.INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATIOP 

- 

September I 6,2005 

 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Table of Contents 

Mission Overview.................................................................................................. 1 

Crew ....................................................................................................................... 6 

Mission Milestones ............................................................................................... 12 

Spacewalks............................................................................................................ 13 

Russian Soyuz TMA.............................................................................................. 16 

Soyuz Booster Rocket Characteristics............................................................... 22 

Prelaunch Countdown Timeline ......................................................................... 23 

Ascent/Insertion Timeline................................................................................... 24 

Orbital Insertion to Docking Timeline ................................................................. 25 

Expedition 11/ISS Soyuz 10 (TMA-6) Landing................................................... 30 

Key Times for Expedition 12/11 International Space Station Events ................. 33 

Soyuz Entry Timeline......................................................................................... 34 

Science Overview.................................................................................................. 39 

Payload Operations Center .................................................................................. 43 

Russian Experiments............................................................................................ 46

U.S. Experiments/Facilities................................................................................... 53

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3 .............................................................................. 53 

Capillary Flow Experiment ................................................................................. 55 

Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System-Fluid Dynamics 

Investigation (CBOSS-FDI)................................................................................ 57 

Crew Earth Observations (CEO)........................................................................ 60 

Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM).................. 61 

Educational Payload Operations (EPO)............................................................. 63 

Foot Reaction Forces During Spaceflight .......................................................... 65 

Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from 

Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) ......................................................................... 67 

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Journals ............................................................................................................. 68 

Materials on the International Space Station Experiment 5 (MISSE)................. 69 

Renal Stone ....................................................................................................... 71 

Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) and Microgravity 

Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS) ..................................................... 73 

The New Digital NASA Television........................................................................ 74 

Media Contacts...................................................................................................... 75 

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Mission Overview 

A veteran crew will be flying aboard the International Space Station this fall, working to 

maintain the readiness of the complex for the resumption of assembly work on space 

shuttle missions in 2006. 

Attired in Russian Sokol suits, cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev, 

Expedition 12 flight engineer and Soyuz commander, and astronaut 

William S. McArthur Jr., Expedition 12 commander and NASA space 

station science officer, pause from a busy training schedule in 

Star City, Russia, to pose for a crew portrait. 

NASA astronaut William McArthur, 54, a retired U.S. Army colonel, will command 

Expedition 12 on this, his fourth flight into space. Valery Tokarev (pron: Vuh-lair'-ee 

Toe'-kuh-reff), 52, a colonel in the Russian Air Force who flew to the space station in 

1999 on a shuttle mission, will serve as Flight Engineer and Soyuz commander. 

McArthur and Tokarev will launch on the ISS Soyuz 11, or TMA-7, spacecraft on Oct. 1 

from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a two-day flight to link up to the Pirs 

Docking Compartment on the ISS. They will be joined on the Soyuz by American 

businessman Gregory Olsen, 60, who will spend eight days on the station under a 

contract signed with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) to become the 

third private citizen to reach the complex. 

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Olsen will return to Earth on the ISS Soyuz 10, or TMA-6, capsule with Expedition 11 

Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John 

Phillips in the early morning hours of Oct. 11, Kazakhstan time. They have been aboard 

the station since April. In August, Krikalev broke the record for most days in space by 

any human. 

McArthur and Tokarev were to have been joined during Expedition 12 by European 

Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter (pron: Toe-mahs' Rye'-tuhr) of 

Germany, 47, who is slated to fly into space on the STS-121 mission. With that shuttle 

mission delayed until no earlier than March 2006, Reiter would arrive at the ISS in the 

final days of the Expedition 12 increment. Reiter, who flew for six months on the 

Russian Mir Space Station on his previous flight, would be the first non-American or 

Russian long-duration crewmember on the space station under a commercial 

agreement between ESA and Roscosmos. 

Astronaut William S. McArthur Jr. (left), Expedition 12 commander and 

NASA space station science officer; and cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev, 

station flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, 

participate in Human Research Facility (HRF) Rack PEMS-2 training. 

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Once on board, McArthur and Tokarev will conduct more than a week of handover 

activities with Krikalev and Phillips, familiarizing themselves with station systems and 

procedures. They will also receive proficiency training on the Canadarm2 robotic arm 

from Phillips and will engage in safety briefings with the departing Expedition 11 crew as 

well as payload and scientific equipment training. 

McArthur and Tokarev will assume formal control of the station at the time of hatch 

closure for the Expedition 11 crewmembers shortly before they and Olsen undock their 

Soyuz from its docking port at the Zarya Module. With Krikalev at the controls of Soyuz, 

he, Phillips and Olsen will land in the steppes of north-central Kazakhstan to wrap up 

their six-month mission. Olsen’s mission will span 10 days. 

After landing, Krikalev and Phillips will be flown from Kazakhstan to the Gagarin 

Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for about two weeks of initial physical 

rehabilitation. Olsen will spend a much shorter time acclimating himself to Earth’s 

gravity due to the brevity of his flight. 

McArthur and Tokarev are expected to spend about six months aboard the ISS. After 

the Columbia accident on Feb. 1, 2003, the ISS Program and the international partners 

determined that the station would be occupied by only two crewmembers until the 

resumption of shuttle flights because of limitations on consumables. Once Reiter 

arrives on board, the station will operate with a three-person crew for the first time since 

May 2003. 

Station operations and maintenance will take up a considerable share of the time for the 

Expedition 12 crewmembers, but science will continue, as will science-focused 

education activities and Earth observations. 

The science team at the Payload Operations Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center 

in Huntsville, Ala., will operate some experiments without crew input and other 

experiments are designed to function autonomously. Together, operation of individual 

experiments is expected to total several thousand hours, adding to the more than 

100,000 hours of experiment operation time already accumulated aboard the station. 

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Backdropped by Earth, an unpiloted Progress supply 

vehicle approaches the International Space Station (ISS). 

During their six months aloft, McArthur and Tokarev will monitor the arrival of at least 

one Russian Progress resupply cargo ship filled with food, fuel, water and supplies. 

They will also relocate their Soyuz spacecraft from their Pirs docking port to the Zarya 

docking port to free up the Pirs airlock to support spacewalk activity from the Russian 

segment. 

The ISS Progress 20 cargo ship is scheduled to reach the station in December. The 

Progress craft will link up to the aft port of Zvezda. 

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Astronaut William S. McArthur Jr. (right), Expedition 12 commander 

and NASA space station science officer, and cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev (left), 

station flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, participate in 

a training session in the Quest Airlock mockup/trainer at Johnson Space Center’s 

(JSC) Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. McArthur and Tokarev are wearing training 

versions of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit. European Space 

Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter of Germany assists the crewmembers. 

U.S. and Russian specialists are reviewing the complement of tasks that might be 

included in the spacewalks that would be conducted by McArthur and Tokarev during 

their mission. The tasks focus on continued outfitting of station hardware and electrical 

systems and preparing external hardware for the addition of station elements. There 

are plans for a spacewalk from the Quest Airlock in November and one from the 

Russian Pirs Airlock in December. An additional spacewalk from Quest may be added 

in early 2006. 

McArthur is a veteran of two previous spacewalks on the STS-92 shuttle mission that 

installed the Z1 truss structure on the station in 2000. Tokarev would be conducting his 

first spacewalk. 

Also on the crew’s agenda is work with the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2. Robotics 

work will focus on observations of the station’s exterior, maintaining operator proficiency 

and completing the schedule of on-orbit checkout requirements that were developed to 

fully characterize the performance of the robotic system. 

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Expedition 12 Crew 

NASA and its international partners named the Expedition 12 crew in May 2005. 

Astronaut William S. McArthur Jr. and cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev (pron: Vuh-lair'-ee 

Toe'-kuh-reff) previously trained together as backups for Expedition 8 and 10. 

McArthur and Tokarev will swap places with Expedition 11’s Sergei Krikalev and John 

Phillips during the Russian Soyuz crew rotation mission in October 2005. 

Attired in Russian Sokol suits, cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev, Expedition 12 flight 

engineer and Soyuz commander, and astronaut William S. McArthur Jr., 

Expedition 12 commander and NASA space station science officer, pause from a 

busy training schedule in Star City, Russia, to pose for a crew portrait. 

Short biographical sketches of the Expedition 12 crew follows with detailed background 

available at: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/. 

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Commander William McArthur, representing NASA, is a veteran of three spaceflights, 

including two previous visits to space stations – one to the Russian Mir space station 

and one to the International Space Station. McArthur conducted three spacewalks 

during his previous mission to the International Space Station on the STS-92 mission in 

2000 that set the stage for the arrival of the first expedition crew. This will be 

McArthur’s first long-duration mission aboard the complex. He will be responsible for 

the overall success of the mission and will serve as the NASA science officer, 

monitoring and operating a suite of U.S. science experiments. He is expected to 

conduct spacewalks during the flight in both U.S. and Russian Orlan suits. 

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Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev (FE-1), representing Roscosmos, flew aboard the space 

shuttle Discovery on STS-96, a joint mission to the space station in 1999. This will be 

his first long-duration spaceflight. Tokarev will serve as the Soyuz spacecraft 

commander, responsible for launch, rendezvous, docking, undocking and landing 

operations. He will also oversee rendezvous and dockings of Russian cargo spacecraft 

and the suite of Russian experiments onboard the station. He will conduct spacewalks 

during the flight in both U.S. and Russian Orlan suits. 

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Greg Olsen, Soyuz Spaceflight Participant 

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NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams, a colonel in the U.S. Army, and Russian cosmonaut 

Mikhail Tyurin have been named as the backup crew for International Space Station 

Expedition 12. 

The primary Expedition 12 crew of Commander and NASA Science Officer William 

McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev remains scheduled to launch Oct. 1 to the 

station. Backup crewmembers are assigned to train alongside the primary crew and are 

available to conduct the mission in the event a problem were to prevent primary 

crewmembers from flying. 

Williams, a U.S. Military Academy graduate, is the backup Expedition 12 commander 

and NASA science officer. He previously flew aboard the space shuttle on mission 

STS-101, a station assembly mission in May 2000. During that flight, he conducted a 

6 1/2-hour spacewalk at the station for assembly tasks. 

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Tyurin, a cosmonaut researcher with RSC-Energia, is the backup Expedition 12 flight 

engineer. He served as a flight engineer during Expedition 3 aboard the station, a 

129-day mission. 

For full astronaut and cosmonaut biographies on the Internet, visit: 

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/

For information about NASA on the Internet, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov

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Mission Milestones 

(Dates are subject to change)

Oct. 1, 2005 Launch of Expedition 12/Spaceflight Participant in 

Soyuz TMA-7 

Oct. 3, 2005 Docking of Expedition 12/Spaceflight Participant to ISS 

Oct. 11, 2005 Undocking and Landing of Expedition 11/Spaceflight 

Participant from ISS in Soyuz TMA-6 

Nov. 3, 2005 Tentative Date for U.S. EVA No. 4 from Quest Airlock 

Nov. 18, 2005 Relocation of Soyuz TMA-7 from Pirs Docking Compartment 

to Zarya Module 

Dec. 21, 2005 Launch of ISS Progress 20 Resupply Ship 

Dec. 23, 2005 Docking of ISS Progress 20 Resupply Ship to ISS 

Early 2006 Tentative Timeframe for Russian EVA No. 15 

Feb. 3, 2006 Undocking of ISS Progress 19 Resupply Ship from ISS 

March 22, 2006 Launch of Expedition 13 to ISS in Soyuz TMA-8 

March 24, 2006 Docking of Expedition 13 to ISS 

April 1, 2006 Undocking and Landing of Expedition 12 from ISS in 

Soyuz TMA-7 

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Expedition 12 Spacewalks 

Two to three spacewalks are planned during Expedition 12 by Commander and NASA 

Science Officer William McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev. 

The first spacewalk, staged from the Quest airlock, is scheduled in November and the 

second, staged from the Pirs airlock, is scheduled in December. The addition of a third 

spacewalk, originating from Quest, is being discussed for early 2006. 

Astronaut William S. McArthur Jr., Expedition 12 commander 

and NASA space station science officer, and cosmonaut 

Valery I. Tokarev (obscured), station flight engineer representing 

Russia's Federal Space Agency, are about to be submerged in the 

waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near 

Johnson Space Center (JSC). 

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McArthur has made two spacewalks during his previous spaceflight missions. The 

spacewalks will be the first for Tokarev. 

