15 April 2005 00:45 GMT. Landing Date: 2005-10-11 01:09:00 PM. Flight Time: 179.02 days. Alternate Name: Soyuz TMA-6. Other Name: ISS-10S. Flight Up: Soyuz TMA-6. Flight Back: Soyuz TMA-6. Crew: Krikalyov, Phillips. Backup Crew: Tyurin, Thirsk, Tani. Program: ISS. Two-man Russian/American crew to provide minimal manning of ISS space station while the shuttle was grounded. Replaced EO-10 crew. The flight program consisted of the following main activities:
- Launch of the ISS EO-11 crew and an Italian astronaut visiting crewmember (EP-8) aboard Soyuz TMA-6, flight 10S;
- Docking of Soyuz TMA-6 to the Pirs docking compartment;
- Operational support for loading and undocking of Soyuz TMA-5, Progress M-52, and Progress M-53;
- Operational support for docking of Progress M-53, Progress M-54, Soyuz TMA-7 and the Space Shuttle LF1 flight;
- Unloading of spacecraft Soyuz TMA-6, Progress M-53 and Progress M-54;
- Redocking of spacecraft Soyuz TMA-6 from the Pirs docking compartment to the Functional Cargo Block Zarya;
- International Space Station maintenance and repair;
- Performance of two extravehicular activities: one EVA from the USOS (Unity) module, one EVA from the Russian Segment;
- Performance of science and application research program and experiments (SVS, Relaksatsia, Uragan, Sprut-MBI, Diurez, Farma, Cardio-ODNT, Biotest, Profilaktika, Pulse, Gematologia, Pilot, Biorisk, Rastenia-2, Intercellular interaction, Statokonia, Regeneratsia, Prognos, Brados, Matryoshka-R, Diatomeya, Volny, Mimetik-K, Vaktsina-K, Biodegradatsia, Bioekologia, Interleukin-K, Meteoroid, Toksichnost, Plasma crystal, Identifikatsia, Skorpion, Ekon, Plasma-MKS, Kromka), as well as contracted commercial activities (GTS, MPAC&SEED, GCF-JAXA, Rokviss, Neurocog-3, ETD);
- Implementation of the Experimental Program under the ESA Eneide Project (Crisp-2, Beans, Seedlings, FRTL-5, Microspace, Vino, HPA*, NGF, VSV, ETD-I, FTS, MOP-I, Eneide, Lazio, EST, E-NOSE, HBM, SPQR, ASIA, GOAL, BOP, ESD, ARISS EO-4) during the EP-8 mission;
- Crew handover to ISS EO-12 and return to Earth of 2 members of ISS EO-11 crew and the participant of Visiting Crew 9 (EP-9) by transport manned spacecraft Soyuz TMA-7.
ISS EO-11 Chronology - 2005 Feb 4 - International Space Station Status Report #05-6
The Expedition 10 crew turned its attention to the Space Shuttle's return to flight this week, spending several days pre-packing International Space Station items destined for return to Earth aboard Discovery. Commander Leroy Chiao began the effort Feb. 1 and reported Friday that he has completed pre-packing all U.S. hardware identified for return, and that he and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov are working together to do the same for the appropriate Russian hardware. Chiao also completed an inventory of food supplies. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips will be on board the Station when Discovery arrives in May, and will work with the STS-114 crew to stow the return items after supplies and equipment being delivered have been transferred. The Expedition 10 crew's pre-packing efforts will help ensure that the limited amount of transfer time available during Discovery's visit is used efficiently. Scientific research also highlighted the week, with Sharipov conducting three runs with the Russian Plasma-Crystal experiment, while Chiao worked with two student experiments. "Plazmennyi Kristall" is studying how plasma-dust crystals and fluids behave in microgravity when excited by radio waves. Sharipov set up the experiment, installing specimens and pumping the atmosphere out of its vacuum chamber so that telescience specialists on the ground could command its operations. Chiao installed the EarthKAM experiment on a bracket in one of the Station's windows for its final Expedition 10 session. Students at 160 middle schools around the world have snapped more than 900 Earth observation images by remote control so far. Chiao also worked with the Space Experiment Module-Satchel experiment, which contains 11 sample vials, one each from schools around the United States, that are exposed to microgravity for three to six months. This is the first flight of the satchel carrier, which was delivered to the Station by the Progress 16 resupply ship. Chiao also spent several hours working to restore the Space Integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation System (SIGI) to full functionality. The system, which supplies Global Positioning Satellite navigation information to a Station guidance and navigation computer, was working normally again after Chiao rotated out one of the Destiny Laboratory's systems racks to gain access and update the system's firmware programming. The crew will have the usual light-duty weekend with cleaning and exercise on tap. Chiao, who is the NASA ISS Science Officer, can also choose from various research activities for his optional Saturday Morning Science session.
- 2005 Apr 1 - International Space Station Status Report #05-17
Following their second spacewalk and nearing the end of a six-month flight, Expedition 10 crew members conducted science experiments, prepared for the arrival of their replacements and readied the Station for the first post-Columbia Shuttle mission. Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov also spent much of the latter part of the week stowing tools used during the spacewalk, cleaning and stowing their Russian Orlan spacesuits and reconfiguring the Pirs Docking Compartment airlock. The crew installed antennas that will be used by a new automated European supply craft and released a small Russian technology satellite during the 4-hour, 30-minute spacewalk. Chiao and Sharipov began preparing the Station for the first visit by a Space Shuttle mission since the Columbia accident. The Shuttle Discovery is targeted for launch on mission STS-114 in a planning window that begins May 15 and ends June 3. The crew began packing gear that will be returned on the Shuttle and they checked out cameras that the upcoming Station crew will use to photograph the Shuttle's heat shield. Chiao conducted some troubleshooting on one of those digital cameras that is experiencing intermittent card reading errors during downloads. Other cameras are available if needed. The crew also continued work with the Station's Elektron oxygen generation system. The system has operated intermittently over the past few weeks. Additional troubleshooting was conducted this week by Sharipov while Russian technicians continued to study repair options. Multiple alternate sources of oxygen are available and the Elektron problems have not significantly impacted activities. Chiao and Sharipov participated in a question and answer session with students at the Sheridan Middle School in New Haven, CT Thursday and an amateur radio session with the Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas. Two of the Station's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) continue to perform well, controlling the Station's orientation. A brief, unusual vibration was detected on one of them, CMG 3, just after the end of the spacewalk on Monday. Engineers are continuing to evaluate the indication. Two additional gyroscopes are not operating. One of them is planned to be repowered during a spacewalk on the upcoming Shuttle mission and another will be replaced at that time. Two gyroscopes are sufficient for control of the current Station, but additional gyroscopes will be needed as assembly resumes and the size of the complex increases. The next Station crew continued training this week at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori, completed final exams and certification for launch. They will travel to the launch site, the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, this weekend and conduct a check of their Soyuz spacecraft on Monday. Vittori will spend eight days on the Station under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Krikalev and Phillips will spend six months aloft.
- 2005 Apr 8 - International Space Station Status Report #05-18
The current International Space Station crew began packing for home this week while the next Station crew completed a final review of plans before heading to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, to prepare for launch. On Monday Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov held a news conference with reporters at NASA centers and discussed Station systems, lessons learned from two-man crew operations on the Station and the return of the Space Shuttle to flight. Chiao and Sharipov performed some maintenance work this week as well, including re-pressurizing the Station atmosphere with oxygen from the Progress supply ship's tank. They discharged two carbon dioxide-removing lithium hydroxide canisters that were nearing their expiration dates while ground specialists monitored the Station's environment to gauge the efficiency of the Russian canisters for possible future use. Flight controllers and engineers are continuing to analyze several spikes in vibration and electrical current that have been noted in one of the Control Moment Gyroscopes. The two functional gyroscopes are operating well and continuing to control the Station's orientation. While the analysis continues, the Station is in an orientation that minimizes demands on the gyroscopes. Remaining in that orientation does not change other Station operations. The ongoing analysis focuses on attempts to correlate the events with activity aboard the Station. At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips, along with European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori, who will travel to the Station for eight days under a commercial agreement between Russia and ESA, spent the week reviewing flight plans. They will travel to Kazakhstan Saturday. Their launch on ISS Soyuz 10 is set for 7:46 p.m. CDT Thursday, April 14. They will dock at the Station's Pirs docking compartment at 9:19 p.m. CDT April 16. Vittori will join Chiao and Soyuz Commander Sharipov for the trip back to Earth, departing the Station and landing in Kazakhstan on April 24.
- 2005 Apr 14 - International Space Station Status Report #05-19
The 11th crew of the International Space Station rocketed into space tonight, beginning a six-month mission. The ISS Soyuz 10 spacecraft carried Station Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips to orbit along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori. The Soyuz launched at 7:46 p.m. CDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. At the time, the Station was flying in a northeasterly direction about 230 miles above the South Atlantic Ocean. With Krikalev at the controls, the Soyuz is on course to catch up and dock with the Station at 9:19 p.m. Saturday, April 16. The hatches between the arriving Soyuz 10 spacecraft and the Station will be opened at about 12:05 a.m. Sunday. Live NASA Television coverage of the docking and hatch opening will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday. Krikalev and Phillips will stay aboard the Station until October, while Vittori will spend eight days there conducting experiments. The Station residents will open the door for the Space Shuttle Discovery's crew on their STS-114 mission to ISS in May or June. Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov have been doing research and maintaining Station systems since October. With Vittori, they will undock from the Station and return to Earth April 24.
- 2005 Apr 16 - International Space Station Status Report #05-20
New residents arrived at the International Space Station tonight to begin a six-month mission and to prepare for the arrival of the first Space Shuttle crew to visit the complex since November 2002. With Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev at the controls, the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft automatically linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 9:20 p.m. CDT as the Soyuz and the Station flew over eastern Asia. Within minutes, hooks and latches between the two vehicles joined together to form a tight seal. Aboard the Soyuz with Krikalev were NASA Expedition 11 Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips and European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy. Hatches between the Soyuz and the Station were opened at 11:45 p.m. Saturday. The two crews greeted one another with handshakes and hugs. The first activity scheduled for the five crewmembers was a safety briefing to familiarize the newly arrived trio with emergency escape procedures. Krikalev and Phillips will remain on board the Station until October. Vittori will return to Earth next week after eight days of scientific experiments on the complex under a commercial agreement between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. The trio launched at dawn Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for their two-day journey to the outpost. Aboard the Station at the time of docking were Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, who are wrapping up their six-month mission and who will ride home on their Soyuz TMA-5 capsule with Vittori on April 25 for a pre-dawn landing in central Kazakhstan. Saturday marked the 185th day in space for Chiao and Sharipov and their 183rd day on the Station. Krikalev and Phillips will relocate the new Soyuz from Pirs to the Zarya module docking port this summer. On hand for the docking activities at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow were NASA Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs Michael Kostelnik, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Craig Steidle and ISS Program Manager William Gerstenmaier along with Russian and European space officials. On Sunday before they begin an extended sleep period, the new crew will transfer their custom-made Soyuz seatliners as well as cargo carried aloft on the Soyuz for the complex. Later in the day, initial briefings on the handover from the current residents to their replacements will be conducted and the new Soyuz' systems will be deactivated. Over the next week, Krikalev and Phillips will familiarize themselves with Station systems and stowed equipment, conduct robotics training with the Canadarm2 robot arm, and receive detailed briefings on scientific payloads. Phillips and Chiao will also continue the maintenance and repair work on the cooling systems in the U.S. airlock Quest for the resumption of spacewalk capability from the Station this summer. In addition, they will pack discarded gear and equipment for return to Earth on the Raffaello cargo module that will be brought to the Station on the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission, STS-114, targeted to arrive next month on the Shuttle Discovery.
- 2005 Apr 22 - International Space Station Status Report #05-21
Aboard the International Space Station this week, one crew counted down its final days in space, headed toward a return to Earth on Sunday, while another crew began a six-month journey in orbit. The five crewmembers aboard the Station had a busy week of briefings for the new crew, preparations for the old crew's departure and preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-114, the Shuttle's Return to Flight targeted for next month. The 11th Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips, docked to the Station at 9:20 p.m. CDT Saturday. With them was European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy. He is spending almost eight days on the Station working through 22 scientific experiments and activities. Vittori is to return to Earth on Sunday with the two members of the Expedition 10 crew, Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov. They are scheduled to leave the Station at 1:41 p.m. CDT Sunday and to land in Kazakhstan at 5:08 p.m. Chiao and Sharipov will then travel to Kustanai, Kazakhstan, and on to Star City, Russia, about eight hours after their return to Earth, where they will be reunited with family. The landing is about two hours before local sunrise. The area weather forecast calls for a chance of rain with near-freezing temperatures. Sharipov will undock the Soyuz manually as a precautionary measure to conserve energy. Although the Soyuz' backup battery charge is thought to be adequate if it were required for the undocking, that battery has shown signs of a reduced charge since the Soyuz was relocated among Station docking ports in November 2004. The primary battery is healthy. The manual undocking is a practiced backup procedure for Soyuz operations, and is being done to ensure adequate backup battery power is available if it were needed for deorbit and landing. The manual procedures allow Sharipov to reduce the amount of time the Soyuz is on internal power before undocking. The undocking is routinely performed automatically by the onboard computer. Landing will occur as is normal on the second orbit after undocking. Extensive briefings by Chiao and Sharipov helped settle Krikalev, who was a member of the first station crew launched in late 2000, and Phillips, who visited the Station as a Shuttle crewmember in April 2001, in their new home. They also trained on the Canadarm2, the Station's robotic arm, and were briefed on science activities as well as locations of equipment and supplies. On Monday, Phillips trained with the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity experiment. He conducted his first experiment with the equipment on Thursday. Tuesday the crew activated the Microgravity Science Glovebox and later in the week certified its readiness for use. Wednesday's focus was the U.S. airlock Quest, with crewmembers flushing a cooling system and replacing a service and cooling umbilical, restoring the airlock to usable condition. Chiao and Phillips were back in the airlock on Thursday, resizing spacesuits to make sure the right equipment will remain aboard the Station after Discovery's departure from its future mission. A three-hour Soyuz descent training session kept Chiao, Sharipov and Vittori busy on Friday. All five crewmembers later participated in a change of command ceremony that formally passed command of the outpost from Chiao to Krikalev.
