All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Before breakfast and exercise, CDR Fincke broke out and set up the equipment for today's U.S. PHS (Periodic Health Status) w/o Blood Labs exam, a clinical evaluation of Mike & Yuri Lonchakov, their first, with Gregory Chamitoff assisting as CMO (Crew Medical Officer). For the PHS (Periodic Health Status) w/o Blood Labs examination, the crew used the U.S. PCBA (Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer). [The second part of PHS, Subjective Clinical Evaluation, was performed later in the day. All data were then logged on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) and the hardware stowed. The PHS exam, with PCBA analysis and clinical evaluation, is guided by special software (IFEP, In-Flight Examination Program) on the MEC laptop. While PCBA analyzes total blood composition, the blood's hematocrit is particularly measured by the Russian MO-10 protocol.]
The FE-2 conducted another one of the periodic offloadings of the Lab CCAA (Common Cabin Air Assembly) dehumidifier's condensate tank, filling a CWC (Contingency Water Container, #1062) with the collected water slated for processing. No samples were required.
CDR Fincke worked on the CDRA (Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly), removing and replacing two CSVs (CDRA Selector Valves, #105 & #106), then closing out the worksite after the ground checkout of the valves. Afterwards, Mike bypassed the temperature sensor A of the CDRA Bed #201 using ISS pin kit jumpers. [The two replaced valves would periodically fail to reach their final position when commanded, shutting down the CDRA. The ground teams successfully checked out the new valves and began a 24-hour CDRA verification run.]
In the Service Module (SM), FE-1 Lonchakov removed the Lada-13 greenhouse from the Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-1 ("Plants-1") experiment, installed a BKGA gas analyzer control unit, hooked up and activated the MIS control unit, loaded new software, put in new MIS hardware and ran a hardware test in Auto mode, terminating it after ~5 hrs. [Rasteniya-1 researches growth and development of plants under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-13 greenhouse from IBMP (Institute of Bio-Medical Problems, Russian: IMBP). During its operation, the experiment requires regular daily maintenance of the experiment involving monitoring of seedling growth, humidity measurements, moistening of the substrate if necessary, and photo/video recording. Lada consists of a wall-mounted growth chamber that provides long-term, ready access for crewmember interaction. It provides light and root zone control but relies on the cabin environmental control systems for humidity, gas composition, and temperature control. Cabin air is pulled into the leaf chamber, flows over the plants and vents through the light bank to provide both plant gas exchange and light bank cooling. Lada was launched to the ISS in September 2002.]
In Node-2, FE-2 Chamitoff changed out a diffuser plate on the THC (Temperature & Humidity Control) system, taking acoustic measurements before and after the diffuser plate replacement to document the cause of the current high noise level and its mitigation.
Gregory performed another standard sensor calibration on the CSA-O2 (Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen) units #1043 & #1059, delivered on 1J, using a new calibration adapter (#1001), brought up by 30P.
The CDR performed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.]
The daily IMS (Inventory Management System) maintenance was conducted today by Yuri, updating/editing the standard IMS "delta file" including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).
The FE-2 conducted the regular bi-monthly reboots of the OCA Router and File Server SSC (Station Support Computer) laptops.
In preparation for the arrival & docking of the Japanese HTV (H-II Transfer Vehicle) later this year, the HTV Control Center (HTV-CC) in Tsukuba has conducted a weekly-long series of command and telemetry tests. [HTV-CC successfully tested both the A- and B-string of the BSP (Baseband Signal Processor). Range & Range Rate function was also successfully confirmed as the ISS made several passes over a ground site in Tanegashima, Japan. During these overflights, the ground station sent a simulated HTV telemetry stream to ISS, and HTV commands were routed from the JAXA SSIPC (Space Station Integrated Promotion Center) through ISS and back to the ground site. The Heartbeat FDIR (Fault Detection, Isolation, & Recovery) test was also a success, and concluded the PROX System Checkout #1.]
Fincke & Chamitoff continued to prepare for the STS-126/ULF2 mission by prepacking hardware for return in the MPLM (Multi-Purpose Logistics Module).
The CDR reconfigured the IFM (In-Flight Maintenance) tool box drawers by installing the new drawers into the toolbox location, preparing a common crew tool kit, removing and stowing tools from the old toolbox drawers, and stowing the old empty drawers for return on ULF2.
Chamitoff filled out the regular FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire), his 18th, on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). [On the FFQs, NASA astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MEC software. Recorded are the amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. The FFQ is performed once a week to estimate nutrient intake from the previous week and to give recommendations to ground specialists that help maintain optimal crew health. Weekly estimation has been verified to be reliable enough that nutrients do not need to be tracked daily.]
