National Aeronautics and Space Administration

PRESS KIT/MARCH 2009

Expedition 19 and 20

Full Partners

www.nasa.gov

MARCH 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS i

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Section Page 

MISSION OVERVIEW............................................................................................................... 1

EXPEDITION 19 & 20 CREW.................................................................................................... 9

EXPEDITION 19/20 MAJOR MILESTONES............................................................................... 23

EXPEDITION 19/20 SPACEWALKS ......................................................................................... 27

RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA ............................................................................................................. 29

SOYUZ BOOSTER ROCKET CHARACTERISTICS .................................................................................... 33

PRELAUNCH COUNTDOWN TIMELINE ................................................................................................... 34

ASCENT/INSERTION TIMELINE ............................................................................................................ 35

ORBITAL INSERTION TO DOCKING TIMELINE ...................................................................................... 36

KEY TIMES FOR EXPEDITION 19/20 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EVENTS................................... 41

EXPEDITION 18/SOYUZ TMA-13 LANDING ........................................................................................... 43

SOYUZ TMA-13 ENTRY TIMELINE ......................................................................................................... 46

FIRST EXPEDITION TO USE RECYCLING SYSTEM FOR DURATION ......................................... 49

HTV SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 53

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: EXPEDITION 19/20 SCIENCE OVERVIEW....................... 57

THE PAYLOAD OPERATIONS CENTER ...................................................................................... 65

RUSSIAN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................... 69

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY EXPERIMENT PROGRAM ............................................................. 75

JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY SCIENCE OPERATIONS ...................................... 95

DIGITAL NASA TELEVISION .................................................................................................... 103

EXPEDITION 19/20 PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICERS (PAO) CONTACTS ...................................... 105
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 1

Mission Overview 

Expedition 19 and 20 

Attired in Russian Sokol launch and entry suits, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (center), 

Expedition 19/20 commander; astronaut Michael Barratt (right), Expedition 19/20 flight engineer; 

and U.S. spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi join hands as they pose for a portrait in Star 

City, Russia. Photo credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center 

The crew of Expedition 19 will begin its journey 

to the International Space Station on March 26 

from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, 

launching on a mission that will ultimately 

inaugurate the expansion of the station to six 

crew members. On board the Russian Soyuz 

TMA-14 spacecraft will be cosmonaut 

Gennady Padalka (Puh-DOLL'-kuh), astronaut 

Michael Barratt (BA'-rat) and U.S. spaceflight 

participant Charles Simonyi (Sih-MOAN'-ee). 

Padalka, a 50-year-old Russian Air Force 

colonel, will command Expedition 19 and 20 as 

well as the Soyuz spacecraft for launch and 

landing. He is making his second voyage to the 

station after commanding Expedition 9 in 2004 
2 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

and his third flight into space, having logged 

387 days in orbit on his previous missions. 

Barratt, who will launch just days before his 

50th birthday, will serve as a flight engineer on 

board the station and the Soyuz. He is making 

his first journey into space after extensive 

experience in the medical field, including 

serving as the medical operations lead for the 

International Space Station Program and as a 

NASA flight surgeon. Padalka and Barratt will 

spend about six months on the complex. 

Simonyi, 60, will spend 10 days on the station 

under a commercial agreement with the 

Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), 

making his second flight to the station and 

becoming the first spaceflight participant to 

return to space. He will return to Earth on the 

Soyuz TMA-13 capsule on April 7 with 

the Expedition 18 crew, Commander 

E. Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer 

Yury Lonchakov (LAHN'-chuh-coff), who have 

been aboard the station since October 2008. 

The Soyuz will land in central Kazakhstan. 

The Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft that will 

carry the Expedition 19 crew and Simonyi will 

launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in 

Kazakhstan for a two-day flight and dock at 

the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module. 

They will join Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata 

(Ko-EE'-chee Wa-KAH'-tah), 45, of the Japan 

Aerospace Exploration Agency, who was 

launched to the station aboard space shuttle 

Discovery on its STS-119 mission. Wakata will 

transition from Expedition 18 to Expedition 19 

once Padalka and Barratt take over station 

operations. 

Once they arrive, Padalka and Barratt will 

conduct more than a week of handover 

activities with Fincke, Lonchakov and Wakata, 

familiarizing themselves with station systems 

and procedures. They also will receive 

proficiency training on the Canadarm2 robotic 

arm from the resident crew, engage in safety 

briefings and receive payload and scientific 

equipment training. 

The change of command ceremony will mark 

the formal handoff of control of the station by 

Fincke and Lonchakov to Padalka, Barratt and 

Wakata, just days before the Expedition 18 

crew members and Simonyi depart the station. 

The Expedition 19 crew will work with 

experiments across a wide variety of fields, 

including human life sciences, physical 

sciences and Earth observation, and conduct 

technology demonstrations. As with prior 

Expeditions, many experiments are designed to 

gather information about the effects of 

long-duration spaceflight on the human body, 

which will help with planning future exploration 

missions to the moon and Mars. The crew also 

will conduct experiments in tandem with various 

science teams and classrooms on the ground, 

including the EarthKAM project. EarthKAM 

allows middle school students to program a 

camera on board the station to take requested 

photos of the planet below. The camera 

operates automatically, and the images are 

downlinked to the students via the Web. 

Soon after arriving, the Expedition 19 crew will 

prepare for the May undocking of the Progress 

32 cargo craft and the arrival and docking of the 

Progress 33 resupply vehicle. They also will 

spend time performing checkout procedures of 

the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, or 

ARED, which is one of the three exercise 

devices on board the station. The crew will 

continue to prepare the regenerative 

environmental equipment for the increase in 

crew size that will take place in May. This 

activity will include ensuring the Water 

Reclamation System, or WRS, is ready for full 

use. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 3

Astronaut Michael Barratt, NASA Expedition 19 flight engineer, undergoes a pressure and leak 

check on his Russian launch and entry suit at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan 

(March 12, 2009). 
4 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Astronauts Michael Barratt (foreground) and Tim Kopra, both Expedition 19/20 flight engineers, 

look over procedures checklists during a training session in an International Space Station 

mock-up/trainer in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 5

On May 27, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko 

(Ro-mun-NEHN'-ko), a 37-year-old Russian Air 

Force lieutenant colonel, Canadian Space 

Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk (THURSK), 55, 

and European Space Agency astronaut 

Frank De Winne (Duh-WIN'-nuh), 48, will 

launch from Baikonur aboard the Soyuz 

TMA-15 spacecraft. They will dock with the 

Zarya module of the space station May 29, 

inaugurating the long-awaited presence of a 

six-person crew on the station. It also will 

mark the moment when all five partner 

agencies are represented by crew members on 

the orbiting laboratory and will begin what is 

called Expedition 20, still under the command 

of Padalka. Romanenko, the Soyuz TMA-15 

commander, will serve as a station flight 

engineer in his first flight into space. 

Thirsk is making his second flight into space, 

having flown aboard shuttle Columbia in 

1996 on a Spacelab science mission. Thirsk 

will become the first Canadian to fly on a 

long-duration spaceflight. He is scheduled to 

return to Earth in the fall on shuttle Atlantis at 

the conclusion of the STS-129 mission. 

De Winne also is making his second flight into 

space. 

Within days of the arrival of Expedition 20, 

Padalka and Barratt are scheduled to complete 

two spacewalks in Russian Orlan spacesuits to 

add hardware and reposition equipment on the 

Pirs Docking Compartment in preparation for 

the Mini Research Module-2, or MRM-2, a new 

Russian docking and research module, later in 

the year. 

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, Expedition 20/21 flight engineer, dons a 

training version of the shuttle launch and entry suit in preparation for a water survival training 

session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 

United Space Alliance (USA) suit technician Drew Billingsley assists Thirsk. 
6 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

On the heels of the two spacewalks, shuttle 

Endeavour is targeted to launch on its STS-127 

mission to the station. This flight will deliver 

the Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed 

Facility and the Japanese Experiment Logistics 

Module-Exposed Section for the Kibo 

laboratory. The exposed section is a “front 

porch” on which experiments will be mounted 

for long-duration exposure to the environment 

in low Earth orbit. The shuttle also will deliver 

some spare parts for the station and install new 

batteries in the P6 Truss. 

The mission also will deliver NASA astronaut 

Tim Kopra (KOH'-pruh), a 46-year-old Army 

colonel, to the complex to replace Wakata, who 

will return to Earth aboard Endeavour. Kopra is 

making his first flight into space and will remain 

on board the station until August when he is 

scheduled to come home on Discovery’s 

STS-128 mission that will deliver his 

replacement, Nicole Stott (STAHTT), 46. She 

will spend a little more than three months in 

orbit and is slated to return to Earth with 

Romanenko and De Winne on the Soyuz 

TMA-15 in late November. 

Once the Progress 33 undocks from Pirs in 

July, Padalka, Barratt and Kopra will don their 

launch and landing suits and board the Soyuz 

TMA-14 for a brief trip to relocate their return 

craft from Zvezda to Pirs. Romanenko, Thirsk 

and De Winne will monitor the operation from 

inside the station. This will clear the way for the 

docking of the Progress 34 cargo vehicle to 

Zvezda at the end of the month. A total of five 

Russian Progresses will make space station 

resupply missions this year. 

Astronaut Michael Barratt, Expedition 19/20 flight engineer, participates in an Extravehicular 

Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the 

Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Astronauts Nicole Stott, 

Expedition 20/21 flight engineer, and Mike Fossum (support crew member) assist\ Barratt. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 7

August will bring the docking of shuttle 

Discovery on the STS-128 mission. This flight 

will carry a Multipurpose Logistics Module, or 

MPLM, which will contain supplies and 

equipment necessary to maintain the six-person 

crew aboard the station. The crew will remove 

a materials processing experiment and a 

European science experiment mounted outside 

the Columbus module and will remove and 

replace an empty ammonia tank assembly 

during the mission's three spacewalks. 

September will see the inaugural launch of 

the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s 

H-II Transfer Vehicle, or HTV, cargo craft. The 

unpiloted spacecraft will launch from the 

Tanegashima Space Center in Japan and will 

fly just close enough to the International Space 

Station for the station’s arm to reach out and 

capture it. The arm will then be used to dock 

the HTV with the Earth-facing port of the 

Harmony node, where it will deliver 

approximately six tons of supplies for the crew. 

Astronaut Robert Thirsk, Expedition 20/21 flight engineer representing the Canadian Space 

Agency (CSA), participates in a Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) operations training 

session in the Jake Garn Simulation and Training Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 
8 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

The HTV joins the Russian Progress and 

European Automated Transfer Vehicle as cargo 

vessels designed to keep the station supplied 

with critical hardware for day-to-day operations. 

After a month attached to the outpost, the 

Canadarm2 will unberth the HTV, enabling it to 

fire its engines to back away from the station 

and conduct a deorbit maneuver, allowing it to 

burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. 

