09.13.02

4:30 p.m. CDT, Friday, September 13, 2002
Expedition Five Crew
STATUS REPORT: ISS02-41

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT #02-41

The fifth resident crew on the International Space Station completed 
100 days in space at 4:23 p.m. CDT today as it wrapped up a week that 
saw the first-ever on orbit operational use of ultrasound for medical 
diagnosis. The busy week also included completion of the first 
materials science experiment in the station's new Microgravity 
Sciences Glovebox, a reboost of the station's orbital altitude, and a 
day of robotic arm activity.

This morning Expedition Five Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson set up and 
activated the ultrasound equipment at the Human Research Facility 
rack in the Destiny laboratory, then with guidance from flight 
surgeons in Houston, used it on herself to capture live video images 
for more than four hours. The ability to capture and downlink 
ultrasound imagery from orbit expands the kinds of medical research 
that can be conducted in space by scientists on Earth, and could 
offer physicians the chance to diagnose ailments in space station 
crewmembers earlier than they could otherwise. This possibly could 
improve the chances of effectively treating the problem without 
requiring an emergency deorbit of the crew and abandonment of the 
station.

Whitson completed another research milestone on Wednesday when she 
removed the last sample of the experiment known as SUBSA 
(Solidification Using Baffle in Sealed Ampoules), the first science 
project conducted inside the Destiny lab's new Microgravity Sciences 
Glovebox. Investigators observed via videotape as semiconductor 
materials were melted inside a transparent furnace. They are 
investigating methods for reducing the magnitude of motions in those 
melting materials as a means of reducing defects in the manufacture 
of semiconductors. The next MSG experiment, which begins operation 
next week, is PFMI (Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation), in 
which scientists will observe the formation and movement of bubbles 
trapped in melting metal and crystal samples, which might diminish 
material strength and effectiveness.

Thursday, Expedition Five Commander Valery Korzun and Whitson used the 
station's Canadarm2 to visually examine the Common Berthing Mechanism 
on the nadir (Earth pointing) side of the Unity module. The 
examination was prompted by the discovery of some foreign object 
debris on the CBM of the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that 
was docked to Unity during the most recent shuttle mission in June. 
During a three-hour procedure, the station crewmembers gathered 
close-up views of Unity's berthing port with its protective petals 
closed and open. Specialists in Houston are reviewing the images 
along with crewmember descriptions to determine if any action is 
required.

Wednesday night Russian flight controllers commanded a firing of 
thrusters on the Progress cargo craft docked to the aft end of 
Zvezda, raising the station's average altitude by 1.5 nautical miles 
to 243 statute miles (391 kilometers). The reboost sets the stage for 
the arrivals of a new Progress resupply ship, targeted to launch from 
the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Sept. 24, and a new Soyuz 
rescue craft, planned to launch on Oct. 28 carrying a "taxi" crew 
consisting of Russian cosmonaut Sergei Zalyotin and European Space 
Agency astronaut Frank De Winne of Belgium.

Along with getting time for rest and family conferences last weekend, 
the station crewmembers fashioned a temporary grounding strap for the 
Active Rack Isolation System in the Destiny laboratory's Express Rack 
No. 2 using standard grounding straps found in the lab's zero-g 
stowage racks. This temporary repair, permitting ARIS activation for 
operations recalibration, became necessary when the original strap 
became frayed. New hardware to finalize this repair is being 
scheduled for delivery to the station on the next shuttle flight.

The shuttle that next will visit the International Space Station moved 
to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday for 
final preparation for the next assembly mission (9A). STS-112 is 
targeted for an Oct. 2 launch on a flight to install the next 
component of the station's Integrated Truss Structure, the S1 Truss, 
during three planned spacewalks. The move to the launch pad was 
completed following replacement of bearings in the Jacking, 
Equalization and Leveling cylinders of shuttle Crawler Transporter 
No. 2.

Next week Korzun and Whitson are expected to return to maintenance of 
the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly in the Destiny laboratory, which 
is still scrubbing the station's environment of carbon dioxide 
despite indications of interior leaks. Troubleshooting by flight 
controllers in Houston led to the conclusion that the desiccant 
valves in the Desiccant/Sorbent Bed Assemblies are seated properly, 
and that a leak is likely in one of the hydroflow lines; a visual 
inspection of that area by Whitson confirmed the analysis. Time 
should be scheduled for Korzun and Whitson next week to open the 
system rack housing CDRA, as they did when they replaced one of the 
sorbent bed assemblies in July, to make repairs.

Information on the crew's activities aboard the space station, future 
launch dates, as well as station sighting opportunities from anywhere 
on Earth, is available on the Internet at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

Details on station science operations can be found on an Internet site 
administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall 
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at:

http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov

The next ISS status report will be issued on Friday, Sept. 20, or 
sooner if events warrant.

	
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