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22 April 2003

ISS On-Orbit Status 21 Apr 2003

Part 2 of 3

Routine maintenance tasks completed by the crew over the weekend from
the "job jar" task list included the regular inspection of bacteria
filters (BFs) and smoke detectors (SDs) in the "Quest" Airlock,
"Destiny" Lab and "Unity" Node.  Also included is an
R&R (removal and
replacement) of a utility outlet panel (UOP) in the Node, if required
for the Node's BFs and SDs.

At 2:15pm EDT, Don Pettit was scheduled for a ham radio pass with an
amateur radio group of Cowichan Secondary School in Duncan, British
Columbia, Canada, one of four secondary schools serving the Cowichan
Valley school district.  The students had provided a list of
questions for the crew ahead of time.  ["How does the body know that
it is time to go to sleep when there is no day or night?"; "Being in
space is such an awe-inspiring experience; which life lessons have
kept you on track to achieve your stellar status?"] 

At about 12:00pm EDT, MCC-H began uplinking the R3 software upgrade
to the backup EXT MDM (external systems computers), which will be
transitioned to Primary.  Tomorrow afternoon, after operating the new
software overnight, the second we will finish off by loading the
other (now backup) EXT MDM. There is no crew action required for the
transition.  [The step-up is required to support P3 and P4 truss
installation on Mission 12A operations. After uploading the R3 files
on the EEPROM (electrically erasable reprogrammable read-only memory)
of the EXT-2 MDM, this backup computer will be rebooted from EEPROM,
thus running on R3, and subsequently switched to Primary.  The
procedure will be repeated tomorrow for the new backup MDM. Final
configuration will be EXT-2 MDM powered up and in Primary running R3,
while EXT-1 is powered off, with R3 loaded in EEPROM. The new
functionality remains inhibited until truss activation procedures on
12A.] 

MCC-Moscow has taken SM battery #4 out of the set of eight to conduct
stand-alone operations with it.  [The unit is prematurely exhibiting
reduced capacity, before having reached the end of its guaranteed
lifetime.  As demonstrated in the past, cycling 800A units in
stand-alone configuration can possibly restore them to "almost
original performance".  In case of an emergency, MCC-M has spare
batteries for the FGB on board, which can be used in the SM.  Also, a
new spare will reportedly be manifested on the next Progress (11P) or
on 12P.] 

Launch preparations for 6S at Baikonur remain on schedule.  Rollout
of the Soyuz launcher plus spacecraft will take place next Thursday
(4/24).  Launch of 6S is currently still set for 11:54pm EDT on 4/25
(Friday night).

Today's 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 Casablanca, Morocco (nadir pass; ESC [electronic
still camera]), Yucatan biomass burning (Dynamic event.  Numerous
fires reported in the Gulf-facing slopes of the high country of
southern Mexico.  Large smoke clouds have accumulated, some drifting
north, some southwest into the Pacific through the narrow isthmus.
Looking nadir, left and right), and Central Europe (Dynamic event.
Clear skies should persist under an eastward-drifting high pressure
system). CEO images can be viewed at the websites
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

U.S. and Russian Segment Status (as of 12:46pm EST).

Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Thermal Control
(TCS):

Elektron O2 generator is powered On (32 Amp mode).  Vozdukh CO2
scrubber is On (manual mode 5).  U.S. CDRA CO2 scrubber is Off.
TCCS (trace contaminant control subsystem) is operating.  MCA (major
constituents analyzer) is operating.  BMP Harmful Impurities unit:
absorbent bed #1 in Purify mode, bed #2 in Purify mode.  RS air
conditioner SKV-1 is On; SKV-2 is Off. 

SM Working Compartment:  Pressure (mmHg) -- 742; temperature (deg C)
-- 27.8; ppO2 (mmHg) -- data invalid; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- data invalid.
SM Transfer Compartment:  Pressure (mmHg) -- 751; temperature (deg C)
-- 21.6.
FGB Cabin:  Pressure (mmHg) -- 752; temperature (deg C) -- 23.0.
Node:  Pressure (mmHg) -- 741.98; temperature (deg C) -- 23.5
(shell); ppO2 (mmHg) -- 164.2; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- 4.0.
U.S. Lab:  Pressure (mmHg) -- 743.91; temperature (deg C) -- 22.4;
ppO2 (mmHg) -- n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- n/a;
Joint Airlock (Equip. Lock):  Pressure (mmHg) -- 744.01; temperature
(deg C) -- 23.7; shell heater temp (deg C) -- 24.0, ppO2 (mmHg) --
n/a; ppCO2 (mmHg) -- n/a.
PMA-1:  Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 23.9
PMA-2:  Shell heater temp (deg C) -- 12.9

(n/a = data not available)

Propulsion System (PS):

Total propellant load available: 3668 kg (8086 lb) as of 4/17/03
[SM(774) + FGB(2642) + Progress(252)].  (Capability: SM -- 860 kg;
FGB -- 6120 kg). 

Electrical Power Systems (EPS):

Both P6 channels fully operational.  BGA (beta gimbal assembly) 2B
and 4B both in Autotrack (sun-following).
SM batteries:  Battery #2 is in "Cycle" mode; battery #4 is
disconnected, in stand-alone ops (see above); all other batteries (6)
are in "Partial Charge" mode.
FGB batteries:  Battery #5 is disconnected; all other batteries (5)
are in "Partial Charge" mode.
Plasma Contactor Unit PCU-1 and PCU-2 both in Standby mode (after the
EVA)

Command & Data Handling Systems:

C&C-1 MDM is prime, C&C-2 is back-up, and C&C-3 is in standby.
GNC-1 MDM is prime; GNC-2 is Backup.
INT-1 is operating; INT-2 is Off.
EXT-1 is On (primary), EXT-2 is Off (both being upgraded to R3, see
above).
LA-1, LA-2 and LA-3 MDMs are all operating.
PL-2 MDM is On (primary); PL-1 MDM is Off
APS-1 (automated payload switch #1) and APS-2 are both On.
SM Terminal Computer (TVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.
Being upgraded.
SM Central Computer (TsVM): 3 redundant lanes (of 3) operational.
Being upgraded.

 - Continued -

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