This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1\27 ISS On-Orbit Status 27-01-2003
Part 1 of 2

ISS On-Orbit Status 1/27/03

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted 
previously or below. Week 9 for Expedition 6 is underway.

After station inspection and morning hygiene, before breakfast and 
first exercise, all crewmembers underwent the regular periodic Russian 
biomedical assessments MO-8 (body mass measurement, BMM) and MO-7 
(calf volume measurement). [FE-1 Nikolai Budarin set up the BMM mass 
measuring device, which uses calibrated springs to determine the 
subject's mass in weightless space, and stowed it away after the 
tests. Calf measurements (left leg only) are taken with the ISOG 
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.]

Later in the day, it was again time for Nikolai to conduct a session 
of the MO-5 MedOps protocol of cardiovascular evaluation during graded 
exercises on the VELO cycle ergometer, assisted by FE-2/SO Don Pettit 
as CMO (crew medical officer). [Using the Gamma-1 ECG equipment with 
biomed harness, skin electrodes, and a blood pressure and 
rheoplethysmograph cuff wired to the cycle ergometer's instrumentation 
panels, the cosmonaut worked the pedals after a prescribed program at 
load settings of 125, 150, and 175 watts for three minutes each. All 
measurements were recorded and telemetered to MCC-M, from where the 
workout was controlled by a specialist.]

CDR Kenneth Bowersox continued his job of loading the new R.3 software
version on the EXPRESS racks,- today on ER3, the fourth of five ER 
upgrades.  [The loading of ER3, which is the first of two racks 
equipped with the ARIS (active rack isolation system), involved the 
ELC (EXPRESS laptop computer), RIC (rack interface controller) and 
ARIS displays, all from a compact disk (for the previous racks Sox 
used the floppy drive). Test of the ER3 ARIS with the new s/w will 
begin later this week, and to avoid disturbances during the test, the 
crew today relocated some HRF (human research facility) hardware items 
needed while the test is in process.]

FE-1 Nikolai Budarin continued the renal (kidney) stone prevention
experiment on his second day of the regimen, which required him to 
collect urine samples in the course of the day besides diet logging. 
For Bowersox, sample collection ended this morning, Pettit's 
yesterday.

Don set up the hardware for EVARM-IV (EVA radiation monitoring no. 4), 
to take on-board readings about 15 minutes after activating the badge 
reader, then powered it down again. [EVARM badges will be used every 
other week for the remainder of Increment 6 to characterize the 
IV-CPDS (intravehicular charged particle directional spectrometer) 
environment, and today's procedure relocated the badges to the IV-CPDS 
area.]

Budarin conducted the periodic functional open/close test of the spare
emergency vacuum valve (AVK) of the COA (= ARS, atmosphere 
purification system) Vozdukh carbon dioxide (CO2) removal system. He 
then restowed the valve assembly behind a Service Module (SM) panel 
(321). [The AVKs are critical because they close the Vozdukh's vacuum 
access lines in the event of a malfunction of the regular vacuum 
valves (BVK) or a depressurization in the Vozdukh valve panel (BOA). 
Access to vacuum is required to vent CO2 during the regeneration of 
the absorbent cartridges (PP). During nominal operation, the AVK 
valves remain open.]

Budarin also continued the checkout of the recently removed Vozdukh 
BVK-1 vacuum valve package. His preliminary test results showed it to 
be OK, and more testing was scheduled today, including size 
verification of a required special wrench.

The recent testing of the two removed Vozdukh VN vacuum pumps 
confirmed that both are failed. They will be discarded on Progress 9P.

Later, Nikolai conducted a periodic comparison check of pressure gauge
readings, using four portable manometers (MV) from the SM to take 
readings in the Soyuz spacecraft, to verify the Soyuz pressure gauges. 
[Acceptable tolerance: plus/minus 2 mmHg discrepancy.]

Budarin also performed his regular daily inspection of the Russian 
BIO-5 Rasteniya-2/Lada-2 ("Plants-2") plant growth experiment.

Bowersox completed the daily routine payload status checkup in the Lab
(PCG-STES010) and prepared the IMS inventory delta file for downlink, 
while Pettit performed the routine maintenance of the SOSh life 
support system in the SM.

At 8:40am, ISS attitude control was handed over the Russian MCS 
(motion control system) thrusters for an attitude test of the onboard 
"Kurs" system docking program by MCC-M. Later, the station was slewed 
to a biased docking attitude, then briefly moded to Inertial (free 
drift) to support testing of Progress vehicle docking with the 
hand-controlled TORU backup teleoperator approach & docking system, 
with SM and FGB solar arrays temporarily in fixed (non-tracking) 
position. Attitude control returns to USOS CMG momentum management 
later this afternoon.

At 12:36pm EST, a ship-to-ship call took place between the ISS crew 
and STS-107/Columbia, where the Red team of Rick Husband, Laurel 
Clark, Ilan Ramon and Kalpana Chawla participated (Blue team being on 
"sleep shift").  Video of the Shuttle crew was received on the ground 
via Ku-band, and the two crews conferred via S-band audio 
(space-to-ground 2, S/G-2). Good job by all! [Steps were taken to 
avoid any audio bleed-over into the Russian segment where Progress 
docking testing was underway.]

MCC-H conducted more troubleshooting for checking out the failed 
heaters of the ETCS (external thermal control system) loop B NTA 
(nitrogen tank assembly).

All crewmembers performed their regular daily physical exercise 
program.

The Node starboard hatch window was properly installed by the crew 
over the weekend and successfully leak-checked. [The two-pane 
porthole, which took the place of the old ECOMM (early comm) antenna 
mounting plate, now permits viewing into the Joint Airlock from the 
Node during EVAs.]

A three-page manifest of hardware and trash items to be loaded on 
Progress M1-258 (9P) for disposal has been uplinked, along with 
detailed loading instructions. 9P will undock on 2/1 (Saturday). [For 
reasons of flight stability and control of the automated 
(pre-programmed) drone, loading must be done with great care in 
choreographed stages according to a topological plan that subdivides 
the Progress interior in planes and tiers. Proper distribution of mass 
is mandatory to ensure acceptable center-of-gravity location and mass 
moments of inertia. Thus, for example, containers are stowed aboard in 
sequence, not in parallel. The loading process is documented with a 
video survey, and the recording is inspected by specialists at 
TsUP/MCC-M before Progress close-out is approved.]

(continued)

---