ISS Fan Club - ISS Status Report

Crew Members Do Science, Maintenance and Pack Progress; Station Reboosted

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:00:48 -0400

The Expedition 17 crew members packed discards into the ISS Progress 29, serviced spacesuits and worked with science experiments aboard the International Space Station Thursday.

The crew continued to load the unpiloted Progress cargo ship. It is scheduled to undock from the station on Sept. 2, then be deorbited to burn in the Earth's atmosphere.

Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff did routine servicing of a U.S. spacesuit’s umbilical and cooling loops. He also reviewed procedures and set up equipment for Friday’s scheduled checkout of the Kibo laboratory’s robotic arms.

Throughout the day, crew members set up and worked with various science experiments. They also did their daily physical exercise to counteract effects of long-term weightlessness in space.

Crew Continues Maintenance, Science; Ground Controllers Test Dextre

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:29:13 -0400

Dextre was in the spotlight Monday aboard the International Space Station.

For the first time since the station's Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator was assembled and activated during STS-123 in March, controllers on the ground began a comprehensive series of tests on the Canadian-built robotic system, also known as Dextre. Controllers tested one of the system’s shoulder roll joints Monday.

Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov worked to replace an electronics box used to power the orientation of the solar arrays on the Zvezda Service Module.

In the complex’s Russian Segment, Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko performed maintenance on the purification system in the Elektron oxygen generator.

Crew Preps for New Arrivals

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:42:54 -0500

Orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition 16 crew spent Friday wrapping up a busy week with preparations for an upcoming visit from space shuttle Endeavour carrying the station’s new Japanese module.

After a weekly conference between the station crew and the Russian flight control team, Commander Peggy Whitson installed the Centerline Berthing Camera System (CBCS) in the Harmony module. The CBCS will provide visual cues to the astronauts as they install the Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (JLP), which is being delivered by Endeavour on the STS-123 mission in March. JLP is the first component of Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module, to be launched to the station.

Station Reboost Early Thursday

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:42:30 -0500

As ground support personnel prepared to boost the International Space Station to a higher altitude, the crew aboard the orbital outpost worked with science experiments and reviewed emergency procedures Wednesday.

After completing the morning’s activities and taking a lunch break, the Expedition 16 crew reviewed emergency procedures for the station’s newest addition, the Columbus module. This is a standard procedure for any new module.

Later, Commander Peggy Whitson spoke with reporters in her home state of Iowa.

Engines on the station’s Zvezda service module will fire Thursday at 12:16 a.m. EST for about two minutes, providing a further refinement to the 36-minute burn conducted during docked operations with space shuttle Atlantis on the recent STS-122 mission. This will complete the altitude adjustment needed to optimize rendezvous opportunities with space shuttle Endeavour, scheduled to launch March 11 for STS-123.

ISS STATUS 11 AUGUST 2007

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 10:36:40 -0400

Already the largest human-made object orbiting the Earth, the International Space Station continued its on-orbit growth spurt with the addition of the Starboard 5 (S5) truss segment. The S5 was attached at about 1:35 p.m. EDT during STS-118’s first spacewalk.

The S5 will serve as a spacer segment between the Starboard 4 and 6 (S6) segments. The S6 and its solar arrays will be attached during a future shuttle mission. The S5 is the newest piece of the station’s backbone, called the Integrated Truss Structure, which will eventually span the length of a football field and contain four sets of solar arrays.

ISS STATUS REPORT #SS07-33

Fri, 6 Jul 2007 21:09:45 -0400

Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Clay Anderson this week finished preparing their spacesuits for a planned July 23 spacewalk. Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov also continued evaluating the computers on the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

During the U.S. spacewalk, Yurchikhin and Anderson will jettison a support post for an exterior video camera and a 1,400-pound, refrigerator-sized tank that is no longer needed. The tank, known as the Early Ammonia Servicer, was designed to replenish ammonia to the temporary cooling system on the station in the event of a coolant leak.

ISS Status Report: SS07-32

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 13:06:48 -0400

After the departure of the space shuttle Atlantis, Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov returned to their daily operations aboard the International Space Station this week, while newly arrived Flight Engineer Clay Anderson began conducting scientific experiments.

Complete release at http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/jun/HQ_SS0732_station_status.html

ISS STATUS REPORT #SS07-27

Fri, 18 May 2007 22:55:12 -0400

This week, the Expedition 15 crew unpacked new supplies and began preparing for the arrival of the next visiting spacecraft and two upcoming spacewalks at the International Space Station.