The following activities are to be accomplished during the Expedition 12 spacewalks: 

U.S. Extravehicular Activity No. 4 (November): 

• Install External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) on P1 truss 

• Retrieve Floating Potential Probe 

If time allows, these get ahead tasks may be included: 

• Retrieve failed Rotary Joint Motor Controller (RJMC) from S1 truss 

• Replace Mobile Transporter (MT) Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) 

• Relocation of a portable foot restraint 

• Installation of a clamp for the Materials International Space Station Experiment 

(MISSE) 

Russian Extravehicular Activity No. 15 (December): 

• "Radioskaf" experiment, in which an expired Orlan spacesuit installed with an 

amateur radio transmitter is deployed by the spacewalkers 

• Retrieve Kromka panel No. 3 

• Retrieve Biorisk container 

• Photograph CMMK (micrometeoroid monitoring system) sensors 

• Photograph 11 Soyuz descent module multilayer insulation 

U.S. Extravehicular Activity No. 5 (early 2006; this spacewalk is under review, 

but tasks may include): 

• Retrieve failed RJMC from S1 truss 

• Replace MT RPCM 

• Replace Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) 2 RPCM 

• Inspect and, if required, install Spool Positioning Device (SPD) on S1 Radiator Beam 

Valve Module (RBVM) 

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• Installation of four Spool Positioning Devices (SPDs) on the S0 truss 

• Replace a failed camera on the Mobile Base System (MBS) 

• Relocation of a portable foot restraint 

If time allows, these get ahead task may be included: 

• Installation of a light on the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart on the 

S1 truss 

• Installation of a non-propulsive valve (NPV) on the Destiny Laboratory 

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Russian Soyuz-TMA 

The Soyuz-TMA spacecraft is designed to serve as the International Space Station's 

crew return vehicle, acting as a lifeboat in the unlikely event an emergency would 

require the crew to leave the station. A new Soyuz capsule is normally delivered to the 

station by a Soyuz crew every six months, replacing an older Soyuz capsule already 

docked to the ISS. 

The Soyuz spacecraft is launched to the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome 

in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket. It consists of an Orbital Module, a Descent 

Module and an Instrumentation/Propulsion Module. 

Orbital Module 

This portion of the Soyuz spacecraft is used by the crew while on orbit during free-flight. 

It has a volume of 6.5 cubic meters (230 cubic feet), with a docking mechanism, hatch 

and rendezvous antennas located at the front end. The docking mechanism is used to 

dock with the space station and the hatch allows entry into the station. The rendezvous 

antennas are used by the automated docking system -- a radar-based system -- to 

maneuver towards the station for docking. There is also a window in the module. 

The opposite end of the Orbital Module connects to the Descent Module via a 

pressurized hatch. Before returning to Earth, the Orbital Module separates from the 

Descent Module -- after the deorbit maneuver -- and burns up upon re-entry into the 

atmosphere. 

Descent Module 

The Descent Module is where the cosmonauts and astronauts sit for launch, re-entry 

and landing. All the necessary controls and displays of the Soyuz are located here. 

The module also contains life support supplies and batteries used during descent, as 

well as the primary and backup parachutes and landing rockets. It also contains 

custom-fitted seat liners for each crewmember's couch/seat, which are individually 

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molded to fit each person's body -- this ensures a tight, comfortable fit when the module 

lands on the Earth. When crewmembers are brought to the station aboard the space 

shuttle, their seat liners are brought with them and transferred to the existing Soyuz 

spacecraft as part of crew handover activities. 

The module has a periscope, which allows the crew to view the docking target on the 

station or the Earth below. The eight hydrogen peroxide thrusters located on the 

module are used to control the spacecraft's orientation, or attitude, during the descent 

until parachute deployment. It also has a guidance, navigation and control system to 

maneuver the vehicle during the descent phase of the mission. 

This module weighs 2,900 kilograms (6,393 pounds), with a habitable volume of 4 cubic 

meters (141 cubic feet). Approximately 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of payload can be 

returned to Earth in this module and up to 150 kilograms (331 pounds) if only two 

crewmembers are present. The Descent Module is the only portion of the Soyuz that 

survives the return to Earth. 

Instrumentation/Propulsion Module 

This module contains three compartments: Intermediate, Instrumentation and 

Propulsion. 

The intermediate compartment is where the module connects to the Descent Module. It 

also contains oxygen storage tanks and the attitude control thrusters, as well as 

electronics, communications and control equipment. The primary guidance, navigation, 

control and computer systems of the Soyuz are in the instrumentation compartment, 

which is a sealed container filled with circulating nitrogen gas to cool the avionics 

equipment. The propulsion compartment contains the primary thermal control system 

and the Soyuz radiator, which has a cooling area of 8 square meters (86 square feet). 

The propulsion system, batteries, solar arrays, radiator and structural connection to the 

Soyuz launch rocket are located in this compartment. 

The propulsion compartment contains the system that is used to perform any 

maneuvers while in orbit, including rendezvous and docking with the space station and 

the deorbit burns necessary to return to Earth. The propellants are nitrogen tetroxide 

and unsymmetric-dimethylhydrazine. The main propulsion system and the smaller 

reaction control system, used for attitude changes while in space, share the same 

propellant tanks. 

The two Soyuz solar arrays are attached to either side of the rear section of the 

Instrumentation/Propulsion Module and are linked to rechargeable batteries. Like the 

Orbital Module, the intermediate section of the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module 

separates from the Descent Module after the final deorbit maneuver and burns up in 

atmosphere upon re-entry. 

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TMA Improvements and Testing 

The Soyuz TMA spacecraft is a replacement for the Soyuz TM, which was used from 

1986 to 2002 to take astronauts and cosmonauts to Mir and then to the International 

Space Station. 

The TMA increases safety, especially in descent and landing. It has smaller and more 

efficient computers and improved displays. In addition, the Soyuz TMA accommodates 

individuals as large as 1.9 meters (6 feet, 3 inches tall) and 95 kilograms (209 pounds), 

compared to 1.8 meters (6 feet) and 85 kilograms (187 pounds) in the earlier TM. 

Minimum crewmember size for the TMA is 1.5 meters (4 feet, 11 inches) and 

50 kilograms (110 pounds), compared to 1.6 meters (5 feet, 4 inches) and 56 kilograms 

(123 pounds) for the TM. 

Two new engines reduce landing speed and forces felt by crewmembers by 15 to 

30 percent and a new entry control system and three-axis accelerometer increase 

landing accuracy. Instrumentation improvements include a color "glass cockpit," which 

is easier to use and gives the crew more information, with hand controllers that can be 

secured under an instrument panel. All the new components in the Soyuz TMA can 

spend up to one year in space. 

New components and the entire TMA were rigorously tested on the ground, in hangardrop tests, in airdrop tests and in space before the spacecraft was declared flight-ready. 

For example, the accelerometer and associated software, as well as modified boosters 

(incorporated to cope with the TMA's additional mass), were tested on flights of 

Progress unpiloted supply spacecraft, while the new cooling system was tested on two 

Soyuz TM flights. 

Descent module structural modifications, seats and seat shock absorbers were tested in 

hangar drop tests. Landing system modifications, including associated software 

upgrades, were tested in a series of airdrop tests. Additionally, extensive tests of 

systems and components were conducted on the ground. 

Soyuz Launcher 

Throughout history, more than 1,500 launches have been made with Soyuz launchers 

to orbit satellites for telecommunications, Earth observation, weather, and scientific 

missions, as well as for human flights. 

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A Soyuz launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 

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The basic Soyuz vehicle is considered a three-stage launcher in Russian terms and is 

composed of: 

• A lower portion consisting of four boosters (first stage) and a central core (second 

stage). 

• An upper portion, consisting of the third stage, payload adapter and payload fairing. 

• Liquid oxygen and kerosene are used as propellants in all three Soyuz stages. 

First Stage Boosters 

The first stage’s four boosters are assembled around the second stage central core. 

The boosters are identical and cylindrical-conic in shape with the oxygen tank located in 

the cone-shaped portion and the kerosene tank in the cylindrical portion. 

An NPO Energomash RD 107 engine with four main chambers and two gimbaled 

vernier thrusters is used in each booster. The vernier thrusters provide three-axis flight 

control. 

Ignition of the first stage boosters and the second stage central core occur 

simultaneously on the ground. When the boosters have completed their powered flight 

during ascent, they are separated and the core second stage continues to function. 

First stage booster separation occurs when the pre-defined velocity is reached, which is 

about 118 seconds after liftoff. 

Second Stage 

An NPO Energomash RD 108 engine powers the Soyuz second stage. This engine 

differs from those of the boosters by the presence of four vernier thrusters, which are 

necessary for three-axis flight control of the launcher after the first stage boosters have 

separated. 

An equipment bay located atop the second stage operates during the entire flight of the 

first and second stages. 

Third Stage 

The third stage is linked to the Soyuz second stage by a latticework structure. When 

the second stage’s powered flight is complete, the third stage engine is ignited. 

Separation of the two stages occurs by the direct ignition forces of the third stage 

engine. 

A single-turbopump RD 0110 engine from KB KhA powers the Soyuz third stage. 

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The third stage engine is fired for about 240 seconds, and cutoff occurs when the 

calculated velocity increment is reached, after cutoff and separation, the third stage 

performs an avoidance maneuver by opening an outgassing valve in the liquid oxygen 

tank. 

Launcher Telemetry Tracking & Flight Safety Systems 

Soyuz launcher tracking and telemetry is provided through systems in the second and 

third stages. These two stages have their own radar transponders for ground tracking. 

Individual telemetry transmitters are in each stage. Launcher health status is 

downlinked to ground stations along the flight path. Telemetry and tracking data are 

transmitted to the mission control center, where the incoming data flow is recorded. 

Partial real-time data processing and plotting is performed for flight following and initial 

performance assessment. All flight data is analyzed and documented within a few 

hours after launch. 

Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch Operations 

Soyuz missions use the Baikonur Cosmodrome’s proven infrastructure, and launches 

are performed by trained personnel with extensive operational experience. 

Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in the Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia 

between 45 degrees and 46 degrees north latitude and 63 degrees east longitude. Two 

launch pads are dedicated to Soyuz missions. 

Final Launch Preparations 

The assembled launch vehicle is moved to the launch pad on a horizontal railcar. 

Transfer to the launch zone occurs two days before launch, during which the vehicle is 

erected and a launch rehearsal is performed that includes activation of all electrical and 

mechanical equipment. 

On launch day, the vehicle is loaded with propellant and the final countdown sequence 

is started at three hours before the liftoff time. 

Rendezvous to Docking 

A Soyuz spacecraft generally takes two days to reach the space station. The 

rendezvous and docking are both automated, though once the spacecraft is within 

150 meters (492 feet) of the station, the Russian Mission Control Center just outside 

Moscow monitors the approach and docking. The Soyuz crew has the capability to 

manually intervene or execute these operations. 

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Soyuz Booster Rocket Characteristics 

First Stage Data - Blocks B, V, G, D 

Engine RD-107 

Propellants LOX/Kerosene 

Thrust (tons) 102 

Burn time (sec) 122 

Specific impulse 314 

Length (meters) 19.8 

Diameter (meters) 2.68 

Dry mass (tons) 3.45 

Propellant mass (tons) 39.63 

Second Stage Data, Block A 

Engine RD-108 

Propellants LOX/Kerosene 

Thrust (tons) 96 

Burn time (sec) 314 

Specific impulse 315 

Length (meters) 28.75 

Diameter (meters) 2.95 

Dry mass (tons) 6.51 

Propellant mass (tons) 95.7 

Third Stage Data, Block I 

Engine RD-461 

Propellants LOX/Kerosene 

Thrust (tons) 30 

Burn time (sec) 240 

Specific impulse 330 

Length (meters) 8.1 

Diameter (meters) 2.66 

Dry mass (tons) 2.4 

Propellant mass (tons) 21.3 

PAYLOAD MASS (tons) 6.8 

SHROUD MASS (tons) 4.5 

LAUNCH MASS (tons) 309.53 

TOTAL LENGTH (meters) 49.3 

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Prelaunch Countdown Timeline 

T- 34 Hours Booster is prepared for fuel loading 

T- 6:00:00 Batteries are installed in booster 

T- 5:30:00 State commission gives go to take launch vehicle 

T- 5:15:00 Crew arrives at site 254 

T- 5:00:00 Tanking begins 

T- 4:20:00 Spacesuit donning 

T- 4:00:00 Booster is loaded with liquid oxygen 

T- 3:40:00 Crew meets delegations 

T- 3:10:00 Reports to the State commission 

T- 3:05:00 Transfer to the launch pad 

T- 3:00:00 Vehicle 1st and 2nd stage oxidizer fueling complete 

T- 2:35:00 Crew arrives at launch vehicle 

T- 2:30:00 Crew ingress through orbital module side hatch 

T- 2:00:00 Crew in re-entry vehicle 

T- 1:45:00 Re-entry vehicle hardware tested; suits are ventilated 

T- 1:30:00 Launch command monitoring and supply unit prepared 

Orbital compartment hatch tested for sealing 

T- 1:00:00 Launch vehicle control system prepared for use; gyro 

instruments activated 

T - :45:00 Launch pad service structure halves are lowered 

T- :40:00 Re-entry vehicle hardware testing complete; leak checks 

performed on suits 

T- :30:00 Emergency escape system armed; launch command supply unit 

activated 

T- :25:00 Service towers withdrawn 

T- :15:00 Suit leak tests complete; crew engages personal escape 

hardware auto mode 

T- :10:00 Launch gyro instruments uncaged; crew activates on-board 

recorders 

T- 7:00 All prelaunch operations are complete 

T- 6:15 Key to launch command given at the launch site 

Automatic program of final launch operations is activated 

T- 6:00 All launch complex and vehicle systems ready for launch 

T- 5:00 Onboard systems switched to onboard control 

Ground measurement system activated by RUN 1 command 

Commander's controls activated 

Crew switches to suit air by closing helmets 

Launch key inserted in launch bunker 

T- 3:15 Combustion chambers of side and central engine pods purged 

with nitrogen 

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T- 2:30 Booster propellant tank pressurization starts 

