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23 Feb 2003

International Space Station Status Report #03-8
4 p.m. CST, Friday, Feb. 21, 2003
Expedition Six Crew

The Expedition 6 crew marked its 90th day in orbit today. Commander
Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science
Officer Don Pettit have been in orbit since their launch from the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 23.

The crew began the week by taking samples of the station's water
supply to ensure its continued purity. Budarin also started a
three-day process to disinfect equipment in the Russian water supply
system using materials brought to the station aboard the latest
Progress resupply craft. Both activities are part of routine
maintenance procedures aboard the station. 

During the week, the crew completed a variety of medical tests to
ensure their continued good health and to collect data on how the
human body adapts to microgravity. These included a Russian
cardiovascular experiment and the testing of urine and blood samples.
Bowersox and Pettit also completed a computer-based refresher training 
related to their duties as crew medical officers. Station maintenance 
during the week included the removal and replacement by Pettit of a 
remote power control module in the Destiny laboratory, which contained 
a bad power switch that was responsible for powering the video 
recorder in one of the robotics workstations. The changeout was 
successful and the video recorder is now working. Bowersox performed 
monthly maintenance on the cycle ergometer, which the crew uses to 
maintain their aerobic fitness - the station's treadmill received its 
periodic maintenance last weekend. On Thursday, Bowersox and Pettit 
conducted an inventory of all the equipment in the Quest airlock to 
ensure it matched the data in the station's Inventory Management 
System. 

The loading of new software on the station's command and control
computers was completed today, as was the loading of the new software
onto the guidance, navigation and control computers.

On Monday, Bowersox and Pettit plan to don U.S. spacesuits without the 
help of Budarin to practice techniques that could be used if only two 
crewmembers are present aboard the ISS.

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. 28, or
sooner, if events warrant.

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