[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT #04-66

[Arthur Z Rowe <n1orc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Submitted by Arthur N1ORC - Amsat A/C #31468

*International Space Station Status Report #04-66*
*4 p.m. CST, Friday, Dec. 10, 2004*
*Expedition 10 Crew*

International Space Station crewmembers this week continued research and 
maintenance activities and prepared for arrival of the next Progress 
cargo craft.

On Wednesday, Station managers reviewed preparations for the upcoming 
launch of the unpiloted Russian ISS Progress 16 resupply ship from the 
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They confirmed that work is 
progressing well for the scheduled liftoff at 4:19 p.m. CST Dec. 23.

The spacecraft will bring 2½ tons of food, fuel, clothing and other 
supplies to the complex. Almost 70 food containers have been added to 
the craft’s manifest to replenish onboard supplies. Progress 16 is 
scheduled to arrive at the Station at about 6:05 p.m. CST Christmas 
night. Along with food, water, spare parts, science gear and equipment, 
the craft will carry Christmas gifts and other personal items for 
Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer 
Salizhan Sharipov.

ISS Progress 15, currently attached to the Station, will be undocked 
from the rear of the Zvezda Service Module at 1:32 p.m. CST Dec. 22, 
clearing the aft port for the new vehicle.

Throughout the week, Chiao prepared the U.S. laboratory Destiny for the 
arrival of additional science experiments. He helped with several tests 
of the Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS) in one of the payload racks 
that will be used to house investigations. Ground controllers at the 
Payload Operations Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center commanded 
the rack to move. Chiao removed guides before the tests and reported the 
movements he observed to the controllers.

The ARIS includes actuators that allow the rack to move slightly to 
protect delicate experiments it houses from vibrations caused by Station 
systems and the crew’s movement. Destiny houses five payload racks. 
Three, including one with ARIS, house active experiments. The other two, 
including the one tested this week, are used to store experiments.

Today, Chiao took photos of the Binary Colloidal Alloys Test. 
Researchers are using the experiment to study fluids like milk or paint 
that have particles suspended in them. The experiment samples are shaken 
initially and then photographed periodically to document how the 
particles settle in microgravity. Researchers hope to use this data to 
develop new technologies ranging from rocket propulsion to cable 
television.

Chiao and Sharipov participated in a Russian experiment to test the 
human cardiovascular system in space. The test included Sharipov wearing 
a special suit called the Chibis, which simulates forces on the 
musculoskeletal system using suction. It also provides information for 
researchers to evaluate the human body’s adaptation to living in space 
without gravity for long periods.

Last weekend, Chiao did the fourth of five scheduled sessions of the 
In-Space Soldering Investigation. The experiment studies the behavior of 
soldering equipment in space so techniques can be refined for future 
spacecraft development and repair.

Maintenance work this week included conditioning of U.S. spacesuit 
batteries, gathering inter-module air duct measurements, collecting 
water and air samples for analysis, and installing cables in the Russian 
segment. Crewmembers also held a fire drill, which included the 
procedures they would use if they had to leave the Station in an emergency.

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 Integration 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 Friday, Dec. 17, or sooner if 
events warrant.

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