Onboard measurement system activated by RUN 2 command 

Prelaunch pressurization of all tanks with nitrogen begins 

T- 2:15 Oxidizer and fuel drain and safety valves of launch vehicle are 

closed 

Ground filling of oxidizer and nitrogen to the launch vehicle is 

terminated 

T- 1:00 Vehicle on internal power 

Automatic sequencer on 

First umbilical tower separates from booster 

T- :40 Ground power supply umbilical to third stage is disconnected 

T- :20 Launch command given at the launch position 

Central and side pod engines are turned on 

T- :15 Second umbilical tower separates from booster 

T- :10 Engine turbopumps at flight speed 

T- :05 First stage engines at maximum thrust 

T- :00 Fueling tower separates 

Lift off 

Ascent/Insertion Timeline 

T- :00 Lift off 

T+ 1:10 Booster velocity is 1,640 ft/sec 

T+ 1:58 Stage 1 (strap-on boosters) separation 

T+ 2:00 Booster velocity is 4,921 ft/sec 

T+ 2:40 Escape tower and launch shroud jettison 

T+ 4:58 Core booster separates at 105.65 statute miles 

Third stage ignites 

T+ 7:30 Velocity is 19,685 ft/sec 

T+ 9:00 Third stage cut-off 

Soyuz separates 

Antennas and solar panels deploy 

Flight control switches to Mission Control, Korolev 

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Orbital Insertion to Docking Timeline 

FLIGHT DAY 1 OVERVIEW 

Orbit 1 Post insertion: Deployment of solar panels, antennas and 

docking probe 

- Crew monitors all deployments 

- Crew reports on pressurization of OMS/RCS and ECLSS 

systems and crew health. Entry thermal sensors are manually 

deactivated 

- Ground provides initial orbital insertion data from tracking 

Orbit 2 Systems Checkout: IR Att Sensors, Kurs, Angular Accels, 

"Display" TV Downlink System, OMS engine control system, 

Manual Attitude Control Test 

- Crew monitors all systems tests and confirms onboard 

indications 

- Crew performs manual RHC stick inputs for attitude control test

- Ingress into HM, activate HM CO2 scrubber and doff Sokols 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Manual maneuver to +Y to Sun and initiate a 2 deg/sec yaw 

rotation. MCS is deactivated after rate is established. 

Orbit 3 Terminate +Y solar rotation, reactivate MCS and establish 

LVLH attitude reference (auto maneuver sequence) 

- Crew monitors LVLH attitude reference build up 

- Burn data command upload for DV1 and DV2 (attitude, TIG 

Delta V's) 

- Form 14 preburn emergency deorbit pad read up 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Auto maneuver to DV1 burn attitude (TIG - 8 minutes) while 

LOS 

- Crew monitor only, no manual action nominally required 

DV1 phasing burn while LOS 

- Crew monitor only, no manual action nominally required 

Orbit 4 Auto maneuver to DV2 burn attitude (TIG - 8 minutes) while 

LOS 

- Crew monitor only, no manual action nominally required 

DV2 phasing burn while LOS 

- Crew monitor only, no manual action nominally required 

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FLIGHT DAY 1 OVERVIEW (CONTINUED) 

Orbit 4 Crew report on burn performance upon AOS 

(continued) - HM and DM pressure checks read down 

- Post burn Form 23 (AOS/LOS pad), Form 14 and "Globe" 

corrections voiced up 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Manual maneuver to +Y to Sun and initiate a 2 deg/sec yaw 

rotation. MCS is deactivated after rate is established. 

External boresight TV camera ops check (while LOS) 

Meal 

Orbit 5 Last pass on Russian tracking range for Flight Day 1 

Report on TV camera test and crew health 

Sokol suit clean up 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 6-12 Crew Sleep, off of Russian tracking range 

- Emergency VHF2 comm available through NASA VHF Network

FLIGHT DAY 2 OVERVIEW 

Orbit 13 Post sleep activity, report on HM/DM Pressures 

Form 14 revisions voiced up 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 14 Configuration of RHC-2/THC-2 work station in the HM 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 15 THC-2 (HM) manual control test 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 16 Lunch 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 17 (1) Terminate +Y solar rotation, reactivate MCS and establish 

LVLH attitude reference (auto maneuver sequence) 

RHC-2 (HM) Test 

- Burn data uplink (TIG, attitude, delta V) 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Auto maneuver to burn attitude (TIG - 8 min) while LOS 

Rendezvous burn while LOS 

Manual maneuver to +Y to Sun and initiate a 2 deg/sec yaw 

rotation. MCS is deactivated after rate is established. 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

FLIGHT DAY 2 OVERVIEW (CONTINUED) 

Orbit 18 (2) Post burn and manual maneuver to +Y Sun report when AOS 

- HM/DM pressures read down 

- Post burn Form 23, Form 14 and Form 2 (Globe correction) 

voiced up 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 19 (3) CO2 scrubber cartridge change out 

Free time 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 20 (4) Free time 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 21 (5) Last pass on Russian tracking range for Flight Day 2 

Free time 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 22 (6) - 27 

(11) 

Crew sleep, off of Russian tracking range 

- Emergency VHF2 comm available through NASA VHF Network

FLIGHT DAY 3 OVERVIEW 

Orbit 28 (12) Post sleep activity 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 29 (13) Free time, report on HM/DM pressures 

- Read up of predicted post burn Form 23 and Form 14 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 30 (14) Free time, read up of Form 2 "Globe Correction," lunch 

- Uplink of auto rendezvous command timeline 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radar and radio transponder tracking 

FLIGHT DAY 3 AUTO RENDEZVOUS SEQUENCE 

Orbit 31 (15) Don Sokol spacesuits, ingress DM, close DM/HM hatch 

- Active and passive vehicle state vector uplinks 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radio transponder tracking 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

FLIGHT DAY 3 AUTO RENDEZVOUS SEQUENCE (CONTINUED) 

Orbit 32 (16) Terminate +Y solar rotation, reactivate MCS and establish 

LVLH attitude reference (auto maneuver sequence) 

Begin auto rendezvous sequence 

- Crew monitoring of LVLH reference build and auto rendezvous 

timeline execution 

- A/G, R/T and Recorded TLM and Display TV downlink 

- Radio transponder tracking 

FLIGHT DAY 3 FINAL APPROACH AND DOCKING 

Orbit 33 (1) Auto Rendezvous sequence continues, flyaround and station 

keeping 

- Crew monitor 

- Comm relays via SM through Altair established 

- Form 23 and Form 14 updates 

- Fly around and station keeping initiated near end of orbit 

- A/G (gnd stations and Altair), R/T TLM (gnd stations), Display 

TV downlink (gnd stations and Altair) 

- Radio transponder tracking 

Orbit 34 (2) Final Approach and docking 

- Capture to "docking sequence complete" 20 minutes, typically 

- Monitor docking interface pressure seal 

- Transfer to HM, doff Sokol suits 

- A/G (gnd stations and Altair), R/T TLM (gnd stations), Display 

TV downlink (gnd stations and Altair) 

- Radio transponder tracking 

FLIGHT DAY 3 STATION INGRESS 

Orbit 35 (3) Station/Soyuz pressure equalization 

- Report all pressures 

- Open transfer hatch, ingress station 

- A/G, R/T and playback telemetry 

- Radio transponder tracking 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Typical Soyuz Ground Track 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Expedition 11/ISS Soyuz 10 (TMA-6) Landing 

For the sixth time, an American astronaut will return to Earth from orbit in a Russian 

Soyuz capsule. Expedition 11 Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips will be 

aboard the Soyuz TMA-6 capsule as he, Soyuz Commander Sergei Krikalev and 

Spaceflight Participant Gregory Olsen touch down in the steppes of north-central 

Kazakhstan to complete their mission. Krikalev and Phillips will be wrapping up six 

months in orbit, while Olsen will return after a brief commercially-sponsored 10-day 

flight.

The grounding of the space shuttle fleet following the Columbia accident on 

Feb. 1, 2003, necessitated the landing of Expedition crews in Soyuz capsules. The 

Expedition 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 crews rode the Soyuz home in May and October 2003, 

April and October 2004 and April 2005. The Soyuz always provides an assured crew 

return capability for residents aboard the ISS. 

The Expedition 7, 8, 9 and 10 crews landed on target, but as a precaution against any 

possibility that the Soyuz could land off course as did the Expedition 6 crew, Krikalev, 

Phillips and Olsen will be equipped with a satellite phone and Global Positioning System 

locator hardware for instant communications with Russian recovery teams. 

About three hours before undocking, Krikalev, Phillips and Olsen will bid farewell to the 

new Expedition 12 crew, American Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer 

Valery Tokarev of Russia. The departing crew will climb into the Soyuz vehicle, closing 

the hatch between Soyuz and Zarya. Phillips will be seated in the Soyuz’ left seat for 

entry and landing as on-board engineer. Krikalev will be in the center commander’s 

seat, and Olsen will occupy the right seat. 

After activating Soyuz systems and getting approval from Russian flight controllers at 

the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow, Krikalev will send commands to 

open hooks and latches between Soyuz and Zarya which held the craft together since 

the Soyuz was relocated to that docking port in July from its original docking port at the 

Pirs Docking Compartment. 

Krikalev will fire the Soyuz thrusters to back away from Zarya, and six minutes after 

undocking and with the Soyuz about 20 meters away from the station, he will conduct a 

separation maneuver, firing the Soyuz jets for about 15 seconds to begin to depart the 

vicinity of the ISS. 

A little less than 2 1⁄2 hours later, at a distance of about 19 kilometers from the ISS, 

Soyuz computers will initiate a deorbit burn braking maneuver of about 4 1⁄2 minutes to 

slow the spacecraft and enable it to drop out of orbit to begin its re-entry to Earth. 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Less than a half hour later, just above the first traces of the Earth’s atmosphere, 

computers will command the separation of the three modules of the Soyuz vehicle. 

With the crew strapped in to the descent module, the forward orbital module containing 

the docking mechanism and rendezvous antennas and the rear instrumentation and 

propulsion module, which houses the engines and avionics, will pyrotechnically 

separate and burn up in the atmosphere. 

The descent module’s computers will orient the capsule with its ablative heat shield 

pointing forward to repel the buildup of heat as it plunges into the atmosphere. The 

crew will feel the first effects of gravity in almost six months at the point called entry 

interface, when the module is about 400,000 feet above the Earth, about three minutes 

after module separation. 

About eight minutes later at an altitude of about 10 kilometers, traveling at about 

220 meters per second, the Soyuz’ computers will begin a commanded sequence for 

the deployment of the capsule’s parachutes. First, two “pilot” parachutes will be 

deployed, extracting a larger drogue parachute, which stretches out over an area of 

24 square meters. Within 16 seconds, the Soyuz’s descent will slow to about 80 meters 

per second. 

The initiation of the parachute deployment will create a gentle spin for the Soyuz as it 

dangles underneath the drogue chute, assisting in the capsule’s stability in the final 

minutes before touchdown. 

At this point, the drogue chute is jettisoned, allowing the main parachute to be deployed. 

Connected to the descent module by two harnesses, the main parachute covers an 

area of about 1,000 meters. Initially, the descent module will hang underneath the main 

parachute at a 30-degree angle with respect to the horizon for aerodynamic stability, but 

the bottommost harness will be severed a few minutes before landing, allowing the 

descent module to hang vertically through touchdown. The deployment of the main 

parachute slows down the descent module to a velocity of about 7 meters per second. 

Within minutes, at an altitude of a little more than five kilometers, the crew will monitor 

the jettison of the descent module’s heat shield, which is followed by the termination of 

the aerodynamic spin cycle and the dumping of any residual propellant from the Soyuz. 

Computers also will arm the module’s seat shock absorbers in preparation for landing. 

With the jettisoning of the capsule’s heat shield, the Soyuz altimeter is exposed to the 

surface of the Earth. Using a reflector system, signals are bounced to the ground from 

the Soyuz and reflected back, providing the capsule’s computers updated information 

on altitude and rate of descent. 

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Space Administration 

At an altitude of about 12 meters, cockpit displays will tell Krikalev to prepare for the soft 

landing engine firing. Just one meter above the surface, and just seconds before 

touchdown, the six solid propellant engines are fired in a final braking maneuver, 

enabling the Soyuz to land to complete its mission, settling down at a velocity of about 

1.5 meters per second. 

A recovery team, including a U.S. flight surgeon and astronaut support personnel, will 

be in the landing area in a convoy of Russian military helicopters awaiting the Soyuz 

landing. Once the capsule touches down, the helicopters will land nearby to begin the 

removal of the crew. 

