NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 12 October 2008

STATUS REPORT Date Released: Sunday, October 12, 2008 Source: NASA HQ - Comments

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday - off-duty day for CDR Volkov, FE-1 Kononenko & FE-2 Chamitoff. Ahead: Week 26 of Increment 17.

Soyuz TMA-13 (17S) launched flawlessly this morning on time at 3:01:38am EDT carrying ISS-18 CDR Michael Fincke (first American to launch twice on a Soyuz), Soyuz CDR/ISS-18 FE-1 Yuri Lonchakov, and SFP/VC15 Richard Garriott. Separations from second & third stage were nominal. Orbit was attained at L+ 8:45 min at an altitude of 230.3 km (perigee ~200.7 km/apogee ~259.9 km, downrange ~520 km, velocity ~7.50 km/s, orbit period 88.8 min). Antennas and solar arrays deployed nominally at orbit insertion. 17S has a planned two-day rendezvous profile, to aim for docking on Tuesday, 10/14, at (12:33pm Moscow time). See Flight Plan, below. [At orbit insertion, Soyuz unfolded two solar arrays, four Kurs antennas, one TORU/Rassvet-M antenna and one telemetry antenna. Later, the crew activated antenna heaters, set the maneuver mode, turned on the RKO orbit radio tracking system, started leak checks, etc. Two orbit adjustment burns of ~5 min duration each were executed this morning, DV1 (~17.91 m/s) at 6:42am, DV2 (9.40 m/s) at 7:22am, both with the SKD main engine. After the two-day "chase", supported by several more midcourse burns, 17S will dock at the FGB nadir port on 10/14 at ~4:38am EDT (12:33pm Moscow time).]

FE-2 Chamitoff had the third day of his second SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity) session, which runs in two blocks of six days each. Today, Greg again began with measurements and sampling of body mass (with SLAMMD/Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device), blood (with PCBA/Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer), and urine, to continue for three more days. Samples were stowed in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). [Background: For the SOLO experiment, Chamitoff follows a special high- salt diet, for which prepared meals are provided onboard. All three daily meals are being logged on sheets stowed in the PCBA Consumable Kit in the MELFI along with control solution and cartridges for the PCBA. Blood and urine samples are stowed in the freezer. SOLO, an ESA/German experiment from the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne/Germany, investigates the mechanisms of fluid and salt retention in the body during long-duration space flight. Background: The hypothesis of an increased urine flow as the main cause for body mass decrease has been questioned in several recently flown missions. Data from the US SLS1/2 missions as well as the European/Russian Euromir `94 & MIR 97 missions show that urine flow and total body fluid remain unchanged when isocaloric energy intake is achieved. However, in two astronauts during these missions the renin-angiotensin system was considerably activated while plasma ANP concentrations were decreased. Calculation of daily sodium balances during a 15-day experiment of the MIR 97 mission (by subtracting sodium excretion from sodium intake) showed an astonishing result: the astronaut retained on average 50 mmol sodium daily in space compared to balanced sodium in the control experiment. SLAMMD, performed first on Expedition 12 in December 2005, provides an accurate means of determining the on-orbit mass of humans spanning the range from the 5th percentile Japanese female and the 95th percentile American male. The procedure, in accordance with Newton's 2nd Law of Motion, finds the mass by dividing force, generated by two springs inside the SLAMMD drawer, by acceleration measured with a precise optical instrument that detects the position versus time trajectory of the SLAMMD guide arm and a micro controller which collects the raw data and provides the precise timing. The final computation is done via portable laptop computer with SLAMMD unique software. To calculate their mass, crewmembers wrap their legs around a leg support assembly, align the stomach against a belly pad and either rest the head or chin on a head rest. For calibration, an 18-lbs. mass is used at different lengths from the pivot point, to simulate different mass values. Crew mass range is from 90 to 240 lbs.]

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