Astrolab Mission Information Report No. 1 Part 2
This report summarises the activities of the ISS Increment 13 and the ESA Astrolab mission from 1 to 15 July 2006. It is divided into two parts. This is Part 2. For Part 1 click here.
Operations and maintenance of ISS systems
Throughout June, the ISS Expedition 13 crew had already prepared themselves and the Station for the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery. With the STS-121 launch delayed until 4 July, the Expedition 13 crew was working along the updated timelines, which included maintenance, scientific experiments, conferences with media and students, and preparations for the joint mission with the Discovery crew, mainly consisting in hardware prepacking for return on the Shuttle. The ISS Expedition 13 crew was also involved in the following operations before the Shuttle arrival and during the joint mission with STS-121 crewmembers: Repair and recovery of the storage battery in the electrical power system of the Zvezda module, audit and inspection of the portable emergency provisions (i.e. portable fire extinguishers, portable breathing assemblies, quick-don mask assemblies and extension hose/tee kits). On 3 July, Flight Engineer Jeffrey Williams activitated and successfully performed tests on the ESA-developed Pulmonary Function System (PFS) which is located in the Human Resource Facility (HRF) of the Destiny laboratory to prepare it for future operations. It will be used later in July as part of Thomas Reiter's scientific experiment programme. The tests on the PFS were supported from the Danish User Support and Operations Centre DAMEC in Odense. Denmark.
After the arrival of Discovery, starting from 7 July, ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov and the new ISS Flight Engineer ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter had time set aside for hand-over activities since Reiter's responsibilities as ISS Flight Engineer require familiarisation with the Station's systems.
Maintenance operations performed by the ISS Expedition 13 crew, which included Thomas Reiter, during the docked phase concerned the disassembly of the old CEVIS (Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation) for return on the Shuttle; the regular clean-up of the detachable fan screens of the three thermal control system gas-liquid heat exchangers, as well as the fixed air duct screens in the Zarya module and the clean-up of the air ducts and protective mesh screens of the ventilator fans in the Pirs module; the replacement of the nitrogen purge unit of the Elektron O2 generator in Zvezda; the installation of the Controller Panel Assembly on the Nadir Common Berthing Mechanism of Unity; and the collection of a fluid sample from the Internal Active Thermal Control System/Moderate Temperature Loop of Destiny, as an additional return item for the Shuttle.
During the whole docked phase of Discovery, transfer operations of cargo from the MPLM (Multipurpose Logistics Module) Leonardo to the ISS and vice versa remained on the priority list of the joint ISS/Space Shuttle flight and in particular of Thomas Reiter. The logistics transfers to and from the MPLM and Discovery's mid-deck were done at a much faster pace than scheduled.
Among the cargo items transferred to the ISS on 8 July were two ESA-built facilities: the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) and the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). MELFI is soon to start its on-orbit commissioning phase, followed later by EMCS. Thomas Reiter will support the activitation and in-orbit testing of these two ESA-built facilities. In addition, a replacement front window for the ESA-provided Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) in the American Destiny laboratory was brought up with the Shuttle, which was installed by Reiter on 11 July, together with new window seals. All facilities on the Station need to be regularly maintained to ensure they can continue to be safely used in orbit. Reiter renewed the main window and seals to ensure the extension of MSG's certification. Additional work will be needed after the departure of the Shuttle before the MSG can resume operation.
The Shuttle also delivered a new oxygen generator, called the Oxygen Generation System (OGS), which is needed to support in the future a six-person crew on the ISS. The system is now ready on the ISS to be checked-out in a stand-alone configuration. It will be fully connected to the ISS at a later stage.
Thomas Reiter was also introduced to the physical exercise equipment aboard the ISS and performed his first exercise sessions with the TVIS treadmill and the Resistive Exercise Device (RED) on 15 July.
