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Posted by Jacques van Oene on June 25, 2005, 10:42 am
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Report #33
3:00 p.m. CDT, Friday, June 24, 2005
Mission Control Center, Houston
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.
Information on the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future launch
dates, as well as Station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth,
is available on the Internet at:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
The next ISS status report will be issued on Friday, July 1, or earlier, if
events warrant.
###
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Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
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