[sarex] ISS STATUS REPORT #05-36

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

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR  N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*International Space Station Status Report #05-36*
*4:30 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 15, 2005*
*Expedition 11 Crew*

The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew worked this week on 
final preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its 
STS-114 Return to Flight mission, now on hold.

Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips worked 
to wrap up packing of items to be returned to Earth on Discovery, while 
continuing their scientific experiments, physical exercises and routine 
Station maintenance.

On Friday, the crew tested their Soyuz capsule's motion control system. 
The test was in preparation for a relocation of the Soyuz spacecraft. 
The Soyuz is the crew's lifeboat in the event an evacuation of the 
Station is needed and is the crew's ride home at the end of its 
six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.

With Discovery's launch delayed, managers now plan to have the crew move 
the Soyuz next Tuesday from the Pirs Docking Compartment to the Zarya 
module to clear the way for a spacewalk planned in August. The move, 
originally planned to take place after Discovery's mission, will free up 
the Pirs airlock for use by Krikalev and Phillips during that spacewalk.

Krikalev continued to use oxygen from the tanks of the unpiloted 
Progress cargo craft docked at the rear of the Zvezda Service Module to 
repressurize the Station's atmosphere. He also completed transfer to the 
Station of fuel from the Progress for thrusters of the Russian attitude 
control system. On Monday the crew held a radio tagup with Discovery's 
crew, and continued packing items for return on the Shuttle, an activity 
that continued throughout the week. On Tuesday Krikalev and Phillips 
performed routine smoke detector inspections and on Wednesday made 
preparations for their Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM) photography. They 
will take pictures of the orbiter's thermal protection system as 
Discovery does a slow back flip about 600 feet below the Station.

On Thursday Krikalev and Phillips enjoyed a relatively light day. Duties 
included configuring cameras for the RPM maneuver. 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 Tuesday, July 19, after the 
proposed relocation of the Soyuz capsule at the Station, if it occurs, 
or earlier if events warrant.

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