Before starting their exercise sessions on the TVIS treadmill, Mike & Yuri set up the video equipment for filming their subsequent workout on the treadmill for biomechanical evaluation of their performance and assessment of the hardware status by ground engineers. Afterwards, the camera gear was torn down and stowed.
The crew completed their regular daily 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).
Later, Greg transferred the exercise data files to the MEC laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).
At ~4:50am EDT, Yuri & Mike linked up with TsUP stowage specialists via S-band to conduct the weekly IMS tagup, discussing inventory & stowage issues, equipment locations and cargo transfers.
At ~6:30am, Gregory had his weekly PFC (Private Family Conferences) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS- NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop).
At ~9:06am, the crew held the regular (nominally weekly) tagup with the Russian Flight Control Team (GOGU), including Shift Flight Director (SRP), at TsUP via S-band/audio, phone-patched from Houston and Moscow.
FE-1 Lonchakov had an hour to himself for general orientation (station familiarization & acclimatization) as is standard daily rule for fresh crewmembers for the first two weeks after starting station residence, if she/he chooses to take it.
CEO (Crew Earth Observations) photo targets uplinked for today were Cairo, Egypt (the population of Cairo is about 6.8 million people [2006]. Cairo's metropolitan area has about 17.8 million people. This target is located on the banks of the Nile River in northern Egypt, immediately south of where the Nile splits into its two branches. The grayness of the city contrasts nicely with the green of the Nile delta. Looking a little right of the track and documenting land use and city boundaries), Wetumpka Impact Crater (Wetumpka was confirmed as an impact crater [shocked quartz was found in cores] in 1998. The crater is 7.6 km in diameter and is estimated to be about 83 million years old. This was a challenging target for Mike & Greg because the crater itself is a little difficult to spot due to vegetation and soil cover. The crater is located east of downtown Wetumpka, Alabama. Wetumpka is also located to the northeast of Montgomery, Alabama and to the southwest of Atlanta, Georgia. Mapping pass along the track), Caracas, Venezuela (the Venezuelan capital city is situated in a narrow valley, just inland from the Caribbean Sea coast south of a forested mountain range. Trying for detailed near-nadir views of the city. As always with this city, there were probably partly cloudy conditions), and Central-Arizona Phoenix (the Central-Arizona Phoenix site is part of the Long Term Ecological Research [LTER] suite of sites. The main objective for these sites is to document the land cover/land use change on a seasonal basis. Looking for land cover or land use boundaries and documenting with overlapping frames).
CEO photography can be studied at this "Gateway" website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (as of 9/1/08, this database contained 770,668 views of the Earth from space, with 324,812 from the ISS alone).
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible.):
11/02/08 -- Progress 30P reboost; Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends
11/14/08 -- STS-126/Endeavour/ULF2 launch - MPLM Leonardo, LMC; 7:55pm;
11/16/08 -- STS-126/Endeavour/ULF2 docking
11/20/08 -- ISS 10 Years
11/25/08 -- Progress M-65/30P undocking & deorbit
11/26/08 -- Progress M-66/31P launch
11/29/08 -- STS-126/Endeavour/ULF2 landing (~2:00 pm EST est.)
11/30/08 -- Progress M-66/31P docking
02/09/09 -- Progress M-66/31P undocking & deorbit
02/10/09 -- Progress M-67/32P launch
02/12/09 -- Progress M-67/32P docking
02/12/09 -- STS-119/Discovery/15A launch - S6 truss segment
02/14/09 -- STS-119/Discovery/15A docking
02/24/09 -- STS-119/Discovery/15A undocking
02/26/09 -- STS-119/Discovery/15A landing (nominal)
03/25/09 -- Soyuz TMA-14/18S launch
03/27/09 -- Soyuz TMA-14/18S docking (DC1)
04/05/09 -- Soyuz TMA-13/17S undocking
04/07/09 -- Progress M-67/32P undocking & deorbit
05/15/09 -- STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch - JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
05/25/09 -- Soyuz TMA-15/19S launch
05/27/09 -- Six-person crew on ISS (following Soyuz 19S docking)
07/30/09 -- STS-128/Atlantis/17A - MPLM (P), last crew rotation
10/15/09 -- STS-129/Discovery/ULF3 - ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 -- STS-130/Endeavour/20A - Node-3 + Cupola
02/11/10 -- STS-131/Atlantis/19A - MPLM(P)
04/08/10 -- STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 - ICC-VLD, MRM1
05/31/10 -- STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 - ELC3, ELC4 (contingency).
