[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT #05-11

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

Submitted by Arthur N1ORC - Amsat A/C #31468

*International Space Station Status Report #05-11*
*3 p.m. CST, Wednesday, March 2, 2005*
*Expedition 10 Crew*

An unpiloted Russian cargo ship linked up to the International Space 
Station today to deliver more than 2 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water, 
supplies and spare parts.

The ISS Progress 17 craft automatically docked to the aft port of the 
Zvezda Service Module at 2:10 p.m. CST as the Station flew 225 statute 
miles over the equator west of Africa. Within minutes, hooks and latches 
between the two ships engaged, forming a tight seal. The flawless 
docking completed a two-day journey for the cargo ship since its liftoff 
Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

As the Progress approached the Station, Expedition 10 Flight Engineer 
Salizhan Sharipov was at the controls of a manual docking system in 
Zvezda, ready to take over the final approach in the unlikely event its 
automated docking system encountered a problem. Station Commander and 
NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao took video and still photos of the 
arrival.

The Progress is loaded with 386 pounds of propellant, 242 pounds of 
oxygen and air, 1,071 pounds of water and more than 2,900 pounds of 
spare parts, life support system components and experiment hardware. The 
manifest also includes 86 containers of food, about a six-month supply 
to supplement the food already in the Station’s pantry. The crew will 
open the Progress hatch later today.

Among the items on the Progress is a new heat exchanger device to 
replace a faulty component in the U.S. airlock needed for the resumption 
of spacewalks in U.S. space suits this summer. Also aboard are cameras 
and lenses to be used by the Expedition 11 crew to capture images of the 
thermal protection system on the Shuttle Discovery during its approach 
to the Station during the STS-114 mission in May. The photos are part of 
the imagery-gathering effort to ensure that the Shuttle has no 
threatening damage to its heat shielding.

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/

For information about NASA and other agency missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

The next ISS status report will be issued on Friday, March 4, or earlier 
if events warrant.

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