[sarex] ISS Boosted for Rendezvous With Discovery - 6 JULY 2005

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

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A./C #31468

   
     Station Boosted for Rendezvous With Discovery

As the launch date of the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight fast 
approaches, the crew of Expedition 11 continues to conduct experiments 
and prepare hardware for return to Earth, while controllers on the 
ground performed one final reboost to increase the Station's altitude 
for its upcoming rendezvous with Space Shuttle Discovery.

John L. Phillips sorts out various hardware Image to right: Expedition 
11 Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips sorts out 
various hardware in the Unity Node of the International Space Station. 
Credit: NASA

After enjoying a three-day weekend of light duty, Commander Sergei 
Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips kicked off the workweek with 
a variety of scientific experiments designed to study the effects of 
long-duration spaceflight. These experiments include an ongoing study of 
renal stone formation and NEUROCOG, which examines the body's sense of 
balance in weightlessness through the use of a virtual reality helmet.

On Wednesday at 10:58 EDT, the engines of a Progress spacecraft docked 
to the Station were commanded to burn for 7 minutes and 20 seconds, 
boosting the altitude of the Station nearly 4 miles. This second and 
final reboost puts the Station into position for rendezvous 
opportunities beginning on the third flight day during most of 
Discovery's July 13-31 launch window.

To prepare for the Shuttle's Return to Flight, Krikalev and Phillips 
continue to pack items to be returned to Earth on the Raffeallo 
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module aboard Discovery. The crew also reviewed 
the timeline of activities scheduled during the docking and began 
conditioning the batteries that will be used in the spacesuits for the 
STS-114 mission's three spacewalks.
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