- 2005 Apr 24 - International Space Station Status Report #05-22
After traveling more than 78 million miles aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 10 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov returned to Earth today. With them was European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori, who had spent eight days aboard the orbiting complex doing research. After a flawless descent by the ISS Soyuz 9 spacecraft, Chiao, Sharipov and Vittori landed on target in north-central Kazakhstan, about 53 miles (85 kilometers) northeast of Arkalyk, at 5:08 p.m. CDT. Recovery forces arrived at the site within minutes of the touchdown. The area was saturated from recent rains and melting winter snow, so the first members of the recovery team to reach the scene decided to fly the crew to Arkalyk to meet with remaining members of the recovery team. The crew's friends and families are expected to greet them upon their arrival at Star City, Russia, about eight hours after landing. Chiao and Sharipov will remain in Star City for a few weeks of post-flight debriefings and medical exams before returning to Houston in mid-May. Chiao and Sharipov spent 192 days, 19 hours and 2 minutes in space. They launched on Oct. 13, on the same Soyuz spacecraft that brought them home. For six months, the pair maintained systems and conducted scientific research onboard the Station. Among their accomplishments on the Station was replacing critical hardware in the Joint Quest Airlock, repairing U.S. spacesuits, submitting a scientific research paper on ultrasound use in space and voting for the first time in an American Presidential election from space. They completed two spacewalks, including experiment installation and tasks that prepared the Station for the arrival of a new European cargo ship next year. Aboard the Station, the Expedition 11 crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips, are beginning a six-month mission that will include the resumption of Space Shuttle flights and two spacewalks from the Station. Expedition 11 is scheduled to return to Earth on Oct. 7, 2005. Krikalev and Phillips will have light duty for the next three days as they rest after completing a busy handover period. For the past week, they have been learning about Station operations from the two men who called the ship home since October. Chiao and Sharipov briefed Krikalev and Phillips on day-to-day operations and gave them hands-on opportunities at Station maintenance: Chiao and Phillips restored functionality of the Quest for future spacewalks and practiced operating the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
- 2005 Apr 24 - Landing of Soyuz TMA-5
The EO-10 crew, having handed over the ISS to EO-11, boarded Soyuz TMA-5 together with EP-8 astronaut Vittori. They undocked from the ISS Zarya module at 18:45 GMT, made retrofire on schedule at 21:17, and landed on muddy ground at 51 deg 03" N / 67 deg 18" E at 22:07
- 2005 Apr 29 - International Space Station Status Report #05-23
The new crew members of the International Space Station completed their first full work week today as they conducted routine maintenance, continued to settle in and practiced photography to be used when the Space Shuttle returns to flight. Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips were given time each day to orient themselves with the Station and where items are stowed. They also completed an emergency evacuation drill, a standard procedure for all new crews. The practice helps them learn the location of emergency equipment and departure routes. Both crewmembers kept busy with Station maintenance and upkeep. Krikalev conducted troubleshooting of the Russian Elektron oxygen generation system and the condensate removal system. The Elektron remains off-line, with oxygen being supplied from tanks in the Progress cargo ship, one of several oxygen supplies available. The next infusion of oxygen into the Station's atmosphere from Progress will take place early next week. Krikalev also completed the transfer of water from the Progress cargo ship to storage tanks in the Zvezda module. Phillips updated the Station's computer system with software specifically designed for this crew's mission. He also installed a remote-controlled camera at the Destiny Lab's Earth-facing window for a week's worth of imagery from the EarthKAM experiment, which enables middle-school students around the world to take photos of selected sites on Earth. Thousands of students from more than 100 schools took part in this week's operations. Early today Krikalev and Phillips were informed that NASA managers rescheduled the launch of the Shuttle Discovery to no earlier than July 13 on the STS-114 Return to Flight mission. The additional time is needed to complete a thorough analysis of the potential risks posed by several areas of possible ice debris from the Shuttle's external fuel tank as well as an evaluation of several concerns found during recent launch preparations. Today the crewmembers practiced with digital cameras the photographs they will take of Discovery as it approaches the Station for docking on the third day of the STS-114 mission. Phillips and Krikalev will have about 93 seconds of time available to use the cameras and high-power lenses to capture two sets of images of the Shuttle's heat shield. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will guide the Shuttle through a slow back flip to allow the Station crew to image both the top and bottom of the vehicle. The images will be quickly transmitted to the ground for analysis. Krikalev and Phillips performed another step in preparations for the Shuttle visit this week as they cleared cargo from a hatch in the Unity module where a cargo container will be attached during that mission. The Station crew also conferred via space to ground communications with Discovery's crew about the planned transfer and stowing of supplies. Meanwhile, Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy, arrived at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia Monday morning. They rested, reunited with their families and went through medical tests following their landing in a Soyuz spacecraft. Chiao and Sharipov are expected to return to Houston in mid-May.
- 2005 May 6 - International Space Station Status Report #05-24
Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips moved full speed ahead into their Expedition 11 maintenance and science work aboard the International Space Station during their third week in space.
Krikalev replaced a liquid processing component of the Russian Elektron oxygen generation system on Thursday, but it failed almost immediately prompting additional troubleshooting Friday. The system separates hydrogen and oxygen molecules from water, and injects the oxygen into the Station's atmosphere. Late Friday systems experts in Russia reviewed information gained from the earlier efforts. Oxygen is being supplied as needed from tanks in the Progress cargo ship, one of several oxygen supplies available.
Phillips was called upon to do some on-the-spot maintenance of a balky treadmill on Friday. It had stopped working, so he inspected electrical connections and prepared to downlink data from his last run so that biomedical engineers on the ground can try to track down the problem. Resistive exercise equipment and stationary bicycles will be used to provide the 2 1/2 hours a day of exercise prescribed for each crew member.
Also Friday, both crewmembers used the Robotics Work Station in the Destiny laboratory module to guide the Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm through movements designed to enable later remote operation by ground controllers. The hour-long session also served as proficiency training for the crew.
Earlier in the week, Krikalev fixed the Russian dehumidifier by clearing blockage from one of the system's lines. Krikalev also transferred wastewater from the Station into the Progress cargo ship's storage tanks. Phillips packed items that will be returned to Earth on the Space Shuttle Discovery, and did routine checks of emergency medical equipment. Scientific investigations for the week focused on work with a kidney stone experiment. Both crew members took pills - either a placebo or potassium citrate, which has been proven effective in reducing the formation of kidney stones in patients on Earth - recorded what they ate and drank and collected urine specimens for 24 hours. The samples will be returned to doctors on the ground for analysis and correlation with the dietary intake information.
Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov remained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, undergoing medical examinations and debriefings following their landing in a Soyuz spacecraft after six-months on orbit. They are expected to return to Houston in mid-May.
- 2005 May 13 - International Space Station Status Report #05-25
Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips continued routine maintenance and science experiments aboard the International Space Station this week as they wrapped up their first month in space.
The crew began the week observing Victory Day - the Russian holiday that this year marked the 60th anniversary of the end of fighting in the Soviet Union during World War II. The rest of the week kept Krikalev and Phillips busy with maintenance and research activities.
The crew continued using the treadmill for exercise this week as engineers closely monitored data from the exercise sessions. However, after a broken restraint cable was found during a routine inspection today, the crew was asked to use other exercise equipment for the time being.
The treadmill stopped working for a time last Friday when a circuit breaker tripped inside the device. During a routine monthly inspection today, Phillips reported a broken restraint cable on the treadmill's gyroscope. The treadmill, which is specially outfitted to isolate the vibrations caused by exercise from the rest of the Station, is equipped with a gyroscope to maintain the system's stability.
Engineers will analyze photos of the restraint cable to determine if it can cause problems with the treadmill's operation. Other exercise equipment aboard that is available to the crew includes two stationary bicycles.
The Station's atmosphere was pressurized with oxygen from the ISS Progress 17 vehicle's reserve tanks once again this week. The Station's Elektron oxygen generation system, which can convert water into oxygen for the air onboard, is not operating. Russian engineers plan to send a new electronics box for the system on a Progress supply ship that will arrive in June.
Plentiful supplies of oxygen remain available aboard the Station from multiple sources. In total, oxygen supplies already aboard the Station coupled with those that are planned to be delivered by upcoming cargo craft could sustain the crew for at least the rest of this year, without use of the Elektron.
Through next week, the remaining oxygen supplies aboard the currently docked Progress will be used. Once those are depleted, Solid Fuel Oxygen Generation canisters may be used. 84 such canisters are aboard. Those canisters alone could supply the crew for at least 42 days if necessary. A large quantity of oxygen, enough to supply the crew for nearly 100 days, also is stored in tanks on the Quest airlock aboard the Station.
The Progress spacecraft now docked to the Station, Progress 17, will undock at about 3:10 p.m. CDT June 15. ISS Progress 18 is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 6:09 p.m. CDT June 16 and dock to Station on at 7:10 p.m. CDT June 18. The Station's altitude was boosted on Wednesday to line up its orbit for the arrival of the new cargo craft. The Station's orbit was raised by 1.5 miles at the perigee, or portion closest to Earth, to 226.1 by 214.2 statute miles. The new Progress also is planned to deliver even more oxygen supplies. Another Progress craft is planned to arrive at the Station in late August.
This week, both crewmembers worked on preparing excess equipment for return on the Space Shuttle Discovery in July on the STS-114 Return to Flight mission. They also performed routine maintenance on ventilation and life support systems in the Russian segment and verified a VHF radio communications link used during Shuttle rendezvous operations. Krikalev continued work throughout the Russian modules with audits of various supplies and equipment.
Phillips' work focused on some of the laptop computers aboard. He refreshed a Portable Computer System (PCS) laptop by deleting and then reloading information on the hard drive, which recovered its corrupted hard drive to serve as a backup. The PCS laptops are used by the crew to monitor the Caution and Warning system and manage the Station operating modes and the Command and Control System. Two required PCS computers are functional onboard with three additional hard drives now available as spares.
Phillips also worked with three Station Support Computers (SSCs) that were experiencing problems booting up. After the troubleshooting, two of the computers turned on, but the screens remained blank. They can be used for routing data in applications where a computer monitor is not necessary. The third laptop did not boot up and engineers are working on further troubleshooting procedures. There are enough operating computers available onboard for the crew to access e-mail, perform word processing and view the daily schedule of activities. Phillips also replaced an old battery in the laptop computer used at the Robotics Work Station that controls the Station robotic arm, Canadarm2. Serving as the NASA Station Science Officer, Phillips began participating in the "Journals" experiment after completing his orientation to Station life. The investigation records crew members' perceptions though the mission to obtain information to assist in the design of future spacecraft. Phillips also prepared for his first session next week with the Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Spaceflight (FOOT) experiment. For the experiment, he will wear an instrumented garment called the Lower Extremity Monitoring Suit (LEMS) and shoes with force sensor attached. The experiment records 12 hours of data to help researchers better understand forces imposed on the lower body and muscle activity in weightlessness.
- 2005 May 20 - International Space Station Status Report #05-26
The Expedition 11 crew, now into the second month of its stay on the International Space Station, had a varied week highlighted by repair of an exercise treadmill, tests of an oxygen supply and preparations for the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight.
Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips began the week with the repair of a faulty restraint cable on the Station exercise treadmill. The broken cable, which is used to hold the treadmill's gyroscope in place, had been detected during a routine inspection by the crew last week. The treadmill is one of three exercise options for the Space Station crew and has been operational since the repair.
On Wednesday, after removing contents from Pressurized Mating Adapter No. 2, which also serves as the forward docking port for Space Shuttles on the U.S. segment, and the Quest Airlock, Phillips depressurized the modules. This was done to rehearse procedures that will be employed during the STS-114 mission to conserve Shuttle nitrogen supplies during the spacewalk.
Throughout the week, Phillips set up and performed his first session of the FOOT (Foot Reaction Forces During Space Flight) experiment. He wore specially-designed leggings that allow researchers to capture data regarding forces and use of the lower extremity muscles. The data will help scientists design effective muscle and bone loss countermeasure programs for crewmembers involved in long duration spaceflight. The crew also worked with a variety of other U.S. and Russian biomedical experiments.
- 2005 May 27 - International Space Station Status Report #05-27
The Expedition 11 crew entered its seventh week in space today, wrapping up a week highlighted by research, maintenance and training for photography tasks to be done during the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission in July. Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips spent several days conducting examinations of each other using an ultrasound device that provides data on the ability of crewmembers to conduct detailed medical exams in space. The experiment could have future applications for telemedicine or rural health care.
Phillips also conducted work with a viscosity measurement experiment that collects information on the behavior of liquids in microgravity that have different thickness, or viscosity. The experiment may provide insight to researchers designing new hardware for space travel and could have industrial applications on Earth.
Phillips and Krikalev spent part of Tuesday practicing photography techniques with digital cameras in the Zvezda Service Module. The techniques will be used to capture high resolution imagery of the condition of Discovery's heat shield at a distance of 600 feet as the Shuttle approaches for docking on the third day of the STS-114 mission.
The crewmembers will use 400 millimeter and 800 millimeter lenses from two windows in Zvezda to focus on Discovery's thermal protection tiles and the reinforced carbon-carbon shield.
Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will fly Discovery through a backflip as it approaches the Station, allowing Krikalev and Phillips to document all sides of the vehicle. They will shoot as many frames as possible during the minute and a half Shuttle flip. Those images will be transmitted to the ground for analysis.
For the second week, the crew activated solid fuel oxygen generating canisters in Zvezda to replenish the cabin atmosphere. The canisters, one of multiple oxygen supplies that remain available onboard, are being used following the depletion of oxygen reserves in tanks in the Progress cargo vehicle and in the absence of an operating Elektron oxygen-generation system.
The next Progress cargo ship to launch to the Station in mid-June will carry new supplies of oxygen tanks and solid fuel canisters as well as electronic components for the Elektron. Oxygen supplies onboard and those on upcoming cargo vehicles can accommodate the crew into next year.
Earlier today, Krikalev tested the voltage of some of the Elektron's existing components to help Russian specialists in their ongoing troubleshooting efforts. Krikalev confirmed that the electrolyzer unit, part of a system that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, showed no voltage readings and is presumed to have failed.
Krikalev also worked on a procedure to bypass one of the cables in the Russian segment condensate removal system that has developed a blockage.
The crew is scheduled for a light duty weekend, including routine housekeeping tasks and family conferences.
- 2005 Jun 3 - International Space Station Status Report #05-28
A new capability was added to the operation of the International Space Station this week as a final round of tests to commission remote control of the Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm from the ground was completed.
The 60-foot-long arm was maneuvered by ground control Friday to move in, latch onto a fixture on the exterior of the Station, then release and move back out. The tests were the second and most complex remote control operations of the arm performed by the ground. A first set of tests, completed earlier this year, involved only basic movements. Completion of these two phases of commissioning will qualify the ground control capability to be considered for use during future Station operations if needed.
During the tests, the arm was controlled by the robotics officer, or ROBO, in the Space Station Flight Control Room of Mission Control. Aboard the Station, Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips monitored the activity. Normally, the arm is controlled by the Station crew using a robotics workstation in the complex's Destiny Laboratory.
Other activities this week for the Expedition 11 crew included some brief additional troubleshooting of the Elektron oxygen generation unit on the Station. At the direction of Russian flight controllers, Commander Sergei Krikalev tightened a valve in the unit, attempted to pressurize the system and checked for leakage. Similar attempts may continue in the future using other Elektron components and additional monitoring. The Elektron, a system that can derive oxygen from water for use in the Station atmosphere, remains inoperable.
The crew continues to replenish oxygen aboard the Station each day using two solid fuel oxygen generation canisters, canisters that contain chemicals that release oxygen when heated. Plentiful supplies of oxygen remain aboard the Station, and more is set to arrive on the next supply ship later this month. With reserves onboard the complex now plus those planned to arrive on future supply ships, oxygen is available to provide for the crew until at least January 2006 even without use of the Elektron. In addition, new Elektron components and spares also are planned to be launched aboard future supply ships later this year.
Phillips worked this week with an experiment that studies the forces involved as fluids of different thicknesses are mixed. The Miscible Fluids in Microgravity (MFMG) investigation may provide insight into how fluids dissolve, and, in particular, the role played by surface tension in that process. On Earth, gravity makes it difficult to study the role of surface tension during mixture. Information from the experiment may be useful in many processes on Earth and in space science experiments that deal with mixing fluids, among them are investigations that grow protein crystals of use in medical research.
Next week, the crew will begin packing trash and unneeded equipment in the Progress supply ship currently docked to the Station. The current Progress will be undocked from the complex on June 15. The next supply ship, ISS Progress 18, will launch on June 16 and dock to the Station June 18.
- 2005 Jun 10 - International Space Station Status Report #05-29
Aboard the International Space Station this week, the eleventh Expedition crew spent the latter part of its second month in space preparing for the arrival of new cargo as its commander quietly slipped into second place on the all-time human space endurance list.
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and Astronaut John Phillips conducted scientific research while troubleshooting the Station's oxygen generator and stowed trash and other unneeded items into the Progress supply vehicle for disposal next week.
Late Friday the Station was to pass over the Gulf of Mexico, offering flight controllers an opportunity to capture video of the season's first tropical storm Arlene as it tracks northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Krikalev - on his sixth voyage into space and third long-duration stay on space stations (one on Mir and two on the ISS) - surpassed fellow Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov on the space duration record list. He will move into the number one spot in August, which currently is held by Sergei Avdeyev (747 days).
During the week, Krikalev swapped the large liquid unit component in the Station's Elektron oxygen generation unit in preparation for an attempt in two weeks to restore its use. New filters for its gas lines are to arrive aboard the next Progress cargo vessel late next week and will be installed before the attempted activation.
In the meantime, the crew continues to replenish the cabin atmosphere each day using two solid fuel oxygen generation canisters - devices that introduce oxygen into the pressurized compartment by a chemical process. Plentiful supplies of these canisters are on board, and more are set to arrive on the next supply ship June 18.
The onboard supply combined with future shipments provides oxygen for the crew until at least January 2006 - even without use of the Elektron. In addition, new Elektron components and spares also are planned for delivery aboard supply ships later this year.
Phillips worked this week with an experiment designed to measure muscle tone primarily in his legs and feet. Strategically spaced data takes by Phillips were conducted before his mission and two of four now have been performed on orbit to allow principle investigators to correlate bone and muscle loss in order to develop countermeasures for future long-duration space flights by humans.