In late September, NASA astronaut 

Jeff Williams, 51, a retired Army colonel and 

station veteran, and cosmonaut Max Suraev, 

37, a Russian Air Force colonel, will launch 

from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the Soyuz 

TMA-16, presumably with a Kazakh spaceflight 

participant, to replace Padalka and Barratt 

and begin Expedition 21 under De Winne’s 

command at the point at which Padalka, Barratt 

and the Kazakh cosmonaut land in the Soyuz 

TMA-14 craft in mid-October. Williams takes 

over as Expedition 22 commander with Suraev 

operating as flight engineer when Romanenko, 

De Winne and Stott depart in late November. 
MARCH 2009 CREW 9

Expedition 19 & 20 Crew 

Expedition 19 

Expedition 19 Patch 

Expedition 19 marks the final planned period of 

three-person occupancy before increasing the 

crew size to six, and it occurs in the final stages 

of International Space Station assembly. The 

patch emphasizes Earth, one of the major 

focuses of attention and study from the orbital 

research outpost. The design is stylized to 

highlight the beauty of the home planet and the 

station orbiting it, next to the sun, now the 

unquestioned brightest star in the sky as 

viewed from Earth. 
10 CREW MARCH 2009

Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (center), Expedition 19 and 20 commander; NASA astronaut 

Michael Barratt (left) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, 

both flight engineers, take a break from training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to 

pose for a crew portrait. Padalka and Barratt are scheduled to launch to the International Space 

Station in the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in 

March 2009. Wakata will fly to the station on STS-119 and will serve as a flight engineer for 

Expeditions 18, 19 and 20. 
MARCH 2009 CREW 11

Expedition 20 

Expedition 20 Patch 

The Expedition 20 patch symbolizes a new era 

in space exploration with the first six-person 

crew living and working aboard the space 

station, and it represents the significance of the 

station to the exploration goals of NASA and its 

international partners. The six gold stars signify 

the men and women of the crew. The astronaut 

symbol extends from the base of the patch to 

the star at the top to represent the international 

team, both on the ground and in orbit, who are 

working together to further our knowledge of 

living and working in space. The space station 

in the foreground represents where we are now 

and the important role it is playing toward 

meeting our exploration goals. The knowledge 

and expertise developed from these 

advancements will enable us to leave low Earth 

orbit once again for the new challenges of 

establishing a permanent presence on the 

moon and traveling on to Mars and other 

destinations. The blue, gray and red arcs 

represent our exploration goals as symbols of 

Earth, the moon and Mars. 
12 CREW MARCH 2009

Expedition 20 crew members take a break from training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to 

pose for a crew portrait. From the left (front row) are European Space Agency astronaut 

Frank De Winne, Expedition 20 flight engineer and Expedition 21 commander; cosmonaut 

Gennady Padalka, Expedition 19/20 commander; and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, 

Expedition 20/21 flight engineer. From the left (back row) are Canadian Space Agency astronaut 

Robert Thirsk, Expedition 20/21 flight engineer; NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, 

Expedition 19/20 flight engineer; Nicole Stott, Expedition 20/21 flight engineer; Tim Kopra, 

Expedition 20 flight engineer; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut 

Koichi Wakata, 18/19/20 flight engineer. 

Three new crew members will join Padalka, 

Barratt and Wakata to comprise the 

Expedition 20 crew, the inauguration of 

six-person crews on the station. Russian 

cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European 

Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and 

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert 

Thirsk will arrive on a Soyuz spacecraft in 

May 2009. During the increment, space shuttle 

Endeavour is expected to arrive with the 

STS-127 crew, delivering NASA astronaut Tim 

Kopra and returning Wakata to Earth. Months 

later, Atlantis and the STS-128 crew will bring 

NASA astronaut Nicole Stott to the station and 

return Kopra to Earth. 

Short biographical sketches of the crew follow 

with detailed background available at: 

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/
MARCH 2009 CREW 13

Expedition 19 

Gennady Padalka 

A veteran of two prior long-duration missions, 

Gennady Padalka (Col., Russian Air Force) will 

lead the Expedition 19 crew as the Soyuz and 

station commander for the last three-person 

station crew. He also will serve as Expedition 

20 commander. Padalka most recently served 

as the Expedition 9 commander, during which 

time he served with Expedition 18 Commander 

E. Michael Fincke for a six-month tour of duty. 

The two continued science operations, 

maintained station systems and performed four 

spacewalks. Previously Padalka served aboard 

the Soyuz-TM28 and space station Mir as the 

commander, logging 198 days in space. 

He was selected as a cosmonaut candidate to 

start training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut 

Training Center in 1989. From June 1989 to 

January 1991, he attended basic space 

training. In 1991 Padalka was qualified as a 

test-cosmonaut. 
14 CREW MARCH 2009

Michael Barratt 

Michael Barratt will be making his first trip to 

space. A native of the state of Washington, 

Barratt holds degrees from the University of 

Washington and a medical doctorate from 

Northwestern University. Additionally, he 

completed residency and a master’s program in 

aerospace medicine and is board certified in 

internal and aerospace medicine. He began 

work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 1991 

as an aerospace project physician with KRUG 

Life Sciences. In 1992, he was assigned as a 

NASA flight surgeon, spending three years as a 

medical operations lead for the space station 

and the lead crew surgeon for first expedition 

crew to the space station. NASA selected 

Barratt as an astronaut candidate in July 2000. 

Following the completion of two years of 

training and evaluation, he was assigned 

technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station 

Operations Branch. 
MARCH 2009 CREW 15

Koichi Wakata 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 

astronaut Koichi Wakata will fly to the station 

on STS-119 and join the Expedition 18 crew as 

a flight engineer. He holds a doctorate in 

aerospace engineering. The National Space 

Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) 

selected him as an astronaut candidate in 1992. 

Wakata has logged a total of 21 days, 19 hours, 

41 minutes and 5 seconds in space from his 

two previous spaceflights on STS-72 and 

STS-92. He has been training for a 

long-duration expedition on the space station 

since 2001. He will be the first resident station 

crew member from JAXA. He will return to 

Earth on STS-127. 
16 CREW MARCH 2009

Charles Simonyi 

Charles Simonyi will join Padalka and Barratt 

on their trip to the space station, flying as 

spaceflight participant. He will stay aboard the 

station and return with Expedition 18 

Commander Fincke and Soyuz Commander 

Yury Lonchakov. 

Simonyi previously flew to the station in April 

2007 as a spaceflight participant. He was born 

in Budapest, Hungary, and moved to the United 

States in 1968. He earned his bachelor’s 

degree in engineering and mathematics from 

the University of California at Berkeley and his 

doctorate in computer science from Stanford 

University. From 1972 to 1980, he worked at 

Xerox Corp. In 1981, he joined Microsoft, 

where he worked for 20 years developing 

software. Simonyi left Microsoft in August 2002 

to found Intentional Software Corp., a software 

engineering firm. The company is based in 

Bellevue, Wash. Simonyi gained his American 

citizenship in 1982. 
MARCH 2009 CREW 17

Expedition 20 

Tim Kopra 

This will be the first spaceflight for Tim Kopra 

(Col, U.S. Army), who is a native of 

Austin, Texas. 

A graduate of West Point, Kopra joined NASA’s 

Johnson Space Center in September 1998 as a 

vehicle integration test engineer, serving as an 

engineering liaison for space shuttle launch 

operations and station hardware testing. He 

was actively involved in the contractor tests of 

the extravehicular activity interfaces for each of 

the space station truss segments. He was 

selected as an astronaut in July 2000. After 

initial training, he served in the Space Station 

Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his 

primary focus involved the testing of crew 

interfaces for two station modules as well as the 

implementation of support computers and an 

operational Local Area Network. 
18 CREW MARCH 2009

Nicole Stott 

Nicole Stott joined NASA’s Kennedy Space 

Center in 1988 as an operations engineer in the 

Orbiter Processing Facility before being 

promoted to vehicle flow director for Endeavour 

and orbiter test engineer for Columbia. During 

her last two years at Kennedy, she served as 

the NASA project lead for the space station 

truss elements under construction at the Boeing 

Space Station facility. 

In 1998, she joined NASA’s Johnson Space 

Center team in Houston as a member of the 

NASA Aircraft Operations Division, where she 

served as a flight simulation engineer on the 

Shuttle Training Aircraft. She was selected as 

a NASA astronaut in July 2000 and, after initial 

training, was assigned to the Astronaut Office 

Station Operations Branch, where she 

performed crew evaluations of station payloads. 

She also worked as a support astronaut and 

capsule communicator for the space station 

Expedition 10 crew. In April 2006 she was a 

crew member on the NASA Extreme 

Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, 9 

mission. She lived and worked with a 

six-person crew for 18 days on the Aquarius 

undersea research habitat. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION MILESTONES 19

Roman Romanenko 

This is the first mission for cosmonaut 

Roman Romanenko (Lt. Col., Russian Air 

Force), who will serve as Soyuz commander 

and flight engineer for Expedition 20. Born in 

the Schelkovo, Moscow Region, Romanenko 

graduated from pilot school and served as a 

second commander in the Air Force. He flew 

L-39 and Tu-134 aircraft, logging more than 

500 hours of flight time. He was selected as 

a test-cosmonaut candidate of the Gagarin 

Cosmonaut Training Center Cosmonaut 

Office in December 1997. From January 1998 

to November 1999, he completed his basic 

training course and qualified as a test 

cosmonaut in November 1999. 
20 CREW MARCH 2009

Frank De Winne 

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut 

Frank De Winne will serve as commander of 

Expedition 21. Born in Ghent, Belgium, 

De Winne received a master’s degree in 

telecommunications and civil engineering from 

the Royal Military Academy, Brussels, in 1984 

and, in 1992, graduated from the Empire Test 

Pilots School (ETPS) in Boscombe Down, 

England. Since then, De Winne has logged 

more than 2,300 hours flying in several types of 

high-performance aircraft, including Mirage, 

F16, Jaguar and Tornado. 

De Winne joined the ESA Astronaut Corps in 

2000 and two years later flew on a Soyuz to the 

space station as part of the Odissea mission. 

During his nine-day stay, he carried out 23 

experiments in the fields of life and physical 

sciences and education. Later this year, he will 

serve as the first ESA commander of the space 

station during the Expedition 21 increment. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION MILESTONES 21

Robert Thirsk 

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut 

Robert Thirsk is a spaceflight veteran, and like 

Barratt, holds a medical degree. He was 

selected to the CSA astronaut program in 1983 

and has been involved in various CSA projects, 

including parabolic flight campaigns and 

mission planning. He served as crew 

commander for two space mission simulations: 

the seven-day CAPSULS mission in 1994 at 

Defense Research and Development Canada in 

Toronto; and the 11-day NEEMO 7 undersea 

mission in 2004 at the National Undersea 

Research Center in Key Largo, Fla. 

In 1996, Thirsk flew as a payload specialist 

aboard space shuttle mission STS-78, the Life 

and Microgravity Spacelab mission. During the 

17-day flight aboard shuttle Columbia, he and 

his six crewmates performed 43 international 

experiments devoted to the study of life and 

materials sciences. 
22 CREW MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 MISSION MILESTONES 23

Expedition 19/20 Major Milestones 

(Dates are subject to change) 

2009: 

March 26 Launch of the Expedition 19 crew (Padalka, Barratt) and U.S. spaceflight 

participant (Simonyi) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Soyuz 

TMA-14 

March 28 Expedition 19 docks to the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module 

in Soyuz TMA-14 with U.S. spaceflight participant 

April 2 Change of command ceremony with departing Expedition 18 crew; Padalka 

becomes space station commander for Expeditions 19 and 20 

April 7 Undocking of Expedition 18 crew (Lonchakov, Fincke) and U.S. spaceflight 

participant (Simonyi) from Zarya module and landing in Kazakhstan on Soyuz 

TMA-13; Expedition 19 formally begins 

May 6 Undocking of ISS Progress 32 cargo ship from the Pirs docking compartment 

May 7 Launch of the ISS Progress 33 cargo ship from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in 

Kazakhstan 

May 12 Docking of the ISS Progress 33 cargo ship to the Pirs docking compartment 

May 27 Launch of the Expedition 20/21 crew (Romanenko, DeWinne, Thirsk) from the 

Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Soyuz TMA-15 

May 29 Docking of the Expedition 20 crew and Soyuz TMA-15 to the Zarya module; 

beginning of the six-person crew on International Space Station as Expedition 19 

becomes Expedition 20 

June 5 Russian spacewalk by Padalka and Barratt in Orlan suits to install equipment on 

the top-facing side of the Zvezda service module to prepare for the docking of the 

new Mini-Research Module-2 (MRM2) and retrieval of science hardware 

June 10 Internal Russian spacewalk in the docking cone connecting the Zvezda and 

Zarya modules to reposition docking hardware for the arrival of MRM2 

June 13 Targeted launch of Endeavour on the STS-127/2JA mission from the 

Kennedy Space Center 
24 MISSION MILESTONES MARCH 2009

June 15 Docking of Endeavour to ISS Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2); Kopra and 

Wakata swap places as Expedition 20 crew members 

June 26 Undocking of Endeavour from ISS PMA-2 

June 29 Landing of Endeavour to complete STS-127/2JA 

Early July Relocation of PMA-3 from Unity nadir to Unity port to prepare for the arrival of the 

Node 3/Cupola in 2010 

July 17 Undocking of ISS Progress 33 from the Pirs docking compartment 

July 20 Relocation of the Soyuz TMA-14 from the Zvezda service module aft port to the 

Pirs docking compartment with Padalka, Barratt and Kopra aboard the Soyuz; 

Romanenko, De Winne and Thirsk remain aboard station during the relocation 

July 24 Launch of ISS Progress 34 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan 