Within minutes of landing, a portable medical tent will be set up near the capsule in 

which the crew can change out of its launch and entry suits. Russian technicians will 

open the module’s hatch and begin to remove the crew. Crewmembers will be seated 

in special reclining chairs near the capsule for initial medical tests and to provide an 

opportunity to begin readapting to Earth’s gravity. 

About two hours after landing, the crew will be assisted to the helicopters for a flight 

back to Kustanai, in northwest Kazakhstan near the Russian border, where local 

officials will welcome them. The crew will then board a Russian military transport plane 

to be flown back to the Chkalovsky Airfield adjacent to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training 

Center in Star City, Russia, where their families will meet them. In all, it will take about 

eight hours between landing and return to Star City. 

Assisted by a team of flight surgeons, the crew will undergo more than two weeks of 

medical tests and physical rehabilitation before Krikalev and Phillips return to the United 

States for additional debriefings and follow-up exams. Olsen’s acclimation to Earth’s 

gravity will be much shorter due to the brevity of his flight. 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Key Times for Expedition 12/11 International Space Station Events 

Expedition 12 / SFP Launch on Soyuz TMA-7: 

Sept. 30 at 10:54:44 p.m. CT, 354:44 GMT on Oct. 1; 7:54:44 a.m. Moscow time on 

Oct. 1; 9:54:44 a.m. Baikonur time on Oct. 1. 

Expedition 12 / SFP Soyuz Docking to the ISS (Pirs Docking Compartment): 

Oct. 3 at 12:40 a.m. CT, 540 GMT on Oct. 3, 9:40 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 3. 

Expedition 12 / SFP Hatch Opening to the ISS (two orbits after docking): 

Oct. 3 at 3:25 a.m. CT, 825 GMT on Oct. 3, 12:25 p.m. Moscow time on Oct. 3. 

Expedition 11 / SFP Hatch Closing: 

Oct. 10 at 1:40 p.m. CT, 1840 GMT on Oct. 10; 22:40 p.m. Moscow time on Oct. 10, 

00:40 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11. 

Expedition 11 / SFP Undocking from the ISS on 10 Soyuz: 

Oct. 10 at 4:49 p.m. CT, 2149 GMT on Oct. 10, 1:49 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11, 

3:49 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11. 

Expedition 11 / SFP Deorbit Burn: 

Oct. 10 at 7:21:07 p.m. CT, 0021:07 GMT on Oct. 11, 4:21:07 a.m. Moscow time on 

Oct. 11, 6:21:07 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11. 

Expedition 11 / SFP Landing on Soyuz TMA-6: 

Oct. 10 at 8:12 p.m. CT, 112 GMT on Oct. 11, 5:12 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11, 

7:12 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 (35 minutes before sunrise). 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Soyuz Entry Timeline 

Separation Command to Begin to Open Hooks and Latches: 

Undocking Command + 0 mins.

4:46 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

2146 GMT on Oct. 10 

1:46 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

3:46 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

Hooks Opened / Physical Separation of Soyuz from Zarya Nadir Port 

at .1 Meter/Sec: 

Undocking Command + 3 mins.

4:49 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

2149 GMT on Oct. 10 

1:49 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

3:49 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Separation Burn from ISS (8 second burn of the Soyuz engines, .29 meters/sec; 

Soyuz distance from the ISS is ~20 meters): 

Undocking Command + 6 mins.

4:55 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

2155 GMT on Oct. 10 

1:55 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

3:55 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

Deorbit Burn (appx 4:23 in duration, 115.2 m/sec; Soyuz distance from the ISS 

is ~19 kilometers): 

Undocking Command appx + ~2 hours, 

30 mins.

7:21:07 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

0021:07 GMT on Oct. 11 

4:21:07 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

6:21:07 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Separation of Modules (~28 mins. after Deorbit Burn): 

Undocking Command + ~2 hours, 

57 mins.

7:46 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

0046 GMT on Oct. 11 

4:46 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

6:46 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

Entry Interface (400,000 feet in altitude; 3 mins. after Module Seperation; 31 mins. 

after Deorbit Burn): 

Undocking Command + ~3 hours

7:49 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

0049 GMT on Oct. 11 

4:49 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

6:49 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Command to Open Chutes (8 mins. after Entry Interface; 39 mins. after Deorbit 

Burn): 

Undocking Command + ~3 hours, 8 mins.

7:58 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

0058 GMT on Oct. 11 

4:58 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

6:58 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

Two pilot parachutes are first deployed, 

the second of which extracts the drogue 

chute. 

The drogue chute is then released, 

measuring 24 square meters, slowing the 

Soyuz down from a descent rate of 

230 meters/second to 80 meters/second. 

The main parachute covering an area of 

1,000 meters is then released; it slows the 

Soyuz to a descent rate of 

7.2 meters/second; its harnesses first allow 

the Soyuz to descend at an angle of 

30 degrees to expel heat, then shifts the 

Soyuz to a straight vertical descent. 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Soft Landing Engine Firing (6 engines fire to slow the Soyuz descent rate to 

1.5 meters/second just .8 meter above the ground) 

Landing - appx. 2 seconds 

Landing (~47 mins. after Deorbit Burn): 

Undocking Command + ~3 hours, 

24 mins.

8:12 p.m. CT on Oct. 10 

112 GMT on Oct. 11 

5:12 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 11 

7:12 a.m. Kustanai time on Oct. 11 

(35 minutes before sunrise) 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

International Space Station: Expedition 12 Science Overview 

Expedition 12 – the 12th science research mission on the International Space 

Station – is scheduled to begin in October 2005, when the 12th crew launches on board 

a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the station. 

A two-person crew of Commander William McArthur and Russian cosmonaut Valery 

Tokarev is assigned to the 11S mission, for the 11th Soyuz to visit the station. The 

crew will work with teams on the ground to operate experiments, collect data and 

maintain the space station. 

The current Expedition 11 crew, John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev, is scheduled to 

return home in October on another Soyuz spacecraft – 10S – now docked at the station. 

During Expedition 12, one Russian Progress cargo flight – called 20P for the 20th 

Progress vehicle – is scheduled to dock with the space station in December 2005. 

The resupply ships will transport scientific equipment and supplies to the station. 

Many of the research activities for Expedition 12 will be carried out with scientific 

facilities and samples already on board the space station and with new research 

facilities transported by the STS-114 space shuttle mission in July 2005. 

The research agenda for the expedition remains flexible. The Expedition 12 crew has 

more than 100 hours scheduled for U.S. payload activities. Space station science also 

will be conducted remotely by the team of controllers and scientists on the ground, who 

will continue to plan, monitor and operate experiments from control centers across the 

United States. 

A team of controllers for Expedition 12 will work in the space station's Payload 

Operations Center – NASA's science command post for the space station – at NASA’s 

Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. Controllers work in three shifts around the 

clock, seven days a week in the Payload Operations Center, which links researchers 

around the world with their experiments and the station crew. 

Experiments Using On-board Resources

Many experiments from earlier Expeditions remain on board the space station and will 

continue to benefit from the long-term research platform provided by the orbiting 

laboratory. These experiments include: 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Crew Earth Observations (CEO) takes advantage of the crew in space to observe and 

photograph natural and human-made changes on Earth. The photographs record the 

Earth’s surface changes over time, as well as more fleeting events such as storms, 

floods, fires and volcanic eruptions. Together they provide researchers on Earth with 

vital, continuous images needed to better understand the planet. 

Materials on the International Space Station Experiment 5 (MISSE 5) is a suitcasesized experiment attached to the outside of the space station during a spacewalk on the 

STS-114 mission. It exposes hundreds of potential space construction materials to the 

harsh environment of space. The samples will be returned to Earth for study during a 

later expedition. Investigators will use the resulting data to design stronger, more 

durable spacecraft. 

Space Acceleration Measurement System II (SAMS-II) and Microgravity 

Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS) sensors measure vibrations caused by 

crew, equipment and other sources that could disturb microgravity experiments. 

Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 

(InSPACE) seeks to obtain basic data on magnetorheological fluids – fluids that 

respond to magnetic forces. This new class of "smart materials" can be used to 

improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions, robotics, clutches, airplane 

landing gear and vibration damper systems. Samples for this experiment on board the 

station can be processed inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox facility, an enclosed 

work area that allows the crew to work safely with these fluids. 

Education Payload Operations (EPO) includes educational activities that will 

demonstrate science, mathematics, technology, engineering and geography principles. 

EPO is designed to support the NASA mission to inspire the next generation of 

explorers. 

For the Cell Biotechnology Operations Support Systems Fluid Dynamics 

Investigation (CBOSS - FDI), crewmembers will conduct a fluid-mixing test using 

CBOSS fluid samples. CBOSS is used to grow three-dimensional tissue that retains the 

form and function of natural living tissue. This capability could lend insight in studying 

human diseases, including various types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and AIDS. 

A critical step in performing these cell experiments involves mixing fluids. These 

fluid-mixing tests will be conducted to improve future experiments. 

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – 3 (BCAT – 3) will study the long-term behavior of 

colloids – a system of fine particles suspended in a fluid – in a microgravity 

environment, where the effects of sedimentation and convection are removed. 

Crewmembers will evenly mix the samples, photograph the growth and formations of 

the colloids, and downlink the images for analysis. 

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National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM), an education 

experiment, allows middle school students to program a digital camera on board the 

station to photograph a variety of geographical targets for study in the classroom. 

Capillary Flow Experiment (CFE), a suite of fluid physics flight experiments, will study 

how fluids behave in space. Since fluids behave differently in low gravity, this 

information will be valuable for engineers designing spacecraft cooling systems, life 

support systems and the many other types of equipment that use fluids to operate. 

The Protein Crystal Growth Monitoring by Digital Holographic Microscope for the 

International Space Station (PromISS 4) investigation uses a microscope to visualize 

the protein crystal growth process in microgravity. Protein crystals are grown in 

microgravity to help researchers study proteins, an effort that could aid in the 

development of new drugs to fight diseases. 

Human Life Science Investigations

Measurements of Expedition 12 crewmembers will be used to study changes in the 

body caused by exposure to the microgravity environment for many continuing 

experiments, including: 

Promoting Sensorimotor Response to Generalizability: A Countermeasure to 

Mitigate Locomotor Dysfunction After Long-Duration Spaceflight (Mobility) studies 

changes in posture and gait after long-duration spaceflight. Study results are expected 

to help in developing an in-flight treadmill training program for station crewmembers. 

The program could facilitate rapid recovery of functional mobility after long-duration 

spaceflight. 

Behavioral Issues Associated with Isolation and Confinement: Review and 

Analysis of Astronaut Journals obtains information on behavioral and human factors 

related to the design of the equipment and procedures. It also monitors sustained 

human performance during long-duration missions. 

Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Space Flight (Foot) studies the load on the 

lower body and muscle activity in crewmembers working on the station. This study will 

provide better understanding of lower-extremity bone and muscle loss experienced by 

astronauts in microgravity. The results of this experiment will help in planning future 

space flights and offers the potential to help better understand, prevent and treat 

osteoporosis – a disease occurring mostly in women where the bones become fragile, 

break easily and heal slowly – on Earth. 

The Renal Stone experiment collects urine samples from the crew and tests a possible 

countermeasure for preventing kidney stone formation. 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Destiny Laboratory Facilities

Several research facilities are in place on board the station to support Expedition 12 

science investigations. 

The Human Research Facility is designed to house and support life sciences 

experiments. It includes equipment for lung function tests, ultrasound to image the 

heart and many other types of computers and medical equipment. 

Human Research Facility-2 provides an on-orbit laboratory that enables human life 

science researchers to study and evaluate the physiological, behavioral and chemical 

changes induced by spaceflight. 

The Microgravity Science Glovebox has a large front window and built-in gloves to 

provide a sealed environment for conducting science and technology experiments. The 

Glovebox is particularly suited for handling hazardous materials when a crewmember is 

present. 

The Destiny lab also is outfitted with five EXPRESS Racks. EXPRESS, or Expedite the 

Processing of Experiments to the space station, racks are standard payload racks 

designed to provide experiments with utilities such as power, data, cooling, fluids and 

gasses. The racks support payloads in disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, 

ecology and medicine. The racks stay in orbit, while experiments are changed as 

needed. EXPRESS Racks 2 and 3 are equipped with the Active Rack Isolation 

System (ARIS) for countering minute vibrations from crew movement or operating 

equipment that could disturb delicate experiments. 

On the Internet:

For fact sheets, imagery and more on Expedition 12 experiments and payload 

operations, click on http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov. 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

The Payload Operations Center 

The Payload Operations Center (POC) at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, 

Ala., is NASA’s primary science command post for the International Space Station. 

Space station scientific research plays a vital role in implementing the Vision for Space 

Exploration, to return to the moon and explore our solar system. 

The International Space Station will accommodate dozens of experiments in fields as 

diverse as medicine, human life sciences, biotechnology, agriculture, manufacturing, 

Earth observation, and more. Managing these science assets -- as well as the time and 

space required to accommodate experiments and programs from a host of private, 

commercial, industry and government agencies nationwide -- makes the job of 

coordinating space station research a critical one. 