Early next week, the crew will wrap up stowage of trash and unneeded equipment in the Progress supply ship prior to its departure Wednesday. The undocking clears the docking port on the aft end of the Zvezda module for the arrival of ISS Progress 18 scheduled to launch June 16 and dock the evening of June 18 (U.S. time).
- 2005 Jun 16 - International Space Station Status Report #05-30
Carrying more than two tons of supplies, a Russian cargo spacecraft began a two-day trip to the International Space Station today after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The ISS Progress 18 resupply ship launched at 6:09:34 p.m. CDT (5:09:34 a.m. Baikonur time Friday). Less than 10 minutes later, it settled into orbit and automatic commands deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas.
Shortly after the Progress launched, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips were informed of its arrival on orbit before beginning their sleep period. The Station was flying over Manchuria near the Russian-Chinese border at an altitude of 225 statute miles at the time of liftoff.
Engine firings are scheduled later today and tomorrow to raise and refine the Progress' orbit and its path to the Station for an automated docking at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Saturday at 7:44 p.m. CDT. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the linkup beginning at 6 p.m. CDT.
The Progress is carrying food, fuel, oxygen, water, spare parts and personal items for the crew, including 397 pounds of propellant, 242 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water, and more than 3,097 pounds of spare parts, life support system components and experiment hardware. In addition, the Progress is carrying 40 more solid fuel oxygen-generation canisters as a supplemental source of oxygen, if required.
Also in the Progress is an additional digital camera that will be used by the Expedition 11 crew to capture images of the thermal protection system on the Shuttle Discovery during its docking approach during the STS-114 mission in July. The new camera replaces a similar camera that is no longer operable. The photos will be part of imagery-gathering efforts to determine whether the Shuttle has incurred damage to its tiles or the reinforced carbon-carbon coating on its wings during ascent.
Krikalev and Phllips are scheduled to open the hatch to the Progress a few hours after docking Saturday to begin unloading its contents.
The Progress spacecraft that had been at the Station since March was undocked yesterday at 3:16 p.m. CDT as the two vehicles flew over Manchuria, near the Russian-Chinese border. Filled with discarded items, the ship fired its engines after undocking to move to a safe distance away from the Station and was deorbited, burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
- 2005 Jun 16 - Progress M-53 Spacecraft: Progress M. Payload: Progress M s/n 353. Mass: 7,250 kg (15,980 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz. Duration: 82.62 days. Perigee: 350 km (210 mi). Apogee: 353 km (219 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 91.60 min.
Delayed from June 10. Space station resupply mission. After a communications failure, ISS Commander Krikalyov took manual remote control used the TORU system to guide Progress M-53 to a docking at the ISS Zvezda module at 00:42 GMT on 19 June. Undocked at 10:26 GMT on 7 September into a 350 km x 351 km orbit. Progress M-53 began retrofire at 13:26 GMT the same day, lowering its perigee to 56 km and thereby ensuring a destructive re-entry into the Pacific Ocean.
- 2005 Jun 17 - International Space Station Status Report #05-31
After a busy week of preparations, the Expedition 11 crew on the International Space Station is ready for Saturday's arrival of a Progress cargo craft bearing more than two tons of supplies and equipment.
Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips spent the week packing up and disposing of the previous cargo ship and making room for the new ISS Progress 18 spacecraft, scheduled to dock with the Station at 7:44 p.m. CDT on Saturday. It will dock at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module.
- 2005 Jun 18 - International Space Station Status Report #05-32
An unpiloted Russian cargo ship linked up to the International Space Station today to deliver more than two tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water, supplies and spare parts.
The ISS Progress 18 craft docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 7:42 p.m. CDT as the Station flew 225 statute miles near Beijing, China. Within minutes, hooks and latches between the two ships engaged, forming a tight seal. The docking completed a two-day journey for the cargo ship since its liftoff Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
As the Progress approached the Station, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev had to take over manual control of the docking of the Progress due to a Russian ground station problem that prevented commands to be uplinked to the cargo ship for its final approach for an automated docking. Nonetheless, Krikalev executed a flawless linkup. NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips took video and still photos of the arrival.
The Progress is loaded with 397 pounds of propellant, 242 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and more than 3,000 pounds of spare parts, life support system components and experiment hardware. In addition, the Progress carries 40 new solid-fuel oxygen generating canisters as a supplemental source of oxygen, if required. The crew will open the Progress hatch later today but will not begin to unload the ship's cargo until Sunday.
Among the items on the Progress is a new digital camera to be used by the Expedition 11 crew to capture images of the thermal protection system on the Shuttle Discovery during its approach to the Station during the STS-114 mission in July. The camera replaces a similar one that is no longer operable. The photos are part of the imagery-gathering effort to ensure that the Shuttle has no threatening damage to its heat shielding.
- 2005 Jun 24 - International Space Station Status Report #05-33
The International Space Station crew spent much of the week unpacking and using supplies from the newly docked Progress cargo craft.
The crew members also began preparing the Station for a visit by the Space Shuttle on its Return to Flight mission that is targeted to launch in a window that opens in less than three weeks.
Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev completed integrating the systems of a new Progress supply ship into those of the Russian section of Space Station. Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips also unpacked portions of the more than two tons of supplies on the cargo craft. The craft docked to the Station Saturday evening.
Along with food, fuel, clothing and new hardware, the Progress contained about 80 days worth of oxygen in tanks and solid fuel oxygen generators, plus supplies for further repair efforts on the Elektron oxygen generation system. The Elektron, one of multiple sources of oxygen available on the Station, derives oxygen from water. The system has been inoperable for a few months.
This week, Krikalev installed a new supply of electrolyte in the Elektron's liquids unit and a new set of aerosol filters. During initial test activation, the unit started up but immediately shut down. After a second activation it operated for less than half an hour before shutting down once again. Russian specialists at Mission Control Moscow are evaluating further troubleshooting. With the Progress oxygen supply and other supplies aboard the Station, enough oxygen is available to supply the crew for at least the remainder of this year without an operating Elektron unit. A new Elektron liquids unit also is planned to be shipped to the Station later this year.
The Station's Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 was opened for the first time in four years this week to be used as storage space. The operation is part of the effort to prepare for cargo transfer operations during the Space Shuttle's return to the complex. The Return to Flight Space Shuttle mission, STS-114, remains on track for launch in a window that extends from July 13-31. The Flight Readiness Review for STS-114 is set for June 29-30 at the Kennedy Space Center, and will conclude with the establishment of a target launch date.
One priority for the mission on Discovery is the delivery of supplies and removal of material that has accumulated on the Station since the grounding of the Shuttle fleet more than two years ago. The majority of that material will be moved on and off of the Station in a pressurized cargo module that will be docked to the nadir side of the Unity connecting module. This week, the Station crew verified the proper operation of the berthing mechanism at that docking port, which had not been operated in two and a half years. Phillips also began installation of a camera in the window of that docking port that is used to align the cargo module when the Shuttle is docked. Phillips halted the camera installation, however, when a circuit breaker tripped. Flight controllers have postponed his completion of the task pending further evaluation.
- 2005 Jul 1 - International Space Station Status Report #05-34
The residents of the International Space Station were informed today that they may welcome visitors arriving on a Space Shuttle in two weeks.
Senior NASA managers yesterday set a July 13 launch date for the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight, a mission that will see the Shuttle Discovery fly to the Station. Commander Eileen Collins and her crew are scheduled to lift off at 2:51 p.m. CDT on the first U.S. space flight since the February 2003 loss of the Shuttle Columbia. Discovery will dock to the Space Station two days later, July 15 at 11:27 a.m. CDT.
The Space Station's Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips spent time this week preparing the outpost for the first joint Shuttle and Station mission since Endeavour departed in December 2002.
In preparation for docking, Phillips continued installation of a camera used to align the Shuttle and Station during the link up. A circuit breaker had tripped during an installation attempt last Friday. Engineers determined a power supply was at fault. Once the power supply was replaced, Phillips completed the installation and checkout procedure Tuesday.
Krikalev and Phillips also practiced taking photographs from windows in the Zvezda living quarters module in preparation for Discovery's arrival. In two weeks, they will use two digital cameras with high-powered lenses to shoot the thermal tiles on the orbiter during its approach. The pictures will be sent to Mission Control to help engineers assess the health of Discovery's heat shield.
The crew also operated the Station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, as a checkout before Discovery arrives. In addition to verifying the system's operation, the activity served as training for Krikalev and Phillips. The arm was commanded to walk off the Destiny lab's operating base to the Mobile Base System (MBS) on the truss Wednesday, and then back again Thursday. A similar procedure will be done during the Shuttle mission.
The arm will be positioned on Destiny's base to observe the arrival of Discovery, for installation of the Rafaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and to support three spacewalks by the Shuttle crew. From the MBS operating position, cameras on the arm will be used for situational awareness during potential protective tile inspections the day after docking.
Phillips also prepared for Discovery's arrival by consolidating equipment to make room for the nine-person joint crew and packing equipment for return to Earth on Discovery.
This week Krikalev installed and tested equipment for another visiting vehicle. When the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) arrives next year, it will use Proximity Communications Equipment (PCE), or space-to-space communications, to rendezvous and dock to the Station's Russian segment. The ATV has the capability to bring more than eight tons of equipment and supplies to the crew.
The current cargo spacecraft docked to the Station, a Russian Progress vehicle, was used Wednesday to raise the Station's altitude. The vehicle's engines burned for five minutes, 18 seconds to raise the Station's orbit to 221.5 by 215.9 statute miles. The boost began the adjustments needed for rendezvous with Space Shuttle Discovery. Another burn is scheduled for July 6 at 9:58 a.m. CDT to enhance the rendezvous opportunities during the Shuttle's July launch window that extends from July 13 to July 31.
The Progress also was used to pressurize the Station's cabin atmosphere with additional oxygen. Each day it was required, Tuesday and Friday, eleven pounds of oxygen were added to the atmosphere in the absence of continual oxygen generation by the Elektron system, which is not currently operating. Other supplies aboard the Station could support the crew for the rest of this year, if needed. Additional supplies and a replacement liquids unit, the heart of the Elektron, are scheduled to arrive later this year.
Phillips, serving as NASA's Station Science Officer, conducted a physiological experiment Wednesday. For the experiment, Phillips wore a special pair of Lycra cycling tights equipped with sensors to study his movements. The sensors will gather data to help researchers better understand how arms and legs are used differently in space. This information could lead to enhanced countermeasures to help astronauts better maintain bone density and muscle mass during long duration spaceflights.
He also wrote in a journal and filled out a questionnaire for the Journals experiment. With this experiment, researchers hope to improve equipment and procedures to help astronauts cope with the isolation encountered during long duration spaceflight.
Monday, Phillips performed a training procedure and used a voice operated computer system for the first time on Station. Called Clarissa, the system was developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in an effort to ease astronaut workload. Clarissa is 'hands-free' and responds to astronauts' voice commands, reading procedure steps out loud as they work, helping keep track of which steps have been completed, and supporting flexible voice-activated alarms and timers.
- 2005 Jul 8 - International Space Station Status Report #05-35
After a light duty three-day holiday weekend, the International Space Station Expedition 11 crew returned to work for a short, but intense week of science experiments, spacesuit preparations and packing for the upcoming Space Shuttle mission.
Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips spent much of their time this week gathering and packing items on board to be returned in the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) during Discovery's visit to the Station next week. The MPLM will weigh 18,166 pounds when it is launched aboard Discovery and 19,745 pounds when it returns, after supplies for the Station have been unloaded and unneeded gear loaded. The crew also made room for additional stowage in the Quest Airlock to be available during the docked operations. With a Wednesday launch, the Shuttle will dock with the Station on July 16.
Three spacewalks are scheduled during the mission using U.S. spacesuits. To maximize the efficiency of the batteries, Phillips conducted a series of charging and discharging cycles of the spacesuit batteries this week.
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- 2005 Jul 15 - International Space Station Status Report #05-36
The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew worked this week on final preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its STS-114 Return to Flight mission, now on hold.
Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips worked to wrap up packing of items to be returned to Earth on Discovery, while continuing their scientific experiments, physical exercises and routine Station maintenance.
On Friday, the crew tested their Soyuz capsule's motion control system. The test was in preparation for a relocation of the Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz is the crew's lifeboat in the event an evacuation of the Station is needed and is the crew's ride home at the end of its six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.
With Discovery's launch delayed, managers now plan to have the crew move the Soyuz next Tuesday from the Pirs Docking Compartment to the Zarya module to clear the way for a spacewalk planned in August. The move, originally planned to take place after Discovery's mission, will free up the Pirs airlock for use by Krikalev and Phillips during that spacewalk.
Krikalev continued to use oxygen from the tanks of the unpiloted Progress cargo craft docked at the rear of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station's atmosphere. He also completed transfer to the Station of fuel from the Progress for thrusters of the Russian attitude control system. On Monday the crew held a radio tagup with Discovery's crew, and continued packing items for return on the Shuttle, an activity that continued throughout the week. On Tuesday Krikalev and Phillips performed routine smoke detector inspections and on Wednesday made preparations for their Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM) photography. They will take pictures of the orbiter's thermal protection system as Discovery does a slow back flip about 600 feet below the Station.
On Thursday Krikalev and Phillips enjoyed a relatively light day. Duties included configuring cameras for the RPM maneuver.
- 2005 Jul 19 - International Space Station Status Report #05-37
Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips left the International Space Station today for a short ride, relocating their Soyuz return craft from one docking port to another to free up a Russian airlock for a future spacewalk.
The quick Expedition 11 foray began with undocking from the Pirs Docking Compartment at 5:38 a.m. CDT while the Station flew above the Atlantic just east of the southern tip of South America. Redocking to the nearby Zarya Module's nadir, or Earth-facing, docking port occurred at 6:08 a.m. CDT over Central Asia.
Krikalev, seated in the center seat of the Soyuz descent module, guided the spacecraft as it backed away from Pirs to a distance of about 82 feet. With Phillips on his left, Krikalev commanded the Soyuz to fly laterally along the Station about 45 feet, then rotated the capsule to align it with the Zarya's docking port. After 14 minutes of stationkeeping, the crew began final approach and completed the linkup. Minutes later, hooks and latches in the two docking mechanisms established a firm connection between Soyuz and Zarya. After a series of leak checks, the crew was scheduled to re-enter the Station shortly after 8 a.m. to reconfigure its systems for normal operations.
The move clears the Pirs airlock for a spacewalk by Krikalev and Phillips in August. Among the tasks planned for that spacewalk are removal of materials exposure experiments, installation of a television camera for the European Space Agency's cargo-carrying Automated Transfer Vehicle and relocation of a cargo boom adapter.
The Soyuz is the crew's ride home at the end of its six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory and would serve as a lifeboat in the event of a Station evacuation.
The crew will begin its sleep period at mid-afternoon today and wake up early Wednesday for a day off, with only exercise and a few routine housekeeping activities scheduled.
- 2005 Jul 22 - International Space Station Status Report #05-38
Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips got ready this week for two upcoming Space Shuttle launches and a Space Station spacewalk, and supported two different continuing science investigations. With the 100th day of their six-month mission coming up on July 23, the International Space Station crew members reported in a Friday interview that they are eagerly anticipating Discovery's arrival next week with tons of supplies, a new experiment rack and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) for the Station's navigation system. They have been packing equipment that will return home on Discovery to free up much-needed space inside the outpost, and this week they began packing for the STS-121 mission of Atlantis that will follow. Earlier in the week, Krikalev and Phillips made a short foray in their Soyuz return craft, moving it from the Pirs docking port, which doubles as an airlock for Russian-suit spacewalks, to a Zarya docking port to configure the Station for an August excursion. The pair undocked from Pirs at 5:38 a.m. CDT Tuesday, and smoothly redocked at the nearby Zarya control module's Earth-facing port at 6:08 a.m. CDT. The post-Discovery spacewalk by Krikalev and Phillips will involve retrieval of materials exposure experiments, installation of a television camera for the European Space Agency's cargo-carrying Automated Transfer Vehicle and relocation of a cargo boom adapter. Phillips supported research this week by setting up a digital still photo camera in the Destiny Laboratory's window for the continuing EarthKAM student experiment. After the crew mounts the window camera, middle school students research requests for specific geographic targets, and with the help of university students, uplink commands to a laptop computer connected to the camera. The camera takes pictures at specified times, and the images are downlinked to the ground to be posted on the Internet for the public and participating classrooms around the world. The current EarthKAM run has taken photo requests from 43 schools. Krikalev spent time setting up and activating a plasma crystal experiment so that it could conduct automated experiments using radio frequency waves to affect crystal formation in microgravity. The experiment is a joint project of the Russian and German space agencies.
