[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT #03-63

[Arthur Z Rowe <n1orc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR - N1ORC

International Space Station Status Report #03-63
4 p.m. CST, Friday, Dec. 12, 2003
Expedition 8 Crew

Aboard the International Space Station this week the Expedition 8 crew 
served as scientists, engineers, mechanics and investigators as it 
approaches two months of life in space aboard the orbiting outpost.

The workweek began with a U.S. milestone being recognized when Commander 
Mike Foale surpassed the astronaut cumulative time in space record of 
231 days. During a special phone call Monday, Carl Walz, the previous 
record holder, called Foale to congratulate him on the milestone and 
discussed life on the Station and future endeavors in space.

Tuesday and Wednesday Foale – joined by Flight Engineer Cosmonaut 
Alexander Kaleri - dismantled the high-tech exercise treadmill and 
identified the cause of a problem preventing its use in the motorized 
mode. A bad bearing associated with its gyroscope assembly was 
determined to be the culprit and a replacement will be shipped to the 
Station on the next Progress resupply vehicle in late January. Until 
that time, the treadmill is usable for exercise without the 
stabilization system active.

Thursday Foale, also the onboard NASA ISS Science Officer, “flew” the 
Station’s robotic arm for the first time through a survey of various 
modules and components of the complex. The survey had two-purposes: To 
continue investigating the source of an unusual noise heard by the crew 
a couple of weeks ago while in the Zvezda Service Module and to check 
for any other changes outside the station, a check normally handled by a 
Space Shuttle upon undocking and flyaround. This survey detected no 
abnormalities.

Foale and Kaleri discussed their mission with news organizations from 
ABC and the website SpaceflightNow.com. The crew also enjoyed a lengthy 
question-and-answer period with schoolchildren at the Wright Brothers 
National Memorial in North Carolina, as celebrations are ongoing in 
advance of the 100th anniversary Dec. 17 of powered flight.

Information on the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future 
launch dates, as well as Station sighting opportunities from anywhere on 
the Earth, is available on the Internet at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

Details on Station science operations can be found on an Internet site 
administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space 
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at: http://scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/

The next ISS status report will be issued Dec. 19, or sooner if events 
warrant.


###


----
Via the sarex mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe sarex" to Majordomo@amsat.org