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CX2SA > ISS 25.02.06 00:35l 77 Lines 3242 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 36061_CX2SA
Read: GUEST OE7FMI
Subj: EXP 12 STATUS REPORT #06-8
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Sent: 060224/2228Z @:CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA #:36061 [Minas] FBB7.00e $:36061_CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : ISS@WW
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*International Space Station Status Report #06-8*
*1 p.m. CST, Friday, Feb. 24, 2006*
*Expedition 12 Crew*
Aboard the International Space Station this week, Expedition 12
Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev have been
preparing for upcoming spacecraft arrivals and departures.
Managers decided to postpone the planned station "campout" this week
until next month. It will test procedures to shorten the preparation
required for spacewalks. It was delayed after a device called the Major
Constituent Analyzer (MCA) could not be activated following maintenance
work by the crew. The device measures the composition of the station's air.
McArthur replaced a major component of the MCA last week, the mass
spectrometer, but attempts to activate the unit were unsuccessful.
McArthur continued troubleshooting the device Saturday. Engineers
suspect the problem may be damaged electrical connectors and are
evaluating ways to fix them.
The crew began preparations for the next shuttle mission, STS-121,
targeted for launch to the station no earlier than May. McArthur made
room in the storage racks inside the Destiny lab for new equipment
scheduled to arrive on Space Shuttle Discovery.
He cleared space in EXPRESS Rack 3 for a European Space Agency
experiment facility called the European Modular Cultivation System. The
facility will house biological experiments dealing with the effects of
gravity on plant cells, roots and physiology.
Tokarev and McArthur also continued packing the station's Progress 19
cargo spacecraft with trash, readying it to undock March 3. The supply
craft's thrusters were used a final time to reboost the station
Wednesday, increasing the altitude by eight miles. McArthur continued
science work, performing his third session with an experiment called
Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Spaceflight. The experiment
investigates how muscles and joints of the legs and feet are used
differently in space than on Earth.
To gather data, McArthur wore the instrumented Lower Extremity
Monitoring Suit, which measures joint angles, muscle activity and forces
on the feet as he exercised. The experiment measures the musculoskeletal
system and may lead to a better understanding of bone loss during
long-duration missions.
The SuitSat experiment, an unneeded Russian Orlan
spacesuit-turned-satellite, has stopped sending signals. SuitSat was
released by Tokarev during a spacewalk Feb. 3. It transmitted recorded
voices of school children to amateur radio operators as it orbited the
Earth. Hundreds of reports from individuals receiving the faint signal
from all over the world were logged at the project's Web site. For
SuitSat information, visit:
http://www.suitsat.org
For information about the station, including sighting opportunities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home
The next station status report will be issued Friday, March 3, or
earlier if events warrant.
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