Status Report
From: NASA HQ/SpaceRef/NASA Watch
Posted: Friday, September 3, 2004
SpaceRef note: This NASA Headquarters internal status report, as presented here, contains additional, original material produced by SpaceRef.com (copyright © 2004) to enhance access to related status reports and NASA activities.
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.
Today's Orlan EVA-11 by CDR Padalka and FE/SO Fincke, their fourth spacewalk, was yet another solid success for the ISS program. Spending 5h 21m outside the Russian segment (RS), the two spacewalkers swapped out a thermal control system fluid control valve panel on the FGB, installed new hardware associated with Europe's ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle), added holding fixtures, protective covers and "bookend"-type brackets to handrails (to keep Russian tethers from winding themselves around the handholds) and took photographs of external experiment packages. All objectives were accomplished (in 28 min less time than expected). [After DC1 airlock hatch #1 opening at 12:43pm EDT, 7 min ahead of plan, Padalka and Fincke egressed at 12:51pm with equipment bundles and translated along handrails to the FGB panel worksite were they removed the old RRZh-1 flow regulator valve panel (1:29pm) and replaced it with a spare unit (1:40pm). A ground-controlled test later showed that it is working nominally. They also attached "fairlead" safety tether guides on FGB handrails, held still for a 17-min. "Motionless" test during the first orbital night period to support the ongoing extraneous torque investigation, then returned to the DC1 for temporary stowage of the old 70 kg RRZh (later thrown overboard in retrograde direction prior to ingress) and picking up the next batch of equipment. Continuing on to the SM aft end after RS thrusters were inhibited and CMG control enabled, they installed three antennas (WAL-1, -2 & -3) for ATV proximity ops, and removed the covers from all five antennas (three more ATV prox ops antennas will be installed next year by Chiao and Sharipov of Expedition 10). After taking more photographs, they returned to the DC-1 for more handrail work, with attitude control being returned to RS thrusters (5:32pm). The crew ingressed "Pirs" at ~6:00pm. Hatch closure occurred at 6:04pm, after 5h 21m. This was the 56th EVA in support of ISS assembly/maintenance, the 31st from the station itself, the sixth for Gennady Padalka and the fourth for Mike Fincke.]
Previous Reports ISS On-orbit Status [HQ] |
Earlier, after crew wake-up at 3:45am (1h 45m later than usual), all pre-EVA activities had proceeded smoothly and on schedule, starting out with CDR Padalka and FE Fincke undergoing another MO-9 urine biochemistry test. [A second session with the Urolux equipment will be conducted by both crewmembers immediately after the EVA. The CDR then stows the gear.]
Meanwhile, final ground-commanded station preps for unmanned mode and EVA ops were underway. [These included contingency telemetry downlink tests, shell heater ops, TCS (thermal control system) Loop B PCVP (pump & control valve package) powerdown, PCU-2 (plasma contactor unit #2) activation (joining the already discharging PCU-1), TCCS (trace contaminant control subsystem) deactivation, configuring S-band, etc.]
Final onboard pre-EVA activities by the crew included:
After ISS attitude control was transferred to RS thrusters (for control during DC1 airlock depress), the crew received the Go for suit donning at 11:04am, initiating further events right on schedule.
Suit leak checks at 600 mmHg/Torr were nominal and continued to be OK with further depressurization. At 11:49am, purging of the Orlans was completed, and prebreathe for denitrogenation began. Egress occurred at 12:51pm, with both spacesuits working nominally.
After ingress from the EVA and DC1 airlock repressurization from cabin air at ~7:00pm, the crew will open hatches and reenter the SM for closeout operations. Padalka first installs the DC1 air duct, then reactivates systems in the DC1 and other RS modules for restoration to pre-EVA conditions.
At ~7:30pm, Mike will begin reopening of the USOS transfer hatches from the RS. Subsequently, the FE will restore the TCS and the OpsLAN.
A cabin air repress from Progress 15 is scheduled at ~8:00pm to replace the pressure drop from the DC1 repress.
At 10:25pm tonight, ISS attitude control will be handed over to RS MCS for maneuvering the station from the current (EVA-required) LVLH back to XPOP (x-axis perpendicular to orbit plane) at 10:35pm (yaw: -179.5 deg, pitch: -7 deg, roll: 0 deg).
Shifted sleep time begins late tonight at 12:00am/midnight, to extend till 9:00am tomorrow morning, to "ease" the crew back to their nominal sleep cycle.
More information and background material on EVA 4 can be found at the Expedition 9 EVA 4 Reference Page
Major upcoming events:
Expedition 9 Flight Crew Plans can be found at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines/
Previous NASA ISS On-orbit Status Reports can be found here. Previous NASA Space Station Status Reports can be found here. Previous NASA Space Shuttle Processing Status Reports can be found here. A collection of all of these reports and other materials relating to Return to Flight for the Space Shuttle fleet can be found here.
No CEO (crew earth observation) activities today.
Previous CEO images can be viewed at these websites:
See also the website "Space Station Challenge" at:
To view the latest photos taken by the expedition 9 crew visit:
Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control (TCS):
Electrical Power Systems (EPS):
Command & Data Handling Systems (C&DH)
Propulsion System (PS):
Attitude Control Systems (ACS):
Flight Attitude:
Communications & Tracking Systems (C&T):
Robotics:
ISS Location NOW |
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:35am EDT [= epoch]):
ISS Altitude History
Apogee height -- Mean Altitude -- Perigee height
For more on ISS orbit and worldwide ISS naked-eye visibility dates/times, see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html. In addition, information on International Space Station sighting opportunities can be found at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ on NASA's Human Spaceflight website. The current location of the International Space Station can be found at http://science.nasa.gov/temp/StationLoc.html at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Additional satellite tracking resources can be found at http://www.spaceref.com/iss/tracking.html.
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