- 2005 Jul 26 - STS-114 Crew: Collins Eileen, Kelly, Noguchi, Robinson, Thomas Andrew, Lawrence, Camarda. Spacecraft: Discovery. Payload: Discovery F31 / Raffaello. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. Duration: 13.90 days. Perigee: 313 km (194 mi). Apogee: 350 km (210 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 91.20 min.
Return to flight after loss of Columbia. Delayed extensively as NASA attempted to fix the external tank foam-shedding problem that resulted in the loss of Columbia (first planned for September 12, 2004, the launch slipped to March; May 14, 15 and 22; July 13, 2005). Discovery safely reached orbit at a total mass of 121,485 kg, but extensive video coverage detected external tank foam shedding during ascent. Discovery docked at the Pirs module of the ISS on 28 July 28 at 11:18 GMT. Following replenishment of the station (using the Raffaello MPLM-6 module with 8240 kg of supplies), a series of spacewalks verified the integrity of the shuttle's heat shield and tested repair techniques, Discovery undocked from the ISS at 07:24 GMT on 6 August and landed safely on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base at 12:11 GMT on 9 August. However the shuttle fleet was immediately grounded again while NASA attempted to find a permanent fix to the external tank foam woes.
- 2005 Jul 26 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #01
Discovery launched into a clear Florida sky this morning, returning the Shuttle fleet to space and beginning a journey of exploration to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Discovery lifted off at 9:39 a.m. central time today following a flawless countdown. Over the next 11 days, Discovery's seven person crew will demonstrate techniques for inspecting and protecting the Shuttle's thermal protection system and continue assembly of the International Space Station. Today's launch was the first for a Shuttle since the loss of Columbia and its crew in February 2003. Discovery's climb to orbit was extensively documented through a system of new and upgraded ground-based cameras, radar systems and airborne cameras aboard high altitude aircraft. The imagery captured of Discovery's launch, and additional imagery from laser systems on a new boom extension for the Shuttle's robot arm as well as data from sensors embedded in the Shuttle's wings, will help mission managers determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system over the next several days prior to its scheduled Aug. 7 landing. Less than nine minutes after launch, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda were in orbit and ready to open the payload bay doors and unstow their gear in the crew compartment. Moments after main engine cutoff, Noguchi and Thomas used handheld video and digital still cameras to document the external tank after it separated from the Shuttle. That imagery, and imagery from cameras in the Shuttle's umbilical well where the tank was connected, will also be downlinked for review by mission managers and engineers in the ongoing analysis of the tank's condition following ascent. The crew plans to unberth and test Discovery's robot arm today before beginning an eight-hour sleep period at shortly before 4 p.m. CDT. The arm will be used today to collect imagery of the clearances between the Shuttle's Ku-band dish antenna that provides high data rate telemetry and television, and the end of a new 50-foot boom moored to the starboard sill of the spaceship that will be used tomorrow while grappled to the robot arm for a day-long inspection of the leading edges of Discovery's wings. That survey will help to insure that the wings did not incur any damage during launch. At the time of launch, the International Space Station was 225 miles above the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia as Discovery began its chase for a docking at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday. Aboard the Station, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips were completing preparations for the arrival of the first Shuttle since Nov. 25, 2002. When Discovery nears the Station early Thursday morning, Krikalev and Phillips will use digital cameras and high-powered 800MM and 400MM lenses to photograph Discovery's thermal protective tiles and key areas around its main and nose landing gear doors. Housed in the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module in Discovery's cargo bay is 15 tons of hardware and supplies that will be transferred to the Station after the Shuttle docks to the complex. The astronauts will be awakened late tonight at 11:39 p.m. CDT to begin their first full day in orbit.
- 2005 Jul 27 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #02
The crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery has awakened to its first full day in space. Today it will focus on thermal protection system inspections, preparing for docking to the International Space Station and getting spacesuits ready for three spacewalks. Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda received a wakeup call at 11:39 p.m. CDT. The song played for the crew was music from the movie "Groundhog Day," which was for the entire crew to commemorate its first day out of quarantine. For most of the day, Thomas, Camarda and Kelly will work together on Discovery's aft flight deck to inspect key components of the orbiter's heat shield. For the majority of the inspections the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) laser-scanner will be used. The Shuttle's robotic Canadarm will be used to maneuver the 50-foot boom extension after checkout of the system is completed. In its debut performance, the boom will be used to methodically inspect the leading edges of Discovery's wings and the orbiter's nose cap to insure that they did not incur any damage during launch. The Laser Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI) on the boom will provide two-and three-dimensional imagery. The data will be downlinked to the ground for engineering evaluation. After those surveys are complete the boom will be placed back on the starboard sill of the payload bay. The Shuttle robotic arm and its cameras will then be used to survey Discovery's crew cabin. Additionally, using handheld digital cameras the crew will photograph tiles on the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods and the orbiter's tail. During Tuesday's ascent to orbit, the enhanced imaging capability gave flight controllers and mission managers views of the Shuttle Orbiter never seen before. With this heightened ability, engineers were able to see two so-called "debris events." A camera mounted on the external tank caught what appeared to be a small fragment of tile coming from Discovery's underside on or near the nose gear doors. A later image about the time of Solid Rocket Booster separation showed an unidentified piece departing from the tank and exiting away, apparently not striking the orbiter. The crew was notified of these observations and told that imaging experts would be analyzing the pictures. Mission managers will review the information gathered yesterday and today, including imaging and sensor data, to help determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system over the next four days before it is cleared for landing later in the flight. Data from the new wing leading edge sensors was downlinked overnight to Mission Control for assessment. Flight Day Four has time reserved for additional surveys, if required, using the OBSS, either to complete parts of the survey that time would not allow today, or to supplement the survey with "stop-and-stare" scans of sites of potential interest. Meanwhile, on the middeck, spacewalkers Noguchi and Robinson, assisted by Lawrence, will check out the airlock, spacesuits and tools they will begin using on Saturday. They will also prepare Shuttle systems for docking to the Space Station. Today Collins will fire Discovery's thrusters twice to refine its approach to the Station. At about midnight, Discovery was trailing the Station by 6,516 statute miles. The two are scheduled to link up at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday. Today the Space Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips will prepare the complex for Discovery's arrival. They will configure the digital cameras they will use during Discovery's approach, gathering additional imagery of the Shuttle's heat shield. They also will pressurize the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2) that Discovery will dock to Thursday.
- 2005 Jul 27 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #03
Discovery crewmembers completed a camera survey of the heat shields of the leading edges of the orbiter's wings and its nose cone Wednesday. They also began preparations for Thursday's docking with the International Space Station and the mission's spacewalks. Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda downlinked imagery taken of the External Tank after launch. The crew also photographed the Orbital Maneuvering System pod tile areas and sent down those files. Most of the heat shield survey, taking a close look at the reinforced carbon-carbon of Discovery's wings and nose was sent down live. The rest was sent down before the crew went to bed about 2:40 p.m. CDT. The data was gathered by the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) laser-scanner. Kelly, Thomas and Camarda, with some help from other crewmembers, operated the Discovery's Canadarm and the 50-foot boom extension at its end for the survey. The OBSS was reberthed and Canadarm and its cameras were used to survey the tile area around the crew cabin. Preparations for docking included a checkout of rendezvous tools, and the extension of the Orbiter Docking System ring that will make first contact with the Station. The approach will include the first Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, a slow back flip by Discovery about 600 feet below the Station immediately before the 6:18 a.m. CDT docking. The maneuver will allow Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips to photograph Discovery's thermal protection system with 400mm and 800mm lenses. The images, taken through windows in the Station's Zvezda Service Module, are expected to be downlinked before hatches between Discovery and the Station are opened. Today's imagery and laser scans will be compiled with other imagery taken during launch, and with data collected by wireless impact sensors in each panel of the wings' leading edges. Downlink of both preliminary and raw data from the sensors also was completed today. A team of about 200 people across the country are working to analyze imagery from the early part of Discovery's mission, the most photographed Shuttle flight in history. The crew also completed the checkout of tools and two spacesuits to be used during the mission's three spacewalks. Two suits were also prepared for delivery to the Station for future Quest airlock spacewalks.
- 2005 Jul 27 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #04
Visitors on a Space Shuttle will arrive at the International Space Station for the first time in over two years today. The Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to catch up and dock to the Station at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday. During Discovery's approach to the Station, Commander Eileen Collins will pause with the orbiter 600 feet below the Station and perform the first Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver. The motion will flip the Shuttle end over end at three quarters of a degree per second as the Station residents look on with digital cameras at the ready. The flip will provide Expedition 11 crewmembers, Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips, about 93 seconds to photograph the underside of Discovery and its heat-resistant tiles in detail. The images from Station will be downlinked and added to the host of imagery and data obtained during Discovery's launch and Wednesday's robotic surveys that engineers are analyzing. Imagery released Wednesday showed a piece of foam being shed from the external tank during Discovery's ascent. Other photos showed a variety of smaller tile and foam dings that will be reviewed over the next several days. The crew will also downlink the video taken of the External Tank as it fell away from Discovery on Tuesday and video of the clearance between the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the Ku-band antenna for review. Once Discovery's crew has had a safety briefing from the Space Station crew, both crews get to work with more robotic operations to prepare for additional surveys. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, with assistance from Phillips, will operate the Space Station robotic arm, Canadarm2, from inside the Destiny Lab. They will use the arm to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the payload bay sill and hand it over to the Shuttle arm. Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda and Andy Thomas will operate the Shuttle arm. Clearance restraints around the Shuttle's docking mechanism do not allow the Shuttle arm to grapple the boom on its own. Spacewalkers Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi have two hours to prepare their tools and equipment for their three spacewalks. Among other things, the first spacewalk Saturday will test thermal protection system repair techniques. Two other spacewalks will repair and install critical hardware outside the Station. Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by "It's a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong for Camarda. The Station crew was awakened at the same time by a tone onboard.
- 2005 Jul 28 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #05
The Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station smoothly and right on time Thursday morning, after doing a planned back flip so Station crewmembers could photograph its thermal protection system. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly flew Discovery through the rendezvous pitch maneuver about 600 feet below the Station about an hour before docking. The photos taken by Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips were transmitted to the ground before docking occurred at 6:18 a.m. CDT. Discovery, the first Shuttle to visit the Station since late 2002, and the orbiting laboratory linked up over the southern Pacific Ocean west of the South American coast. The photos from Discovery's approach and many others from ground, aircraft and Shuttle and Station cameras are being carefully analyzed by a team of about 200 people to ensure Discovery's thermal protection system is safe for re-entry. After the initial hugs and handshakes Krikalev gave a safety briefing for the new arrivals, Collins, Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda. Among early tasks for the joint crews was preparation for additional robotic arm surveys of the orbiter. Tomorrow's schedule includes time for additional focused inspections. Kelly and Lawrence, with help from Phillips, used the Station's Canadarm2 to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from Discovery and hand it to the Shuttle arm. Camarda and Thomas steered the Shuttle arm, which cannot grasp the boom directly with the Station in the way. Robinson and Noguchi, who will make three spacewalks at the Station, spent about an hour and a half getting equipment ready. Tasks on the spacewalks Saturday, Monday and Tuesday include testing thermal protection system repair techniques, replacement of one of four Station control gyros (which control the orbiting laboratory's orientation in space) and restoration of power to another. The spacewalkers also will install an external spare parts carrier on the outside of the Station's Quest airlock. Crewmembers were briefed on the loss of a piece of foam insulation from the external tank shortly after launch. The foam, seen by a camera on the tank making the first Shuttle flight in that position, did not appear to touch the orbiter. Shuttle managers determined that the cause of the foam loss needs to be understood and the problem fixed before Shuttle launches can resume. Discovery and Station crewmembers began scheduled sleep periods about 2:40 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Jul 28 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #06
The first full day of joint Space Shuttle and International Space Station operations will be highlighted by installation of a cargo transportation module, additional orbiter heat shield inspections and spacewalk preparations. Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by the song "Vertigo" by U2 played for Pilot Jim Kelly. Capcom Shannon Lucid noted during the wakeup call that Kelly, whose nickname is "Vegas," was promoted to Colonel in the U.S. Air Force recently. The Station crew was awakened at 11:09 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard. In this upcoming flight day, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Kelly will guide the Station's robot arm, Canadarm2, to pluck the Multi Purpose Logistics Module from Discovery's cargo bay and install it on the Station. The MPLM, called Raffaello, will be attached to the Station's Unity module. While the crew was asleep, the Station flight control team verified Unity's attach mechanism is ready for the addition. Kelly and Station Flight Engineer John Phillips will walk Canadarm2 off of the Destiny lab beginning at 4:39 a.m. CDT., onto the Mobile Base System for situational awareness views from its cameras for the survey. Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda and Kelly will begin additional focused inspections of Discovery's heat shield using the Shuttle arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System shortly after 6 a.m. Central time. Once the MPLM is in place, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Station Commander Sergei Krikalev will begin activation of the module about 7:49 a.m. CDT and will enter about two hours later, at 9:49 a.m. CDT. Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will participate in interviews with the Associated Press Radio Network, National Public Radio and the CBS Radio Network at 5:19 a.m. CDT. Additional preparations for Saturday's first spacewalk of the mission by Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will continue during the day with a review of EVA procedures and a checkout of a small rescue device known as SAFER, for Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, designed to allow an astronaut outside a spacecraft to return safety if they become untethered and separated from the spacecraft. Hatches between Discovery and Station will be closed as the Shuttle's cabin pressure is reduced to 10.2 psi for the pre-breathe period, during which spacewalkers will become gradually acclimated to the lower pressures of spacesuits. The crews of Discovery and the Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:39 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Jul 29 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #07
Space Shuttle and International Space Station crewmembers installed the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and began unloading the pressurized cargo carrier Friday. They also carried out a survey of selected areas of Discovery's thermal protection system and continued preparations for Saturday's spacewalk. Engineering analysis continues on the imagery collected so far, but no apparently serious problems with Discovery's heat shield have been noted. Mission Manager Wayne Hale said in a Friday afternoon press conference, "We're feeling very good about Discovery coming home." It was a very busy day for the crewmembers, Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, and the Station's commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips. Raffaello was unberthed from Discovery's cargo bay just before 1 a.m. CDT Friday by the Station's Canadarm2, operated by Lawrence and Kelly and attached to the Station's Unity Node. Hatches were opened a little after 10 a.m. Transfer of its cargo to the Station began soon thereafter. Crewmembers had begun transferring Station equipment and supplies from the Shuttle's mid-deck earlier. Preparations for the targeted survey of Discovery's thermal protection system began with Kelly and Phillips attaching the end of Canadarm2 to the Station's Mobile Base System. They subsequently detached the other end from the Destiny Laboratory so the arm could be used in its new position to provide situational awareness views of the survey with its cameras. Camarda and Kelly used the Shuttle's robot arm and the 50-foot Orbiter Boom Sensor System to look at six areas to determine if they had sustained damage. Mission managers said there was no indication of serious damage in early looks at downlink from that survey and earlier images. Detailed analysis of images starting with Discovery's Tuesday launch and continuing through Friday's survey was continuing. Noguchi and Robinson will make three spacewalks at the Station, and today they continued preparations for the first, scheduled to begin at 3:44 a.m. Saturday. They reviewed spacewalk procedures and checked out the SAFER, or Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, a rescue device to help a spacewalker who goes adrift return to the spacecraft. Hatches between Discovery and Station were closed as the Shuttle's cabin pressure was reduced to 10.2 psi for the pre-breathe period, during which spacewalkers became gradually acclimated to the lower pressures of space suits to avoid formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood. The excess air from the Shuttle was transferred to the Station to replenish its atmosphere. Collins and Thomas talked with reporters from the Associated Press Radio Network, National Public Radio and the CBS Radio Network beginning a little after 5:20 a.m. CDT.