Execution of the European experiment programme
Thomas Reiter being onboard the Space Station as the third ISS Expedition 13 crew member will have a positive effect on the crew time available for ISS utilisation. He immediately took up his first experiment sessions in the frame of ESA's Astrolab mission. Several experiments which had been started by the Russian Expedition 13 crew member, ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov are now complemented by Thomas Reiter. In the reporting period, Thomas Reiter performed human physiology experiments with the NITRIC OXIDE ANALYZER (NOA1) and the EYE TRACKING DEVICE (ETD) and his first session for the CULT experiment.
The purpose of the NOA1 experiments, which are conducted on a weekly scheme, is to monitor expired nitric oxide in the subject's exhaled air to detect signs of airway inflammation and indications of venous gas bubbles that may be caused by inhalation of pollutants on the ISS. On 13 July, Reiter, together with Pavel Vinogradov, carried out successfully in the Russian Pirs module his first weekly NOA1 session, which was the ninth session for Vinogradov. The execution of the NOA1 experiment sessions is coordinated and supported from the Danish User Support and Operations Centre DAMEC in Odense, Denmark.
On 3 July, Vinogradov performed a further monthly session with the EYE TRACKING DEVICE (ETD) experiment. Ten days later, on 13 July, Reiter performed his first monthly session with this experiment, which investigates the coordination of eye and head movements in weightlessness. During the session, it turned out that his personal mask, which is part of the ETD set-up, could not be connected to the head device due to a mechanical issue. As a replacement solution, Reiter used the personal mask of Vinogradov and the experiment session was performed successfully. The execution of the ETD experiment sessions is coordinated and supported from the French User Support and Operations Centre CADMOS in Toulouse, France.
On 14 July, Reiter filled out for the first time the questionnaire of the ESA CULT experiment. CULT, a multi-increment investigation, which eventually will involve 12 subjects, is dedicated to the study of cultural aspects and leadership styles of on-board crews as a function of mission duration, including interactions within multinational crews. The execution of the CULT experiment sessions is coordinated and supported from the French User Support and Operations Centre CADMOS in Toulouse, France.
Execution of the American and Russian experiment programmes
On 3 July, ISS Flight Engineer No. 1 and NASA Science Officer Jeffrey Williams injected new suspension samples into the Tissue Culture Module bioreactor of the NASA Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System - Fluid Dynamics Investigations (CBOSS-FDI) experiment assembly. CBOSS-FDI uses a stationary bioreactor system developed by the NASA Cellular Biotechnology Programme for the cultivation of cells and tissues on board the ISS. The samples that Williams injected into the bioreactor contained polystyrene beads to mimic the major cells constituting the human immune system. The analysis of the photos taken during the injection process will indicate if the mixing technique used in this experiment creates a homogeneous mixture. This is important in cell culture to ensure that all the cells are receiving adequate nutrients. If proven successful, the new technique will be incorporated in any of NASA's possible future cell culture experiments on the ISS.
On 14 and 15 July, Jeffrey Williams performed a 48-hour diet logging for a further session of NASA's Renal Stone experiment.
During the reporting period, ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov regularly checked out the temperature for the Russian STATOKONIA experiment and monitored the dosimeter readings of the PILLE and MATROSHKA-R radiation protection experiments.
On 7 July, Vinogradov initiated and consecutively followed up the status of a new series for the Russian RASTENIYA-2 (Plants-2) experiment, which studies growth and development of plants (i.e. peas) under spaceflight conditions.
Education and Communication Activities
ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, after his arrival on the ISS, participated in various communication events. Amongst them was a joint crew news conference on 9 July with German media gathered at ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. Portions of it were also re-broadcasted during the Football World Championship's final match in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. On 13 July, Reiter participated in a live interactive event with pupils from a Munich secondary school, joined by two ESA astronauts, Reinhold Ewald and Pedro Duque, at ESA's Columbus Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, Germany.
On 5 July, Jeffrey Williams engaged in an ISS amateur radio (ARISS) exchange with school children at the Hiroshima Childrens Museum in Japan.
On 12 July, the joint ISS/Shuttle nine-member crew engaged in a private conference with US President George W. Bush.
For return to Part 1 click here.