All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday – rest day for CDR Fincke, FE-1 Lonchakov & FE-2 Magnus. Ahead: Week 17 of Increment 18.
The crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning. ["Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the SM (Service Module) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the FE's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.]
As part of the house cleaning, the FE-1 conducted regular maintenance inspection & cleaning on fan screens in the FGB (TsV2), DC-1 (V3) and SM (VPkhO, VPrK, FS5, FS6 & FS9).
Lonchakov also performed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM, including the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP-Moscow. Additionally, the FE-1 today checked up on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SM’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on total operating time & “On” durations for reporting to TsUP-Moscow. [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.]
In addition, Yuri conducted the periodic checkup behind panel 139 in the SM on a fluid connector (MNR-NS) of the SM-U urine collection system, looking for potential moisture.
Later today before sleeptime, Mike Fincke starts the first day of his second six-day SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity) session, which entails a series of diet intake loggings, body mass measurements and blood & urine samplings in two session blocks. [During last week’s Session 1 block, the CDR followed a special low-salt diet, during the new Session 2 a high-salt diet. For both diets, specially prepared meals are provided onboard. All three daily meals are being logged on sheets stowed in the PCBA (Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer) Consumable Kit in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) along with control solution and cartridges for the PCBA. SOLO, an ESA/German experiment from the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne/Germany, investigates the mechanisms of fluid and salt retention in the body during long-duration space flight. Body mass is measured with the Russian BMM (Body Mass Measurement) device (IM) since the originally planned SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device) malfunctioned during Session 1. Blood samples are taken with the PCBA. Background: The hypothesis of an increased urine flow as the main cause for body mass decrease has been questioned in several recently flown missions. Data from the US SLS1/2 missions as well as the European/Russian Euromir `94 & MIR 97 missions show that urine flow and total body fluid remain unchanged when isocaloric energy intake is achieved. However, in two astronauts during these missions the renin-angiotensin system was considerably activated while plasma ANP concentrations were decreased. Calculation of daily sodium balances during a 15-day experiment of the MIR 97 mission (by subtracting sodium excretion from sodium intake) showed an astonishing result: the astronaut retained on average 50 mmol sodium daily in space compared to balanced sodium in the control experiment.]
The station residents 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), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).
Working from the Russian discretionary “time permitting” task list, the FE-1 completed the regular status check on the long-term BIO-5 Rasteniya-1 ("Plants-1") micro-G plant growth payload, checking proper ventilation of the BO/V control box (verifying all-green LEDs) and Lada-10/MIS (Module for the Investigation of Substrates) by using the hand to check for air flow of three control box fans and six fans of the MIS greenhouse module.
A second periodic task from the voluntary work list for Yuri called for another session of the Russian "Uragan" (hurricane) earth-imaging program, using the Nikon D1X digital camera with 400 & 800 mm focal length lenses to take pictures of natural environment targets, including those showing man-made impacts on nature. [Photo targets were the Volga-Akhtyubinsk alluvial plain and delta, oil contamination in the Caspian Sea around the drilling platform 50 km offshore.]
A new task on the voluntary “job jar” list for Mike & Sandy was another 30-min in-cabin photo training for the pre-docking RPM (R-bar Pitch Maneuver) to be performed by STS-119/Discover upon arrival at the station.
Also on the task list is a reminder for Mike Fincke to fill out his fourth FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer).
No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.
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).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:50am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude -- 356.3 km
Apogee height -- 362.2 km
Perigee height -- 350.3 km
Period -- 91.67 min.
Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.64 deg
Eccentricity -- 0.0008886
Solar Beta Angle -- -54.5 deg (magnitude decreasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.71
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours -- 54 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) -- 58681
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time, some changes possible!):
02/20/09 -- FRR (Flight Readiness Review) for STS-119/Discovery
02/27/09? -- STS-119/Discovery/15A launch – S6 truss segment -- “NOT EARLIER THAN”
02/29/09? -- STS-119/Discovery/15A docking
03/10/09? -- STS-119/Discovery/15A undocking
03/13/09? -- STS-119/Discovery/15A landing
03/26/09 -- Soyuz TMA-14/18S launch
03/28/09 -- Soyuz TMA-14/18S docking (DC1)
04/07/09 -- Soyuz TMA-13/17S undocking
04/07/09 -- Progress 32P undocking & deorbit
05/12/09 -- STS-125/Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission 4 (SM4)
05/15/09 -- STS-127/Endeavour/2J/A launch - JEM EF, ELM-ES, ICC-VLD
05/27/09 -- Soyuz TMA-15/19S launch
Six-person crew on ISS
08/06/09 -- STS-128/Discovery/17A – MPLM (P), LMC, last crew rotation
08/XX/09 -- Soyuz 5R/MRM2 (Russian Mini Research Module, MIM2) on Soyuz
09/XX/09 -- H-IIB (JAXA HTV-1)
11/12/09 -- STS-129/Atlantis/ULF3 - ELC1, ELC2
12/10/09 -- STS-130/Endeavour/20A – Node-3 + Cupola
02/11/10 -- STS-131/Atlantis/19A – MPLM(P), LMC
04/08/10 -- STS-132/Discovery/ULF4 – ICC-VLD, MRM1
05/31/10 -- STS-133/Endeavour/ULF5 – ELC3, ELC4
12/XX/11-- Proton 3R/MLM w/ERA.