July 26 Docking of ISS Progress 34 to the Zvezda service module aft port 

Aug. 6 Targeted launch of Discovery on the STS-128/17A mission from the 

Kennedy Space Center 

Aug. 8 Docking of Discovery to ISS Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2); Stott and 

Kopra swap places as Expedition 20 crew members 

Aug. 17 Undocking of Discovery from ISS PMA-2 

Aug. 19 Landing of Discovery to complete STS-128/17A 

Sept. 1 Launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-1) cargo ship from the Tanegashima 

Space Center, Japan 

Sept. 7 Grapple of the HTV-1 by Canadarm2 

Sept. 8 Berthing of the HTV-1 to the Harmony Node earth-facing port 

Sept. 29 Undocking of ISS Progress 34 from the Zvezda service module aft port 

Sept. 30 Launch of the Expedition 21/22 crew (Suraev, J. Williams) and a Kazakh 

spaceflight participant from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Soyuz 

TMA-16 

Oct. 2 Docking of the Expedition 21/22 crew and Soyuz TMA-16 to the Zvezda service 

module aft port; the crew joins Expedition 20 for a total of nine crew members on 

the station for nine days 
MARCH 2009 MISSION MILESTONES 25

Oct. 8 Canadarm 2 grapples HTV-1 and unberths it from the Harmony node’s 

earth-facing port; HTV-1 is released for its deorbit burn and re-entry to burn up 

in Earth’s atmosphere 

Oct. 11 Undocking of Expedition 20 crew (Padalka, Barratt) in Soyuz TMA-14 from 

Pirs Docking Compartment and landing in Kazakhstan with Kazakh spaceflight 

participant; Expedition 21 formally begins and De Winne takes over as the 

European Space Agency’s first commander of the space station. 
26 MISSION MILESTONES MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 SPACEWALKS 27

Expedition 19/20 Spacewalks 

There are no U.S.-based spacewalks currently 

scheduled for Expedition 19 or 20. However, 

Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight 

Engineer Michael Barratt plan to don Russian 

Orlan spacesuits twice in June for the station’s 

22nd and 23rd Russian spacewalks. It will be 

Padalka’s fifth and sixth spacewalks and 

Barratt’s first and second. 

The plans for the spacewalks are still in work, 

but several tasks already have been identified. 

During the first spacewalk, currently scheduled 

for June 5, Padalka and Barratt will start by 

attaching to the Zvezda service module an 

antenna that will be used to guide vehicles to 

the space station for docking. Before they wrap 

up their trip outside the station, they also will 

move a cable clamp, install a new EXPOSE-R 

science experiment on Zvezda and remove and 

store a Russian biomedical experiment. 

For their second spacewalk, currently 

scheduled for June 10, Padalka and Barratt are 

not planning to actually leave the interior of the 

station. Instead, they will depressurize the 

small docking module that connects Zvezda to 

the Russian Zarya module and swap two 

hatches from its interior. One of the hatches 

has a docking cone attached to it that will be 

used to connect Russia’s Mini Research 

Module 2 to the station when it is launched. 

However, the hatch with the docking cone is not 

on the side of the station that the module is 

intended to dock to, so the hatches will be 

swapped. 
28 SPACEWALKS MARCH 2009

Attired in a training version of his Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit, 

astronaut Michael Barratt, Expedition 19/20 flight engineer, awaits the start of a 

 spacewalk training session in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near 

NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 29

Russian Soyuz TMA 

The Soyuz TMA spacecraft is designed to serve 

as the ISS’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 at 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 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 crew 

member, individually molded to fit each 

person's body – this ensures a tight, 

comfortable fit when the module lands on the 

Earth. When crew members are brought to the 

station aboard the space shuttle, their seat 

liners are brought with them and transferred to 

the 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. 
30 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

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 crew 

members 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, with 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. 

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 crew member 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 crew members 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 hangar-drop 

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 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 31

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. 

The basic Soyuz vehicle is considered a threestage 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 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 separation occurs when the 

pre-defined velocity is reached, which is about 

118 seconds after liftoff. 

A Soyuz launches from the Baikonur 

Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 
32 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

Second Stage 

An NPO Energomash RD 108 engine powers 

the Soyuz second stage. This engine has four 

vernier thrusters, necessary for three-axis flight 

control 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 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. 

The third stage engine is fired for about 

240 seconds. Cutoff occurs at a calculated 

velocity. 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 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 railcar. Transfer to the launch 

zone occurs two days before launch. 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. 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 33

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 

 
34 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 35

Prelaunch Countdown Timeline (concluded) 

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 

 
36 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 37

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. 
38 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

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 Crew sleep, off of Russian tracking range 

(11) - 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 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 39

FLIGHT DAY 3 AUTO RENDEZVOUS SEQUENCE (CONCLUDED) 

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 

 
40 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

Typical Soyuz Ground Track 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 41

Key Times for Expedition 19/18 International Space Station Events 

Expedition 19/Spaceflight Participant (SFP) Launch on Soyuz TMA-14

6:49:10 a.m CT on March 26 

11:49:10 GMT on March 26 

14:49:10 p.m. Moscow time on March 26 

17:49:10 p.m. Baikonur time on March 26 (about 2:19 before sunset) 

Expedition 19/SFP Docking to International Space Station on Soyuz TMA-14 (Zvezda Service 

Module aft port)

8:14 a.m. CT on March 28 

13:14 GMT on March 28 

16:14 p.m. Moscow time on March 28 

Expedition 19/SFP Hatch Opening to International Space Station

11:10 a.m. CT on March 28 

16:10 GMT on March 28 

19:10 p.m. Moscow time on March 28 

(Moscow moves to Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, March 29) 

Expedition 18/SFP Hatch Closing to International Space Station

9 p.m. CT on April 6 

2:00 GMT on April 7 

6 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

8 a.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 
42 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

Expedition 18/SFP Undocking from International Space Station on Soyuz TMA-13 (Zarya module 

nadir port)

12:02 a.m. CT on April 7 

5:02 GMT on April 7 

9:02 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

11:02 a.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 

Expedition 18/SFP Deorbit Burn on Soyuz TMA-13

2:29 a.m. CT on April 7 

7:29 GMT on April 7 

11:29 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

13:29 p.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 

Expedition 18/SFP Landing in Soyuz TMA-13

3:20:24 a.m. CT on April 7 

8:20:24 GMT on April 7 

12:20:24 p.m. Moscow time on April 7 

14:20:24 p.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 (5:54 before sunset at the landing site) 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 43

Expedition 18/Soyuz TMA-13 Landing 

Astronaut E. Michael Fincke (right), Expedition 18 commander; astronaut Sandra Magnus and 

cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, both flight engineers, pose for a crew photo between a Russian 

Orlan spacesuit and an Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit in the Harmony node of the 

International Space Station. 

After a 10-day handover with the newly-arrived 

Expedition 19 crew, Expedition 18 Soyuz 

Commander Yury Lonchakov, Expedition 18 

Commander E. Michael Fincke and U.S. 

spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi will 

board their Soyuz TMA-13 capsule for 

undocking and a one-hour descent back to 

Earth. Fincke and Lonchakov will complete a 

six-month mission in orbit, while Simonyi will 

return after a 12-day flight. 

About three hours before undocking, Fincke, 

Lonchakov and Simonyi will bid farewell to the 

new Expedition 19 crew, Commander Gennady 

Padalka and Flight Engineers Michael Barratt 

and Koichi Wakata. Padalka and Barratt are 

launching to the International Space Station 

from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan 

on the Soyuz TMA-14 vehicle. Wakata arrived 

at the station in March on the shuttle Discovery. 

The departing crew will climb into the Soyuz 

vehicle and close the hatch between Soyuz and 

the Zarya module. Fincke will be seated in 

the Soyuz’ left seat for entry and landing 

as onboard engineer. Soyuz Commander 

Lonchakov will be in the center seat, as he was 
44 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

for launch back in October 2008, and Simonyi 

will occupy the right seat. 

After activating Soyuz systems and getting 

approval from flight controllers at the Russian 

Mission Control Center outside Moscow, 

Lonchakov will send commands to open hooks 

and latches between Soyuz and Zarya. 

Lonchakov will fire the Soyuz thrusters to back 

away from Zarya. Six minutes after undocking, 

with the Soyuz about 66 feet away from the 

station, Lonchakov will conduct a separation 

maneuver, firing the Soyuz jets for about 

15 seconds to begin to depart the vicinity of the 

complex. 

About 2.5 hours after undocking, at a distance 

of about 12 miles from the station, Soyuz 

computers will initiate a deorbit burn braking 

maneuver. The 4.5-minute maneuver to slow 

the spacecraft will enable it to drop out of orbit 

and begin its re-entry to Earth. 

About 30 minutes later, just above the first 

traces of the Earth’s atmosphere, computers 

will command the pyrotechnic separation of the 

three modules of the Soyuz vehicle. With the 

crew strapped in the descent module, the 

uppermost orbital module, containing the 

docking mechanism and rendezvous antennas, 

and the instrumentation and propulsion module 

at the rear, which houses the engines and 

avionics, will 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 about three minutes 

after module separation at the point called 

entry interface, when the module is about 

400,000 feet above the Earth. 

About eight minutes later, at an altitude of about 

33,000 feet, traveling at about 722 feet per 

second, the Soyuz will begin a computercommanded 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 79 square feet. Within 16 seconds, the 

Soyuz’ descent will slow to about 262 feet 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. 

A few minutes before touchdown, the drogue 

chute will be jettisoned, allowing the main 

parachute to be deployed. Connected to the 

descent module by two harnesses, the main 

parachute covers an area of about 3,281 feet. 

The deployment of the main parachute slows 

the descent module to a velocity of about 

23 feet per second. Initially, the descent 

module will hang underneath the main 

parachute at a 30-degree angle with respect to 

the horizon for aerodynamic stability. The 

bottommost harness will be severed a few 

minutes before landing, allowing the descent 

module to right itself to a vertical position 

through touchdown. 

At an altitude of a little more than 16,000 feet, 

the crew will monitor the jettison of the descent 

module’s heat shield, which will be followed by 

the termination of the aerodynamic spin cycle 

and the dissipation of any residual propellant 

from the Soyuz. Computers also will arm the 

module’s seat shock absorbers in preparation 

for landing. 

When the capsule’s heat shield is jettisoned, 

the Soyuz altimeter is exposed to the surface of 

the Earth. 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. 

At an altitude of about 39 feet, cockpit displays 

will tell Lonchakov to prepare for the soft 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 45

landing engine firing. Just 3 feet above the 

surface, and just seconds before touchdown, 

the six solid propellant engines will be fired in a 

final braking maneuver. This will enable the 

Soyuz to settle down to a velocity of about 

5 feet per second and land, completing its 

mission. 

As always is the case, teams of Russian 

engineers, flight surgeons and technicians in 

fleets of MI-8 helicopters will be poised near the 

normal and “ballistic” landing zones, and 

midway in between, to enact the swift recovery 

of Fincke, Lonchakov and Simonyi once the 

capsule touches down. 

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 members. The crew will be seated in 

special reclining chairs near the capsule for 

initial medical tests and to begin readapting to 

Earth’s gravity. 

About two hours after landing, the crew will be 

assisted to the recovery helicopters for a flight 

back to a staging site in northern Kazakhstan, 

where local officials will welcome them. The 

crew then will board a Russian military plane 

and be flown 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 around eight hours 

between landing and the return to Star City. 

Assisted by a team of flight surgeons, Fincke 

and Lonchakov will undergo planned medical 

tests and physical rehabilitation. Simonyi’s 

acclimation to Earth’s gravity will take a much 

shorter period of time due to the brevity of his 

flight. 

The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station in October 2008, 

carrying NASA astronaut E. Michael Fincke, Expedition 18 commander; Russian Federal Space 

Agency cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, Soyuz commander and flight engineer; and American 

spaceflight participant Richard Garriott. 
46 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

Soyuz TMA-13 Entry Timeline 

Russian search and recovery crew members examine the Soyuz TMA-12 capsule after it landed 

on the steppes of Kazakhstan on Oct. 24, 2008, with cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and 

Oleg Kononenko, Expedition 17 commander and flight engineer, respectively; and 

American spaceflight participant Richard Garriott, ending a six-month mission for Volkov and 

Kononenko on the International Space Station and 12 days in space for Garriott under a 

commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. 

