All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday -- off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani. Ahead: Week 13 of Increment 16.
CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. [To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary "job jar" task list.]
FE-1 Malenchenko prepared for today's last day of his five-day wearing test of the spring-loaded "Penguin-3" antigravity pressure/stress suit with its load measuring system (SIN), donning the suit and its equipment, then going about his business and downloading performance measurements several times. [Each day, Yuri has selected higher symmetrical (shoulders) & asymmetrical (chest & back) loads (~20-30 kgf), after calibrating the system with no load on the suit's internal tension straps. Load data are then collected by the SIN electronics (via analog-to-digital converters) and downloaded to a A31p laptop three times daily, followed by downlink to the ground via BSR-TM.]
FE-2 Tani performed his daily status check on the BCAT-3 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3) science payload, running by itself in Node-2 since 12/13/07 (briefly interrupted for EVA-13 photo support). [The status check, conducted on the last image taken by the DCS 760 digital still camera which is controlled by EarthKAM software on an A31p laptop, is to verify proper image focus and camera alignment. The SSC (Station Support Computer) is taking photography of the phase separation occurring in the BCAT Sample 3, with the photo flash going off every half hour.]
Malenchenko completed today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP.
The crewmembers performed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR, FE-2), TVIS treadmill (FE-1), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).
The CDR and FE-2 each had their weekly PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop), Dan at ~9:05am EST, Peggy at ~12:00pm.
Working off his discretionary "time permitting" task list, Yuri conducted another session of the Russian "Uragan" (hurricane) earth-imaging program, using the Nikon D2X digital camera with 800 mm focal length lens. [Targets uplinked for today were Patagonia Glaciers and Icebergs in the Drake Passage.]
A second job item on the FE-1's voluntary list for today was another KPT-3 session to make observations and take aerial KPT-3 photography of environmental conditions for Russia's Environmental Safety Agency (ECON) using the Nikon D2X digital camera with SIGMA 300-800mm telephoto lens.
Task items on Peggy's and Dan's discretionary "job jar" task list today were (1) a thorough review of uplinked draft material on the BMRRM (Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module) hardware and EVA-14 procedures for its upcoming R&R, (2) an audit of CTB (Cargo Transport Bags) and their contents, and (3) installation of a ground wire on the PFA (Portable Fan Assembly).
No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.
CEO photography can be viewed and studied at the websites:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (about 700,000 NASA digital photographs of Earth are downloaded by the public each month from this "Gateway" site);
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/AstronautPhotography
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:02am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude - 33o9.1 km
Apogee height -- 342.8 km
Perigee height -- 335.4 km
Period -- 91.32 min.
Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.64 deg
Eccentricity -- 0.000556
Solar Beta Angle -- -3.2 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.77
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours -- 90 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) -- 52396
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Standard, some changes possible. NET = Not Earlier Than):
01/31/08 -- Explorer-1 50 Years (1st U.S. Satellite on Redstone rocket) [see http://usspace50.com ]
02/04/08 -- Progress M-62/27P undocking & reentry
02/05/08 -- Progress M-63/28P launch
02/07/08 - Progress M-63/28( docking
02/07/08(target date) -- STS-122/Atlantis/1E launch -- Columbus Module, ICC-Lite.02/09/08 -- Progress M-63/28P docking (DC1) - (~2:45pm EST).
02/22/08(NET) -- ATV-1 "Jules Verne" launch/Ariane V (Kourou, French Guyana)
03/06/08 -- ATV-1 Demo Day 1
03/12/08 -- ATV-1 Demo Day 2
03/13/08(target date) -- STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A launch/1J/A, w/SLP-SPDM, JEM ELM-PS
03/15/08 -- ATV-1 Demo Day 3 & Docking (SM aft port)
04/07/08 -- Progress M-63/28P undocking (DC1) & reentry
04/08/08 -- Soyuz TMA-12/16S launch
04/10/08 -- Soyuz TMA-12/16S docking (DC1)
04/19/08 -- Soyuz TMA-11/15S undocking (FGB nadir port)
04/23/08 -- Soyuz TMA-12/16S relocation (from DC1 to FGB nadir port)
04/24/08 -- STS-124/Discovery/1J launch - JEM PM "Kibo", racks, RMS
04/26/08 -- STS-124/Discovery/1J docking
05/04/08 -- STS-124/Discovery/1J undocking
05/14/08 -- Progress M-64/29P launch
05/16/08 -- Progress M-64/29P docking (DC1)
08/07/08(NET) -- ATV-1 undocking (from SM aft port)
08/12/08 -- Progress M-65/30P launch
08/14/08 -- Progress M-65/30P docking (SM aft port)
09/09/08 -- Progress M-64/29P undocking (from DC1)
09/10/08 -- Progress M-66/31P launch
09/12/08 -- Progress M-66/31P docking (DC1)
09/18/08 -- STS-126/Discovery/ULF2 launch - MPLM Leonardo, LMC
09/20/08 -- STS-126/Discovery/ULF2 docking
10/01/08 -- STS-126/Discovery/ULF2 undocking.
10/01/08 -- NASA 50 Years
10/11/08 -- Progress M-65/30P undocking (from SM aft port)
10/12/08 -- Soyuz TMA-13/17S launch
10/14/08 -- Soyuz TMA-13/17S docking (SM aft port)
10/23/08 -- Soyuz TMA-12/16S undocking (FGB nadir)
11/03/08 -- Soyuz TMA-13/17S relocation (from SM aft to FGB nadir)
11/06/08 -- STS-119/Discovery/15A launch - S6 truss segment
11/08/08 -- STS-119/Discovery/15A docking
11/17/08 -- STS-119/Discovery/15A undocking
11/20/08 -- ISS 10 Years
11/26/08 -- Progress M-67/32P launch
11/28/08 -- Progress M-67/32P docking (SM aft port)
04/15/09 -- Constellation's Ares I-X Launch
05/??/09 -- Six-person crew on ISS (following Soyuz 18S-2 docking)
04/??/10 -- STS-132/Discovery/20A - Node-3 + Cupola.