- 2005 Jul 29 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #08
Astronauts Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will step outside for their first spacewalk, and the first of this mission, early Saturday. The six and a half hour spacewalk is scheduled to begin from Discovery's airlock at 3:44 a.m. CDT. Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:43 p.m. CDT by the Japanese song "Sanpo," sung by a group of children, including Noguchi's. The Station crew was awakened at 11:09 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard. Noguchi and Robinson's spacewalk preparations, including a pure oxygen pre-breathe and exercise procedure, will get underway at 12:39 a.m. CDT, with Intravehicular (IV) crewmember Andy Thomas' assistance. The procedure will purge the spacewalkers' blood of nitrogen to prevent the painful symptoms of "the bends" while wearing their low-pressure spacesuits. About the same time, Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips will maneuver the Station's robotic arm into a position to support the spacewalk. At 12:55 a.m. CDT the pair will "walk off" Canadarm2 from the Mobile Base System to the Destiny lab and change its operating base. The arm will be operated by Shuttle Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence during the spacewalk to help install the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2) Attachment Device (ESPAD) onto Station. After the excursion begins and the spacewalkers have completed about an hour of tool setup, the first task is to test thermal protection system repair techniques. Noguchi and Robinson will work side-by-side in Discovery's cargo bay at a pallet of purposely damaged orbiter heat shield samples. They will practice the Emittance Wash Applicator (EWA) repair of tile samples and the NOAX (Non-Oxide Adhesive eXperimental) repair of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon samples. After the testing is complete, the pair will move on to their Station assembly tasks. They will install the ESPAD and associated cabling on the Station's Quest airlock so that the ESP-2 can be installed on top during the third spacewalk. Next, Noguchi will replace a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna on the Station's truss structure. At the same time, Robinson will retrieve tools for the second spacewalk's Control Moment Gyroscope-1 replacement and swap connectors to restore power to the Station's CMG-2. The last job will be for both crewmembers to route cabling for the ESP-2 installation on the third spacewalk. Once the spacewalk has begun and the Station's airlock's hatch is opened as an emergency door, the hatches between Discovery and Station will be re-opened so the crews can work together to support the spacewalk and continue transfer work. Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, Krikalev, Phillips and Lawrence will continue transferring water and other equipment to the Station from Discovery and the Raffaello cargo module. The hatches will be closed before the end of the spacewalk again to allow the crew to re-enter the Shuttle airlock. Once the crew is inside and the Shuttle's airlock is repressurized, the hatches will be re-opened. At 8:09 a.m. CDT, Kelly and Camarda are scheduled to perform additional surveys of Discovery's wing leading edge Reinforced Carbon-Carbon with the Shuttle arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System. They will use the sensors to focus on seven areas of interest along the port wing. The crews of Discovery and the Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:39 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Jul 30 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #09
Space Shuttle Discovery's heat protective tiles and thermal blankets have been pronounced fit for entry after engineers reviewed the imagery and other data to judge their health. Analysis remains on the reinforced carbon-carbon wing leading edges and the protruding gap fillers identified earlier. Aerodynamics experts are evaluating the effect on surface heating that the gap fillers may cause to decide whether any work is necessary to reduce their size. Mission managers today also decided to extend Discovery's mission by one day to spend more time docked with the International Space Station. Astronauts are busy transferring more water and supplies to the ISS in case the next Shuttle mission is delayed. An additional 10 gallons of water was transferred along with a pair of laptop computers and other supplies. Astronauts Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency wrapped up a successful 6-hour, 50-minute spacewalk at 11:36 a.m. Saturday, completing a demonstration of Shuttle thermal protection repair techniques and enhancements to the Station's attitude control system. For the repair demonstration, they worked with tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon intentionally damaged on the ground and brought into space in Discovery's cargo bay. They tested an Emittance Wash Applicator for tile repair and Non-Oxide Adhesive eXperimental (NOAX) for the reinforced carbon-carbon samples. Helped by Astronaut Andy Thomas, who served as a coach and monitor from Shuttle's aft flight deck, they also installed a base and cabling for a stowage platform and rerouted power to Control Moment Gyroscope-2 (CMG-2), one of four 600-pound gyroscopes that control the orientation of the Station in orbit. CMG-2 has been healthy, but a faulty circuit breaker interrupted its power supply in March. Since that time the Station had operated successfully on two CMGs. About 9:20 a.m. Mission Control told the astronauts they saw power again flowing to CMG-2. Plans call for it to be spun up to its 6,600 rpm operating speed over the next several hours and subsequently put back into the attitude control mix. Another gyroscope, CMG-1 which failed in 2002, is to be replaced Monday on the second of three spacewalks. They also replaced a faulty global positioning system antenna on the Station. The spacewalk began at 4:46 a.m., after deliberate preparations delayed the planned start. The Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, had moved the orbiting laboratory's Canadarm2 into position to help Noguchi and Robinson's work. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence ran the arm, helping the spacewalkers install the stowage platform base. The spacewalkers had time for some get-ahead tasks near the end of their spacewalk, bringing in two experiments that exposed a variety of materials samples to the harsh vacuum and extreme temperatures of space. Noguchi also photographed some insulation on the port side of Discovery's cabin. Hatches between the Station and Discovery had been closed in preparation for the spacewalk. Once hatches were reopened, remaining crewmembers, Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, went about other tasks, including transfer of cargo from the Shuttle to the Station. Among those tasks was another survey of parts of Discovery's thermal protection system by the Shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Kelly and Camarda, operating the arm, focused their attention on seven areas of interest along the leading edge of Discovery's port wing. After analysis of many images taken of Discovery during and after its launch, including information from previous surveys like the one done Saturday, no damage that would threaten a safe landing by the Shuttle has been identified. About 25 dings have been seen on Discovery, compared to a mission average of 145 in missions before Columbia's loss.
- 2005 Jul 30 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #10
Transfers of additional water and supplies to the International Space Station will continue Sunday as the crew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery begins Flight Day 6. The STS-114 mission was formally extended by one day as mission managers Saturday decided to spend one more day docked to the ISS. Two additional collapsible water containers holding more than 10 gallons each are expected to be added to the cargo transfer list before the Shuttle leaves, bringing to 17 the number that will be left behind, a substantial increase in the amount of available water. ISS Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier said in a Saturday news conference that the program was very happy to have the additional supplies and that the station's consumables status had improved considerably with Discovery's visit. Mission Manager Wayne Hale said Saturday that the added mission day will be added to the crew's schedule after the third spacewalk day. Hale also noted Saturday that Discovery's protective tiles and thermal blankets passed review and are cleared for entry. Analysis continues on the reinforced carbon-carbon areas and two protruding gap fillers. Also Sunday, astronauts will make preparations for the second spacewalk of the mission scheduled for Monday. Discovery's cabin pressure will be reduced to 10.2 psi to prepare Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for their work outside the spacecraft. Space Shuttle and Space Station crewmembers will participate in two separate in-flight interviews. Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda will talk to reporters with ABC News, Fox News and NBC's "Meet the Press" at 5:49 a.m. CDT. Collins, Robinson, Noguchi and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips will speak with CBS News, CNN and Discovery Channel reporters at 7:39 a.m. Discovery's crew was awakened at 11:11 p.m. CDT by the song "I'm Goin' Up," by Claire Lynch for Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence. The Space Station crew was awakened about the same time by a tone onboard. The crews of Discovery and the Space Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Jul 31 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #11
The transfer of equipment and supplies from Discovery to the International Space Station and preparations for Monday's planned spacewalk by Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson were the focus of today's activities in space. Noguchi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Robinson, along with remaining Discovery crewmembers, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, worked on moving items from the Shuttle to the Station. They were helped by International Space Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips. Approximately six tons of hardware and equipment, including the 600-pound Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) that will be installed on the exterior of the Station during Monday's spacewalk, will be moved from Discovery to the Station. Just over three and a half tons of material, including the replaced CMG, will return to Earth aboard Discovery. Noguchi, Robinson and Thomas prepared for Monday's spacewalk by setting up some of the tools they will use to install the new CMG outside the Station. Thomas will once again serve as coach and monitor inside Discovery during the spacewalk. Working from aboard the Station, Kelly and Lawrence will use the Station's Canadarm2 to maneuver Noguchi between the two spacecraft during the removal and installation of the CMGs. In preparation for that activity, Kelly and Lawrence "walked" the Station arm into position on the Destiny Laboratory. All nine crewmembers also participated in a review of spacewalk activities near the end of their working day. Collins, Kelly and Camarda talked with reporters from ABC News, Fox News and NBC at about 5:40 a.m. CDT. About 7:25 a.m. Collins, Noguchi, Robinson and Phillips talked with CBS News, CNN and Discovery Channel. Engineers and mission managers continued to analyze information about Discovery's thermal protection system. They have cleared the orbiter's tiles and a decision was expected later today on the analysis of reinforced carbon-carbon protection for the nose cone and wing leading edges. Mission managers continue to look at two gap-filler areas. These coated-fiber gap fillers are used to keep hot gas from flowing into gaps in the thermal protection, in these two cases, in tile-protected areas. Two gap fillers are protruding, and teams are working to determine whether any action is required by the crew.
- 2005 Jul 31 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #12
Now spacewalk veterans, Astronauts Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will step outside for the second of three planned spacewalks today at 3:14 a.m. CDT. The sole objective of the 6 ½-hour excursion is to replace a failed International Space Station attitude control gyroscope. The pair will have about an hour of setup time after exiting Space Shuttle Discovery's airlock and positioning themselves at the Station's Z1 truss segment. Mission Control will shut down the failed Control Moment Gyroscope 1 (CMG1) about 4:09 a.m. CDT and then give a go for the spacewalkers to start removing it about 15 minutes later. Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will choreograph the activities from inside and relay information from Mission Control to the spacewalkers. Noguchi will take the failed CMG to Discovery's cargo bay while riding the Station's robot arm. He will temporarily store it until the new gyro is removed and the old one can be placed in its carrier with Robinson's help. Noguchi will then carry the new gyro at the end of the robot arm to the Z1 truss. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will operate Canadarm2 for the spacewalk. After it is installed, Station flight controllers will power up and check out the new gyroscope about 8:14 a.m. CDT and start it up at 8:39 a.m. CDT. With CMG1 replaced, the full complement of four gyroscopes will be available for Station operations. CMG2 has operated well since the spacewalkers restored power to it in the first spacewalk Saturday. Inside the orbiting complex, Station residents Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips and Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda will continue transferring equipment and supplies between the two vehicles. Collins will focus on collecting byproduct water from Discovery's power generation system for transfer to Station. Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:09 p.m. CDT by the song "Walk of Life," by Dire Straits for Robinson. The Space Station crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard. The crews of Discovery and the Space Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Aug 1 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #13
STS-114 mission managers Monday gave the go-ahead for astronauts to remove two protruding gap fillers in Discovery's heat shield during a Wednesday space walk. Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will attempt to simply pull the thin fabric fillers from between tiles in the forward area of the orbiter's underside. If the pull method is unsuccessful, the two will have tools to cut the material flush with the surface. Spacewalk experts presented a plan to mission managers in Monday's Mission Management Team meeting. Space Shuttle Deputy Program Manager Wayne Hale, in a Monday afternoon briefing, said that with the level of uncertainty involved in flying a reentry with protruding gap fillers it was an easy decision to move ahead with a well-understood process for removing them. Early Monday, Robinson and Noguchi replaced a 600-pound gyroscope on the International Space Station, leaving the orbiting laboratory with a complete functional set of four. Called control moment gyros, or CMGs, the 600-pound devices maintain the Station's orientation in space, the way it is pointed and which part faces the Earth as it orbits the planet. The 7-hour, 14-minute spacewalk began at 3:42 a.m CDT. After leaving the Discovery airlock, Noguchi and Robinson made their way hand-over-hand to the Station's Z1 Truss, atop the Unity Node where the four CMGs are housed. There Noguchi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, attached himself to a foot platform at the end of the Station's Canadarm2, operated by Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence. Coached and monitored by Mission Specialist Andy Thomas on Discovery's aft flight deck, the spacewalkers removed CMG-1, which had failed in June 2002. Noguchi held it as the arm took him back to the rear of Discovery's cargo bay, where he and Robinson, who had moved back on his own, temporarily stowed it. They then took the new CMG from its cradle, and Noguchi held it while the arm moved him back to the Z1 Truss. There he and Robinson installed it in the space vacated by the failed device. That completed, flight controllers began the hours-long process of checking out the new CMG-1 and spinning it up to its 6,600 rpm operating speed. On the mission's first spacewalk on Saturday, Noguchi and Robinson had rerouted CMG-2's power supply. A faulty circuit breaker had interrupted that power supply in March. The two spacewalks leave the Station with four functioning CMG's. The station can hold its attitude on two, but more will be required as it grows. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, along with the Station's Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, worked Monday on transferring cargo to and from the Station. The 3,768 pounds of up-bound cargo from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, which came to the Station in Discovery's cargo bay and then was attached to a docking port on the Unity Node, has been transferred to the Station. Work continues to stow it and to reload Raffaello with equipment and trash to be returned to Earth.
- 2005 Aug 1 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #14
The Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews will continue transferring equipment and supplies between the two vehicles today. They will also review updated tasks for the third planned spacewalk of the mission. Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:09 p.m. CDT by the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain," by Harry McClintock for Mission Specialist Andy Thomas. The Space Station crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard. Mission managers decided to remove two gap fillers that are protruding from areas between heat-shielding tile on the Shuttle's underbelly. It is a relatively simple process that can be accomplished as an add-on task to Wednesday's spacewalk. During the spacewalk, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson will venture under the Space Shuttle on the tip of the Station's robotic arm, locate the protrusions and gently tug until they come out. If that does not work, Robinson will have tools to cut off the protrusions. Robinson, fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi and spacewalk choreographer Andy Thomas will spend time Tuesday assembling a hack saw for the removal job and reviewing the new procedure. All of the Shuttle and Station crewmembers will participate in a news conference at 4:59 a.m. CDT. Krikalev and Phillips will be interviewed by reporters at Mission Control Moscow at 5:45 a.m. CDT. It will be replayed with translation on NASA TV at 6:15 a.m. CDT. At 6:39 a.m. CDT Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will grapple the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2) and unberth it from Discovery's payload bay. This is in preparation for the hardware's installation at the beginning of Wednesday's spacewalk. Preparing the ESP-2 Tuesday provides the extra time for the tile gap filler task during the spacewalk. Before the Shuttle and Station crews go to sleep, the hatch will be closed between the two vehicles and the Shuttle's cabin will be depressurized to 10.2 psi on the eve of the last spacewalk. The crews are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Aug 2 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #15
Space Shuttle mission managers Tuesday cleared Discovery's wing leading edge heat shield for re-entry as they methodically deal with concerns over the protruding tile gap fillers. The mission management team also discussed a "puffed out" insulating blanket outside the commander's cockpit window and has decided it poses no risk of overheating during entry. Engineers will continue to analyze whether it could pose a debris problem if it came loose during aerodynamic flight. Discovery's astronauts worked much of today on preparations for Wednesday's gap filler repair spacewalk. Transfer of materials to and from the International Space Station continued with crewmembers of both spacecraft making good progress. Spacewalkers Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson spent an hour this morning beginning about 2:40 a.m. CDT with Mission Specialists Andy Thomas and Wendy Lawrence, and Pilot Jim Kelly on a review of spacewalk procedures. Thomas, as the intravehicular crewmember, will coach and monitor the spacewalkers, while Lawrence and Kelly will operate the Station's Canadarm2. That robotic arm will carry Robinson to the repair sites on the underside of the forward part of Discovery where he will either gently pull out the protruding gap fillers with his hand or with forceps, or remove the protrusions with a hacksaw. After the procedure review, Lawrence and Kelly spent the subsequent 45 minutes in computer training for the arm tasks, using the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics program, or DOUG. Meanwhile, the spacewalkers and Thomas worked on assembly of the hacksaw that would be used if other methods do not work. About 7:40 a.m. Lawrence and Kelly, using Canadarm2, unberthed External Stowage Platform 2 from Discovery's cargo bay. Noguchi and Robinson installed the platform's attachment device on the mission's first spacewalk on Saturday, and the platform itself is to be installed on the attachment device during Wednesday's spacewalk. After lunch on board, Noguchi, Robinson and Thomas worked on spacewalk tool configuration. Near the end of their work day, all nine crewmembers on board, including Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, did a spacewalk review. The spacewalkers began a prebreathe of pure oxygen about 10:50 a.m., a little more than an hour before hatches linking Discovery and the Station were closed so the Shuttle could be depressurized to 10.2 psi. Both the prebreathe and the depressurization were aimed at reducing the nitrogen content of the spacewalkers' blood to reduce the possibility of nitrogen bubble formation in their bloodstreams during the spacewalk. Wednesday's spacewalk is scheduled to begin at about 3:14 a.m. CDT. Late in the crew day Tuesday, astronauts received a phone call from President George Bush. The President thanked the crew for taking risks for the sake of exploration and wished them well in the remainder of their mission.