This is the entry timeline for Soyuz TMA-13. 

Undocking Command to Begin to Open Hooks and Latches; Undocking Command + 0 mins.)

11:59 p.m. CT on April 6 

4:59 GMT on April 7 

8:59 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

10:59 a.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA 47

Hooks Opened/Physical Separation of Soyuz from Zarya module nadir port at .12 meter/sec.; 

Undocking Command + 3 mins.)

12:02 a.m. CT on April 7 

5:02 GMT on April 7 

9:02 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

11:02 a.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 

Separation Burn from ISS (15 second burn of the Soyuz engines, .65 meters/sec.; Soyuz 

distance from the ISS is ~20 meters)

12:05 a.m. CT on April 7 

5:05 GMT on April 7 

9:05 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

11:05 a.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 

Deorbit Burn (appx 4:22 in duration, 115.2 m/sec.; Soyuz distance from the ISS is 

~12 kilometers; Undocking Command appx + ~2 hours, 30 mins.)

2:29:01 a.m. CT on April 7 

7:29:01 GMT on April 7 

11:29:01 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

13:29:01 p.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 

Separation of Modules (~23 mins. after Deorbit Burn; Undocking Command + ~2 hours, 

57 mins.)

2:54:36 a.m. CT on April 7 

7:54:36 GMT on April 7 

11:54:36 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

13:54:36 p.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 
48 RUSSIAN SOYUZ TMA MARCH 2009

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

Burn; Undocking Command + ~3 hours)

2:57:33 a.m. CT on April 7 

7:57:33 GMT on April 7 

11:57:33 a.m. Moscow time on April 7 

13:57:33 p.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 

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

Command + ~3 hours, 8 mins.)

3:06:01 a.m. CT on April 7 

8:06:01 GMT on April 7 

12:06:01 p.m. Moscow time on April 7 

14:06:01 p.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 

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 is then released, covering an area of 1,000 meters; 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. 

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 (~50 mins. after Deorbit Burn; Undocking Command + ~3 hours, 24 mins.)

3:20:24 a.m. CT on April 7 

8:20:24 GMT on April 7 

12:20:24 p.m. Moscow time on April 7 

14:20:24 p.m. Kazakhstan time on April 7 (5:54 before sunset at the landing site). 
MARCH 2009 ECLSS 49

First Expedition to Use Recycling System for Duration 

The next International Space Station crew will 

be the first to use all of the newly installed 

environmental, life support and habitability 

equipment for the expedition’s full term. 

The Expedition 19 crew will benefit from the 

efforts of the STS-126 space shuttle crew to 

deliver – and the Expedition 18 crew to install 

and outfit – a water recycling system, a second 

toilet, an advanced exercise system, two crew 

quarters sleep stations and a kitchenette. The 

Expedition 19 crew will give the new equipment 

a full workout and continue stocking up on 

supplies and equipment to make sure the 

station is ready to support the first six-person 

crew this summer. 

Thanks to the work of the Expedition 18 crew, 

both of the crew quarters that were delivered on 

STS-126 have been installed, checked out and 

are ready for use. Expedition 18 Commander 

E. Michael Fincke is using one of the two crew 

quarters installed in the Harmony module, but 

Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus decided not to 

move from her Temporary Sleep Station 

(TESS) in the Discovery Laboratory, because 

her time aboard the station is nearing its end. 

Expedition 19 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata is 

expected to use the other crew quarters module 

in Harmony. A third crew quarters will be 

delivered on STS-128, which will provide a full 

complement of private living space for sixperson crews. When all are delivered and 

installed, there will be two in the Harmony 

module, one in Kibo, one in Destiny and two in 

Zvezda. 

Expedition 19 crew members will be able to 

work out on the new Advanced Resistive 

Exercise Device (ARED) that was delivered by 

the STS-126 crew and set up by Fincke. ARED 

increases the equipment available for the daily 

two-and-a-half hours of exercise each crew 

member is required to accomplish. The goal is 

to stay fit and protect against the potentially 

detrimental effects of long-duration spaceflight, 

such as bone mass and muscle density loss. 

Other exercise equipment includes the 

Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) in 

Zvezda, two cycle ergometers for stationary 

bike riding, and the now-stowed Interim 

Resistive Exercise Device (IRED) that is 

available as a backup to ARED. A second 

treadmill will be added during the STS-128 

mission. 

The crew also will have access to a refrigerator, 

food warmer and ambient and hot water 

dispenser that were delivered on STS-126 and 

installed by the Expedition 18 crew. The 

current crew has been setting the refrigerator at 

about 40 degrees Fahrenheit and using it to 

chill drinks and help preserve fresh produce 

that is delivered by visiting crews and cargo 

ships. 

Expedition 19 crew members also will have the 

luxury of an extra toilet, known as the Waste 

and Hygiene Compartment (WHC), which also 

was delivered on STS-126 and set up and 

tested by Expedition 18. The system is working 

well and capable of routing urine directly to the 

new water recycling system, or into Russian 

waste containers to be disposed of in departing 

Progress resupply vehicles. 

The STS-126 crew also delivered and helped 

install a new Water Recovery System (WRS), a 

component of a comprehensive regenerative 

life support system for the station. The Oxygen 

Generation System (OGS), which was launched 

on space shuttle Discovery in July 2006, and 

the WRS form the core of NASA’s Regenerative 

Environmental Control and Life Support System 

(ECLSS). 

The WRS was activated during the STS-126 

mission. However, after operating briefly, the 

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) that begins 

the recycling process shut down. Fincke and 
50 ECLSS MARCH 2009

shuttle Mission Specialist Don Pettit worked 

with designers from Marshall Space Flight 

Center in Huntsville, Ala., to troubleshoot the 

problem and restart the system. However, 

after Discovery departed, that part of the 

recycling system failed again. A new Distillation 

Assembly (DA) section of the UPA will be 

delivered by the STS-119 astronauts in an effort 

to restore the WRS to full functionality. 

In the meantime, the WRS continues to process 

condensation from the station’s atmosphere, 

reclaiming between one and three liters a day. 

That water eventually will be consumed by crew 

members, used for oxygen generation or used 

to fill the flush tank on the WHC. 

The STS-126 crew returned several one-liter 

samples of recycled water for laboratory 

analysis. Preliminary analysis shows the 

quality of the water being produced by the 

WRS, whether recycled from urine while the 

UPA was working, or from condensation, has 

been well within water quality specifications for 

microbes and for the more than 350 different 

chemical compounds analyzed. More samples 

will be returned on STS-119 for additional 

analysis. 

A Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA II) 

also was delivered and installed during 

STS-126, but experienced minor problems 

during Expedition 18 activation and checkout. 

The problems were in the gas-separator portion 

of the system and engineers developed a 

slightly different procedure that allows TOCA to 

be used for on-board analysis of water purity 

without any hardware changes. Engineers are 

continuing to conduct the planned 90-day 

checkout of the Water Recovery System, which 

is on schedule to be completed by the time the 

Expedition 19 crew arrives. 

The Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) that 

provides the faucets used by the crew is still 

undergoing checkout. While the heated side is 

dispensing hot water that is free of bacteria, 

samples from the ambient, or normal, 

temperature side of the dispenser have 

contained higher than allowable levels. Full 

characterization of the bacteria present will be 

completed upon return of samples on the 

STS-119 flight. The Expedition 18 crew 

performed numerous flushes of the system 

using low levels of iodine, but this was 

insufficient to remove the bacteria. The 

STS-119 mission will deliver a kit to disinfect 

the PWD by flushing it with a concentrated 

iodine solution. The flushes, which are similar 

to those performed on earthbound water 

distribution systems, use iodine instead of 

chlorine to avoid corrosion in the space 

station’s plumbing. 

Environmental Control and Life Support 

System 

Earth’s natural life support system supplies the 

air we breathe, the water we drink and other 

essential conditions. For people to live in 

space, however, these functions must be 

provided by artificial means. 

The life support systems on the Mercury, 

Gemini and Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s were 

designed to be used once and discarded. 

Oxygen for breathing was provided from high 

pressure or cryogenic storage tanks. Carbon 

dioxide was removed from the air by lithium 

hydroxide in replaceable canisters. 

Contaminants in the air were removed by 

replaceable filters and activated charcoal 

integrated with the lithium hydroxide canisters. 

Water for the Mercury and Gemini missions 

was stored in tanks, while fuel cells on the 

Apollo spacecraft produced electricity and 

provided water as a byproduct. Urine and 

wastewater were collected and stored or vented 

overboard. 

The space shuttle is a reusable vehicle, unlike 

those earlier spacecraft, and its life support 

system incorporates some advances. It still 

relies heavily on the use of consumables; 

however, limiting the time it can stay in space. 
MARCH 2009 ECLSS 51

The space station includes further advances in 

life support technology and relies on a 

combination of expendable and limited 

regenerative life support technologies located in 

the U.S. Destiny lab module and the Russian 

Zvezda service module. Advances include the 

development of regenerable methods for 

supplying water, by recovering potable water 

from wastewater, and oxygen, by electrolysis of 

water. 

Because it is expensive to continue launching 

fresh supplies of air, water and expendable life 

support equipment to the station and returning 

used equipment to Earth, these advances will 

help reduce costs. 

By recycling urine and condensation collected 

from the atmosphere, the ECLSS will reduce 

the dependence on Earth resupply by cutting 

the amount of water and consumables needed 

to be launched by about 15,000 pounds per 

year. 

The space station’s ECLSS performs several 

functions: 

• Provides oxygen for metabolic consumption 

• Provides potable water for consumption, 

food preparation and hygiene uses 

• Removes carbon dioxide from the cabin air 

• Filters particulates and microorganisms 

from the cabin air 

• Removes volatile organic trace gases from 

the cabin air 

• Monitors and controls cabin air partial 

pressures of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon 

dioxide, methane, hydrogen and water 

vapor in the cabin air 

• Maintains total cabin pressure

• Maintains cabin temperature and humidity 

levels

• Distributes cabin air between connected 

modules

Providing Clean Water 

The space station’s Environmental Control and 

Life Support System includes two key 

components, the WRS and OGS, which are 

packaged into three refrigerator-sized racks in 

the station’s U.S. lab. 

The WRS provides clean water by reclaiming 

wastewater, including water from crew member 

urine, cabin humidity condensate and 

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) wastes. The 

recovered water must meet stringent purity 

standards before it can be used to support 

crew, spacewalking and payload activities. 

A distillation process is used to recover water 

from urine. The process occurs within a 

rotating distillation assembly that compensates 

for the absence of gravity, aiding in the 

separation of liquids and gases in space. Once 

distilled, the water from the urine processor is 

combined with other wastewaters and delivered 

to the water processor for treatment. 

The WRS consists of a Urine Processor 

Assembly (UPA) and a Water Processor 

Assembly (WPA). A low-pressure vacuum 

distillation process is used to recover water 

from urine. The entire process occurs within a 

rotating distillation assembly that compensates 

for the absence of gravity and aids in the 

separation of liquids and gases in space. 

Water from the urine processor is combined 

with all other wastewaters and delivered to 

the water processor for treatment. The water 

processor removes free gas and solid materials 

such as hair and lint, before the water goes 

through a series of multifiltration beds for 

further purification. Any remaining organic 

contaminants and microorganisms are removed 
52 ECLSS MARCH 2009

by a high-temperature catalytic reactor 

assembly. 

The purity of water is checked by electrical 

conductivity sensors. The conductivity of 

water is increased by the presence of typical 

contaminants. Unacceptable water is 

reprocessed, and clean water is sent to a 

storage tank, ready for use by the crew. 

Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center, 

Huntsville, Ala., and at Hamilton Sundstrand 

Space Systems International Inc., Windsor 

Locks, Conn., led the design and development 

of the Water Recovery System. 

The WRS is designed to recycle crew member 

urine and wastewater for reuse as clean water. 

By doing so, the system reduces by 

15,000 pounds per year the net mass of water 

and consumables that would need to be 

delivered from Earth. 

