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14 Apr 2003

ISS On-Orbit Status 13 Apr 2003

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted
previously or below.  Ahead: Week 20 for Expedition 6.

The crew had an off-duty Sunday, except for some necessary
maintenance tasks.

The regular weekly house cleaning, postponed from yesterday, was
performed today.  [The 3-hr. task includes removal of food waste
products, periodic cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, wet
cleaning of surfaces with disinfectants, and cleaning of fan screens
to avoid temperature rises.] 

FE-1 Nikolai Budarin completed the weekly routine tasks of collecting
SP toilet flush counter and SVO water supply readings in the Service
Module for calldown to TsUP, followed by the regular inspection of
the Elektron oxygen generator's VM gas/liquid system for the air
bubble that may linger after IFMs (in-flight maintenances).

FE-2/SO Donald Pettit performed the periodic transfer of accumulated
data files from the CMS HRM (crew medical systems/heart rate monitor)
to the MEC (medical equipment computer), then deleted them on the
HRM.

Later in the day, CDR Kenneth Bowersox transferred the accumulated
physical exercise files of the TVIS treadmill, RED resistive
exerciser and CEVIS cycle ergometer to the MEC, all for subsequent
downlink to the ground. 

Budarin conducted his daily checkup of the BIO-5 "Rasteniya-2/Lada-2"
zero-G plant growth experiment.

Nikolai also performed the daily routine maintenance of the SOZh life
support system (including ASU toilet facilities), while Donald Pettit
readied the IMS inventory system for the daily automated
export/import of updates.

All crewmembers completed their daily physical exercise program on
TVIS, RED, CEVIS and VELO with load trainer.

For Nikolai Budarin, MCC-M had arranged for a special 30-min. PFC
(private family conference) via TV downlink at 6:00am EDT, initiated
by the pre-set SPP automated daily timeline software.

Bowersox and Pettit also had their weekly PFCs with MCC-H, via
S-band/audio.

Target areas for the Russian Uragan earth imaging program on
Budarin's task list for today, cloud cover permitting, were an oil
spot off the northwest coast of Spain, hydrological conditions of
European Rivers, the city of Strasbourg on the western bank of the
Rhine, the city of Prague, long-range shots of the Carpathian
mountains, the Viszla and Bug River floodplains, the flooded areas of
the Don and Volga Rivers, 12 open coal pits south of the city of
Leipzig/Germany, and the Oder River floodplain. 

Today's recommended targets for the Russian Diatomeya ocean
observation program, on the Russian task list, were again in the
Atlantic Ocean, for the Nikon F5 digital camera (f80mm lens) to
record bands of algae blooms near the Antilles Islands Narrows, as
well as fragments of massive green formations along the Gulf Stream
and North Atlantic Current. 

Also working from the Russian task list, Budarin performed the sixth
MBI-9 "Pulse" experiment, scheduled before his physical exercise.
[Execution of the medical cardiological assessment is controlled from
the Russian laptop 3, using a set respiration rate (without forced or
deep breaths) and synchronizing respiration with computer-commanded
"inhale" commands.  Before the experiment, arterial blood pressure is
measured with the "Tensoplus" sphygmomanometer.  The first five
"Pulse" sessions by Nikolai was performed on 11/30/02, 12/30/02,
2/2/03, 3/2/03 and 3/23/03.]

Today's CEO (crew earth observations) targets, with the current LVLH
attitude now including near-vertical views from the city target list,
were Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (just right of track on the coast; ESC
[electronic still camera]), Urumqui, China (nadir pass over this oil
boom town in western China; ESC), Kinshasa, Zaire (nadir pass; ESC.
Kinshasa lies on the south side of the Congo River where the river
widens as Stanley Pool), Buenos Aires, Argentina(nadir pass; ESC),
Dakar, Senegal (nadir pass; ESC), Western Mediterranean Dust (zone of
blowing dust [ahead of an approaching storm] has migrated to the
coast of Tunisia), Andean landslide site, Chile (detailed images
taken near-nadir should document this steep and unstable hillside),
Lake Poopo, Bolivia (nadir and a touch left.  The crew also to shoot
water in any nearby "dry" lakes, where El Nino-related rains may have
generated unusual inflow), Caracas, Venezuela (nadir pass; ESC), Los
Angeles, California (nadir pass; ESC), Istanbul, Turkey (immediately
post-sunset opportunity), Al Hufuf city, Saudi Arabia (nadir pass
over this eastern Saudi city; ESC), Casablanca, Morocco (nadir and a
touch right; ESC), and Abidjan, Ivory coast (this usually cloudy West
African coast was clear.  Nadir pass; ESC). CEO images can be viewed
at the websites http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

ISS Orbit  (as of this morning, 7:46am EDT [= epoch]):

Mean altitude -- 393.1 km
Apogee -- 397.3 km
Perigee -- 388.9 km
Period -- 92.42 min.
Inclination (to Equator) --  51.63 deg
Eccentricity -- 0.0006216
Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.58
Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours -- 80 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98)  -- 25091
For more on ISS orbit and worldwide naked-eye visibility dates/times,
see http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/station/viewing/issvis.html

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