Monday.
A software adjustment was uplinked by Russian flight
controllers on Tuesday to implement the decision.
Later in the week, Chiao and Sharipov received on-board
training in emergency departure procedures and equipment, as
well as window inspection techniques. These training sessions
were in addition to an hour a day reserved for general
familiarization with Space Station systems and procedures.
That's something afforded each new crew as it settles in.
Chiao took time Wednesday for his first solo media interviews
aboard the Station. He answered questions about his plans to
vote by secure e-mail in upcoming local, state and national
elections. He spoke with reporters from ABC and CNN.
Meanwhile, Expedition 9 Science Officer and Flight Engineer
Mike Fincke, Padalka and Russian Space Forces Test Cosmonaut
Yuri Shargin returned to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training
Center in Star City, Russia, where they began rehabilitation
and debriefings. The three landed in Kazakhstan last weekend.
Padalka and Fincke will remain in Star City for several weeks
of post-flight debriefings and medical exams before returning
to Houston in mid-November.
Information about crew activities on the Space Station,
future launch dates and Station sighting opportunities from
Earth, is available on the Internet at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/
Details about Station science operations are available on a
Web site administered by the Payload Operations Center,
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.,
at:
http://scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/
-end-
--
---------------------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
Headquarters, Washington Oct. 29, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-4769)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS04-037
The crewmembers aboard the International Space Station
took a brief break early this week following handover from
their departing colleagues. The crew is acclimatizing
themselves to their new home and orbiting laboratory.
Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer
Salizhan Sharipov activated one experiment, the Earth
Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKAM). They
participated in several ongoing medical studies related to
lengthy stays in microgravity and performed routine
maintenance tasks. Their six-month mission will include two
spacewalks and preparations for the resumption of Space
Shuttle flights and end with a scheduled return to Earth on
April 25, 2005.
Early in the week, the pair received word from Mission
Control Elektron oxygen generation system telemetry readings
were normal, and the device was approved for around-the-clock
operations. The Elektron had been used only when the crew was
awake until Sharipov and departing Expedition 9 Commander
Gennady Padalka were able to install several replacement
parts during joint crew operations.
The return to normal operations came after engineers in
Russia used the new hardware to verify the Elektron was
successfully separating oxygen and hydrogen atoms from
recycled water after the repairs. Mission Management Team
members reviewed and validated the recommendation on Monday.
A software adjustment was uplinked by Russian flight
controllers on Tuesday to implement the decision.
Later in the week, Chiao and Sharipov received on-board
training in emergency departure procedures and equipment, as
well as window inspection techniques. These training sessions
were in addition to an hour a day reserved for general
familiarization with Space Station systems and procedures.
That's something afforded each new crew as it settles in.
Chiao took time Wednesday for his first solo media interviews
aboard the Station. He answered questions about his plans to
vote by secure e-mail in upcoming local, state and national
elections. He spoke with reporters from ABC and CNN.
Meanwhile, Expedition 9 Science Officer and Flight Engineer
Mike Fincke, Padalka and Russian Space Forces Test Cosmonaut
Yuri Shargin returned to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training
Center in Star City, Russia, where they began rehabilitation
and debriefings. The three landed in Kazakhstan last weekend.
Padalka and Fincke will remain in Star City for several weeks
of post-flight debriefings and medical exams before returning
to Houston in mid-November.
Information about crew activities on the Space Station,
future launch dates and Station sighting opportunities from
Earth, is available on the Internet at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/
Details about Station science operations are available on a
Web site administered by the Payload Operations Center,
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.,
at:
http://scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/
-end-
--
---------------------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info