2002
Report #41 
4:30 p.m. CDT, Friday, September 13, 2002 
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas 
 
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.