The POC continues the role Marshall has played in management and operation of 

NASA’s on-orbit science research. In the 1970s, Marshall managed the science 

program for Skylab, the first American space station. Spacelab -- the international 

science laboratory carried to orbit in the '80s and ‘90s by the space shuttle for more 

than a dozen missions -- was the prototype for Marshall’s space station science 

operations. 

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Space Administration 

Today, the team at the POC is responsible for managing all U.S. science research 

experiments aboard the station. The center also is home for coordination of the 

mission-planning work of a variety of sources, all U.S. science payload deliveries and 

retrieval, and payload training and payload safety programs for the station crew and all 

ground personnel. 

State-of-the-art computers and communications equipment deliver round-the-clock 

reports from science outposts around the United States to systems controllers and 

science experts staffing numerous consoles beneath the glow of wall-sized video 

screens. Other computers stream information to and from the space station itself, 

linking the orbiting research facility with the science command post on Earth. 

Once launch schedules are finalized, the POC oversees delivery of experiments to the 

space station. These will be constantly in cycle: new payloads will be delivered by the 

space shuttle, or aboard launch vehicles provided by international partners; completed 

experiments and samples will be returned to Earth via the shuttle. This dynamic 

environment provides the true excitement and challenge of science operations aboard 

the space station. 

The POC works with support centers around country to develop an integrated U.S. 

payload mission plan. Each support center is responsible for integrating specific 

disciplines of study with commercial payload operations. They are: 

• Marshall Space Flight Center, managing microgravity (materials sciences, 

microgravity research experiments, space partnership development program 

research) 

• John Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, managing microgravity (fluids and 

combustion research) 

• Johnson Space Center in Houston, managing human life sciences (physiological 

and behavioral studies, crew health and performance) 

The POC combines inputs from all these centers into a U.S. payload operations master 

plan, delivered to the Space Station Control Center at Johnson Space Center to be 

integrated into a weekly work schedule. All necessary resources are then allocated, 

available time and rack space are determined, and key personnel are assigned to 

oversee the execution of science experiments and operations in orbit. 

Housed in a two-story complex at Marshall, the POC is staffed around the clock by 

three shifts of systems controllers. During space station operations, center personnel 

routinely manage three to four times the number of experiments as were conducted 

aboard Spacelab. 

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Space Administration 

The POC’s main flight control team, or the "cadre," is headed by the Payload 

Operations Director, who approves all science plans in coordination with Mission 

Control at Johnson, the station crew and the payload support centers. The Payload 

Communications Manager, the voice of the POC, coordinates and manages real-time 

voice responses between the ISS crew conducting payload operations and the 

researchers whose science is being conducted. The Operations Controller oversees 

station science operations resources such as tools and supplies, and assures support 

systems and procedures are ready to support planned activities. The Photo and TV 

Operations Manager and Data Management Coordinator are responsible for station 

video systems and high-rate data links to the POC. 

The Timeline Coordination Officer maintains the daily calendar of station work 

assignments based on the plan generated at Johnson Space Center, as well as daily 

status reports from the station crew. The Payload Rack Officer monitors rack integrity, 

power and temperature control, and the proper working conditions of station 

experiments. 

Additional support controllers routinely coordinate anomaly resolution, procedure 

changes, and maintain configuration management of on-board stowed payload 

hardware. 

For updates to this fact sheet, visit the Marshall News Center at: 

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

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Russian Research Objectives (Increment 12) 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware Description Research Objective 

Commercial KHT-1 GTS Electronics unit; 

Antenna assembly with attachment mechanism 

Global time system test development 

Commercial KHT-20 GCF-JAXA GCF-02 kit Protein crystallization Commercial KHT-29 ROKVISS Monoblock unit of manipulator ROBOTIK, 

Onboard controller Receiver-transmitter with mechanical adapter array 

Hinge joints operation working-off 

Commercial KHT-32 JAXA 3DPC 3D-PCGF equipment Obtaining 3-dimensional photon crystals by means 

of colloid nano-particles self-organization and ordering in electrolytic solution with the further fixation in elastic gel mould 

Commercial KHT-33 SCN Space Cup Noodle package 

Sony HVR-Z1J video camera x0.8/VCL-HG0872 wide-angle attachment Nominal hardware: Nikon F5 photo camera 

Flight adjustment of new generation TV facilities of high definition 

Technology & Material Science 

TXH-7 SVS (CBC) "СВС" researching camera 

"Telescience" hardware from "ПК-3" equipment 

Self-propagating high-temperature fusion in space 

Technology & Material Science 

TXH-9 Kristallizator 

(Crystallizer) 

“Crystallizer” complex Biological macromolecules crystallization and 

obtaining bio-crystal films under microgravity conditions 

Geophysical ГФИ-1 Relaksatsiya “Fialka-MB-Kosmos” - Spectrozonal 

ultraviolet system 

High sensitive images recorder 

Study of chemiluminescent chemical reactions and atmospheric light phenomena that occur during higvelocity interaction between the exhaust products from spacecraft propulsion systems and the Earth atmosphere at orbital altitudes and during the entry of space vehicles into the Earth upper atmosphere 

Geophysical ГФИ-8 Uragan Nominal hardware:

Kodak 760 camera; Nikon D1 LIV video system 

Experimental verification of the ground and spacebased system for predicting natural and man-made disasters, mitigating the damage caused, and facilitating recovery 

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Expedition 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware Description Research Objective 

Biomedical МБИ-1 Sprut-MBI "Sprut-K" kit 

Nominal Hardware: "Tsentr" power supply; Central Post Computer laptop 

Study of human bodily fluids during long-duration space flight 

Biomedical МБИ-5 Kardio-ODNT Nominal Hardware: 

"Gamma-1M" equipment; "Chibis" countermeasures vacuum suit 

Comprehensive study of the cardiac activity and blood circulation primary parameter dynamics 

Biomedical МБИ-8 Profilaktika "Lactat" kit; 

TEEM-100M gas analyzer; Accusport device; Nominal Hardware: "Reflotron-4" kit; TVIS treadmill; ВБ-3 cycle ergometer; Set of bungee cords; Computer; "Tsentr" equipment power supply 

Study of the action mechanism and efficacy of various countermeasures aimed at preventing locomotor system disorders in weightlessness 

Biomedical МБИ-9 Pulse Pulse set, Pulse kit; 

Nominal Hardware: Computer 

Study of the autonomic regulation of the human cardiorespiratory system in weightlessness 

Biomedical МБИ-11 Gematologia "Erythrocyte" kit 

Nominal hardware: "Kriogem-03" freezer "Plazma-03" kit "Hematocrit" kit 

New data obtaining of the outer space factor effects on human blood system in order to extend its diagnostic and prognostic capabilities, studying the mechanism of appearance of changes in hematological values (space anemia, lymphocytosis) 

Biomedical МБИ-15 Pilot Right Control Handle 

Left Control Handle Synchronizer Unit (БС) ULTRABUOY-2000 Unit Nominal hardware: Laptop No3 

Researching for individual features of state psychophysiological regulation and crewmembers professional activities during long space flights. 

Biomedical БИО-2 Biorisk "Biorisk-KM" set 

"Biorisk-MSV" containers "Biorisk-MSN" kit 

Study of space flight impact on microorganisms-substrates systems state related to space technique ecological safety and planetary quarantine problem 

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Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware Description Research Objective 

Biomedical БИО-4 Aquarium “Rasteniya (Plants)” kit (with “Aquarium” 

packs - 2 items) 

Study of stability of model closed ecologicasystem and its parts under microgravity conditions, both as microsystem components and as perspective biological systems of space crews life support 

Biomedical БИО-5 Rasteniya-2 "Lada" greenhouse 

Water container; Nominal Hardware: Sony DVCam; Computer 

Study of the space flight effect on the growth and development of higher plants 

Biomedical БИО-10 Mezhkletochnoe 

vzaimodeistvie

(Intercellular 

interaction) 

"Fibroblast-1" kit "Kriogem-03M" freezer Glovebox Nominal hardware: "Kriogem-03" freezer КВ-03 container

Study of microgravity influence on cells surface behavior and intercellular interaction 

Biomedical БИО-11 Statoconia "Ulitka" (Snail) incubating container 

"ART" (Autonomous Recorder of Temperature) kit

Statoconia growing potency research in organ of equilibrium of mollusca gasteropods under microgravity conditions 

Biomedical БИО-12 Regeneratciya

(Regeneration) 

"Planariya" incubating container "ART" (Autonomous Recorder of Temperature) kit Thermostat

Study of microgravity influence on regeneration processes for biological objects by electrophysiological and morphological indices 

Biomedical РБО-1 Prognoz Nominal Hardware for the radiation 

monitoring system: 

P-16 dosimeter; ДБ-8 dosimeters (4 each) 

Development of a method for real-time prediction of dose loads on the crews of manned spacecraft 

Biomedical РБО-3 Matryeshka-R Passive detectors unit 

"Phantom" set "MOSFET-dosimeter” scientific equipment 

Study of radiation environment dynamics along the ISS RS flight path and in ISS compartments, and dose accumulation in antroph-amorphous phantom, located inside and outside ISS 

Study of Earth natural resources and ecological monitoring 

ДЗЗ-2 Diatomea Nikon F5 camera; 

DSR-PD1P video camera; Dictaphone; Laptop No. 3; "Diatomea" kit 

Study of the stability of the geographic position and form of the boundaries of the World Ocean biologically active water areas observed by space station crews 

Study of Earth natural resources and ecological monitoring 

ДЗЗ-11 Volny (Waves) LSO hardware Observation of wave disturbances (of mancaused and natural origins) in intermediate 

atmosphere 

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Expedition 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware Description Research Objective 

Biotechnology БТХ-1 Glikoproteid "Luch-2" biocrystallizer Obtaining and study of E1-E2 surface 

glycoprotein of α-virus 

Biotechnology БТХ-2 Mimetik-K "Kriogem-03M" freezer Anti-idiotypic antibodies as adjuvant-active 

glycoproteid mimetic 

Biotechnology БТХ-3 KAF Crystallization of Caf1M protein and its 

complex with C-end peptide as a basis for formation of new generation of antimicrobial medicines and vaccine ingredients effective against yersiniosis 

Biotechnology БТХ-4 Vaktsina-K 

(Vaccine) 

Structural analysis of proteins-candidates for vaccine effective against AIDS 

Biotechnology БТХ-20 Interleukin-K Obtaining of high-quality 1α, 1β

interleukins crystals and interleukin receptor antagonist – 1 

Biotechnology БТХ-10 Kon’yugatsiya 

(Conjugation) 

"Rekomb-K" hardware "Biocont-T" hardware "Kriogem-03M" freezer Nominal hardware: "Kriogem-03" freezer 

Working through the process of genetic material transmission using bacteria conjugation method 

Biotechnology БТХ-11 Biodegradatsiya "Bioproby" kit Assessment of the initial stages of 

biodegradation and biodeterioration of the surfaces of structural materials 

Biotechnology БТХ-12 Bioekologiya 

(Bioecology) 

"Bioekologiya А03" kit (Kits 8 –11) 

"ART" (Autonomous Recorder of Temperature) kit 

Generation of high-efficiency strains of microorganisms to produce petroleum biodegradation compounds, organophosphorus substances, vegetation protection agents, and exopolysaccharides to be used in the petroleum industry 

Biotechnology БТХ-14 Bioemulsiya 

(Bioemulsion) 

“Bioemulsiya” kit Study and improvement of closed-type 

autonomous reactor for obtaining biomass of microorganisms and bioactive substance without additional ingredients input and metabolism products removal 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-5 

(SDTO 16002-R) 

Meteoroid Nominal micrometeoroid monitoring 

system: 

MMK-2 electronics unit; Stationary electrostatic sensors КД1, КД2, 

КД3, and КД4; 

Removable electrostatic sensor КДС

Recording of meteoroid and man-made particles on the ISS RS Service Module exterior surface 

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Expedition 

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Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware Description Research Objective 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-14 

(SDTO 12002-R) 

Vektor-T Nominal Hardware: 

ISS RS СУДН sensors; ISS RS orbit radio tracking [PKO] system; Satellite navigation; equipment [ACH] system GPS/GLONASS satellite systems 

Study of a high-precision system for ISS motion prediction 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-15 

(SDTO 13002-R) 

Izgib Nominal Hardware: 

ISS RS onboard measurement system (СБИ) accelerometers; 

ISS RS motion control and navigation system GIVUS (ГИВУС СУДН) Nominal temperature-sensing device for measures inside “Progress” vehicle modules 

Study of the relationship between the onboard systems operating modes and ISS flight conditions 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-20 Plazmennyi 

Kristall (Plasma 

Crystal) 

"PC-3 Plus" experimental unit "PC-3 Plus" telescience Nominal hardware "Lyra" nominal TV system "Telescience" ground based equipment

Study of the plasma-dust crystals and fluids under microgravity 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-22 

(SDTO 13001-R) 

Identifikatsiya Nominal Hardware: 

ISS RS СБИ accelerometers 

Identification of disturbance sources when the microgravity conditions on the ISS are disrupted 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-25 Scorpion "Scorpion" equipment Development, testing, and verification of a 

multi-functional instrument to monitor the science experiment conditions inside ISS pressurized compartments 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-43 Radioscaf “Radioscaf” #1 micro satellite Micro spacecrafts creation, preparation 

and launching during EVA 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-44 Sreda 

(Environment) 

Nominal Hardware: Movement Control System sensors; orientation sensors; magnetometers ; Russian and foreign accelerometers 

Studying ISS characteristics as researching environment 

Technical Studies ТЕХ-45 Infotekh Telemetric monoblock with transmitreceive antenna from "Rokviss" scientific 

equipment 

Working-off method of high-speed data transfer from ISS Service Module board to Earth 

Complex Analysis. Effectiveness Estimation 

КПТ-3 Econ "Econ" kit 

High Resolution Equipment Set (HRE) Nominal Hardware: Nikon D1 digital camera, Laptop No3 

Experimental researching of ISS RS resources estimating for ecological investigation of areas 

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Expedition 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware Description Research Objective 

Complex Analysis. Effectiveness Estimation 

КПТ-6 Plazma-MKS 

(Plasma-ISS) 

“Fialka-MB-Kosmos” - Spectrozonal ultraviolet system 

Study of plasma environment on ISS external surface by optical radiation characteristics 

Space energy systems 

ПКЭ-1В Kromka Tray with materials to be exposed Study of the dynamics of contamination 

from liquid-fuel thruster jets during burns, and verification of the efficacy of devices designed to protect the ISS exterior surfaces from contamination 

Pre/Post Flight Motor control Electromiograph, control unit, tensometric 

pedal, miotometer «Miotonus», «GAZE» equipment 

Study of hypo-gravitational ataxia syndrome; 

Pre/Post Flight MION Impact of microgravity on muscular 

characteristics. 