Each crew member uses about 3.5 liters 

(0.9 gallons) of water per day. About 2 liters 

(0.52 gallons) per day is provided by deliveries 

from Russian Progress resupply vehicles, 

ESA’s Jules Verne Automatic Transfer Vehicle 

and the space shuttles. The remaining 

1.5 liters (0.4 gallons) is recovered condensate 

from the Russian water processor. The two 

cargo vehicles carry water to the station in 

onboard supply tanks. The shuttle delivers 

water produced as a byproduct of the fuel cells 

that generate its electricity. The WRS will 

reduce the amount of water that needs to be 

delivered to the station for each crew member 

by 1.3 liters (0.34 gallons) a day, or about 

65 percent. Over the course of a year, it will 

reduce water deliveries to the station for a 

six-person crew by 2,850 liters (743 gallons). 

Oxygen Generation System 

The OGS produces oxygen for breathing air for 

the crew and laboratory animals, and for 

replacement of oxygen lost because of 

experiment use, airlock depressurization, 

module leakage and carbon dioxide venting. 

The system consists mainly of the Oxygen 

Generation Assembly (OGA) and a Power 

Supply Module. 

The heart of the Oxygen Generation Assembly 

is the cell stack, which electrolyzes, or breaks 

apart, water provided by the WRS, yielding 

oxygen and hydrogen as byproducts. The 

oxygen is delivered to the cabin atmosphere 

and the hydrogen is vented overboard. The 

Power Supply Module provides the power 

needed by the OGA to electrolyze the water. 

The OGS is designed to generate oxygen at a 

selectable rate and capable of operating both 

continuously and cyclically. It provides from 

5 to 20 pounds of oxygen per day during 

continuous operation and a normal rate of 

12 pounds of oxygen per day during cyclic 

operation. 

The OGS will accommodate the testing of an 

experimental Carbon Dioxide Reduction 

Assembly. Once deployed, the reduction 

assembly will cause hydrogen produced by the 

OGA to react with carbon dioxide removed from 

the cabin atmosphere to produce water and 

methane. The water will be available for 

processing and reuse, further reducing the 

amount of water resupplied to the space station 

from the ground. 

Future 

Ultimately, expendable life support equipment is 

not suitable for long-duration, crewed missions 

away from low Earth orbit because of the 

resupply requirements. On deep space 

missions in the future, such resupply will not be 

possible because of the distances involved, and 

it will not be possible to take along all of the 

water and air required for a voyage of months 

or years. Regenerative life support hardware, 

which can be used repeatedly to generate and 

recycle the life-sustaining elements required by 

human travelers, is essential for long-duration 

trips into space.
MARCH 2009 HTV-II 53

HTV Summary 

The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), designed and 

being built in Japan, is an unmanned 

cargo-transfer spacecraft that will deliver 

supplies to the International Space Station. 

The HTV will be launched from the 

Tanegashima Space Center in Japan aboard 

an H-IIB Launch Vehicle that is currently under 

development. When the HTV approaches 

to within close proximity of the space station, 

the station’s robotic arm, the Space Station 

Remote Manipulator System, will grapple the 

HTV and berth it to the space station. The HTV 

will deliver to the station up to 6,000 kg 

(13,228 pounds) of supplies, including food, 

clothing and several types of experiment 

payloads. After the supplies are unloaded, the 

HTV then will be loaded with waste materials, 

including used payloads or used clothing. 

Afterward, the HTV will undock and depart from 

the station, and deorbit and re-enter the 

atmosphere. While the HTV is berthed to the 

orbiting complex, crew members will be able to 

enter and remove supplies from the HTV 

Pressurized Logistics Carrier. 

Image of HTV during flight 
54 HTV-II MARCH 2009

The HTV will be used for delivering supplies to 

the space station as is currently done with the 

Russian Progress cargo spacecraft, the U.S. 

space shuttle, and the Automated Transfer 

Vehicle developed and built by the European 

Space Agency. The HTV can carry both 

pressurized (for inside use) and unpressurized 

(for outside use) cargo. The launch of the HTV 

Technical Demonstration Vehicle, the initial 

flight vehicle, is scheduled during Japan’s 2009 

fiscal year. 

HTV Components 

The HTV consists of two logistic carriers, the 

Pressurized Logistics Carrier and the 

Unpressurized Logistics Carrier, which carries 

an Exposed Pallet, an Avionics Module and a 

Propulsion Module. 

Proximity Communication System antennas 

and reflectors that enable interorbit 

communications between Kibo and the HTV are 

installed on Kibo and will be used when the 

HTV approaches the space station. 

Avionics Module

Propulsion Module

Common Exposed Pallet (EP) Berthing

Mechanism

(CBM)

Pressurized

Logistics

Carrier

(PLC)

Un-pressurized

Logistics Carrier

(UPLC)

Avionics Module

Propulsion Module

Common Exposed Pallet (EP) Berthing

Mechanism

(CBM)

Pressurized

Logistics

Carrier

(PLC)

Un-pressurized

Logistics Carrier

(UPLC)

HTV Configuration Diagram 

HTV Specifications 

Item Specification 

Length 10m (including thrusters) 

Diameter 4.4m 

Mass (weight) 10,500kg (excluding cargo mass) 

Cargo capacity (supplies) 6,000kg 

 - Pressurized cargo: 4,500kg 

 - Unpressurized cargo: 1,500kg 

Cargo capacity (waste) 6,000kg 

Target orbit to ISS Altitude: 350km to 460km 

Inclination: 51.6 degrees 

Maximum mission duration Solo flight: 100 hours 

Stand-by (on-orbit): More than a week 

Berthed with the ISS: Maximum 30 days 
MARCH 2009 HTV-II 55

HTV Operations 

The HTV will be operated in the following sequence. 

1. Launch 

2. Rendezvous with the International Space Station 

3. Berthing with the space station 

4. Operations while berthed with the station 

5. Undock/Departure from the station/re-entry 

Max. 30 days

H-IIB/HTV

Separation

Rendezvous

Phase

ISS Proximity

Operations Phase

TDRSS

TDRSS

4 min.

after

launch

ISS Departure

Phase

De-orbit

Reentry

Control

SSCC

Approx. 3 days

Tanegashima

Space Center

Tsukuba Space Center (TKSC)

NASA White 

Sands Ground 

Station

NASA Johnson

Space Center 

(JSC)

Japan

H-IIA/B-CC

US

HTV-CC

Max. 30 days

H-IIB/HTV

Separation

Rendezvous

Phase

ISS Proximity

Operations Phase

TDRSS

TDRSS

4 min.

after

launch

ISS Departure

Phase

De-orbit

Reentry

Control

SSCC

Approx. 3 days

Tanegashima

Space Center

Tsukuba Space Center (TKSC)

NASA White 

Sands Ground 

Station

NASA Johnson

Space Center 

(JSC)

Japan

H-IIA/B-CC

US

HTV-CC
56 HTV-II MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 SCIENCE OVERVIEW 57

International Space Station: Expedition 19/20 Science Overview 

Expedition 19/20 includes operating 98 

experiments in human research, technology 

development; observing the Earth; and 

performing educational activities and biological 

and physical sciences aboard the International 

Space Station. The experiments have been 

prioritized based on fundamental and applied 

research needs established by NASA and 

the international partners – the Canadian Space 

Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency 

(ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration 

Agency (JAXA). Russia manages its 

experiments and requirements separately. 

The scientific work of more than 400 scientists 

will be supported through U.S.-integrated 

experiments. The team of controllers and 

scientists on the ground will continue to plan, 

monitor and remotely operate experiments from 

control centers across the United States. 

The controllers will staff the Payload Operations 

Center – the science command post for the 

space station – at NASA’s Marshall Space 

Flight Center in 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. 

The Payload Operations Center also 

coordinates the payload activities of NASA’s 

international partners. While the partners are 

responsible for the planning and operations of 

their space agencies’ modules, NASA’s 

Payload Operations Center is chartered to 

synchronize the payload activities among the 

partners and optimize the use of valuable 

in-orbit resources. 

Human Research and Countermeasures 

Development 

Sampling and testing of crew members will be 

used to study changes in the body caused by 

living in microgravity. Continuing and new 

experiments include: 

Bisphosphonates as a Countermeasure to 

Space Flight Induced Bone Loss 

(Bisphosphonates) will determine whether 

antiresorptive agents – those that help reduce 

bone loss on Earth – in conjunction with the 

routine in-flight exercise program, will protect 

station crew members from bone loss, which 

has been observed and documented on 

previous missions. 

Cardiac Atrophy and Diastolic Dysfunction 

During and After Long Duration Spaceflight: 

Functional Consequences for Orthostatic 

Intolerance, Exercise Capability and Risk for 

Cardiac Arrhythmias (Integrated 

Cardiovascular) will determine how much 

cardiac atrophy, or a decrease in the size of the 

heart muscle, occurs during spaceflight. It will 

study how fast atrophy occurs and whether it 

causes problems with the heart’s pumping or 

electrical function. 

Validation of Procedures for Monitoring 

Crew member Immune Function (Integrated 

Immune) will assess the clinical risks resulting 

from the adverse effects of spaceflight on the 

human immune system. The study will validate 

a flight-compatible immune monitoring strategy 

by collecting and analyzing blood, urine and 

saliva samples from crew members before, 

during and after spaceflight to monitor changes 

in the immune system. 

Nutritional Status Assessment (Nutrition)

studies human physiological changes during 

long-duration spaceflight. Results will impact 
58 SCIENCE OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

both the definition of nutritional requirements 

and development of food systems for future 

space exploration missions to the moon and 

beyond. This experiment also will help 

researchers understand the impact of 

countermeasures – exercise and 

pharmaceuticals – on nutritional status and 

nutrient requirements for astronauts. 

The National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration Biological Specimen 

Repository (Repository) is a storage bank 

used to maintain biological specimens over 

extended periods of time and under 

well-controlled conditions. Samples from crew 

members on the station – including blood and 

urine – will be collected, processed and 

archived during the pre-flight, in-flight and postflight phases of the missions. This investigation 

has been developed to archive biological 

samples for use as a resource for future 

spaceflight research. 

Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure 

during Spaceflight-Long (Sleep-Long)

examines the effects of spaceflight and ambient 

light exposure on the sleep-wake cycles of the 

crew members during long-duration stays on 

the space station. Results are vital to treating 

insomnia in space. 

A Comprehensive Characterization of 

Microorganisms and Allergens in Spacecraft 

(SWAB) will comprehensively evaluate 

microbes aboard the space station, including 

pathogens – organisms that may cause 

disease. This study will allow an assessment of 

the risk of microbes to the crew and the 

spacecraft. 

Evaluation of Maximal Oxygen Uptake and 

Submaximal Estimates of VO2max Before, 

During, and After Long Duration 

International Space Station Missions 

(VO2max) will document changes in aerobic 

capacity for crew members on long-duration 

missions, greater than 90 days. VO2max is the 

standard measure of aerobic capacity, and 

is directly related to the physical working 

capacity of an individual. By understanding the 

changes in VO2max in spaceflight, necessary 

adjustments can be made to exercise regimes 

for future crews that may help combat any 

negative effects. 

Technology Development 

Many experiments are designed to help 

develop technologies, designs and materials for 

future spacecraft and exploration missions. 

These include: 

JPL Electronic Nose (ENose) is a full-time, 

incident monitor designed to detect air 

contamination from spills and leaks inside the 

station. It is envisioned to be one part of a 

distributed system for automated monitoring 

and control of the breathing atmosphere in 

inhabited spacecraft in microgravity. 

Multi-User Droplet Combustion Apparatus – 

Flame Extinguishment Experiment 

(MCDA-FLEX) will assess the effectiveness of 

fire suppressants in microgravity and quantify 

the effect of different atmospheres on fire 

suppression. This will provide definition and 

direction for large-scale fire suppression tests 

and selection of the fire suppressant for 

next-generation crew exploration vehicles. 

Materials on the International Space Station 

Experiment 6 A and B (MISSE-6A and 6B) is 

a test bed for materials and coatings attached 

to the outside of the space station that are 

being evaluated for the effects of atomic 

oxygen, direct sunlight, radiation and extremes 

of heat and cold. This experiment allows the 

development and testing of new materials to 

better withstand the rigors of space 

environments. Results will provide a better 

understanding of the durability of various 

materials in space. 

Serial Network Flow Monitor (SNFM) will 

study the function of the computer network 

aboard the station. This information will allow 
MARCH 2009 SCIENCE OVERVIEW 59

monitoring and improvement in the data 

transfer capabilities of in-orbit computer 

networks. 

