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28 Apr 2003

ISS On-Orbit Status 27 Apr 2003

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted
previously or below.  Day 155 for Expedition 6 (since STS-113 launch,
11/23/02 [153 days aboard ISS]).

In preparation for Soyuz TMA-2 docking tomorrow morning, the crew
starts an appropriate sleep shift cycle today.  Sleep time begins
tonight at 1800 GMT (2:00pm EDT), and wake-up tomorrow is at 0230
GMT (tonight at 10:30pm EDT). Tomorrow's first DPC (daily planning
conference) is scheduled for 12:30am EDT.

Soyuz TMA-2 (6S) with CDR Yuri Malenchenko and FE/SO Edward Lu
continue to catch up with the station for the docking tomorrow
morning at 1:56am EDT (9:56am Moscow time, 8:56am DMT [MCC-M]).  The
spacecraft is looking good, the third maneuver burn (DV-3) occurred
at the planned time (~1:11am EDT), resulting in a 2.30 m/s delta-V
(pre-flight plan: ~2.28 m/s; slight discrepancy is no issue).

The ISS crew enjoyed a quiet Sunday.  For FE-1 Nikolai Budarin, it is
Easter Day, and at 4:15am EDT he talked with a Patriarch of the
Russian Orthodox Church via VHF (very high frequency) radio during an
RGS (Russian Ground Sites) pass.  Happy Easter, Kolya!

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

As on most Sundays, the Russian flight engineer collected the weekly
data readings of the SVO water supply and SP toilet flush counters
for calldown to MCC-Moscow via S-band, followed by the regular
periodic inspection of the BRPK air/liquid condensate separator.  He
also completed the periodic inspection of the Elektron oxygen
generator's gas/liquid system (VM) for the air bubbles that usually
linger after an IFM (in-flight maintenance). 

Subsequently, Budarin completed the daily routine task of SOZh life
support systems maintenance, while FE-2/SO Don Pettit prepared the
daily IMS (inventory management system) "delta" file for updating the
IMS database. 

All crewmembers worked out on TVIS treadmill, RED resistive exerciser
and CEVIS cycle ergometer, completing their daily physical exercise
program. Pettit then transferred the accumulated physical exercise
files of the work-out equipment to the MEC (medical equipment
computer) for subsequent downlink to the ground.

Budarin unstowed and set up the equipment for the AQUARIUS-B
experiment, which arrives tomorrow on Soyuz-212 (TMA-2).  [AQU-B has
three experiments: VITAMIN-D (VTD), to characterize the effect of
weightlessness on the mechanism of action of Vitamin D in
osteoblasts, RHO-SIGNALS (RHO), to study the effect of weightlessness
on specific signal molecules in human fibroblasts, and RAMIROS (RMR),
to characterize the effects of heavy particle radiation on mammalian
tissue in the space flight environment.] 

Sox was thanked for all his work on the MEC.  [His advise to
re-imaging the hard drive was accepted by POC (Payload Operations
Center), but before that he will have to transfer some files to
another disk.  The task was added to the "job jar" task list.]

Today's [optional] CEO (crew earth observations) targets, currently
restricted by limited the use of the science window in the Lab
including near-vertical targets from the city target list due to the
current XPOP attitude, were Western Mediterranean Dust (blocking high
pressure system over Europe continues to prevent the movement of
cloud into the Mediterranean basin.  Looking left and right of track
for probable dust moving off Africa northwards out to sea), Berlin,
Germany (high pressure persists and visibility remains better over
eastern Europe than it has for months.  Nadir pass; ESC [electronic
still camera]), Chicago, Illinois (Nadir pass.  Crew was asked to try
to get the whole city in two views, left and right of track.  ESC),
Lake Winnipeg, Canada (Dynamic event.  Please record progress of ice
breakup), Ganges River delta, Bangladesh (this major delta is one of
the most prone to reconfiguration by typhoons), Irrawaddy River
delta, Burma (looking right for delta coastline detail), and Sudd
wetlands, Sudan (Dynamic event:  Sun glint opportunity to document
complex and poorly understood stream patterns in one of Africa's
largest swamplands. The Sudd acts as a major buffer for flow in the
White Nile.  Looking right for a mapping swath). CEO images can be
viewed at the websites)]. http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

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