[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT # 05-8

["ARTHUR Z. ROWE" <N1ORC@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Submitted  by Arthur N1ORC - Amsat A/C #31468

*International Space Station Status Report #05-8*
*4 p.m. CST, Friday, Feb. 18, 2005*
*Expedition 10 Crew*

The International Space Station crew began preparations this week for 
the arrival of fresh supplies aboard a new Russian cargo ship planned to 
launch at the end of the month.

Station Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight 
Engineer Salizhan Sharipov are in the fifth month of a six month stay in 
orbit. The cargo craft now attached to the Station, ISS Progress 16, 
will be undocked, reenter the atmosphere and burn up on Feb. 27. A new 
supply craft, ISS Progress 17, is set to launch on Feb. 28 from 
Baikonur, Kazakstan, and dock to the complex on March 2.

This week, several steps were taken to ensure all supplies are used from 
aboard the current supply craft before it is jettisoned. On Tuesday, 
Russian flight controllers used fuel from the attached Progress craft to 
fire its engines for about seven and a half minutes, boosting the 
Station's orbit by about two miles. Later in the week, additional 
propellant was transferred from that craft into tanks aboard the Station.

Oxygen from tanks aboard the Progress is the primary method at present 
for refreshing the Station cabin air. Several repressurizations of the 
cabin using that oxygen are planned to deplete those tanks before the 
craft is jettisoned. The Elektron system, a system that normally 
generates oxygen for the cabin by recycling wastewater, has been 
intentionally turned off.

On Friday, Sharipov removed equipment associated with the Kurs automatic 
docking system from the Progress craft and stored it aboard the Station 
for reuse. Next week the crew will spend several hours stowing unneeded 
gear and trash aboard the cargo ship.

Other tasks completed by the crew this week included a semi-annual, 
thorough inspection of the special exercise treadmill. Over the course 
of several days, the crew partially disassembled the treadmill, which 
includes a special vibration isolation system to prevent exercise from 
disturbing sensitive experiments on the Station, to inspect its 
components. All was found in good condition, except for the loss of one 
small, non-essential battery used to operate a timer.

Mission Control powered up the Mobile Base System, a type of rail car 
base for the Station's robotic arm that allows it to move up and down 
the truss, to check its operation. Controllers found that they could not 
receive video from a television camera mounted on a mast on the base 
system, nor would the camera respond to pan and tilt commands. Engineers 
are evaluating the problem and planning possible troublehsooting. The 
camera is among several exterior Station cameras planned to be used next 
week during a test of ground-commanded remote control of the robotic arm 
from Mission Control. Chiao and Sharipov took time out from their 
activities to speak with attendees at the European Space Agency 
Conference on Space in Brussels, Belgium, this week.

For more on NASA, the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future 
launch dates and Station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the 
Earth, visit:

www.nasa.gov

The next International Space Station Status report will be issued on 
Friday, Feb. 25, or
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