Space-Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic 

Matrix System (SpaceDRUMS) is a suite of 

hardware to facilitate containerless advanced 

materials science. Inside SpaceDRUMS, 

samples of experimental materials, such as 

porous ceramics, can be processed without 

ever touching a container wall. Results will help 

scientists on Earth determine methods to make 

better materials for use on Earth and in space. 

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, 

Reorient, Experimental Satellites 

(SPHERES) are bowling-ball-sized spherical 

satellites. They will be used inside the space 

station to test a set of well-defined instructions 

for spacecraft performing autonomous 

rendezvous and docking maneuvers. Three 

free-flying spheres will fly inside the station, 

performing flight formations. Each satellite is 

self-contained with power, propulsion, 

computers and navigation equipment. The 

results are important for satellite servicing, 

vehicle assembly and formation-flying 

spacecraft configurations. 

Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor (VCAM)

will test the air, water and surface of the station 

interior for contaminants. The station 

environment can be contaminated by 

off-gassing of vapors from items such as 

plastics and tapes, as well as bacteria and 

fungi. Results of monitoring the station will 

provide a new understanding of the closed 

environment that can be applied to future 

spacecraft. 

Biological Sciences in Microgravity 

Plant growth experiments give insight into the 

effects of the space environment on living 

organisms. These experiments include: 

Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression 

System (TAGES) uses Arabidopsis thaliana, 

commonly known as thale cress, to determine 

how plants perceive stresses such as drought, 

inadequate light, or varying temperatures in 

space. 

Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic 

Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions – 2 

(InSPACE-2) will obtain data on 

magnetorheological fluids – fluids that change 

properties in response to magnetic fields – that 

can be used to improve or develop new brake 

systems for vehicles, and robotics. 

Validating Vegetable Production Unit (VPU) 

Plants, Protocols, Procedures and 

Requirements (P3

R) Using Currently 

Existing Flight Resources (Lada-VPU-P3

R)

is a study to advance the technology required 

for plant growth in microgravity and to research 

related food safety issues. It also investigates 

the non-nutritional value to the flight crew of 

developing plants in orbit. 

Education and Earth Observation 

Many experiments aboard the space station 

continue to teach lessons about living and 

working in space. These experiments include: 

Agricultural Camera (AgCam) takes frequent 

images, in visible and infrared light, of 

vegetated areas on Earth, such as farmland, 

rangeland, grasslands, forests and wetlands in 

the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain 

regions of the United States. Images will be 

delivered within two days directly to requesting 

farmers, ranchers, foresters, natural resource 

managers and tribal officials to help improve 

environmental stewardship. 

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, along with dynamic 

events such as storms, floods, fires and 
60 SCIENCE OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

volcanic eruptions. These images provide 

researchers on Earth with key data to better 

understand the planet. 

Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle 

School Students (EarthKAM), an education 

experiment, allows middle school students to 

program a digital camera aboard the station to 

photograph a variety of geographical targets 

for study in the classroom. Photos are made 

available on the Web for viewing and study by 

participating schools around the world. 

Educators use the images for projects involving 

Earth science, geography, physics and 

technology. 

Education Payload Operations – Kit D (EPO 

– Kit D) is part of NASA's continuing effort to 

use space as a unique educational tool for K-12 

students. Everyday items, such as toys and 

tools, are given a new twist by combining them 

with the allure of the unusual space 

environment to produce educational materials 

that inspire interest in science, technology, 

engineering and mathematics. 

HICO and RAIDS Experiment Payload – 

Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean 

(HREP-HICO) will operate a visible and 

near-infrared (VNIR) Maritime Hyperspectral 

Imaging (MHSI) system, to detect, identify and 

quantify coastal geophysical features from the 

space station. 

HICO and RAIDS Experiment Payload – 

Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric 

Detection System (HREP-RAIDS) will provide 

atmospheric scientists with a complete 

description of the major constituents of the 

thermosphere, the fourth layer of the Earth’s 

atmosphere where the space shuttle and space 

station orbit, and ionosphere, the uppermost 

layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, and provide 

global electron density profiles at altitudes 

between 100 - 350 kilometers. 

Space Shuttle Experiments 

Many other experiments are scheduled to be 

performed during upcoming space shuttle 

missions that are part of Expedition 19/20. 

These experiments include: 

Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment – 2 

(ANDE-2) will measure the density and 

composition of the low Earth orbit atmosphere 

while tracking from the ground two 

microsatellites launched from the shuttle 

payload bay. The data will be used to better 

predict the movement of objects in orbit. 

Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital 

Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat) is designed 

to prove that autonomous rendezvous and 

docking of two spacecraft can be performed in 

low Earth orbit. The project also will gather 

flight data with a global positioning system 

receiver to demonstrate precision navigation. 

Maui Analysis of Upper Atmospheric 

Injections (MAUI) observes the space shuttle 

engine exhaust plumes from the Maui Space 

Surveillance Site in Hawaii. The observations 

will occur when the shuttle fires its engines at 

night or twilight. A telescope and all-sky 

imagers will collect images and data while the 

shuttle flies over the Maui site. The images will 

be analyzed to better understand the interaction 

between the spacecraft plume and the upper 

atmosphere. 

National Lab Pathfinder – Vaccine – 4 and 

National Lab Pathfinder – Vaccine – 5 (NLPVaccine-4 and NLP-Vaccine-5) is a suite of 

investigations serving as a pathfinder for the 

use of the space station as a National 

Laboratory after station assembly is complete. 

It contains several different pathogenic, or 

disease causing, organisms. This research is 

investigating the use of spaceflight to develop 

potential vaccines for the prevention of different 

infections caused by these pathogens on Earth 

and in microgravity. 
MARCH 2009 SCIENCE OVERVIEW 61

Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence 

Experiments (SEITE) will use space-based 

sensors to detect turbulence inferred from the 

radar observations from a previous Space 

Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) 

burn experiment using ground-based radar. 

The research will enhance detection, tracking 

and timely surveillance of high-interest objects 

in space. 

Spinal Elongation and its Effects on Seated 

Height in a Microgravity Environment 

(Spinal Elongation) study will provide 

quantitative data as to the amount of change 

that occurs in the seated height due to spinal 

elongation in microgravity. 

Validation of Procedures for Monitoring 

Crew Member Immune Function – Short 

Duration Biological Investigation (Integrated 

Immune – SDBI) will assess the clinical risks 

resulting from the adverse effects of spaceflight 

on the human immune system for space shuttle 

crew members. The study will validate a 

flight-compatible immune monitoring strategy by 

collecting and analyzing blood, urine and saliva 

samples from crew members before, during and 

after spaceflight to monitor changes in the 

immune system. 

Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with 

Pulsed Localized Exhaust Experiments 

(SIMPLEX) will use ground-based radars to 

investigate plasma turbulence driven by rocket 

exhaust in the ionosphere – four layers of the 

Earth’s upper atmosphere where space 

radiation can create an area that reflects radio 

signals. Results will help in the interpretation of 

spacecraft engine plumes when they are 

observed from Earth. 

Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure 

During Spaceflight – Short (Sleep-Short) 

examines the effects of spaceflight on the 

sleep-wake cycles of the astronauts during 

space shuttle missions. Advancing state-of-theart technology for monitoring, diagnosing and 

assessing treatment of sleep patterns is vital to 

treating sleep disorders on Earth and in space. 

Human Factors Assessment of Vibration 

Effects on Visual Performance During 

Launch (Visual Performance) will determine 

visual performance limits during operational 

vibration and g-loads – the standard forces 

experienced by astronauts during space shuttle 

launches – on the space shuttle, specifically 

through the determination of minimum readable 

font size during ascent using planned Orion 

crew capsule display formats. 

Reserve Payloads 

Several additional experiments are ready for 

operation, but designated as “reserve” and will 

be performed if crew time becomes available. 

They include: 

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – 3 (BCAT-3)

investigates 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. 

Results will help scientists develop fundamental 

physics concepts previously masked by the 

effects of gravity. 

Binodal Colloidal Aggregation Test – 4 

(BCAT-4) is part of the BCAT suite of 

experiments studying colloids – a system of fine 

particles suspended in a fluid. Results from this 

study may lead to new colloid materials with 

applications in the communications and 

computer industries for switches, displays and 

optical devices with properties that could rival 

those of lasers. 

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – 5 (BCAT-5)

initially will photograph randomized colloidal 

samples to determine their resulting structure 

over time. Results will provide important data 

that is not available on Earth to guide our 

understanding of product shelf-life. 
62 SCIENCE OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular 

Control on Return from ISS (CCISS) studies 

the effects of long-duration spaceflight on crew 

members’ heart functions and blood vessels 

that supply the brain. Learning more about the 

cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems 

could lead to specific countermeasures that 

might better protect future space travelers. 

Education Payload Operations (EPO)

includes curriculum-based educational activities 

demonstrating basic principles of science, 

mathematics, technology, engineering and 

geography. These activities are videotaped 

and then used in classroom lectures. 

Lab-on-a-Chip Application DevelopmentPortable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) is a 

handheld device for rapid detection of biological 

and chemical substances aboard the space 

station. Astronauts will swab surfaces within 

the cabin, add swab material to the 

LOCAD-PTS, and within 15 minutes obtain 

results on a display screen. The study’s 

purpose is to effectively provide an early 

warning system to crew members to protect 

their health and safety. 

Microgravity Acceleration Measurement 

System (MAMS) and Space Acceleration 

Measurement System – II (SAMS-II) measure 

vibration and quasi-steady accelerations that 

result from vehicle control burns, docking 

and undocking activities. The two different 

equipment packages measure vibrations at 

different frequencies. These measurements 

help investigators characterize the vibrations 

and accelerations that may influence space 

station experiments. 

Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor (VCAM)

identifies gases that are present in small 

quantities in the space station breathing air that 

could be harmful to crew health. If successful, 

instruments like this could accompany crew 

members during long-duration exploration 

missions to the moon or Mars. 

Research Facilities 

The space station is equipped with these 

state-of-the-art research facilities to support 

science investigations: 

The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) is 

used to perform combustion experiments in 

microgravity. It is designed to be easily 

reconfigured in orbit to accommodate a wide 

variety of combustion experiments. 

The General Laboratory Active Cryogenic 

ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER) will 

serve as an in-orbit cold stowage facility as well 

as carry frozen scientific samples to and from 

the station and Earth via the space shuttle. 

This facility is capable of thermally controlling 

the samples between 4°C (39.2°F) and 

minus 185°C (minus 301°F). 

The Human Research Facility-1(HRF-1) 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 (HRF-2) provides 

an in-orbit laboratory that enables human life 

science researchers to study and evaluate the 

physiological, behavioral and chemical changes 

in astronauts induced by spaceflight. 

Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for 

ISS (MELFI) provides refrigerated storage and 

fast-freezing of biological and life science 

samples. It can hold up to 300 liters of samples 

ranging in temperature from minus 80°C, 

minus 26°C, or 4°C throughout a mission. 

Expedite the Processing of Experiments to 

the Space Station (EXPRESS) Racks are 

standard payload racks designed to provide 

experiments with utilities such as power, data, 

cooling, fluids and gases. The racks support 

payloads in disciplines including biology, 

chemistry, physics, ecology and medicines. 
MARCH 2009 SCIENCE OVERVIEW 63

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. 

The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG)

provides a safe environment for research with 

liquids, combustion and hazardous materials 

aboard the station. Without the glovebox, many 

types of hands-on investigations would be 

impossible or severely limited on the station. 

The European Modular Cultivation System 

(EMCS) is a large incubator that provides 

control over the atmosphere, lighting and 

humidity of growth chambers used to study 

plant growth. 

On the Internet 

For fact sheets, imagery and more on 

Expedition 19/20 experiments and payload 

operations, click on 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/

station/science/index.html
64 SCIENCE OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OPERATIONS CENTER 65

The Payload Operations Center 

From the Payload Operations Center at NASA’s MSFC in Huntsville, Ala., scientists and 

engineers operate all the U.S. experiments 225 miles above Earth on the International Space 

Station. The best technology of the 21st century monitors and stores several billion bits of 

data from the space station, while saving NASA millions of dollars and serving 

a diverse community of research scientists around the globe. 

The Payload Operations Center, or POC, at 

NASA’s 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 NASA’s roadmap for returning to 

the moon and exploring our solar system. 