- 2005 Aug 2 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #16
The Space Shuttle Discovery crew begins their ninth day in space with preparations for the third spacewalk of the mission. This extravehicular activity (EVA) was a preplanned activity for the mission, but now includes a new task -- repair of two protruding gap fillers between tiles on the bottom the Shuttle. The crew began the day waking up at 10:09 p.m. CDT to "Where My Heart Will Take Me," the theme song from Star Trek: Enterprise. The song, composed by Dennis McCarthy, was selected for the crew as a surprise dedication from the Deputy Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale. The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew of Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips woke 30 minutes later. Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi are scheduled to begin their third spacewalk at 3:14 a.m. CDT as they exit out of the Space Shuttle airlock. The two will be assisted by Andy Thomas, serving as the intravehicular officer overseeing the spacewalk from inside, as well as Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda who will be supporting various robotic arm activities throughout the day. The spacewalk is scheduled to last about 7 hours. The first task entails Kelly and Lawrence maneuvering the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2), via the Station's robotic arm, which they pulled from Discovery's payload bay earlier today, onto the Station. As the ESP-2 reaches its final position, Robinson and Noguchi will guide the structure and secure it into place. With that task complete, Lawrence and Kelly will conduct a "walk off" maneuver of the Station robotic arm, by attaching the "free" end to the Mobile Base System and releasing the other end from the Destiny Laboratory module to where it will be needed as a platform for Robinson later in the EVA. The two spacewalkers will move on to individual tasks, with Noguchi installing the Materials International Space Station Experiment-5 (MISSE-5), a materials experiment that will study the degradation of solar cell samples in the space environment. He'll then remove the Rotary Joint Motor Controller from the Space Station truss before proceeding to a support position to assist Robinson in his final tasks. Meanwhile, Kelly will work with Camarda, using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to inspect repair demonstration tiles inside the Shuttle's payload bay. Later, Camarda will also work with Krikalev and Phillips to continue stowing supplies and equipment inside Discovery and the Station. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will monitor and supervise all the activities. Robinson, now attached to the Station robotic arm, will attempt to repair two tile gap filler protrusions located on the underside of Discovery. He will first try to gently pull out the protruding material, and if need be, remove by trimming with a hacksaw. Gap fillers are used in areas to restrict the flow of hot gas into the gaps between Thermal Protection System components. They consist of a layer of coated Nextel fabric and are normally about 0.020-inch thick. These protrusions were identified from photos taken during the rendezvous pitch maneuver conducted on flight day three, as Discovery approached the orbiting Space Station. The crews are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Aug 3 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #17
Despite days of anticipation and intense planning, space-walking astronaut Steve Robinson made it look easy as he gently pulled two protruding gap fillers from between thermal protection tiles on Discovery's underside Wednesday morning. "It looks like this big patient is cured," Robinson told delighted flight controllers. Fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency helped Robinson with preparations, and from a perch near the end of a Space Station truss acted as observer and communication relay station between Robinson and astronaut Andy Thomas aboard Discovery. Thomas was the onboard coach and monitor for Robinson and Noguchi throughout the 6-hour 1-minute spacewalk. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence operated the Station's Canadarm2, which moved Robinson to and from the worksite. Today's spacewalk, the third of the mission, began at 3:48 a.m. CDT and concluded at 9:49 a.m. Deputy Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale, in Wednesday's afternoon briefing, said "The crew demonstrated consummate professionalism and coolness beyond belief. They [the gap fillers] came out just as we thought they would. It looked easy but was not, which is a tribute to the crew and the team on the ground that planned it, so we're proud of that." Gap fillers like those Robinson removed today are thin, coated Nextel fabric. The protruding gap fillers were identified in photos taken by Station crewmembers using telephoto lenses as Discovery did a slow back flip about 600 feet below before docking. During the spacewalk Noguchi and Robinson, helped by the Station's robotic arm, installed an external stowage platform outside the station that will be used to house spare parts. Noguchi also installed another Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). Like its predecessors, MISSE 5 exposes samples of various materials to the harsh space environment for several months. In other activities, Kelly worked with Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda on an inspection of the repair demonstration tiles in Discovery's cargo bay. Using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, they looked at tiles brought up for an experimental repair by Robinson and Noguchi on the mission's first spacewalk Saturday. Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, continued to stow equipment and supplies on the Station and Shuttle. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins operated shuttle systems and supervised activities. Hale also said the only part of Discovery's heat shield not yet cleared for entry is a bulging thermal blanket below the Shuttle commander's window. Managers will meet Thursday morning to review tests to help determine whether the blanket might pose a concern for entry.
- 2005 Aug 3 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #18
After an eventful day supporting the third spacewalk of the mission, a light duty day of transfer activities, special events and time off lies ahead for the Space Shuttle Discovery crew as they begin their tenth day in space. The seven-member Shuttle crew awoke to the well-known country song "Amarillo by Morning," performed by George Strait, at 10:09 p.m. CDT. Their Station counterparts, the Expedition 11 crew of Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips, woke up 30 minutes later. The morning includes an in-flight media interview for Commander Eileen Collins, and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Charlie Camarda. Elsewhere on the complex, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will be performing a few robotic arm operations, as they release the Station's Canadarm2 from the Mobile Base System and attach it to the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). That task is being done in preparation for return of the MPLM to Discovery's payload bay. Midway through the crew day, at about 4:19 a.m. CDT, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Soichi Noguchi and Collins will participate in a special video conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi; and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Nariaki Nakayama. JAXA Astronaut Dr. Mamoru Mohri and several Japanese students and citizens will also participate in the call. Later, Robinson, Camarda and Noguchi will continue stowage of equipment and supplies in the MPLM on the Shuttle and Space Station. Phillips and Krikalev will help with that activity as well before all of the crewmembers stop to share a special evening meal together. About an hour later, at 7:04 a.m. CDT, the joint crews have planned a commemorative in-flight event paying tribute to the STS-107 Columbia crew. That event will air on NASA TV. The remainder of the day will be off-duty time for the Shuttle crew as they prepare for the final days of their mission. Phillips and Krikalev will spend about two hours configuring the Common Berthing Mechanism for the MPLM removal before ending their workday with routine daily planning conference with ground controllers.
- 2005 Aug 4 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #19
Space Shuttle Discovery's heat shield is cleared for the return to Earth early Monday after mission managers decided today that a fourth spacewalk to deal with a puffed out thermal blanket is unnecessary. Wind tunnel tests overnight at NASA's Ames Research Center in California showed little chance of any significant debris coming from the blanket at supersonic speeds. Further engineering analysis showed any debris released from the blanket was unlikely to hit structures on Discovery. Thursday's Mission Management Team decision put to rest the work that was being done to assess the health of the thermal protection system. The tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon on Discovery's wings and nose were cleared earlier for entry. Discovery and International Space Station crewmembers Thursday delivered a moving tribute to members of the Columbia crew and others, astronauts and cosmonauts, who lost their lives in the human exploration of space. Each crewmember, in red shirt with Columbia's STS-107 mission patch spoke during the tribute as the docked spacecraft flew over the southern Indian Ocean approaching a sunset. Station Science Officer John Phillips said: "To the crew of Columbia, as well as the crews of Challenger, Apollo 1, Soyuz 1 and 11, and to those who have courageously given so much, we now offer our enduring thanks." Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency repeated Phillips' words in Japanese during the tribute, and Station Commander Sergei Krikalev spoke them in Russian. After their successful Wednesday spacewalk, Discovery and Station crewmembers continued transfer activities, mostly packing the Multi-Purpose Logistic Module Raffaello with items from the Station. The pressurized cargo carrier is to be unberthed Friday from the Station's Unity Node and returned to Discovery's cargo bay for the trip back to Earth. Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence attached the Station's Canadarm2 to Raffaello in preparation for its unberthing. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, spacewalking Mission Specialist Steve Robinson and Mission Specialist Charlie Carmada talked with reporters from the Associated Press and NBC. A little later Collins and Noguchi spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri and others, including Japanese students. Crewmembers had an hour together for a common meal, then the seven Discovery astronauts had the afternoon off. The Station crew spent about two hours preparing equipment for the unberthing of Raffaello.
- 2005 Aug 4 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #20
Now in their eleventh day of the mission and with three successful spacewalks behind them, the STS-114 crew of Space Shuttle Discovery is slated to begin preparations for undocking and the final day with their International Space Station counterparts. Their activities for the day include final equipment transfers, stowage and return of the robotic arm, boom and cargo container to the Shuttle payload bay. "Anchors Aweigh" was the Shuttle crew wake-up song for the day, played at 9:15 p.m. CDT. The song was dedicated to Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence at the request of Commander Eileen Collins. Space Station Expedition 11 crewmates John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev woke 30 minutes later. The first tasks of the day center on preparation of the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) for its berthing back into Discovery's cargo bay. That module was removed from Discovery on Flight Day 4, mated to the Station and unloaded. Discovery and the MPLM are now loaded with 7,055 lbs. of unneeded equipment and trash for return to Earth. Pilot Jim Kelly and Lawrence will operate the Station robotic arm later in the day to move Raffaello from the Station and gently place it back into Discovery's cargo bay at 6:34 a.m. CDT. Then, joined by Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda and Andy Thomas, the four will use the Shuttle arm to return the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to its secured position on the sill of the payload bay for the ride back to Earth. Throughout the day, the on-orbit team will continue with stowing equipment on Discovery's middeck and configurations for undocking, including Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson and Thomas making final configurations and stowage of the spacesuits. Both crews are scheduled for sleep at 1:09 p.m. CDT Friday with hatch closing and undocking scheduled early Saturday morning.
- 2005 Aug 5 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #21
Discovery astronauts and their hosts on the International Space Station undocked the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the Station's Unity Node Friday and reberthed it in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, also made preparations for Saturday's undocking of the orbiter. Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, helped. Raffaello is loaded with more than 5,000 pounds of items bound for Earth, including equipment, experiment results and even personal gear of crewmembers dating back to Expedition 6, which left the Station in May 2003. Items for return to Earth have accumulated aboard the orbiting laboratory since the last Shuttle visit in December 2002. Lawrence and Kelly used the station arm to unberth the module and return it to Discovery. The berthing was completed at 9:03 a.m. CDT. Raffaello, one of three pressurized cargo carrying modules built in Italy for use aboard the Shuttle, brought 3,768 pounds of equipment and supplies to the Station. After Raffaello was secured in Discovery's cargo bay, Camarda and Thomas used the Shuttle arm to hand off the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to the Station arm. Lawrence and Kelly reberthed the OBSS in its position on the starboard sill of the cargo bay. After that operation, Lawrence radioed congratulations to those on the ground for the performance of the Canadian-built OBSS and robotic arms. She and Kelly radioed down the Halleluiah Chorus from Handel's Messiah to emphasize those congratulatory words.
Discovery is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 2:24 a.m. CDT Saturday. Landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for 3:46 a.m. CDT Monday.
- 2005 Aug 6 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #22
After more than a week of working together in space, the Space Shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews bid each other farewell tonight. Following a crew farewell ceremony at 11:36 p.m. CDT, hatches between the spacecraft were closed at 12:14 a.m. CDT, with Discovery's undocking planned for 2:24 a.m. CDT Saturday morning. "The Air Force Song" was the Shuttle crew wake-up song for the day, played at 9:09 p.m. CDT. The song was dedicated to Pilot Jim Kelly, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, at the request of Commander Eileen Collins. Space Station Expedition 11 crewmates John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev woke 30 minutes later. After Discovery undocks from the Station, with Kelly at the controls, the Shuttle will fly around the Space Station about 400 feet away to allow the Shuttle crew to take photographs of the complex. The flyaround maneuver will begin at 2:54 a.m. CDT, and Discovery's final separation from the Station begins with an engine firing at 4:09 a.m. CDT. The majority of the rest of the day will be free time for Discovery and the Station crew. Discovery's crew, including Collins, Kelly and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson, Soichi Noguchi, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, is scheduled for sleep at 11:39 a.m. CDT Saturday. The Station crew, which will soon begin working back toward its normal workday hours, is scheduled to sleep at 1:09 p.m. CDT.
- 2005 Aug 6 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #23
Discovery is flying solo today, following its early morning departure from the International Space Station, concluding nine days of cooperative work between the two crews. Pilot Jim Kelly was at the controls as latches between the two vehicles were released and Discovery began to back gently away from the Station. Undocking occurred at 2:24 a.m. CDT as the two spacecraft flew high over the Pacific Ocean, west of Chile. As Discovery moved away to a distance of about 400 feet, Kelly began a slow fly-around of the Station. Cameras on each spacecraft captured video and still images of the other. After the fly-around, Kelly executed the first of two separation burns to move Discovery away from the Station and begin its trip home. The entire crew - Commander Eileen Collins, Kelly, and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, Steve Robinson, Charlie Camarda and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) enjoyed some scheduled off-duty time before going to sleep at 11:39 a.m. CDT. The crew will awaken at 7:39 p.m. CDT and turn its attention to stowing away much of the equipment used over the past 11 days in orbit, and verifying operation of Discovery's flight control surfaces and system. Over the course of nine days of joint work, the crews moved more than 12,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the Station and will return about 7,000 pounds of material from the Station to Earth. Spacewalkers Noguchi and Robinson left all four of the Station's attitude control gyroscopes functioning with the removal and replacement of one of the 600-pound units. They also installed a new stowage platform on the exterior of the Station and worked with an experiment that exposes a variety of materials samples to the harsh vacuum and extreme temperatures of space. Discovery was docked with the Station for 8 days, 19 hours and 54 minutes. Aboard the Station, newly resupplied and emptied of surplus gear, Commander Sergei Kirkalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips also had a light-duty day after undocking.
- 2005 Aug 6 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #24
Discovery's astronauts will begin turning their attention toward coming back to Earth Monday by stowing equipment and verifying operation of the orbiter's flight control surfaces and system. The crew was awakened at 7:39 p.m. CDT by "The One and Only Flower in the World" sung by the Japanese group SMAP. It was played for Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, who also serves as Discovery's Flight Engineer, will checkout the orbiter's flight control system at 10:39 p.m. CDT. The three also will test the Reaction Control System with a hot fire of the jets at 11:49 p.m. CDT. In the meantime, Noguchi, along with Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda will put away equipment that has been in use during the mission. Noguchi and Thomas will stow the Ku-band communications antenna at 8:19 a.m. CDT. The entire group will gather on Discovery's flight deck and take a moment to answer questions from reporters at 3:06 a.m. CDT. After its departure Saturday, Discovery is now about 90 miles away from the International Space Station and increasing that gap by about 8 miles each time it orbits the Earth. Onboard the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips are returning to their normal schedule, waking up at 1 a.m. CDT Sunday. They are enjoying a restful weekend after nearly 9 full days of work with the Shuttle crew. Discovery's crew is scheduled for sleep at 11:39 a.m. CDT Sunday.
- 2005 Aug 7 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #25
Discovery's crew is spending what should be its last night in space, with an early morning landing planned Monday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, concluding a voyage of 5.35 million miles. In preparation for tomorrow's 3:47 a.m. CDT landing, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson activated one of three hydraulic systems on Discovery and tested all of its aerosurfaces and steering jets. The rest of the crew - Andy Thomas, Soichi Noguchi, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda - completed packing up gear and hardware. The seven-member crew took a moment early this morning to talk with CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and ABC, discussing their mission and upcoming return to Earth. Discovery has two opportunities to land at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday. The first begins with a 3 minute, 7 second deorbit burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System engines at 2:40 a.m., followed by landing at 3:47 a.m. CDT. In the event weather prevents landing on that first opportunity, a second is available, with deorbit burn at 4:15 a.m. resulting in a 5:22 a.m. CDT landing. It will be the 15th night landing in Florida and 20th overall for the Space Shuttle Program. Weather forecasters predict favorable conditions with light and variable winds and a slight chance of showers in the vicinity of the three-mile-long landing strip. The backup site at California's Edwards Air Force Base was not activated for Monday. On the International Space Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips had a light-duty day as flight controllers added the fourth Control Moment Gyroscope to the Station's attitude control mix. For the first time since June 2002, the Station has use of all four 600-pound units. Noguchi and Robinson replaced one CMG and restored power to another during spacewalks.
