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CX2SA > ISS 21.10.06 01:41l 97 Lines 4723 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 64526_CX2SA
Read: GUEST OE7FMI
Subj: ISS STATUS REPORT #06-45
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Sent: 061021/0034Z @:CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA #:64526 [Minas] FBB7.00e $:64526_CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : ISS@WW
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*International Space Station Status Report #06-45*
*3 p.m. CDT, Friday, Oct. 20. 2006*
*Expedition 13 Crew*
The three residents of the International Space Station spent a busy week
with varied science and technical tasks as they began their second month
in orbit.
Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer
Mikhail Tyurin practiced using the manual docking system for the Russian
Progress cargo ship. They rehearsed rendezvous, flyaround maneuvers and
approach and docking with an on-board simulator.
During the training, technicians at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan completed preparations for the launch of a Progress cargo
craft on Monday at 8:40 a.m. CDT. It is scheduled to dock to the complex
Thursday at 9:28 a.m. Live coverage on NASA Television will begin at 9 a.m.
The Progress, which will make its way to the launch pad Saturday, is
filled with more than two tons of food, fuel and supplies for the
station and its crew. Also aboard are new spare parts for the Russian
Elektron oxygen-generation system, which has been shut down since last
month.
Earlier Friday, Lopez-Alegria replaced equipment in the Carbon Dioxide
Removal System, used to remove impurities from the station's atmosphere.
Only one of its two systems designed to purge carbon dioxide from the
air has been operating due to particulate matter clogging an air valve.
Lopez-Alegria installed a new air flow regulator valve and a filter to
recover the use of the second of two adsorbent beds in the device.
He also joined Tyurin to inspect and photograph the Zvezda Service
Module windows and conducted a video tour of the station for training of
future Expedition crews.
Lopez-Alegria, who also serves as the NASA science officer, collected
his second set of blood and urine samples for the Nutrition Experiment.
This is NASA's most comprehensive in-flight study of human physiological
changes during long-duration spaceflight. The experiment measures bone
metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments and hormonal
changes. It also will help to define nutritional requirements and
develop food systems for future missions to the moon and Mars.
Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin also completed a medical officer proficiency
training session.
European Space Agency Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter began the first of
three runs of the Analysis of a Novel Sensory Mechanism in Root
Phototropism, or TROPI experiment, in the European Modular Cultivation
System. Seeds will sprout next week in the EMCS facility where plants
and other small organisms can grow in variable gravity conditions using
a centrifuge. By sprouting seeds under different levels of partial
gravity and different frequencies of light, this study will increase the
understanding of the different systems plants use to determine what
direction their roots and shoots should grow and which genes are
responsible for successful plant growth.
NASA’s payload operations team at the Marshall Space Flight Center
coordinates U.S. science activities on space station. Other science work
this week included sessions of the Profilaktika and Urolux Russian
experiments.
The station remains under the control of three gyroscopes after one was
shut down more than a week ago. On Monday, flight controllers conducted
a test of Control Moment Gyro 3, which was turned off due to excessive
vibrations. Monday’s test, looking at the health of the accelerometer,
spun the CMG up to 500 rpm and then let it coast down to zero while
acceleration data were taken with the MAMS (Microgravity Acceleration
Measurement System) to correlate and compare with data from the internal
CMG accelerometer. An initial review indicated no unusual vibrations,
but engineers continue to analyze the results.
On Monday, flight controllers will begin a five-day checkout of the
Thermal Radiator Rotary Joints (TRRJ) on the S1 and P1 trusses that will
rotate once the station’s upgraded external thermal loops are activated
on the STS-116 mission. The TRRJ test will enable the radiators to
“autotrack" or revolve when required to dissipate heat from the trusses’
avionics equipment.
The next status report will be issued on Monday, Oct. 23, following the
launch of ISS Progress 23, or earlier if events warrant. For more about
the crew's activities and station sighting opportunities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
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