The space station accommodates dozens of 

experiments in fields as diverse as medicine, 

human life sciences, biotechnology, agriculture, 

manufacturing and Earth observation. 

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 critical. 

The Payload Operations Center continues the 

role Marshall has played in management and 

operation of NASA’s in-orbit science research. 

In the 1970s, Marshall managed the science 

program for Skylab, the first American space 

station. Spacelab, the international science 

laboratory that the space shuttle carried to orbit 

more than a dozen times in the 1980s and 
66 PAYLOAD OPERATIONS CENTER MARCH 2009

1990s, was the prototype for Marshall’s space 

station science operations. 

Today, the POC team is responsible for 

managing all U.S. science and research 

experiments aboard the station. The center 

also is home for coordination of the mission 

planning work, deliveries and retrieval of all 

U.S. science payloads, and payload training 

and payload safety programs for the station 

crew and all ground personnel. 

State-of-the-art computers and communications 

equipment deliver around-the-clock reports 

between science outposts across the United 

States and POC systems controllers and 

science experts. Other computers stream 

information to and from the space station itself, 

linking the orbiting research facility with the 

science command post on Earth. 

The payload operations team also synchronizes 

the payload time lines among international 

partners, ensuring the best use of valuable 

resources and crew time. NASA’s partners are 

the Russian Space Agency, European Space 

Agency, Japan Aerospace and Exploration 

Agency and Canadian Space Agency. 

The control centers of NASA’s partners are: 

• Center for Control of Spaceflights (“TsUP” in 

Russian) in Korolev, Russia; 

• Space Station Integration and Promotion 

Center (SSIPC) in Tskuba, Japan; and 

• Columbus Control Center (Col-CC) in 

Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany 

Once launch schedules are finalized, the POC 

oversees delivery of experiments to the space 

station. Experiments are rotated in and out 

periodically as the shuttle or other launch 

vehicles make deliveries and return completed 

experiments and samples to Earth. 

Housed in a two-story complex at Marshall, the 

systems controllers staff the POC around the 

clock in three shifts. During space station 

operations, center personnel routinely manage 

10 to 40 or more experiments simultaneously. 

The payload operations director leads the 

POC’s main flight control team, known as the 

“cadre.” The payload operations director 

approves all science plans in coordination with 

Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space 

Center in Houston, the station crew and the 

international partner control centers. The 

payload communications manager, the voice of 

the POC, coordinates and manages real-time 

voice responses between the station crew 

conducting payload operations and the 

researchers whose science the crew is 

conducting. 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 data management 

coordinator is responsible for station video 

systems and high-rate data links to the POC. 

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 and procedure 

changes and maintain configuration 

management of on-board stowed payload 

hardware. 
MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OPERATIONS CENTER 67

Orbiting 250 miles above the Earth, the space station crew works together with science experts 

at the POC at the MSFC and researchers around the world to perform cutting-edge science 

experiments in the unique microgravity environment of space. (NASA) 

 
68 PAYLOAD OPERATIONS CENTER MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 69

Russian Research Objectives 

Expedition 19/20 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware 

Description Research Objective Unique Payload Constraints 

Technology & 

Material 

Science 

ТХН-7 SVS (СВС) “СВС” researching camera 

“Telescience” hardware 

from “ПК-3” 

Nominal hardware: 

“Klest” (“Crossbill”) 

TV-system 

Picture monitor (ВКУ) 

Self-propagating high-temperature 

fusion in space 

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

Spectrozonal ultraviolet 

system 

Spectrometer No2 (СПМ) 

<TBD> 

Video camera (ВК) <TBD> 

High sensitive images 

recorder 

Study of chemiluminescent 

chemical reactions and 

atmospheric light phenomena that 

occur during high-velocity 

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 

Using OCA 

Geophysical ГФИ-8 Uragan Nominal hardware: 

Сamera Nikon D2Х

Сamera Nikon D200 

HDV Sony HVR-Z1 

Laptop RSS2, RSK1 

Experimental verification of the 

ground and space-based system 

for predicting natural and manmade disasters, mitigating the 

damage caused, and facilitating 

recovery 

Using OCA 

Geophysical ГФИ-12 Impulse (Рulse) Hardware “IPI-SM” 

containing 

Ionospheric sounding by pulsed 

plasma sources 

Unattended 

Geophysical ГФИ-16 Vsplesk 

(Burst) 

“Vsplesk” hardware 

Mechanical adapter 

Conversion board 

Seismic effects monitoring. 

Researching high-energy particles 

streams in near-Earth space 

environment 

Unattended 

Biomedical МБИ-12 Sonokard “Sonokard” set 

“Sonokard” kit 

“Sonokard-Data” kit 

Laptop RSE-Med 

Integrated study of physiological 

functions during sleep period 

throughout a long spaceflight. 

Biomedical МБИ-15 Pilot Right Control Handle 

Left Control Handle 

Synchronizer Unit (БС) 

ULTRABUOY-2000 Unit 

“Neyrolab-M” set 

Nominal hardware:

Laptop RSK1 

Researching for individual features 

of state psychophysiological 

regulation and crew members 

professional activities during long 

spaceflights. 

Using OCA 

Biomedical МБИ-16 Vzaimodeistvie 

(Interaction) 

“Vzaimodeistvie” kit 

Nominal hardware:

Laptop RSK1 with a set of 

accessories 

Monitoring of the group crew 

activities under spaceflight 

conditions 

Biomedical МБИ-18 Dykhanie “Dykhanie-1” set 

“Dykhanie-1-Data” kit 

Nominal hardware: 

Laptop RSE-Med 

Study of respiration regulation and 

biomechanics under spaceflight 

conditions 
70 RUSSIAN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES MARCH 2009

Expedition 19/20 (continued) 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware 

Description Research Objective Unique Payload 

Constraints 

Biomedical МБИ-20 Tipologia “Tipologia” kit 

“Tipologia-Data” kit 

“Neyrolab-M” set with 

accessories 

Nominal hardware:

Laptop RSK1 

Researching for typological 

features of the activities of the ISS 

crews as operators activities in long 

term spaceflight phases 

Biomedical МБИ-21 Pneumocard “Pneumocard” set 

“Pneumocard-КРМ” kit 

“Pneumocard-Data” kit 

Nominal hardware:

Laptop RSE-Med 

Study of spaceflight factors impacts 

on vegetative regulation of blood 

circulation, respiration and 

contractile heart function during 

long spaceflights 

Biomedical БИО-1 Poligen “Drozophila-2” kit Detection of genotypic features 

(experimental object – Drozophila 

midge), determining individual 

characteristics of resistance to the 

long-duration flight factors 

During Exp. 18, Exp. 

19 crews rotation 

Biomedical БИО-2 Biorisk “Biorisk-KM” set 

“Biorisk-MSV” containers 

“Biorisk-MSN” kit 

Study of spaceflight impact on 

microorganisms-substrates 

systems state related to space 

technique ecological safety and 

planetary quarantine problem 

EVA 

Biomedical БИО-5 Rasteniya “Lada” greenhouse 

Module of substratum 

research 

Nominal Hardware:

Water container; 

Sony DVCam; 

Computer 

Study of the spaceflight effect on 

the growth and development of 

higher plants 

Biomedical БИО-8 Plazmida Hybridizers Recomb-K 

Kit with tubes 

Nominal Hardware:

“Kriogem-03” freezer 

Investigation of microgravity effect 

on the rate of transfer and 

mobilization of bacteria plasmids 

During Exp. 18, Exp. 

19 crews rotation 

Biomedical РБО-3 Matryeshka-R Passive detectors unit 

“Phantom” set 

“Bubble-dosimeter” 

hardware “Lyulin-5” 

hardware 

“Matryeshka” equipment 

(monoblock) 

AST Spectrometer 

Study of radiation environment 

dynamics along the station's 

Russian segment flight path and in 

station compartments, and dose 

accumulation in anthropomorphous 

phantom, located inside and 

outside the space station 

Study of Earth 

natural 

resources and 

ecological 

monitoring 

ДЗЗ-12 Rusalka “Rusalka” monoblock 

Nikon D2X(s) camera 

Bracket for attachment to 

the window 

Testing of the procedure to 

determine the carbon dioxide and 

methane content in the Earth 

atmosphere to understand a role of 

natural processes in human activity 

Study of Earth 

natural 

resources and 

ecological 

monitoring 

ДЗЗ-13 Seyener Nominal hardware:

Сamera Nikon D2Х

Sony HVR-Z1J 

Laptop RSK2 

Experimental methodses of the 

interaction of the crews to cosmic 

station with court Fishing in process 

of searching for and mastering 

commercial-productive region of 

the World ocean 

Biotechnology БТХ-5 Laktolen “Bioekologiya” kit Effect produced by spaceflight 

factors on Laktolen producing strain 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 71

Expedition 19/20 (continued) 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware 

Description Research Objective Unique Payload 

Constraints 

Biotechnology БТХ-6 ARIL Effect produced by SFFs on 

expression of strains producing 

interleukins 1α, 1β, “ARIL” 

During Exp. 18, 

Exp. 19 crews 

rotation 

Biotechnology БТХ-7 OChB Effect produced by SFFs on strain 

producing superoxidodismutase 

(SOD) 

Biotechnology БТХ-8 Biotrack “Bioekologiya” kit Study of space radiation heavy 

charged particles fluxes influence 

on genetic properties of bioactive 

substances cells-producers 

Biotechnology БТХ-10 Kon'yugatsiya 

(Conjugation) 

“Rekomb-K” hardware 

“Kriogem-03M” freezer 

Nominal Hardware:

“Kriogem-03” freezer 

Working through the process of 

genetic material transmission using 

bacteria conjugation method 

During Exp. 18, 

Exp. 19 crews 

rotation 

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

biodegradation and biodeterioration 

of the surfaces of structural 

materials 

Biotechnology БТХ-14 Bioemulsiya 

(Bioemulsion) 

“Biocont-Т” thermo-vacuum 

container 

Study and improvement of closedtype autonomous reactor for 

obtaining biomass of 

microorganisms and bioactive 

substance without additional 

ingredients input and metabolism 

products removal 

During Exp. 18, 

Exp. 19 crews 

rotation 

Biotechnology БТХ-26 Cascad 

(cascade) 

Changeable bioreactor 

Thermostat with drive 

control unit with stand and 

power supply cable in cover 

Study of various types cells 

cultivation processes 

During Exp. 18, 

Exp. 19 crews 

rotation 

Biotechnology БТХ-27 Astrovaktsina 

(astrovaccine) 

“Bioecologia” kit Cultivation of E.Coli-protein Caf1 

producer in zero-g 

During Exp. 18, 

Exp. 19 crews 

rotation 

Biotechnology БТХ-29 Zhenshen'-2 

(Ginseng-2) 

“Bioecologia” case Study of the possibility to increase 

the ginseng biological activity 

Biotechnology БТХ-40 BIF “Bioecologia” kit Study of effect produced by 

spaceflight factors on technological 

and biomedical characteristics of 

bifid bacteria 

During Exp. 18, 

Exp. 19 crews 

rotation 

Biotechnology БТХ-41 Bakteriofag “Bioecologia” kit Study of effect produced by 

spaceflight factors on 

bacteriophage 

During Exp. 18, 

Exp. 19 crews 

rotation 

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 

space station motion prediction 

Unattended 
72 RUSSIAN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES MARCH 2009

Expedition 19/20 (continued) 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware 

Description Research Objective Unique Payload 

Constraints 

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 temperaturesensing device for 

measures inside “Progress” 

vehicle modules 

“Dakon” hardware 

Study of the relationship between 

the onboard systems operating 

modes and space station flight 

conditions 

Technical 

Studies 

ТЕХ-22 

(SDTO 

13001-R) 

Identifikatsiya Nominal Hardware: 

ISS RS СБИ

accelerometers 

Identification of disturbance sources 

when the microgravity conditions on 

the space station are disrupted 

Unattended 

Technical 

Studies 

ТЕХ-44 Sreda-ISS 

(Environment) 

Nominal Hardware: 

Movement Control System 

sensors;

orientation sensors;

magnetometers;

Russian and foreign 

accelerometers 

Studying station characteristics as 

researching environment 

Unattended 

Technical 

Studies 

ТЕХ-50 Contur 

(Sidebar) 

“Rokviss” hardware 

Universal Working Place 

УРМ-Д

Development of the methods of 

management through Internet 

robot-manipulator on the space 

station 

Unattended 

Complex 

Analysis. 