- 2005 Aug 7 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #26
Discovery's Return to Flight mission is scheduled to conclude with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center early Monday morning. Discovery has two opportunities to land at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday. The first begins with a 3 minute, 7 second deorbit burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System engines at 2:40 a.m., followed by landing at 3:47 a.m. CDT. In the event weather prevents landing on that first opportunity, a second is available, with deorbit burn at 4:15 a.m. resulting in a 5:22 a.m. CDT landing. It will be the 15th night landing in Florida and 20th overall for the Space Shuttle Program. Weather forecasters predict favorable conditions with good visibility and only a slight chance of showers over the water in the vicinity of the three-mile-long landing strip. The backup site at California's Edwards Air Force Base was not activated for Monday. The crew was awakened at 7:39 p.m. CDT by the song "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. It was played for Discovery's Commander Eileen Collins from the Mission Control Team. Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, who also serves as Discovery's Flight Engineer, and Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will be on the flight deck for landing. Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda will be on Discovery's middeck. After its departure Saturday, Discovery is now about 200 miles away from the International Space Station and increasing that gap by about 9 miles each time it orbits the Earth. Onboard the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips have returned to their normal schedule, waking up at 1 a.m. CDT Monday.
- 2005 Aug 8 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #27
Discovery's seven astronauts will spend another day in space after weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center landing site prevented a return to Earth today. Discovery's two landing opportunities to Florida were waved off this morning due to unpredictable cloud cover at the landing site. All three primary Shuttle landing sites will be activated on Tuesday. NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, will remain the preferred landing site. Edwards Air Force Base, California, will be second in preference for landing and White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, will be third in preference. Two Shuttle landing opportunities will be available at each site. Weather conditions at KSC for Tuesday are forecast to be similar to today with a slight chance of showers offshore. Edwards is forecast to have acceptable conditions for landing. White Sands' forecast includes a chance of showers. Preparations are now focused on the first opportunity to land Tuesday which would begin with an engine firing by Discovery at 3:01 a.m. CDT and lead to a touchdown at KSC at 4:07 a.m. CDT. The additional landing opportunities include: a 4:33 a.m. Shuttle engine firing leading to a 5:39 a.m. landing at White Sands; a 4:37 a.m. engine firing leading to a 5:43 a.m. touchdown at KSC; a 6:06 a.m. engine firing leading to 7:12 a.m. touchdown at Edwards; a 6:09 a.m. engine firing leading to a 7:13 a.m. landing at White Sands; and a 7:44 a.m. engine firing leading to a 8:47 a.m. landing at Edwards. The Shuttle crew will fire Discovery's engines at 7:19 a.m. today to adjust the Shuttle's orbit and optimize the landing opportunities for tomorrow. The crew will go to sleep at 11:39 a.m. and awaken at 7:39 p.m. to begin deorbit preparations.
- 2005 Aug 9 - STS-114 MCC Status Report #28
Discovery glided to a pre-dawn landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California this morning concluding a journey of 5.8 million miles, touching down at 7:11 a.m. CDT. The landing marked the sixth night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, and the 50th time overall that a Shuttle concluded its mission in the California desert. Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly, assisted by Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, began Discovery's return to earth by firing the spacecraft's orbital maneuvering system engines to slow its speed and begin its descent. Discovery's ground track took it from the firing of the 2 minute, 42-second deorbit burn at 6:06 a.m. over the western Indian Ocean, traveling in a loop around Australia, then northeast across the Pacific, across the California coast north of Los Angeles and then to Edwards. Persistent thunderstorms at the primary landing site in Florida resulted in a wave-off of two opportunities to return to the launch site today. The STS-114 flight of Discovery with Collins, Kelly, Robinson and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda provided unprecedented information on the condition of an orbiter in space. Noguchi and Robinson did three successful spacewalks at the International Space Station and Discovery transported tons of equipment and supplies to and from the Station. From the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips sent their congratulations to Discovery's crew and the flight control team in Houston. Discovery's crew will have a welcome home ceremony at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Houston's Ellington Field.
- 2005 Aug 12 - International Space Station Status Report #05-39
After saying goodbye to the visiting Space Shuttle Discovery Saturday, International Space Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips spent much of this week preparing for a spacewalk they will conduct next week. On their upcoming spacewalk, Krikalev and Phillips will change out a Russian biological experiment, retrieve some radiation sensors, remove a Japanese materials science experiment, photograph a Russian materials experiment, install a television camera and relocate a grapple fixture. The six-hour spacewalk begins at 1:55 p.m. CDT Thursday. Live coverage on NASA TV will begin at 12:30 p.m. CDT. At 12:44 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Krikalev's time spent in space will surpass that of any other human being. Krikalev's record will pass the one now held by Cosomonaut Sergei Avdeyev, who spent 748 days in orbit. Krikalev is a veteran of six space flights, two long-duration flights to the Soviet Union Space Station Mir; two flights on the Space Shuttle; and, counting this mission, two flights to the International Space Station. Krikalev was aboard the Space Station Mir when the Soviet Union disintegrated. He became the first Russian to fly on the Space Shuttle in 1994. He was a member of the Shuttle crew that began assembly of the International Space Station in 1998. In 2000, he was a member of the first resident International Space Station crew. Krikalev and Phillips had an off duty day on Sunday. On Monday they worked to unpack and prepare spacewalk tools and to ready the Pirs docking compartment, from which the spacewalk will be conducted. They continued spacewalk preparations for the rest of the week, checking the Russian Orlan spacesuits they will wear and talking with spacewalk experts in the Russian Mission Control Center and in Houston. On Thursday, the Russian Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system shut down aboard the Station. The system is one of multiple systems that can be used to scrub the Station cabin air. Flight controllers in Houston have activated a U.S. Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly to perform that function while the Vozdukh is not operating. Russian specialists are continuing to analyze the problem.
- 2005 Aug 18 - International Space Station Status Report #05-40
More milestones met on the International Space Station this week, with the Expedition 11 crewmembers completing a spacewalk just days after the Commander became the most experienced space traveler in history. The 4 hour 58 minute spacewalk by Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips was the 62nd EVA in support of ISS assembly and maintenance, the 34th conducted from the Station itself, the 16th from the Pirs docking compartment. The first job once Krikalev and Phillips opened the hatch on Pirs at 2:02 pm CDT was retrieval of one of three canisters from the Biorisk experiment, a biomedical study of the impact of spaceflight on bioorganisms. Biorisk was installed on the Pirs module by Expedition 10 spacewalkers Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov in January of this year; the other canisters will be retrieved on later EVAs. Next the spacewalkers moved to the large diameter section of the Zvezda module and prepared two experiment payloads for removal. MPAC, the Micro-Particles Capturer, uses aerogels and foam to collect natural and human-made orbital debris outside ISS; its companion experiment pallet, SEED (Space Environment Exposure Device), exposes samples of possible spacecraft materials like paint, insulation and lubricants, to the environment of low Earth orbit. Matroshka is a biomedical experiment collecting data on radiation absorption by crewmembers on long-duration missions, especially when spacewalking. From there Krikalev and Phillips moved to the aft of Zvezda to install a backup television camera to assist in docking of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, a new unmanned supply craft for ISS slated to make its first flight next year. While in the area the spacewalkers photodocumented the condition of an experiment called Kromka, which measures residue from the firing of the nearby jet thrusters, and exchanged sample containers in the materials exposure experiment SKK, the Russian initials for replaceable cassette container. By the time the spacewalkers gathered together Matroshka, MPAC and SEED and their cluster of tools and transported them all back for stowage inside Pirs, they were about 45 minutes behind the timeline for today's spacewalk. That delay, combined with an estimated two hours it would take to complete the last planned task-relocation of a Strela cargo crane adapter from Zarya to Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 on the Unity node-caused Russian mission managers to decide to forego the last planned task until a later spacewalk. The hatch to Pirs was closed at 7 p.m. for an official spacewalk duration of 4 hours, 58 minutes. Today's spacewalk was the first in Phillips' career and the eighth for Krikalev, who collected 36 hours and 10 minutes spacewalking experience on seven EVAs during his two missions to the Russian space station Mir. On Tuesday, at 12:44 a.m. CDT, Krikalev's total time in space surpassed the record of 747 days, 14 hours and 14 minutes set by Cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev. Krikalev flew two long-duration flights to the Mir space station, two Space Shuttle missions, and was Flight Engineer on the first Expedition to ISS before this flight as Commander of Expedition 11. The Russian Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system has been shut down since last Thursday, and Russians specialists are working on a recovery plan. Meanwhile, the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly in the U.S. portion of the Station, which has been scrubbing the Station's air since Vozdukh's shut down, failed early this morning due to a stuck check valve, the latest instance of a known and understood problem. It is being managed back to operation by flight controllers in Houston, who reported to the crew that carbon dioxide levels on board ISS are well below the levels that would pose any danger. Plans call for Krikalev to do troubleshooting on Vozdukh starting tomorrow.
- - x - EVA ISS EO-11-1 Crew: Krikalyov, Phillips. EVA Type: Extra-Vehicular Activity. EVA Duration: 0.21 days.
Krikalyov and Phillips retrieved external exposure experiments (Biorisk, left on the Pirs module by the EO-11 crew seven months earlier; Micro-Particles Capturer and Space Environment Exposure Device on the Zarya module). On the Zvezda module they installed a backup television camerafor future use in docking the European Automated Transfer Vehicle. After checking and collecting other external experiments, they were 45 minutes behind timeline, and the planned relocation of a Strela cargo crane adapter from Zarya to the Unity node was cancelled.
- 2005 Aug 26 - International Space Station Status Report #05-41
The residents of the International Space Station this week unloaded cargo delivered to them last month by Discovery's astronauts, prepared for the arrival of more supplies and repaired a key component of the outpost's environmental control system. In the fifth month of their six-month mission, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips completed the unpacking of cargo bags transferred to the Station's Zarya module from the Shuttle Discovery three weeks ago. They planned to unload other bags stowed in the Unity and Zvezda modules in the days ahead. All of the unpacked items were entered into the Station's computerized inventory system. On Friday, the crew will begin to fill the ISS Progress 18 resupply craft docked at the aft end of Zvezda with trash and unneeded gear. The Progress craft will undock from the complex at 5:23 a.m. CDT Sept. 7. It will be commanded to fire its engines to enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up over the Pacific Ocean. That will set the stage for the 8:08 a.m. CDT Sept. 8 launch of the ISS Progress 19 cargo vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. EDT. Filled with more than 2.5 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water and spare parts, Progress 19 will automatically dock to the Station at 9:50 a.m. CDT Sept. 10. The docking will be broadcast live on NASA Television. Among the items to be carried aboard Progress 19 is a new liquids unit for the Russian Elektron oxygen-generation system that failed several months ago. The liquids unit circulates water through the Elektron, separating it into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. The hydrogen is then vented overboard and the oxygen is circulated into the atmosphere for breathing. While Elektron has been inactive, oxygen from the Progress 18 tanks has been used to repressurize the cabin atmosphere. Multiple sources of oxygen are available for use by the crew with ample supplies available. On Tuesday, Krikalev repaired the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system by replacing a faulty valve. Vozdukh shut down late last week, prompting the temporary use of another air-scrubbing system, the U.S. Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) in the Destiny Laboratory. Also on Tuesday, Krikalev and Phillips took time to discuss life and work aboard the Station with students gathered at the Cincinnati Museum Center in Ohio. The educational event was broadcast to schools in the Ohio Valley. On Wednesday, Phillips replaced a failed laptop computer used to house inventory and information about the Station's medical supplies. The computer experienced problems three weeks ago during Discovery's visit. They also spent 90 minutes Wednesday practicing emergency procedures during an exercise that simulated the rapid depressurization of the Station's cabin. Rehearsals of this nature are conducted periodically to maintain proficiency for the crew and flight controllers. In addition to exercise and routine maintenance, the crewmembers stowed spacewalking tools they used last week during their excursion outside the Pirs Docking Compartment to retrieve experiments and hardware. The spacewalk was the only one planned for Expedition 11.
- 2005 Sep 1 - International Space Station Status Report #05-42
The International Space Station's Expedition 11 crewmembers completed 20 weeks in space this week and focused on an upcoming cargo ship exchange and computer software transition. Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips spent time packing the docked ISS Progress 18 supply ship with items no longer needed on the Station. The unpiloted cargo craft will be undocked from the Zvezda module's aft port at 5:23 p.m. CDT Wednesday. The Progress will later burn up in Earth's atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean. A new supply ship, ISS Progress 19, will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:08 a.m. CDT Thursday. It will dock to the Station at 9:50 a.m. CDT Sept. 10. Food, water, fuel, clothing and other supplies will be among the two-and-a-half tons of cargo aboard. The craft will deliver a new liquids unit for the Station's Elektron, a primary oxygen-generating system, as well as spare parts for the Station's Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system. Also this week, Krikalev and Phillips prepared new laptop computers for a software upgrade that will be performed later this month. They also conducted a routine rehearsal of emergency response procedures, simulating an emergency departure from the Station in the Soyuz; and checked out new blood pressure and electrocardiograph equipment that was delivered by the Space Shuttle last month. On Monday, Phillips, who says he was inspired as a boy by history's great explorers, took time Monday to discuss his mission in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting. Phillips talked about the similarities and differences of space exploration and the journey of Lewis and Clark for a series celebrating the bicentennial of that exploration of the American West.
- 2005 Sep 8 - International Space Station Status Report #05-43
A new shipment of supplies is on its way to the International Space Station. The ISS Progress 19 resupply vehicle lifted off today from its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 8:08 a.m. CDT (7:08 p.m. Baikonur time). Less than 10 minutes later, the cargo ship reached orbit, and its solar arrays and navigational antennas were deployed for its two-day trip to the orbital outpost. At the time of the Progress launch, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips were flying 220 statute miles over the south Pacific Ocean. Carrying more than 2 ½ tons of food, water, fuel, clothing, spare parts and other supplies, the new Progress is scheduled to automatically dock to the Station's Zvezda Service Module on Saturday at 9:50 a.m. CDT. The craft will also deliver a new water circulation device called a "liquids unit" for the Station's Elektron oxygen-generating system that has been inoperative for months. The new unit will be installed late next week to try to bring Elektron back into service. Nearing the end of their fifth month in space, Krikalev and Phillips completed packing the old ISS Progress 18 supply ship with items no longer needed on the Station and closed its hatch Tuesday. The unpiloted cargo craft undocked from the Zvezda module's aft port at 5:26 a.m. CDT Wednesday. The Progress and its contents were commanded to deorbit and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific. Also this week, Krikalev and Phillips replaced parts inside their treadmill exercise machine that is mounted in Zvezda. New components were delivered aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in late July for a routine upgrade of the system. After two days of maintenance work, Phillips activated the treadmill machine and is testing it today. He reported that it is operating normally and is available for daily use by the crew.
- 2005 Sep 10 - International Space Station Status Report #05-44
A 2½-ton delivery arrived at the back door of the International Space Station today as an unpiloted Russian cargo ship linked up to the Zvezda module's docking port at 9:42 a.m. CDT, filled with supplies for Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips and spare parts for repair to some Station systems. The crewmembers were inside Zvezda monitoring the automated docking as ISS flew 220 statute miles above Central Asia near northern Kazakhstan at the time of contact and capture. Once leak checks are completed, Krikalev and Phillips will open the hatch to Progress later today and will begin to unload its contents on Sunday. The supplies include food, fuel, oxygen and air, clothing, experiment hardware, and Russian spacesuit components. The more than 2,700 pounds of dry cargo contained in this supply ship also include a new water circulation device called a liquids unit for the Station's Elektron, the primary system for supplying oxygen for the crew to breathe and spare parts for the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system. Time is set aside in the crew's schedule Sept. 15 for installation of the new liquids unit to attempt to bring Elektron back into service, months after it failed. The remainder of the Progress payload includes 1,763 pounds of propellant for the Russian thrusters, 242 pounds of oxygen and air in tanks as a backup supply for the oxygen generated by Elektron and 463 pounds of water to augment the supplies left by The Space Shuttle Discovery during the recent STS-114 mission. Some of the clothing and personal effects delivered to the Station today include items for the next resident crew of the Station, Expedition 12 Commander and NASA Science Officer Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev. They are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Oct. 1 on the Soyuz TMA-7 capsule.
