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01 July 2003

ISS On-Orbit Status 30 Jun 2003

Part 1 of 3

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted
previously. Week 9 for Increment 7 is underway.  [Yesterday 32 years
ago the heroic crew of Soyuz 11 ("Yantar") died during reentry on
return from their 23d 18h stay in the first Soviet space station,
Salyut 1: Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patzayev, and Vladislav Volkov.
The death of the world's first space station crew on 29 June 1971 was
caused by explosive cabin air decompression through an incompletely
closed vent valve in the Soyuz Descent Module, which upon jettisoning
of the Orbital Module became exposed to the hard vacuum of space
before atmospheric entry.] 

Before breakfast, both ISS crewmembers completed another session of
the periodic Russian medical experiment protocols PZEh-MO-7 (calf
volume measurement) and PZEh-MO-8 (body mass measurement).  CDR Yuri
Malenchenko set up the MO-8 "scales" equipment and later broke it
down and stowed it away.  (Last time done: 6/16).   [Calf
measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a
custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and
lower foot as fixed reference points, to provide a rough index of
deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures.  For
determining body ass in zero-G, where things are weightless (but not
massless), the Russian IM "scales" measure the inertial forces that
arise during the oscillatory motion of a mass driven by two helical
metering springs with known spring constants.  By measuring the time
period of each oscillation of the unknown mass (the crewmember) and
comparing it to the period of a known mass, the crewmember's mass is
calculated by the computer and displayed].

CDR Yuri Malenchenko had several sessions with the Russian Uragan
("hurricane") earth imaging program (GFI-8), focusing the Kodak
DCS760 digital still camera with 800-mm lens on targets including
Berlin/Potsdam urban conglomeration, the cities of Chernobyl and
Kharkov, Don River floodplain, the Black Earth belt of Kalmykia, Port
Olya south of Astrakhan, the Himalayas, urban centers in W Europe
(Brussels, Cologne-Bonn, Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg, Plzen, Prague,
Brno, Budapest, etc.), the Carpathian mountains, and the S coast of
the Black Sea.  The images were to be downlinked later via U.S. OCA
assets. 

FE/SO Dr. Ed Lu powered up the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox),
then supervised another experiment session with the InSPACE
(Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from
Colloidal Emulsions) experiment. Afterwards, the MSG was powered down
again.  [Today's run was test #3 with coil assembly (CA) 001.
Current amplitude remained at 1.2 amps throughout, but frequency
changed, from initially 10 Hz to 2 Hz at the second monitor activity.
Very little was expected to be seen outside of the monitor periods,
and Ku-band coverage was unfortunately minimal, with no coverage
during the key periods.] 

At 4:45am EDT, the ground initiated a 2h 40m upload of software for
the new CSLM 2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures) experiment from
a compact disk to the MSG laptop computer (MLC) hard drive.

The inspection of the Flexpacks removed last week from RED (resistive
exercise device) canisters #1009 and #1010 was performed by the crew
today. [The inspection was necessary to determine the type of
maintenance required on the Flexpacks to clear them for further use
in canisters #1001 and #1003 when these expire.]

Yuri Malenchenko terminated bakeout/regeneration cycle on adsorption
bed #2 of the BMP automated micropurification unit.  Upon
deactivation of the regen, the BMP went to Failed mode.  [The
evacuation valve to vacuum closed properly but there was no
commensurate indication from the microswitch monitoring the closure.
This was annunciated by the automated program as a system failure.
The signiture has been seen before, and previous resolutions
consisted of bypassing the failure indication by introducing a
constant value in the automatic algorithm.  Moscow is still
evaluating.  If the microswitch is truly failed and cannot be
restored to proper function, the entire BMP cartridge will have to be
replaced since the microswitch alone cannot be R&R'd.]

After a preparatory procedures review and tagup with ground
specialists via S-band, Malenchenko worked several hours in the
Service Module (SM) and DC-1 docking module, completing the periodic
inspection and photo-documentation of the window panes in the Russian
segment (RS).  The observations were recorded in image and text files
for subsequent downlink via U.S. OCA assets.  [Objective of the
inspection, using digital still camera (Nikon D1 or Kodak 760) and
voice recorder, is to assess the pane surfaces for any changes (new
cavities, scratches, new or expanded old stains or discolorations
affecting transparency properties) since the last inspection
(performed by Nikolai Budarin on 3/13/03).  The new assessment will
be compared to the earlier observations.  Malenchenko had extra time
reserved to study and rehearse uplinked procedures for measuring new
visible defects on the windows.  Defects are measured with the
parallax method which uses eyeball-sighting with a ruler and a right
isosceles triangle to determine the formations' size and position
with respect to the window's internal surface (parallax being the
apparent change in an object's position resulting from changing the
observer's position).] 

In the FGB, Malenchenko installed three new fire extinguishers
delivered on Progress-259/11P, one in the pressurized adapter (GA),
one on panel 404, and the third on panel 229.   The old PFEs were
stowed for disposal. 

In the SM, Yuri completed the periodic servicing task of changing out
the ASU toilet's urine receptacle (MP) and filter insert (F-V),
disposing of the old units.

Malenchenko also performed his regular daily checkup of the BIO-5
Rasteniya-2 ("Plants-2") experiment which investigates growth and
development of plants under spaceflight conditions in the SM's Lada-2
greenhouse.

Science Officer Lu conducted the daily routine maintenance of SOZh
life support systems and prepared the daily IMS (inventory management
system) "delta" file for updating the IMS database.

 - Continued -

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