Pre/Post Flight Izokinez Isocinetic ergometer «LIDO», 

electromiograph, reflotron-4, cardiac reader, scarifier 

Microgravity impact on voluntary muscular contraction; human motor system readaptation to gravitation. 

Pre/Post Flight Tendometria Universal electrostimulator (ЭСУ-1); 

bio-potential amplifier (УБП-1-02); tensometric amplifier; oscilloscope with memory; oscillograph 

Microgravity impact on induced muscular contraction; long duration space flight impact on muscular and peripheral nervous apparatus 

Pre/Post Flight Ravnovesie "Ravnovesie" ("Equilibrium") equipment Sensory and motor mechanisms in vertical 

pose control after long duration exposure to microgravity. 

Pre/Post Flight Sensory 

adaptation 

IBM PC, Pentium 11 with 32-bit s/w for Windows API Microsoft. 

Countermeasures and correction of adaptation to space syndrome and of motion sickness. 

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware Description Research Objective 

Pre/Post Flight Lokomotsii Bi-lateral video filming, tensometry, 

miography, pose metric equipment. 

Kinematic and dynamic locomotion characteristics prior and after space flight. 

Pre/Post Flight Peregruzki Medical monitoring nominal equipment: 

Alfa-06, Mir 3A7 used during descent phase. 

G-forces on Soyuz and recommendations for anti-g-force countermeasures development 

Pre/Post Flight Polymorphism No hardware is used in-flight Genotype parameters related to human 

individual tolerance to space flight conditions. 

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 Expedition 12 Press Kit 

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Space Administration 

U.S. Experiments/Facilities 

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3 

Overview 

The BCAT-3 experiment combines a digital camera on board the International Space 

Station with a book-size collection of 10 sample cells. Each sample cell contains 

colloidal particles. The colloids in this science experiment are tiny plastic spheres that 

are about 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. These small plastic 

balls are coated with a layer of PHSA (polyhydroxystearic acid) to get rid of electrical 

interactions and suspended in a fluid. These colloidal particles are small enough to 

behave like models of atoms, but big enough to interact with visible light. They move 

slowly enough that they can be used to model and directly observe all sorts of 

phenomena. 

While the 10 samples in the BCAT-3 experiment are made from the same ingredients, 

each recipe has different proportions. This enables researchers to probe nature’s 

natural organizing tendencies when the effects of gravity are removed—that is, when 

the effects of sedimentation (settling) and convection (stirring) have been removed. The 

three frontiers of science probed by the BCAT-3 experiment are: critical point behavior 

(when a gas and liquid become indistinguishable), binary alloy formation (how nature 

forms ordered crystal structures from disordered mixtures of two different size spheres) 

and surface crystallization (or how collections of randomly jostling particles pin their 

neighbors to walls to form ordered structures). 

History 

The BCAT-3 experiment was delivered to the International Space Station in 

October 2003 and began running in March 2004. While this experiment has been 

equilibrating in freefall (in the absence of gravity), astronauts (Mike Foale, Mike Fincke 

and Leroy Chiao) have taken time to initially homogenize (randomize) the samples and 

then photograph them as they have evolved. 

Images and some highlights of this experiment in progress can be found at: 

http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/life/bcat3_iss.html

http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/life/bcat3samples.html

BCAT-3 has operated during ISS Increments 8–10. Since gravity precludes any 

possibility of doing these kinds of experiments on Earth, the preliminary results of the 

experiment were surprising. Because of this, the samples have been remixed and 

photographed with plans for astronaut Bill McArthur to take photographs of the 

experiment on ISS Increment 12. This will allow scientists to verify the initial 

observations and discoveries and hopefully after the samples have spent many months 

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Space Administration 

equilibrating to form larger surface crystals. Final results should be available when the 

experiment is completed on ISS Increment 12. The BCAT-3 hardware is slated to be 

returned to Earth in the winter of 2006. 

Benefits 

Increasing pressure in a boiling liquid will cause the mixture of liquid and gas to reach 

its critical point, a unique pressure and temperature value where the properties of liquid 

and gas merge. Just above this is the supercritical regime where they are no longer 

distinct phases, but rather a homogeneous supercritical fluid. Six of the BCAT-3 

samples model this behavior with a colloidal system, where the gas and liquid phases 

can be seen as two different colors. 

Supercritical fluids are technologically important because they uniquely combine the 

properties of liquids and gases, flowing easily (like gases), yet still having tremendous 

power to transport dissolved materials and thermal energy (like liquids). Supercritical 

carbon dioxide is used to decaffeinate coffee beans and to extract complex 

biomolecules from plants for pharmaceutical research. Supercritical water so efficiently 

transports heat that it is being explored in Iceland as a potentially superior geothermal 

power source; it is also used to remove toxic waste from contaminated soil. NASA's Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory is working on using supercritical fluids as unique propellants for 

future rocket engines. A better understanding of critical behavior as a result of 

microgravity experiments provided by the BCAT-3 critical point samples might thus 

facilitate the development of new drugs, cleaner power and interplanetary 

transportation. 

The BCAT-3 surface crystal samples delve into understanding the behavior of ordered 

arrays of particles. This forms the basis for probing self-assembly, which can form 

sufficiently ordered arrays with novel optical properties. Such arrays should enable 

researchers to alter the local photon density of states or to redirect light beams via 

diffraction. Such optical property control can lead to new classes of optical filters, 

switches and masks, or to host materials, which act as directional reflectors for 

embedded waveguides or light sources. In a related vein, the ordered structures may 

eventually be employed as ultra-low emissivity materials, or as novel linear and 

nonlinear optical-based sensors. Particle arrays can also be used indirectly, as 

templates to create novel macroporous materials. 

Besides the use of the resulting inverse structures in photonics, precision macroporous 

materials have a wide range of potential chemical applications. For example, 

macroporous polymers have been used as catalytic surfaces and supports, separation 

and adsorbent media, biomaterials and chromatographic materials. Similarly, 

macroporous ceramics can be employed as lightweight thermal and electrical insulators, 

as well as for catalysis. 

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Space Administration 

Capillary Flow Experiment 

Overview 

The Capillary Flow Experiments (CFE) are a suite of six related fluid physics 

experiments whose purpose is to investigate capillary flows and phenomena on board 

the International Space Station. Capillary action occurs between contacting surfaces of 

a liquid and a solid that distorts the liquid surface from a planar shape. An example of 

capillary flow is the ability of a narrow tube to draw a liquid upwards against the force of 

gravity. It happens when the adhesive forces between the liquid and solid are stronger 

than the cohesive forces within the liquid. The effect causes a concave meniscus to 

form where the liquid is in contact with a vertical surface. The same effect is what 

causes porous materials to soak up liquids. 

All CFE experimental units use similar fluid injection hardware, have simple and 

similarly sized test chambers, and rely solely on video for highly quantitative data. 

Differences between experimental units involve fluid properties, contact angle, or test 

cell cross section. 

History 

The CFE Contact Line 2 (CL2) experiment was conducted in the Saturday Science 

mode by Michael Fincke first on Aug. 28, then again on Sept. 18, 2004. The objective 

was to study the impact of the dynamic contact line. The contact line controls the 

interface shape, stability and dynamics of capillary systems in low-g. This experiment 

provided a direct measure of the extremes in behavior expected from an assumption of 

either the free or pinned contact line condition. There are two contact line experimental 

units that are identical except for wetting characteristics. The first performance required 

several hours of crew time and successfully completed all required science objectives. 

The second performance was used to conduct repeat science objectives, as well as 

several new science experiments inspired by the results of Fincke’s first performance. 

Fincke also downlinked several continuous portions of the video data from the flight 

tapes. 

Technologies for liquid management in space use capillary forces to position and 

transport liquids, since the hydrostatic pressure is absent which gives the liquid a 

defined surface and enables easy withdrawal from the tank bottom. But the effect of 

capillary forces is limited on Earth to a few millimeters. In space these forces affect free 

surfaces that extend over meters. 

Benefits 

The CFE data to be obtained will be crucial to the Space Exploration Initiative, 

particularly pertaining to fluids management systems such as fuel and cryogenic 

storage systems, thermal control systems (e.g., water recycling) and materials 

processing in the liquid state. NASA’s current plans for exploration missions assume 

the use of larger liquid propellant masses than have ever flown on interplanetary 

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Space Administration 

missions. Under low gravity conditions, capillary forces can be exploited to control fluid 

orientation so that such large mission-critical systems perform predictably. This 

knowledge will assist spacecraft designers to decrease system mass and reduce overall 

system complexity. 

This work is performed as a collaborative effort through NASA Glenn Research Center, 

ZIN Technology and Portland State University. 

Websites: 

http://www.me.pdx.edu/~mmw/mmwresearch.html

NASA http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/expr2/ice-mir.htm

NASA http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/EXPR2/b-0809i.htm

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Space Administration 

Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System-Fluid 

Dynamics Investigation (CBOSS-FDI) 

Project Manager: John Love, Bioastronautics Flight Research Management Office, 

NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston 

Principal Investigators: Joshua Zimmerberg, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 

Md. and J. Milburn Jessup, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. 

Overview 

The near-weightless (microgravity) environment of orbital spaceflight affords 

unprecedented opportunities in biomedical research and biotechnology. Adherent 

mammalian cells cultured on Earth, under the persistent influence of unit gravity 

characteristic of terrestrial ecosystems, typically proliferate into a two-dimensional 

monolayer array. In contrast, previous space shuttle and Mir experiments demonstrated 

that adherent mammalian cells, cultured in vitro in space, grow into three-dimensional 

tissue-like assemblies that are similar to their natural counterparts in some of their 

molecular, structural and functional characteristics. 

For more than a decade the goal of the NASA Cell Science efforts at Johnson Space 

Center has been to develop and use microgravity technology to support the scientific 

community’s research in cell biology and tissue engineering. Previous flight 

investigations included the longest duration continuous cell culture in space (Mir 

NASA 3) and mapping of the genetic signatures of cells in microgravity (STS-90, 

STS-106). In addition, the program developed the NASA rotating bioreactor, which is 

employed for ground-based three-dimensional propagation of cells and tissues in a 

suspended state with minimal stress in an analog microgravity environment. 

The Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System (CBOSS) is a stationary 

bioreactor system developed by the NASA Cellular Biotechnology Program for the 

cultivation of cells and tissues on board the International Space Station. The CBOSS 

payload complement consists of the following hardware elements. Cell cultures are 

incubated in the Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller, which contains an 

isothermal chamber with carbon dioxide concentration control. The Gas Supply Module 

provides pressurized gases to the incubator unit, while the Biotechnology Refrigerator 

serves for cold storage of labile experiment components. The Biotechnology Cell 

Science Stowage is comprised of caddies containing experiment supplies and 

cryodewars for the transport of cryopreserved cells for on-orbit inoculation and the 

return of frozen biospecimen samples. Cellular Biotechnology Program experiments 

conducted in the ISS with this system during Increments 3, 4 and 5 involved human 

kidney cells, human colon cancer cells, rat adrenal gland tumor cells, ovarian cancer 

cells, mouse blood cancer cells, human immune system tissue and human liver cells, 

representing principal investigators from various institutions and private industry. 

