[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT - #05-25

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

Submitted by Arthur N1ORC - AMSAT A/C/#31468

*International Space Station Status Report #05-25*
*3 p.m. CDT, Friday, May 13, 2005*
*Expedition 11 Crew*

Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John 
Phillips continued routine maintenance and science experiments aboard 
the International Space Station this week as they wrapped up their first 
month in space.

The crew began the week observing Victory Day – the Russian holiday that 
this year marked the 60th anniversary of the end of fighting in the 
Soviet Union during World War II. The rest of the week kept Krikalev and 
Phillips busy with maintenance and research activities.

The crew continued using the treadmill for exercise this week as 
engineers closely monitored data from the exercise sessions. However, 
after a broken restraint cable was found during a routine inspection 
today, the crew was asked to use other exercise equipment for the time 
being.

The treadmill stopped working for a time last Friday when a circuit 
breaker tripped inside the device. During a routine monthly inspection 
today, Phillips reported a broken restraint cable on the treadmill’s 
gyroscope. The treadmill, which is specially outfitted to isolate the 
vibrations caused by exercise from the rest of the Station, is equipped 
with a gyroscope to maintain the system’s stability.

Engineers will analyze photos of the restraint cable to determine if it 
can cause problems with the treadmill’s operation. Other exercise 
equipment aboard that is available to the crew includes two stationary 
bicycles.

The Station’s atmosphere was pressurized with oxygen from the ISS 
Progress 17 vehicle’s reserve tanks once again this week. The Station's 
Elektron oxygen generation system, which can convert water into oxygen 
for the air onboard, is not operating. Russian engineers plan to send a 
new electronics box for the system on a Progress supply ship that will 
arrive in June.

Plentiful supplies of oxygen remain available aboard the Station from 
multiple sources. In total, oxygen supplies already aboard the Station 
coupled with those that are planned to be delivered by upcoming cargo 
craft could sustain the crew for at least the rest of this year, without 
use of the Elektron.

Through next week, the remaining oxygen supplies aboard the currently 
docked Progress will be used. Once those are depleted, Solid Fuel Oxygen 
Generation canisters may be used. 84 such canisters are aboard. Those 
canisters alone could supply the crew for at least 42 days if necessary. 
A large quantity of oxygen, enough to supply the crew for nearly 100 
days, also is stored in tanks on the Quest airlock aboard the Station.

The Progress spacecraft now docked to the Station, Progress 17, will 
undock at about 3:10 p.m. CDT June 15. ISS Progress 18 is scheduled to 
launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 6:09 p.m. CDT June 
16 and dock to Station on at 7:10 p.m. CDT June 18. The Station’s 
altitude was boosted on Wednesday to line up its orbit for the arrival 
of the new cargo craft. The Station’s orbit was raised by 1.5 miles at 
the perigee, or portion closest to Earth, to 226.1 by 214.2 statute 
miles. The new Progress also is planned to deliver even more oxygen 
supplies. Another Progress craft is planned to arrive at the Station in 
late August.

This week, both crewmembers worked on preparing excess equipment for 
return on the Space Shuttle Discovery in July on the STS-114 Return to 
Flight mission. They also performed routine maintenance on ventilation 
and life support systems in the Russian segment and verified a VHF radio 
communications link used during Shuttle rendezvous operations. Krikalev 
continued work throughout the Russian modules with audits of various 
supplies and equipment.

Phillips’ work focused on some of the laptop computers aboard. He 
refreshed a Portable Computer System (PCS) laptop by deleting and then 
reloading information on the hard drive, which recovered its corrupted 
hard drive to serve as a backup. The PCS laptops are used by the crew to 
monitor the Caution and Warning system and manage the Station operating 
modes and the Command and Control System. Two required PCS computers are 
functional onboard with three additional hard drives now available as 
spares.

Phillips also worked with three Station Support Computers (SSCs) that 
were experiencing problems booting up. After the troubleshooting, two of 
the computers turned on, but the screens remained blank. They can be 
used for routing data in applications where a computer monitor is not 
necessary. The third laptop did not boot up and engineers are working on 
further troubleshooting procedures. There are enough operating computers 
available onboard for the crew to access e-mail, perform word processing 
and view the daily schedule of activities. Phillips also replaced an old 
battery in the laptop computer used at the Robotics Work Station that 
controls the Station robotic arm, Canadarm2. Serving as the NASA Station 
Science Officer, Phillips began participating in the “Journals” 
experiment after completing his orientation to Station life. The 
investigation records crew members' perceptions though the mission to 
obtain information to assist in the design of future spacecraft. 
Phillips also prepared for his first session next week with the 
Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Spaceflight (FOOT) experiment. For 
the experiment, he will wear an instrumented garment called the Lower 
Extremity Monitoring Suit (LEMS) and shoes with force sensor attached. 
The experiment records 12 hours of data to help researchers better 
understand forces imposed on the lower body and muscle activity in 
weightlessness.

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://www.nasa.gov/station

The next ISS status report will be issued on Friday, May 20, or earlier 
if events warrant.

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