The ISS Progress 25 docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 12:10 a.m. CDT Tuesday. During the week, the crew began unloading the more than 5,000 pounds of cargo from the supply ship.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov prepared for their May 30 and June 6 spacewalks by working on the Pirs Airlock. The cosmonauts will wear Russian Orlan spacesuits to install orbital debris protection panels on the Zvezda Service Module and replace experiments on the module's hull. Mission experts at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, will provide an overview of the spacewalks in a news briefing at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, on NASA Television.

ISS STATUS REPORT #07-26

Tue, 15 May 2007 21:06:09 -0400

A spacecraft automatically docked to the International Space Station early Tuesday, delivering 2.5 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the residents on board.

The ISS Progress 25 linked up to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 12:10 a.m. CDT Tuesday as the station sailed 208 miles above the Earth off the northeast coast of Australia. Within minutes, hooks and latches engaged between the two spacecraft to form a tight seal. The hatch to the supply ship will be opened overnight to enable its cargo to be unloaded.

Complete release at http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/may/HQ_SS0

ISS Status Report #07-25

Sat, 12 May 2007 12:21:57 -0400

A new cargo freighter launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 10:25 p.m. CDT Friday with more than 2.5 tons of fuel, air, water and other supplies and equipment aboard.

The ISS Progress 25 unpiloted cargo carrier is scheduled to dock with the station Tuesday at 12:10 a.m., bringing more than 1,050 pounds of propellant, almost 100 pounds of air, more than 925 pounds of water and 3,042 pounds of dry cargo -- a total of 5,125 pounds. NASA TV coverage of the docking will begin at 11:30 p.m. Monday

http://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/archive/sarex/48ho

ISS Status Report: SS07-24

Sat, 5 May 2007 16:12:56 -0400

Marking the second week working together, the Expedition 15 crew wrapped up a week of various maintenance tasks, science experiments and preparations for the May 15 arrival of the Progress 25 supply ship.

To prepare for the new unpiloted cargo carrier's arrival, the currently docked Progress' engines were used to reboost the station Saturday. The move increases the number of rendezvous opportunities for the STS-117 space shuttle mission targeted for next month. Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineers Oleg Kotov and Suni Williams also removed the docking mechanism from the Progress 24 for later use.

ISS Status Report: SS07-23

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:35:38 -0400

The Expedition 15 crew aboard the International Space Station completed its first week of station orientation as the crew worked with experiments and hardware maintenance.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineers Oleg Kotov and Suni Williams began the week with a couple light duty days after the busy handover operations with the former crew. Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian crewmate Mikhail Tyurin, accompanied by spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi, returned to Earth on Saturday, April 21, and are at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for several weeks of post-mission debriefing and rehabilitation.

STATUS REPORT: SS07-20

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 17:28:30 -0400

HOUSTON - The crew members aboard the International Space Station were busy this week with handover operations from the Expedition 14 residents to the newly arrived Expedition 15 crew.

Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov arrived at the station Monday after a Saturday launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. With them on their Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft was Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, a U.S. businessman flying under a contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Yurchikhin, Kotov and Simonyi were greeted by the station's current crew, Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams.

STATUS REPORT: SS07-18

Sat, 7 Apr 2007 16:18:56 -0400

Two Russian cosmonauts and a space flight participant launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:31 p.m. CDT Saturday for a two-day flight to the International Space Station.

Less than 10 minutes after launch their spacecraft reached orbit and its antennas and solar arrays deployed. The Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the station at a little after 3 p.m. Monday.

Once they arrive at the station, Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin, Expedition 15 commander, and Oleg Kotov, Expedition 15 flight engineer, and spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi, a U.S. businessman, will be greeted by the station’s current crew, Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams.

ISS Status Report: SS07-15

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:07:01 -0400

HOUSTON - The Expedition 14 crew of the International Space Station continued preparations for the April arrival of a new station crew by boarding their Soyuz TMA-9 craft and taking a 24-minute flight from one station docking port to another.

Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin guided the Soyuz away from the Earth-facing port of the station's Zarya module and docked it to the aft port of the Zvezda module. The move frees the Zarya port for the arrival of the Expedition 15 crew aboard the Soyuz TMA-10, scheduled to dock to the station on April 9.

Tyurin undocked the Soyuz from Zarya at 5:30 p.m. CDT and redocked to the Zvezda port at 5:54 p.m. CDT as the station and the Soyuz flew 210 miles above the east coast of South America. Minutes later, hooks and latches engaged between the Soyuz' docking probe and Zvezda's docking port to attach the craft firmly to the station. During the time from undocking to redocking, the crew traveled about a third of the way around the world.