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Space Administration 

Typically CBOSS is used to provide a controlled environment for the cultivation of cells 

into functional three-dimensional tissue-equivalent ensembles. A critical step in 

performing these experiments involves complete mixing of cells and fluids during 

various tissue culture procedures. The CBOSS - Fluid Dynamics Investigation is 

comprised of a series of experiments aimed at optimizing CBOSS operations while 

contributing to the characterization of the CBOSS stationary bioreactor vessel (the 

Tissue Culture Module or TCM) in terms of fluid dynamics in microgravity. These 

experiments will also enhance our understanding of microgravity effects and validate 

the most efficient fluid/particle mixing techniques on orbit, which are essential to 

conduct cellular research in that environment and can be applied in other disciplines. 

Furthermore, some experiments will evaluate bubble removal approaches and examine 

microgravity biotechnology processes with applications to future research in space. 

Background/Flight History 

The first cellular biotechnology experiments flew aboard the space shuttle in the 

mid-1990s, such as in the STS-70 and STS-85 missions. Long-duration cellular 

biotechnology experiments were conducted in the Biotechnology System facility on the 

Russian space station Mir from 1996 through 1998. Cell science experiments were also 

performed on board the International Space Station during Increments 3, 4 and 5. 

Benefits 

Bioreactor cell culture in microgravity permits in vitro cultivation of cells into tissueequivalent constructs of size and quality not possible on Earth. Such a capability 

provides unprecedented opportunities for research in human diseases, including various 

types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and AIDS. This approach to tissue engineering 

and modeling has potential applications in areas such as tissue transplantation, drug 

testing, the pathogenesis of infectious microorganisms and the production of 

biopharmacological therapeutic agents, and may yield insight into the fundamental 

effects of gravity on biological systems. 

In addition, cell-based approaches have been essential to modern biomedicine and may 

be applied in targeted research to accelerate solutions to enabling questions in the 

roadmap for human space exploration. Strategic cellular bioastronautics investigations 

on subsystems of the human system afford multiple advantages when compared to 

experiments using humans in microgravity, such as in terms of statistical significance 

and crew safety, and draw from an enormous pool of ground-based data. Exploration 

cell science strategies can be applied to develop and validate countermeasures, to 

evaluate combinatorial effects of multiple epigenetic influences (such as microgravity 

and radiation), to identify specific lesions underlying alterations induced by 

near-weightlessness, to elucidate changes in the pathogenicity of infectious agents or 

differences in drug pharmacodynamics and to generate biosentinel and bioreporter 

systems for environmental monitoring. Moreover, cell-based countermeasures 

developed for exploration applications may also yield benefits on Earth, in areas such 

as age-related osteoporosis, certain types of immune dysfunction and wound healing. 

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Space Administration 

More information on NASA cell science research and other Expedition 12 experiments 

is available at: 

http://microgravity.msfc.nasa.gov

http://scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov

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Space Administration 

Crew Earth Observations (CEO) 

Principal Investigator: Kamlesh Lulla, Ph.D., NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston 

Payload Developer: Sue Runco, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston 

Overview 

By allowing photographs to be taken from space, the Crew Earth Observations (CEO) 

experiment provides people on Earth with image data needed to better understand our 

planet. The photographs—taken by crewmembers using handheld cameras—record 

observable Earth surface changes over a period of time, as well as more fleeting events 

such as storms, floods, fires and volcanic eruptions. 

Orbiting 220 miles or more above the Earth, the International Space Station offers an 

ideal vantage point for crewmembers to continue observational efforts that began in the 

early 1960s when space crews first photographed the Earth. This experiment on the 

space station began during Expedition 1, STS-97 (ISS Assembly Flight 4A), and is 

planned to continue throughout the life of the space station. 

History/Background 

This experiment has flown on every crewed NASA space mission beginning with Gemini 

in 1961. Since that time, astronauts have photographed the Earth, observing the 

world’s geography and documenting events such as hurricanes and other natural 

phenomena. This database of astronaut-acquired Earth imagery is a national treasure 

for both the science community and general public. As a precursor to this space station 

experiment, crews conducted Earth observations on long-duration NASA-Mir missions 

and gained experience that is useful on board the International Space Station. 

Over the years, space crews also have documented human impacts on Earth—city 

growth, agricultural expansion and reservoir construction. The CEO experiment aboard 

the space station will build on that knowledge. 

Benefits 

Today, images of the world from 10, 20 or 30 years ago provide valuable insight into 

Earth processes and the effects of human developments. Photographic images taken 

by space crews serve as both primary data on the state of the Earth and as secondary 

data to be combined with images from other satellites in orbit. Worldwide more than 

5 million users log on to the Astronaut Earth Photography database each year. Through 

their photography of the Earth, space station crewmembers will build on the time series 

of imagery started 35 years ago—ensuring this record of Earth remains unbroken. 

These images also have tremendous educational value. Educators use the image 

database to help make future generations of children “Earth-smart.” 

For more information visit: 

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle 

School Students (EarthKAM) 

Experiment Location on ISS: The U.S. Laboratory Window 

Principal Investigator: Sally Ride, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego 

Operations Manager: Brion J. Au, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston 

Overview 

EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a NASA education 

payload that enables students to photograph and examine Earth from a space crew’s 

perspective. 

Using the Internet, working through the EarthKAM Mission Operations Center located at 

the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), middle school students direct a 

camera mounted at the science-grade window in the station’s Destiny science module 

to capture high-resolution digital images of features around the globe. Students use 

these images to enhance their study of geography, geology, botany, history, earth 

science, and to identify changes occurring on the Earth’s surface, all from the unique 

vantage point of space. Using the high-speed digital communications capabilities of the 

ISS, the images are downlinked in near real-time and posted on the EarthKAM Web site 

for the public and participating classrooms around the world to view. 

Experiment Operations 

Funded by NASA, EarthKAM is operated by the University of California, San Diego, and 

NASA field centers. It is an educational payload that allows middle school students to 

conduct research from the International Space Station as it orbits 220 miles above the 

Earth. Using the tools of modern technology – computers, the Internet and a digital 

camera mounted at the space station’s laboratory window – EarthKAM students are 

able to take stunning, high-quality digital photographs of our planet. 

The EarthKAM camera is periodically set up in the International Space Station, typically 

for a four-day data gathering session. Beginning with the Expedition 2 crew, in 

May 2001, the payload is scheduled for operations that coincide with the traditional 

school year. When the ISS crew mounts the camera at the window, the payload 

requires no further crew interaction for nominal operations. 

EarthKAM photographs are taken by remote operation from the ground. When the 

middle school students target the images of terrestrial features they choose to acquire, 

they submit the image request to the Mission Operation Center at UCSD. Image 

requests are collected and compiled into a “Camera Control File” for each ISS orbit that 

the payload is operational. This camera control file is then uplinked to a station support 

computer aboard the space station that controls when the digital camera captures the 

image. The station support computer activates the camera at the specified times and 

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immediately transfers these images to a file server, storing them until they are 

downlinked to Earth. With all systems performing nominally, the entire cycle takes 

about five hours. 

EarthKAM is monitored from console positions in the Tele-Science Support Center 

(Mission Control) at Johnson Space Center in Houston. As with all payloads, the 

EarthKAM operations on board the space station are coordinated through the Payload 

Operations Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. 

EarthKAM is a long-term payload that will operate on the space station for several 

increments. 

Flight History/Background 

In 1994, Sally Ride, a physics professor and former NASA astronaut, started what is 

now EarthKAM with the goal of integrating education with the space program. 

EarthKAM has flown on five shuttle flights. Its first flight was aboard space shuttle 

Atlantis in 1996, with three participating schools taking a total of 325 photographs. 

Since 1996, EarthKAM students have taken more than 22,648 publicly accessible 

images of the Earth. 

EarthKAM invites schools from all around the world to take advantage of this 

educational opportunity. Previous participants include schools from the United States, 

Japan, Germany, France, Chile, Canada and Mexico. 

Benefits 

EarthKAM brings education out of textbooks and into real life. By integrating Earth 

images with inquiry-based learning, EarthKAM offers students and educators the 

opportunity to participate in a space mission while developing teamwork, 

communication and problem-solving skills. 

No other NASA program gives students such direct control of an instrument flying on a 

spacecraft orbiting Earth, and as a result of this, students assume an unparalleled 

personal ownership in the study and analysis of their Earth photographs. 

Long after the photographs are taken, students and educators continue to reap the 

benefits of EarthKAM. Educators are able to use the images alongside suggested 

curriculum plans for studies in physics, computers, geography, math, earth science, 

botany, biology, art, history, cultural studies and more. 

More information on EarthKAM and the International Space Station can be found at: 

www.earthkam.ucsd.edu

www.spaceflight.nasa.gov

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Educational Payload Operations (EPO) 

Overview 

Education Payload Operations (EPO) is an education payload or activity designed to 

support the NASA Mission to inspire the next generation of explorers. Generally, these 

payloads and activities focus on demonstrating science, mathematics, technology, 

engineering or geography principles. Video recording of the demonstrations and/or still 

photographic documentation of a crewmember operating EPO hardware while on orbit 

will achieve EPO goals and objectives. Overall goal for every expedition is to facilitate 

education opportunities that use the unique environment of human spaceflight. 

The Expedition 12 crew may complete EPO Education Demonstration Activities (EDAs). 

EPO - Education Demonstration Activities (EDAs) 

EPO Education Demonstration Activities (EDAs) may be scheduled during 

Increment 12. An EDA is an educational demonstration designed to use only hardware 

already on board the International Space Station. No educational payloads are 

associated with these activities. These demonstrations may use hardware already on 

board the ISS and can be scheduled anytime during the increment via payload 

schedule, task list or Saturday Science as crew time becomes available. 

Demonstrations will be videotaped for use in educational resources. 

Expedition 12 crewmembers could perform the following EDAs. These activities each 

focus on one educational topic. Topics include: 

• "EPO Living Area Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Food & Sleep Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Newton's Law Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Rotation Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Solar Panels Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Free Time Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Spacesuits Demo" (Activity) 

• “EPO SSRMS Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Recycling Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Supplies Demo" (Activity) 

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• "EPO Sports Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Floor/Ceiling Demo" (Activity) 

• "EPO Lab Safety Demo" (Activity) 

• “EPO Vibrations Demo” (Activity) 

EDAs are planned for K–12 audiences and support national education standards. They 

are designed to enhance existing NASA education products. 

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Foot Reaction Forces During Spaceflight 

Principal Investigator: Peter Cavanagh, Ph.D., The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 

Cleveland 

Overview 

Without appropriate countermeasures, astronauts traveling in space can lose as much 

bone mineral in the lower extremities in one month as a typical post-menopausal 

woman loses in an entire year. Muscle strength can also be lost rapidly during 

spaceflight. Such decrements as a result of prolonged exposure to microgravity have 

important implications for performance and safety during space missions and thus the 

identification of mechanisms and countermeasures for such changes is a high priority 

for NASA. 

It is widely believed that changes in bone and muscle are directly related to the 

decrease in mechanical loading. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that little or no 

bone mineral is usually lost from the upper extremities—which may be used even more 

frequently in orbit than they are on the ground. The objective of the experiment called 

Foot is to quantify and explore the relationship between loading of the human body and 

changes in the musculoskeletal system during spaceflight. 

Experiment Operations 

Foot will accomplish its objective through direct measurement of forces on the feet, joint 

angles and muscle activity in astronauts during typical entire days of daily life both on 

Earth and on the space station. In addition, bone mineral density, muscle strength and 

muscle volume will be measured before and after the mission. 

The heart of Foot is an instrumented suit called the Lower Extremity Monitoring Suit 

(LEMS). This customized garment is a pair of Lycra cycling tights incorporating 20 

carefully placed sensors and the associated wiring, control units and amplifiers. LEMS 

will enable the electrical activity of muscles, the angular motions of the hip, knee and 

ankle joints, and the force on both feet to be measured continuously. Information from 

the sensors can be recorded for up to 14 hours on a small wearable computer. 

Measurements will also be made of the arm muscles. The crewmembers will put the 

suit on in the morning before they start their work day and, after calibration, they will go 

about their regular daily activities. Throughout the day, the sensors will capture data 

that will allow researchers to characterize differences between use of the arms and legs 

on Earth and in space. 

Before launch and after landing, DXA scans, MRIs and Cybex testing will be used to 

measure the changes in bone mineral density, muscle volume and muscle strength, 

respectively. Researchers will relate these changes to the measurements made from 

the LEMS. 

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Expedition 12 marks the fourth time Foot will be performed in flight. Foot was 

previously done on Expeditions 6, 8 and 11. 

Benefits 

Foot has the potential to shed significant new light on the reasons for bone and muscle 

loss during spaceflight and on the design of exercise countermeasures. The data 

should allow the "dose" of mechanical load to be chosen based on the measurements 

performed in the study. Ideally, exercise countermeasures should replace the critical 

mechanical input that is present on Earth but missing in space. The space station 

environment offers an ideal setting in which the experimental hypothesis can be 

examined. In addition, the theories that are to be explored in this project have 

significance for understanding, preventing and treating osteoporosis on Earth, which is 

a major public health problem. 