- 2005 Sep 16 - International Space Station Status Report #05-45
The installation of a replacement part for an oxygen-generating system, unpacking a recently arrived cargo carrier and the disassembly of a radiation-detection experiment highlighted this week's activities aboard the International Space Station. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips are scheduled to activate the Elektron oxygen-generation system with its new liquids unit on Monday. The Elektron breaks down water into oxygen for use in the station's atmosphere. The Elektron has not functioned for several months. Adequate oxygen supplies are available on the station from tanks and Solid Fuel Oxygen Generators. The new liquids unit arrived aboard the ISS Progress 19 cargo craft, which docked to the complex at 9:42 a.m. CDT Saturday. The Progress craft brought 2.6 tons of cargo to the station. Krikalev and Phillips began unloading the cargo on Sunday. The Progress brought more than 2,700 pounds of dry cargo to the station, including food, equipment, supplies, clothing and components of scientific experiments. The rest of the cargo included fuel for the station's thrusters, water and oxygen. Unloading continued intermittently through the week. After a light-duty day Monday, the crew transferred Progress cargo and entered the items into the station's computerized, bar-coded inventory management system on Tuesday. Much of Wednesday was devoted to disassembly of the Matroshka radiation experiment, retrieved from the exterior of the station during an August spacewalk, for return to Earth. A major part of the European Space Agency Matroshka experiment, developed and built in Germany and operated through the German Space Agency's Microgravity User Support Center in Cologne, is a human-torso-like device. It was launched on a Progress in January 2004 and installed on the outside of the Zvezda Service Module the following month. Its interior is similar in density to a human's, and 20 radiation detectors are mounted in positions of major human organs. Other detectors inside the station also gathered data for transmission to Earth and station computers. The experiment is designed to better understand the exposure of astronauts, including those making spacewalks, to radiation. In addition to the Elektron liquids unit replacement, Thursday work included setup of hardware for the Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Spaceflight (Foot) experiment. Phillips put on customized Lycra cycling tights for his fifth and final session of the experiment. Foot investigates the differences between use of the body's lower extremities on Earth and in space, as well as changes in the musculoskeletal system during spaceflight. During the session, Phillips wore the instrumented Lower Extremity Monitoring Suit, or LEMS, which measures joint angles, muscle activity and forces on the feet while exercising. During the final run, a special exercise protocol was used to measure forces Phillips experiences on the cycle ergometer and the Resistive Exercise Device. Taking force measurements while running through the range of settings with each piece of exercise equipment helps determine the settings necessary to match the forces that bones experience during exercise on Earth. Matching those forces during exercise is critical to reducing the amount of bone lost while in weightlessness. Also this week, flight controllers and engineers in Houston assisted with the transition aboard the station to a faster advanced portable computer software. The transition was completed Wednesday. Flight controllers also maneuvered station cameras to capture images of Hurricane Ophelia several times this week as it approached the Carolina coast.
- 2005 Sep 30 - International Space Station Status Report #05-46
Preparations for arrival of the next crew of the space station, scientific activities and maintenance highlighted this week's activities aboard the orbiting laboratory. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips also spent some time packing up for their own return home, readying their launch and entry suits. They checked out the Soyuz spacecraft that brought them to the station April 16 to make sure it is ready to take them back to Earth. The 12th crew of the station, Commander and NASA Science Officer William McArthur and Valery Tokarev, flight engineer and Soyuz commander, are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan tonight at about 10:55 p.m. CDT. NASA Television coverage of the launch will begin at 10 p.m. The new crew is scheduled to dock with the station a little after 12:30 a.m. on Monday. NASA Television coverage of the docking will begin at 11p.m. Sunday. With the Expedition 12 crew will be spaceflight participant Gregory Olsen, an American businessman traveling to the station under a contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He will spend about eight days on the station and return to Earth with Krikalev and Phillips. Their landing is scheduled for about 8:10 p.m. CDT Oct. 10 on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Thursday managers at Mission Control Moscow said launch preparations were moving along flawlessly. Managers at Mission Control Houston said the station was ready to receive the new crew. McArthur and Tokarev will spend the eight days they will share with their predecessors aboard the station in intensive handover briefings, learning about the spacecraft's systems, processes, procedures, scientific experiments, the location of equipment and supplies. In short, they will be trying to learn all they still need to know before they begin their months in orbit alone. Krikalev and Phillips began the week with NASA flight controllers in Moscow exercising primary mission control. Mission Control Houston and the rest of Johnson Space Center were closed because of the threat of Hurricane Rita. Houston flight controllers resumed normal operations at 9 a.m. Monday. On Tuesday Krikalev and Phillips each spent more than an hour familiarizing themselves with Olsen's scientific experiments. On Wednesday they continued preparations for arrival of the new crew, and on Thursday did predocking tests and more preparation for their own departure. Phillips regenerated METOX carbon dioxide absorbing cartridges for U.S. spacesuits. McArthur and Tokarev have a spacewalk scheduled in those suits in November. Today's schedule includes maintenance of the Elektron oxygen generating system, functioning again after Krikalev replaced its liquids unit two weeks ago.
- 2005 Sep 30 - International Space Station Status Report #05-47
The 12th crew of the international space station rocketed into space tonight, beginning a six-month mission. A Soyuz spacecraft carried Expedition 12 Commander and NASA Science Officer William McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev to orbit. Gregory Olsen rode with them, beginning a 10-day space mission as part of a commercial contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency. The Soyuz launched at 10:55 p.m. CDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. At the time, the station was flying in a southeasterly direction about 230 miles above the South Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile. With Tokarev at the controls, the Soyuz is on course to catch up and dock with the station at 12:32 a.m. Monday, Oct. 3. The hatches between the arriving Soyuz spacecraft and the station will be opened at about 3:25 a.m. Monday. Live NASA Television coverage of the docking will begin at 11 p.m. Sunday. Tokarev and McArthur will stay aboard the station until the spring, while Olsen will spend eight days there conducting experiments. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips have been doing research and maintaining station systems since April. With Olsen, they will undock from the station and return to Earth Oct. 10.
- 2005 Oct 1 - Soyuz TMA-7 Crew: Tokarev, McArthur, Olsen. Spacecraft: Soyuz TMA. Payload: Soyuz TMA s/n 217. Mass: 7,250 kg (15,980 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz. Duration: 189.83 days. Perigee: 347 km (215 mi). Apogee: 348 km (216 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 91.50 min.
Launch delayed from September 27. Soyuz TMA-7 docked with the International Space Station at 05:27 GMT on 3 October, bringing the long duration EO-12 crew of (McArthur, Commander; Tokarev, Flight Engineer) and space tourist Olsen. McArthur, Tokarev and Pontes (brought to the station aboard Soyuz TMA-8) transferred to TMA-7 on April 8, 2006, closing the hatches at 17:15 GMT and undocking from Zvezda at 20:28 GMT, leaving Vinogradov and Williams from Soyuz TMA-8 as the Expedition 13 in charge of the station. Soyuz TMA-7 fired its engines at 22:58 GMT for the deorbit burn and landed in Kazakhstan at 23:48 GMT.
- 2005 Oct 3 - International Space Station Status Report #05-48
New residents arrived at the international space station this morning to begin a six-month mission that will carry them through the new year into next spring. With Expedition 12 Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Valery Tokarev at the controls, the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft automatically linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 12:27 a.m. CDT as the Soyuz and the station flew over eastern Asia. Within minutes, hooks and latches between the two vehicles joined together to form a hard mate. Aboard the Soyuz with Tokarev were NASA Expedition 12 Commander and Science Officer Bill McArthur and U.S. Spaceflight Participant Gregory Olsen, who will spend eight days on the complex under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. After two orbits worth of systems checks, hatches between the Soyuz and the station were opened at 3:36 a.m. CDT. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips greeted their colleagues with handshakes and hugs and the traditional offering of bread and salt. The first activity scheduled for the five crewmembers was a safety briefing to familiarize the newly arrived trio with emergency escape procedures. For Krikalev and Phillips, today marked their 171st day in space and their 169th day on the station since they arrived in April. McArthur and Tokarev will remain on board the station until April 2006. Olsen will return to Earth next week after eight days of scientific and photography experiments with Krikalev and Phillips in the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft that is docked to the Zarya module. The new crew launched Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for its two-day journey to the outpost. McArthur and Tokarev are scheduled to relocate the new Soyuz from Pirs to Zarya on Nov. 18. Among the NASA officials on hand for the docking activities at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow were William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, and Bob Cabana, the deputy director of the Johnson Space Center. Later today, before beginning an extended sleep period, the new crewmembers will transfer Olsen's custom-made Soyuz seatliner to the older Soyuz he will ride home in as well as cargo carried aloft on the new Soyuz for the complex. In addition, initial briefings on the handover from the current residents to their replacements will be conducted and the new Soyuz' systems will be deactivated. Over the next week, McArthur and Tokarev will familiarize themselves with station systems and stowed equipment, conduct robotics training with the Canadarm2 robot arm, and receive detailed briefings on scientific payloads.
- 2005 Oct 7 - International Space Station Status Report #05-49
Following the docking of the Soyuz spacecraft early Monday morning, the space station is now home to a new crew. Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev, joined by spaceflight participant Gregory Olsen, spent the week on board with the Expedition 11 crew performing handover and transfer activities. McArthur, Tokarev and Olsen arrived at the space station at 12:27 a.m. CDT Monday, Oct. 3, and entered the orbital laboratory at 3:36 a.m. For McArthur and Tokarev, the station will serve as home for the next six months. The crews began joint activities with safety briefings and a review of emergency escape procedures. The remainder of the first day together for the two crews included initial handover briefings, deactivation of the Soyuz spacecraft and drying and stowage of the Russian Sokol spacesuits worn during launch. Handover activities continued throughout the week. On Tuesday, Expedition 11 Flight Engineer John Phillips and McArthur reviewed robotic arm software that provides graphical depictions of the station's exterior to aid in arm operations. The following day, the two performed several maneuvers using the Canadarm2 to acquaint the new crew with how the robotic arm behaves in the space environment. The crews also conducted experiments. The studies included the Intercellular Interactions experiment, a Russian study of the effect of microgravity on cell surfaces and intercellular interactions, and an experiment that studies the process of genetic material transmission in bacteria. Other experiment work included a study of the growth and development of higher plants in space, a study of changes in the human cardiovascular system in orbit and an investigation designed to help researchers understand the effect of radiation exposure on human organs. The crews also fielded questions from media during a news conference and several interviews and received a special phone call from Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Fradkov congratulated the crews on their work and discussed his country's commitment to the international space station program. Also this week, the crews installed radiation monitors and temperature sensor switching units, inspected U.S. emergency power supplies and smoke detectors, and replaced a laptop computer. The crews will have some brief off-duty time this weekend, but will focus on completing handover and preparations for Expedition 11's return home. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Phillips are scheduled to undock from the station at 4:43 p.m. CDT and land at 8:09 p.m. CDT on Monday in Kazakhstan. NASA Television coverage of the crew's farewells will begin at 1 p.m. CDT Monday as they say their goodbyes and close the hatches between the station and the Soyuz spacecraft. NASA TV coverage of the undocking will begin at 4 p.m. CDT. Coverage of the deorbit burn will begin at 6:45 p.m. and continue through landing. The deorbit burn is scheduled for 7:19 p.m.
- 2005 Oct 10 - International Space Station Status Report #05-50
After traveling 75 million miles during six months on the international space station, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips returned to Earth today. With them was American Greg Olsen, who spent eight days on the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. The Soyuz spacecraft with Krikalev, Phillips and Olsen landed in north-central Kazakhstan, about 53 miles (85 kilometers) northeast of Arkalyk, at 8:09 p.m. CDT. The crew's families will greet them at Star City, Russia, near Moscow, early tomorrow. Krikalev and Phillips will remain in Star City for post-flight debriefings before returning to Houston in late October. Krikalev and Phillips launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, April 14. They spent 179 days, 23 minutes in space. During their mission, they welcomed the Space Shuttle Discovery crew as it returned the shuttle to flight on STS-114. While on the station, Krikalev amassed more time in space than any human. He is a veteran of six spaceflights, including two to the Russian space station Mir, two shuttle flights, and the first international space station expedition. Krikalev has 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes of time in space. On Aug. 16, he surpassed the previous record set by Cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev of 747 days, 14 hours and 14 minutes. The new station crew, Expedition 12 Commander and NASA Science Officer Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev, will have light duty for the next few days as they rest from a busy handover. They will remain in orbit six months, during which they are planned to perform at least two spacewalks. The first spacewalk will occur in early November.
- 2005 Oct 11 - Landing of Soyuz TMA-6
- 2005 Oct 14 - International Space Station Status Report #05-51
Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev are spending their first few days alone on the international space station following the safe return home of their predecessors Monday. McArthur and Tokarev, veterans of shorter space shuttle flights, began familiarizing themselves with the nuances of a longer on orbit life. While becoming acquainted with their new microgravity home and laboratory, they did some routine maintenance work, exercised and conducted early experiment work. The crew also reviewed emergency procedures for departing the station, swapped a battery in the Zarya module and rearranged some stowage items in the Unity connecting node. During McArthur and Tokarev's six months in orbit, they expect to perform at least two spacewalks, the first in early November. Before that, they will relocate their Soyuz spacecraft from the Russian Pirs docking port so it can be used for the spacewalks. In December, the Expedition 12 crew members expect to oversee the arrival of a new supply ship, the 20th Progress vehicle. This week, McArthur set up a camera for a session of the Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students, or EarthKAM experiment. Using the Internet, students can control the special digital camera mounted on the space station to photograph coastlines, mountain ranges and other geographic items of interest. Thousands of students from 119 schools around the world are participating in the 20th session of this NASA education program.
- 2005 Oct 21 - International Space Station Status Report #05-52
Growing increasingly familiar with their microgravity home and laboratory in space, the 12th international space station crew turned its attention to experiment work, began preparations for the first space station-based spacewalk using U.S. suits since 2003 and captured spectacular images and video of the latest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin, Hurricane Wilma. Expedition 12 Commander and NASA Station Science Officer Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev this week began reviewing procedures for the extravehicular activity, or spacewalk, they will make on Nov. 7 using U.S. spacesuits and the Joint Quest airlock. The two priority tasks for the 5½-hour spacewalk are installation of a new video camera on the far end of the station's P1 (port) truss structure and removal of a probe that measured the electrical potential around the station from the top of its P6 truss element. The station's atmosphere was repressurized with oxygen from storage tanks on the Progress supply ship today as Russian specialists prepare a troubleshooting plan to recover the Elektron, the primary oxygen generation system on the space station. The Elektron, which creates oxygen by breaking down water into its oxygen and hydrogen components, stopped working late last week when its supply of water was depleted sooner than was expected. A Russian commission of technical specialists is looking into the cause of the abort of a planned altitude reboost Tuesday using Progress fuel and thrusters. Mission managers believe Russian navigation computers properly shut down the thrusters when they lost information on how those thrusters were actually performing. A test firing of the thrusters in question is planned for next Wednesday to gather more data for Russian engineers troubleshooting the issue. This week McArthur checked out a new device to analyze exhaled gases inside the station. After more than eight years of design, development and testing on Earth by U.S. and European Space Agency (ESA) scientists, the Pulmonary Function System - originally slated to be launched to the station inside ESA's science laboratory Columbus - was delivered by space shuttle Discovery in July integrated into the second Human Research Facility (HRF). The first HRF was launched inside Destiny in February 2001. McArthur and Tokarev conducted the first of three sessions with the Renal Stone experiment by collecting urine samples for later return to Earth and logging all of their food and drink consumed during a 24-hour period. This ongoing experiment investigates whether potassium citrate - proven to minimize kidney stone development on Earth - can be used to reduce the risk of kidney stone formation for crewmembers in space. Because urine calcium levels are typically much higher in space, space travelers are susceptible to an increased risk of developing kidney stones. An understanding of the crew's diet during the urine collection timeframes will help researchers determine if the excess calcium in the urine is due to diet or a response to the microgravity environment. NASA's payload operations team at the Marshall Space Flight Center coordinates U.S. science activities on the space station. McArthur and Tokarev will be in orbit for six months conducting experiments, at least two spacewalks and overseeing arrival of the next Progress supply vehicle in December. They also will relocate their Soyuz crew module to free the Russian Pirs docking port for a later spacewalk. Pirs doubles as an airlock and docking module.
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