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2\08 ISS On-Orbit Status 08-02-2003
Part 2 of 2

Science Update (Expedition Six -- 10th):

The crew was thanked by the Lead Increment Scientist for attempting 
the MSG repair and collecting data for the PuFF, EVARM, and Foot 
investigations this week.

Extra-Vehicular Activity Radiation Monitors (EVARM): Downlinked data 
will provide excellent insight into the interior of ISS.

GASMAP/Pulmonary Function in Flight (PuFF): The ground had Ku-band 
reception for about two-thirds of each session this week, and the 
real-time downlink confirmed what was already known: "the crew knows 
how to breathe". PuFF support teams at both UCSD (University of 
California, San Diego) and JSC watch every breath the crew takes, 
along with every calibration, whenever they have Ku coverage. "There 
are always cheers when the cal numbers are close and the MEFV blows 
are vertical."

Renal (Kidney) Stone Experiment: Completed for Increment 6. Bowersox 
and Pettit continue to take pills.

Human Research Facility/Workstation (HRF WS): Continuing.

Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Space Flight (FOOT): Good run by 
Bowersox this week.

Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI): Complete for Inc. 5. 
On hold pending MSG PDC (power distribution controller) and ESEM3 
(exchangeable standard electronic module 3) replacement. Will remain 
in MSG until further notice.

Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS): SAMS continues to 
collect acceleration data for vibratory characterization of the 
microgravity environment. Both SAMS and MAMS captured Progress 10P 
docking earlier this week. Both instruments will measure the 
accelerations during the reboost activities planned for next week.

Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS): MAMS continues
measurement of microgravity environment in the quasi-steady regime for
general characterization.

Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker Thermal Enclosure System 
(PCG-STES):  Temperatures are nominal. PCG-STES is currently in 
heating mode.

Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal
Emulsions (InSPACE): On hold until the MSG (microgravity science 
glovebox) is operational.

Materials ISS Experiment (MISSE): In progress. Deployed outside. 
Nominal and collecting data. Was photographed by the crew during the 
1/15 EVA.

Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG): ZCG has finished science operations for 
Inc 6.

EarthKAM (EK): All activities complete for Increment 6.

Crew Earth Observation (CEO): The quality and composition of CEO 
downlink imagery continues to improve. One of the crew's dramatic 
views of bushfires in southeastern Australia was selected for Earth 
Observatory publication this week. The rate of review of ISS/CEO 
imagery will be slower now due to staff reassignment.

Today's targets for the CEO (crew earth observations) program were 
Beijing, China (with fair weather in winter sun, looking just left of 
track for views of the Chinese capital city near the base of the 
Luliang Range), Tianjin, China (looking for nadir views of this major 
port city for northern China, near the coast about 60 miles southeast 
of Beijing), Industrialized Southeastern Africa (a high-pressure area 
bearing aerosols from the industrialized interior of South Africa is 
slowly moving off the SE coast.  On this pass the crew was to try 
oblique views to detect the extent of the aerosol plume as it exits 
the coast over the darker waters, and to include some coastline in 
their views for reference points), Eastern Mediterranean Dust 
(satellite imagery continues to show dust blowing out to sea from the 
northern coast of Egypt in response to a winter storm over western 
Turkey.  As ISS tracked northeastward over the Sinai Peninsula, crew 
was to take images left of track towards the Mediterranean in oblique 
views), Eastern Mediterranean Smog (a stable high-pressure area has 
settled over the central Mediterranean. As ISS approached the coast of 
Greece, the crew was to shoot obliquely to the left of track for 
aerosol plumes moving down the Adriatic Sea and off the coast of 
southern Italy), Western Mediterranean Smog (on this pass the crew was 
to look for indications of aerosols exit the coast of northeastern 
Spain and southern France, especially from the Rhone River valley. As 
ISS crossed the E coast of Spain, they were to look left of track), 
Tuamotu-Austral Islands (crew was to use the long lenses of the 
digital camera to obtain detailed nadir views of the small reefs and 
atolls of this archipelago), and Tuamotu Archipelago (ISS pass was 
across a broad and dense segment of this large island chain. Long lens 
digital images at nadir will be used by international researchers to 
map and inventory the reefs).

CEO images can be viewed at the website http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 7:06am EST [= epoch]):
Mean altitude -- 386.1 km
Apogee -- 390.0 km
Perigee -- 382.3 km
Period -- 92.28 min.
Inclination (to Equator) -- 51.63 deg
Eccentricity -- 0.0005674
Orbits per 24-hr. day -- 15.60
Mean altitude loss in last 24 hours -- 175 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. '98) -- 24092

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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