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Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from 

Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) 

Overview 

InSPACE is an International Space Station experiment that characterizes the 

performance properties of an exciting class of smart materials called 

magnetorheological (MR) fluids. MR fluids are suspensions of small (micron-sized), 

superparamagnetic particles that quickly solidify when exposed to a magnetic field and 

return to their original liquid state when the magnetic field is removed. This process 

involves visco-elastic properties useful for a variety of mechanical devices ranging from 

intricate robotic motions, strong braking and clutch mechanisms to human 

enhancements such as exoskeletons, and splints. InSPACE provides microgravity data 

on the internal particle structure and dynamics fluid properties essential to these 

applications. 

On Earth, gravity causes sedimentation, which means heavier groups of particles sink 

while lighter ones remain suspended. The low-gravity environment that is provided on 

the space station will eliminate the effects of sedimentation, which otherwise become 

significant for these structures. A pulsed magnetic field will be used to mimic the forces 

applied to these fluids in real applications. 

History 

InSPACE has been on board ISS since late 2002. Experiment operations were 

performed during Increment 6 and 7 in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) in the 

U.S. Destiny Laboratory Module. The MSG includes an enclosed work volume that 

provides power and interfaces for data and video that can be downlinked to the science 

team while the experiment is operating. Scientific data from these experimental 

operations are being returned from the ISS on the recent return to flight Discovery 

mission, which landed on Aug. 9, 2005. 

Benefits 

Understanding how to precisely control these properties and states will enable the use 

of MR fluids as a working fluid in exploration robots to produce a range of articulated 

motions ranging from very delicate to firm responses, as well as first aid safety in space 

providing encapsulation pressure and stints around bone fractures and sprains of 

humans. 

Current robotic technology depends on conventional mechanical components (gears, 

dashpots, and clutches). MR fluid interfaces can provide faster response, strength, 

tunability, and physical flexibility, towards the performance of these devices to assist in 

human and robotic movement and strength. 

http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/6712/comflu/InSPACE_intro.html

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Journals 

Behavioral Issues Associated with Isolation and Confinement: 

Review and Analysis of ISS Crew Journals 

Principal Investigator: Jack W. Stuster, Ph.D., Anacapa Sciences, Inc., Santa 

Barbara, Calif. 

Operations: In-flight 

Manifest Status: Ongoing 

Objective: The purpose of this experiment is to collect behavioral and human factors 

data for analysis, with the intention of furthering our understanding of life in isolation and 

confinement. The objective of the experiment is to identify equipment, habitat and 

procedural features that help humans adjust to isolation and confinement and remain 

effective and productive during future long-duration space expeditions. The method 

used in the experiment is analyzing the content of journals maintained by International 

Space Station crews for this purpose. 

Brief Summary: In-flight journals maintained by crewmembers are studied to gain an 

understanding of factors that may play a role in the stress felt by crews during 

long-duration spaceflight. Conclusions will be used for interplanetary mission planning 

(e.g., Mars missions) and selection and training of astronaut crews for these missions. 

Description: A previous content analysis of journals maintained during expeditions on 

Earth provided quantitative data on which to base a rank-ordering of behavioral issues 

in terms of importance. This experiment will test the hypothesis that the analogous 

conditions provide an acceptable model for spacecraft (i.e., to validate or refute the 

results of the previous study). The objective of the study is to obtain behavioral and 

human factors data relevant to the design of equipment and procedures to support 

adjustment and sustained human performance during long-duration space expeditions. 

Space Applications: Studies conducted on Earth have shown that analyzing the 

content of journals and diaries is an effective method for identifying the issues that are 

most important to a person. The method is based on the reasonable assumption that 

the frequency that an issue or category of issues is mentioned in a journal reflects the 

importance of that issue or category to the writer. The tone of each entry (positive, 

negative or neutral) and phase of the expedition also are variables of interest. Study 

results will lead to recommendations for the design of equipment, facilities, procedures 

and training to help sustain behavioral adjustment and performance during 

long-duration space expeditions to the ISS, moon, Mars and beyond. 

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Materials on the International Space Station Experiment 5 (MISSE 5) 

Overview 

The Materials on the International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Project is a 

NASA Langley Research Center-managed cooperative endeavor to fly materials and 

other types of space exposure experiments on the space station. The objective is to 

develop early, low-cost, non-intrusive opportunities to conduct critical space exposure 

tests of space materials and components planned for use on future spacecraft. 

The Boeing Co., the Air Force Research Laboratory and Lewis Research Center are 

participants with Langley in the project. 

History/Background 

Flown to the space station in 2001, the MISSE experiments were the first externally 

mounted experiments conducted on the International Space Station. The experiments 

are in Passive Experiment Containers (PECs) that were initially developed and used for 

an experiment on Mir in 1996 during the Shuttle-Mir Program. The PECs were 

transported to Mir on STS-76. After an 18-month exposure in space, they were 

retrieved on STS-86. 

PECs are suitcase-like containers for transporting experiments via the space shuttle to 

and from an orbiting spacecraft. Once on orbit and clamped to the host spacecraft, the 

PECs are opened and serve as racks to expose experiments to the space environment. 

The first two MISSE PECs (MISSE 1 and 2) were transported to the space station on 

STS-105 (ISS Assembly Flight 7A.1) in August 2001. About 1,500 samples were tested 

on MISSE 1 and 2. The samples include ultra-light membranes, composites, ceramics, 

polymers, coatings and radiation shielding. In addition, components such as switches, 

solar cells, sensors and mirrors will be evaluated for durability and survivability. Seeds, 

plant specimens and bacteria, furnished by students at the Wright Patterson Air Force 

Research Laboratory, are also being flown in specially designed containers. 

During an STS-114 spacewalk, astronauts removed the original PECs (1 and 2) from 

the station and installed MISSE PEC 5. Like the myriad of samples in MISSE PECs 1 

and 2, MISSE PEC 5 will study the degradation of solar cell samples in the space 

environment. PECs 1 and 2 were returned to NASA Langley Research Center where 

they were opened in a clean room and the contents were distributed to researchers for 

study. 

MISSE PECs 3 and 4 will be launched on STS-121 and placed in the same location that 

1 and 2 previously occupied. PECs 3, 4 and 5 will all remain on orbit for one year to 

continue to study the effects of space exposure on various materials. 

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The MISSE PECs are integrated and flown under the direction of the Department of 

Defense Space Test Program's Human Space Flight Payloads Office at NASA's 

Johnson Space Center. 

Examples of tests to be performed in MISSE include: new generations of solar cells 

with longer expected lifetimes to power communications satellites; advanced optical 

components planned for future Earth observational satellites; new, longer-lasting 

coatings that better control heat absorption and emissions and thereby the temperature 

of satellites; new concepts for lightweight shields to protect crews from energetic cosmic 

rays found in interplanetary space; and the effects of micrometeoroid impacts on 

materials planned for use in the development of ultra-light membrane structures for 

solar sails, large inflatable mirrors and lenses. 

Benefits 

New affordable materials will enable the development of advanced reusable launch 

systems and advanced spacecraft systems. 

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Renal Stone 

Renal Stone Risk During Spaceflight: Assessment and 

Countermeasure Validation 

Principal Investigator: Peggy A. Whitson, Ph.D., NASA Johnson Space Center, 

Houston 

Payload Developer: Peggy A. Whitson (Expedition 5 Flight Engineer), NASA Johnson 

Space Center 

Project Manager: Michelle Kamman, NASA Johnson Space Center 

Operations: Inflight 

Objective: This experiment examines the risk of renal (kidney) stone formation in 

crewmembers during the pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight timeframes. Potassium 

citrate (K-cit) is a proven ground-based treatment for patients suffering from renal 

stones. In this study, K-cit tablets will be administered to astronauts and multiple urine 

samples will be taken before, during and after spaceflight to evaluate the risk of renal 

stone formation. From the results, K-cit will be evaluated as a potential countermeasure 

to alter the urinary biochemistry and lower the risk for potential development of renal 

stones in microgravity. This study will also examine the influence of dietary factors on 

the urinary biochemistry, investigate the effect flight duration on renal stone formation 

and determine how long after spaceflight the risk exists. 

Brief Summary: Kidney stone formation is a significant risk during long-duration 

spaceflight that could have serious consequences since it cannot be treated as it would 

on Earth. Quantification of the renal stone-forming potential that exists during 

long-duration spaceflight and the recovery after spaceflight is necessary to reduce the 

risk of renal stone formation. This is a long-term study to test the efficacy of potassium 

citrate as a countermeasure to renal stone formation. 

Strategic Objective Mapping: This is a long-term study to test the efficacy of 

potassium citrate as a countermeasure to renal stone formation. Kidney stone 

formation is a significant risk during long-duration spaceflight that could impair astronaut 

functionality. 

Space Applications: Human exposure to microgravity results in a number of 

physiological changes. Among these are changes in renal function, fluid redistribution, 

bone loss and muscle atrophy, all of which contribute to an altered urinary environment 

and the potential for renal stone formation during and immediately after flight. In-flight 

changes previously observed include decreased urine volume and urinary citrate and 

increased urinary concentrations of calcium and sodium. The formation of renal stones 

could have severe health consequences for crewmembers and negatively impact the 

success of the mission. This study will provide a better understanding of the risk factors 

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associated with renal stone development during and after flight, as well as test the 

efficacy of potassium citrate as a countermeasure to reduce this risk. 

Earth Applications: Understanding how the disease may form in otherwise healthy 

crewmembers under varying environmental conditions will also provide insight into 

stone forming diseases on Earth. 

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Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) and 

Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System (MAMS) 

Overview 

The Acquisition and Analysis of Medical and Environmental Data Task develops, 

deploys and operates sensor systems to measure, collect, process, record, provide 

extensive data analysis and deliver medical and environmental data to researchers and 

other customers that require control, monitoring and characterization of the environment 

on platforms and/or facilities such as drop towers, aircraft, sounding rockets, the Space 

Transportation System (space shuttle) and the International Space Station. 

SAMS hardware measures the vibratory acceleration data (0.01 to 400 Hz). MAMS 

hardware measures the quasi-steady and vibratory acceleration data (10-5 to 100 Hz). 

History 

SAMS has been active on ISS since STS-100 (ISS 6A). The existing hardware will 

continue to monitor the vibratory acceleration environment for researchers and vehicle 

health. 

MAMS has been active on ISS since STS-100 (ISS 6A). The existing MAMS hardware 

will continue to monitor the quasi-steady acceleration environment for vehicle health 

and dynamics. The vibratory capability will backup SAMS data. 

Benefits 

The acceleration systems support vehicle dynamics, vehicle system monitoring and 

reduced gravity experimentation. The experimentation will lead to advances in 

combustion and fluids research. 

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The New Digital NASA Television 

NASA Television can be seen in the continental United States on AMC-6, at 72 degrees 

west longitude, Transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization, FEC 3/4, Data Rate 

36.860 MHz, Symbol 26.665 Ms, Transmission DVB. If you live in Alaska or Hawaii, 

NASA TV can now be seen on AMC-7, at 137 degrees west longitude, Transponder 

18C, at 4060 MHz, vertical polarization, FEC 3/4, Data Rate 36.860 MHz, Symbol 

26.665 Ms, Transmission DVB. 

Digital NASA TV system provides higher quality images and better use of satellite 

bandwidth, meaning multiple channels from multiple NASA program sources at the 

same time. 

Digital NASA TV has four digital channels: 

1. NASA Public Service ("Free to Air"), featuring documentaries, archival 

programming, and coverage of NASA missions and events; 

2. NASA Education Services ("Free to Air/Addressable"), dedicated to providing 

educational programming to schools, educational institutions and museums; 

3. NASA Media Services ("Addressable"), for broadcast news organizations; and 

4. NASA Mission Operations (Internal Only) 

Note: Digital NASA TV channels may not always have programming on every 

channel simultaneously. 

Internet Information 

Information is available through several sources on the Internet. The primary source for 

mission information is the NASA Web site, part of the World Wide Web. This site 

contains information on the crew and its mission and will be updated regularly with 

status reports, photos and video clips throughout the flight. The NASA site’s address is: 

http://www.nasa.gov

or 

http://www.nasa.gov/newsinfo/index.html

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Expedition 12 Media Contacts 

Debbie Rahn International Partners 202-358-1638 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

Debra.J.Rahn@nasa.gov

Allard Beutel Shuttle, Space Station Policy 202-358-0951 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

Allard.Beutel@nasa.gov

J.D. Harrington Space Science Policy 202-358-5241 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

J.D.Harrington@nasa.gov

James Hartsfield Astronauts/Mission Operations 281-483-5111 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston, TX 

James.A.Hartsfield@nasa.gov

Rob Navias Mission Operations 281-483-5111 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston, TX 

Rob.Navias-1@nasa.gov

Kylie Clem Space Station Operations 281-483-5111 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston, TX 

Kylie.S.Clem@nasa.gov

Steve Roy Microgravity Programs 256-544-6535 

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 

Huntsville, AL 

Steven.E.Roy@nasa.gov

Kari Kelley International Space Station 281-226-4844 

The Boeing Company 

Houston, TX 

Kari.L.Kelley@boeing.com

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