[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT #05-27

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

Submitted by Arthur N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*International Space Station Status Report #05-27*
*3 p.m. CDT, Friday, May 27, 2005*
*Expedition 11 Crew*

The Expedition 11 crew entered its seventh week in space today, wrapping 
up a week highlighted by research, maintenance and training for 
photography tasks to be done during the Space Shuttle’s Return to Flight 
mission in July. Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John 
Phillips spent several days conducting examinations of each other using 
an ultrasound device that provides data on the ability of crewmembers to 
conduct detailed medical exams in space. The experiment could have 
future applications for telemedicine or rural health care.

Phillips also conducted work with a viscosity measurement experiment 
that collects information on the behavior of liquids in microgravity 
that have different thickness, or viscosity. The experiment may provide 
insight to researchers designing new hardware for space travel and could 
have industrial applications on Earth.

Phillips and Krikalev spent part of Tuesday practicing photography 
techniques with digital cameras in the Zvezda Service Module. The 
techniques will be used to capture high resolution imagery of the 
condition of Discovery’s heat shield at a distance of 600 feet as the 
Shuttle approaches for docking on the third day of the STS-114 mission.

The crewmembers will use 400 millimeter and 800 millimeter lenses from 
two windows in Zvezda to focus on Discovery’s thermal protection tiles 
and the reinforced carbon-carbon shield.

Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will fly Discovery through a backflip 
as it approaches the Station, allowing Krikalev and Phillips to document 
all sides of the vehicle. They will shoot as many frames as possible 
during the minute and a half Shuttle flip. Those images will be 
transmitted to the ground for analysis.

For the second week, the crew activated solid fuel oxygen generating 
canisters in Zvezda to replenish the cabin atmosphere. The canisters, 
one of multiple oxygen supplies that remain available onboard, are being 
used following the depletion of oxygen reserves in tanks in the Progress 
cargo vehicle and in the absence of an operating Elektron 
oxygen-generation system.

The next Progress cargo ship to launch to the Station in mid-June will 
carry new supplies of oxygen tanks and solid fuel canisters as well as 
electronic components for the Elektron. Oxygen supplies onboard and 
those on upcoming cargo vehicles can accommodate the crew into next year.

Earlier today, Krikalev tested the voltage of some of the Elektron’s 
existing components to help Russian specialists in their ongoing 
troubleshooting efforts. Krikalev confirmed that the electrolyzer unit, 
part of a system that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, showed no 
voltage readings and is presumed to have failed.

Krikalev also worked on a procedure to bypass one of the cables in the 
Russian segment condensate removal system that has developed a blockage.

The crew is scheduled for a light duty weekend, including routine 
housekeeping tasks and family conferences. 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, June 3, or earlier 
if events warrant.

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