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2003
Report #7 
4 p.m. CST, Friday, Feb. 14, 2003 
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas 

Approaching three months into their stay in space aboard the
International Space Station, the Expedition 6 crewmembers continued
unpacking newly arrived supplies this week, watched their home's
altitude rise, held a news conference and operated the station's
robotic arm.

A Russian Progress resupply ship arrived at the station last week
delivering a ton of food, fuel, clothing and other materials that
should sustain Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai
Budarin, and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit through at least the
end of June, if required. 

The Progress' engines were used Tuesday to boost the altitude of the
ISS by about 6 miles to an average 248-mile orbit. This was the first
of three planned maneuvers to prepare the station for the arrival of a 
new Soyuz return spacecraft in late April. During the reboost
maneuver, scientific accelerometers in the Destiny lab measured
vibrations from the engines to help scientists study how motion may
affect delicate microgravity experiments. 

Bowersox, Pettit and Budarin spoke with reporters gathered at various
NASA centers across the country in their first news conference since
the Columbia accident. Most questions focused on the crew's reaction
and thoughts on Columbia's astronauts and how the accident might
affect their mission. 

"We've had time to grieve our friends," Bowersox said. "When
you're up 
here this long, you can't just bottle up your emotions and focus all 
the time. It's important for us to acknowledge that the people on
STS-107 were our friends and we had a connection with them and that we 
feel their loss. Each of us had a chance to shed some tears. But now 
it's time to move forward and we're doing that slowly. This press
conference today is a huge step that's helping us move along towards
our normal objectives and fulfilling our mission here." 

Thursday, Bowersox and Pettit operated Canadarm2, the Space Station
Robotic Manipulator System. The activities helped maintain the crew's
proficiency in using the Robotic Work Station in Destiny to control
the system as they performed checkout procedures to validate the arm's 
capabilities in space.

Early this week, flight controllers noticed a slight decrease in the
flow of air through the Inter-Module Valve system between the various
components of the station. Bowersox and Pettit removed several fans in 
the ductwork and cleaned lint and dust from the filters, significantly 
increasing the airflow. 

Troubleshooting of the Microgravity Science Glovebox by specialists
from the European Space Agency and the Payload Operations Center at
Marshall Space Flight Center continues. Last week, a circuit breaker
tripped when Pettit installed replacement parts that arrived on the
Progress.  Pettit powered down the equipment until the experts develop 
a plan for him to implement on orbit. 

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://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

Details on station science operations can be found on an Internet site 
administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space 
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at: 

http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/

The next ISS status report will be issued on Friday, Feb. 21, or
sooner, if events warrant. 

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