Effectiveness 

Estimation 

КПТ-2 

<TBD> 

Bar “Bar” hardware containing 

- “Kelvin-video” remote 

IRthermometer 

- “Piran-V” pyroendoscope

- “Iva-6A” 

thermogigrometer 

- TTM-2 

thermoanemometer –

thermometer 

- AU-01 ultrasound 

analyzer 

- UT2-03 leak indicator 

Testing of principles and methods 

for the space station leak area 

control, selection of the sensor 

design and configuration 

Complex 

Analysis. 

Effectiveness 

Estimation 

КПТ-3 Econ “Econ” kit 

Nominal Hardware: 

Nikon D1X digital camera, 

Laptop RSK1 

Experimental researching of 

station's Russian segment 

resources estimating for ecological 

investigation of areas 

Complex 

Analysis. 

Effectiveness 

Estimation 

КПТ-6 Plazma-MKS 

(Plasma-ISS) 

“Fialka-MB-Kosmos” –

Spectrozonal ultraviolet 

system 

Study of plasma environment on 

station's external surface by optical 

radiation characteristics 

Complex 

Analysis. 

Effectiveness 

Estimation 

КПТ-12 Expert “Bar” hardware Study of microdestruction 

processes in the station's habitation 

modules under the long-term 

manned flight conditions 
MARCH 2009 RUSSIAN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 73

Expedition 19/20 (concluded) 

Category Experiment 

Code 

Experiment 

Name 

Hardware 

Description Research Objective Unique Payload 

Constraints 

Complex 

Analysis. 

Effectiveness 

Estimation 

КПТ-21 

(ТЕХ-20) 

Plazmennyi 

Kristall (Plasma 

Crystal) 

“PC-3 Plus” experimental 

unit 

“PC-3 Plus” telescience 

Nominal hardware: 

“Klest” (“Crossbill”) 

TV-system 

Study of the plasma-dust crystals 

and fluids under microgravity 

Complex 

Analysis. 

Effectiveness 

Estimation 

КПТ-13 Plazma-Progres Ground observation 

facilities 

Study of reflection characteristics of 

spacecraft plasma environment with 

onboard engines activated 

Unattended 

Study of cosmic 

rays 

ИКЛ-2В BTN-Neutron Detection Block 

Electronic Equipment Block

Mechanical interface 

Study of fast and thermal neutrons 

fluxes 

Unattended 

Space 

education 

ОБР-1 PhysicsEducation “Faza” (Phase) hardware: 

- stand-alone ventilation 

system 

“Flying saucer” hardware: 

- experimental vessel kit 

- macro-photography tripod 

- illuminator with cables and 

power unit 

Scientific-educational 

demonstration of physical laws and 

phenomena in microgravity 

conditions: 

- operation of basic physical 

motion laws in weightlessness 

including the effect of reactive 

and gyroscopic forces on a solid 

body of revolution; 

- diffusion processes and the effect 

of the liquid surface tension, gas 

bubbles aggregation during the 

phase separation of gas-liquid 

fine-disperser medium 

Space 

education 

ОБР-3 MAI-75 Digital photo and video 

equipment and amateur 

radio communication 

system available onboard 

the ISS RS for the 

subsequent downlinking of 

video image to the ground 

Spacecraft and up-to-date 

technologies for personal 

communications 

Commercial КНТ-36 EXPOSE-R “EXPOSE-R” monoblock 

Accessories kit 

Exposure of material samples in 

open space conditions to study the 

effect of ultraviolet radiation on 

them 

 
74 RUSSIAN RESEARCH OBJECTIVES MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 75

European Space Agency Experiment Program 

During the Expedition 19/20 mission on the International Space Station there will be a full European 

experiment program in a host of different scientific areas with many using the internal and external 

research facilities of the Columbus laboratory, which was attached to the station as part of the STS-122 

shuttle flight in February 2008. The experiments will be carried out by ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, 

other members of the Expedition 19/20 crew and also by visiting members of Soyuz and shuttle flights. 

The experiments are funded from the European ELIPS Program with additional funding from the 

European Commission. 

Internal Experiments: Biology 

ARTEMISS 

ARTEMISS stands for Arthrospira sp. Gene 

Expression and mathematical Modeling on 

cultures grown in the International Space 

Station. 

The purpose of this experiment is to determine 

the effect of spaceflight conditions, including 

weightlessness and radiation on the algae 

Arthrospira sp. The form, structure and 

physiology of the algae will be examined along 

with a genetic study of the organism. This data 

is important for determining the reliability of 

using Arthrospira sp. in spacecraft biological life 

support systems. Parameters derived from the 

spaceflight experiment will be used for 

subsequent mathematical modeling of 

Arthrospira sp. growth under spaceflight 

conditions. 

Science Team: 

N. Leys (BE), G. Dussap (FR), A. Wilmotte (BE), 

R. Wattiez (BE), J. Kviderova (CS) 

Biolab Facility: WAICO 

This is the second run of the WAICO 

experiment in the Biolab facility within the 

European Columbus Laboratory. WAICO, 

which is the short name for Waving and Coiling 

of Arabidopsis Roots at different g-levels, 

concerns the effect that gravity has on the 

spiralling motion (circumnutation) that occurs in 

plant roots. It is suspected that this spiralling 

mechanism is an internal mechanism in the 

plant, independent of the influence of gravity. 

Seedlings grown on the space station from 

Arabidopsis root samples will be fixed and 

analyzed on return to Earth. Not only does this 

kind of research help to increase our knowledge 

of such growth processes that can help to 

increase the efficiency of agricultural processes 

on Earth, it also provides the basis for research 

into agricultural processes in space for future 

longer-term missions to the moon and Mars. 

Science Team: 

G. Scherer (DE) 

Biolab Facility: YING 

The Yeast In No Gravity (YING) experiment is 

the second to take place in the Biolab facility. It 

will study the influence of weightlessness on 

so-called Flo proteins which regulate 

flocculation (clumping together) and adhesion 

of cells. Both cell-surface interaction on solid 

media and cell-cell interaction in liquid media in 

yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) will be 

investigated. Weightlessness may have a 

direct impact on the yeast cell physiology and, 

in the case of yeast cell cultivation in liquid 

media, and indirect effect due to altered culture 

fluid dynamics in weightlessness. The overall 

goal is to obtain a detailed insight into 

the importance of weightlessness on the 

formation of organized cell structures and on flo 

processes, which are of considerable interest 

for fundamental science, industry and the 

medical field. 
76 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Science Team: 

R. Willaert (BE), F. Delvaux (BE), 

J. Nielsen (DK), M. Reuss (DE), L. Wyns (BE) 

Colored Fungi in Space 

The objective of this experiment is to determine 

the effect of weightlessness and cosmic 

radiation on the growth and survival of colored 

fungi species. The fungal species chosen for 

the experiments are important degraders of 

organic materials, so it is of interest to study the 

survival of these fungi as possible contaminants 

of interplanetary spacecraft. The Colored Fungi 

in Space experiment is funded as part of the 

European Commission SURE project. 

Science Team: 

D. Hasegan (RO), O. Maris (RO), 

G. Mogildea (RO), M. Mogildea (RO) 

GENARA 

The existence of gravity-regulated genes, 

whose genetic expression depends (at least) 

upon the mechanism of sensing gravity and the 

redistribution of hormones, will be addressed in 

this experiment. In genetically modified 

Arabidopsis plants, several bio-monitors will be 

analyzed to determine the distribution of the 

plant hormones IAA (a type of auxin) and ABA 

(Abscisic Acid) at the tissue level in 

weightlessness or in a 1-g centrifuge. The 

experiment will take place in the European 

Modular Cultivation System with four 

experiment containers held in weightlessness 

and four held at 1g levels. 

Science Team: 

E. Carnero-Diaz (FR), G.Perbal (FR), 

R. Ranjeva (FR), A. Graziana (FR), 

M. Pages (ES), A. Goday (ES) 

Sample 

This experiment investigates what kind of 

microbial species are to be found on board the 

International Space Station and how these 

adapt to conditions of spaceflight. The subject 

will take samples in certain areas of the space 

station and from their own body. The samples 

will be taken at places by rubbing swab sticks 

over surfaces, which are susceptible to having 

bacteria including switches, keyboards and 

personal hygiene equipment. In general this 

study is also helpful in providing further insight 

into the effect that spaceflight has on genetic 

modification. 

Science Team 

H.J.M. Harmsen (NL), G.W. Welling, (NL), 

J. Krooneman (NL), L. van den Bergh (NL) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 77

Kubik Experiments 

The following biology experiments will be 

carried out using a European incubator called 

Kubik currently on the space station. The 

samples for the experiments will be flown to the 

space station with the Expedition 19 crew on 

Soyuz 18S, with all samples being returned 

with the Expedition 18 crew on Soyuz 17S 

some 10 days later. As well as providing a 

thermally-controlled environment, an incubator 

will be fitted with a centrifuge, which provides 

the ability to run 1g control experiments while in 

orbit. The two experiments were originally part 

of the Bio-4 experiment package flown to the 

space station on flight 17S last year, but were 

rescheduled to the 18S flight. The two 

experiments are: 

Gravigen – This experiment will investigate the 

effect of weightlessness on gene expression in 

plants (Brassica napus). It will help to identify 

genes whose expression is altered either by 

gravity or only by hyper- or microgravity. The 

results of this experiment will help us 

understand how gravity is perceived in plants 

and how this morphological information is 

transferred within plants at a genetic level. 

Polca and Gravigen are complementary 

studies, using the same conditions and 

biological material but analyzing different 

aspects of the gravi-response. This experiment 

will take place at a temperature of 22°C 

(71.6°F). 

Science Team: 

A. Graziana (FR) et al. 

Polca – Polca will investigate the effect of 

weightlessness on the distribution of calcium in 

the statocytes of Rapeseed roots (Brassica 

napus). Statocytes are gravity-sensing cells in 

plant root tips, which contain calcium particles 

used within gravity-sensing process. Polca and 

Gravigen are complementary studies, using the 

same conditions and biological material but 

analyzing different aspects of the graviresponse. This experiment will take place at a 

temperature of 22°C (71.6°F). 

Science Team: 

V. Legué (FR) et al. 
78 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Internal Experiments: Human Physiology 

3D-Space 

This physiology study investigates the effects of 

weightlessness on the mental representation of 

visual information during and after spaceflight. 

Accurate perception is a prerequisite for spatial 

orientation and reliable performance of tasks in 

space. The experiment has different elements 

including investigations of perception of depth 

and distance carried out using a virtual reality 

headset and standard psychophysics tests. 

Runs of the experiment have already been 

undertaken during Expedition 17 and 18, and 

are scheduled to continue with a target total of 

10 Expedition crew members as test subjects. 

Science Team: 

G. Clement (FR), C.E. Lathan (US) 

Card 

It has been observed that exposure to 

weightlessness increases cardiac output and 

lowers blood pressure (caused by dilated 

arteries) in the face of increased activity in the 

sympathetic nervous system (which normally 

constricts arteries). The Card experiment will 

examine these effects in order to provide a 

thorough picture of how the circulatory system 

changes during a prolonged stay in 

weightlessness. The experiment will consist of 

tests taken during a 24-hour period preflight, 

during the second half of the mission increment 

and post-flight. This will include: two blood 

samples; 24-hour urine samples; hourly blood 

pressure measurements; and cardiac output 

measurements with rebreathing every four 

hours except during sleep using the ESA/NASA 

Pulmonary Function System. The blood and 

urine samples will be examined for hormonal 

activity and electrolyte levels. 

Science Team: 

P. Norsk (DK), N.J. Christensen (DK), 

B. Pump (DK), A. Gabrielsen (DK), 

J.G. Nielsen (DK), C. Drummer (DE), 

M. Kentsch (DE), N. Gadsboll (DK) 

Immuno 

The aim of this experiment is to determine 

changes in hormone production and immune 

response during and after a space station 

mission. Cellular energy metabolism and cell 

signalling are focused on, to achieve additional 

information in the underlying processes and 

provide a better insight how these processes 

are dependent on the cellular level of signal 

processing. This experiment has already been 

carried out with four space station crew 

members as test subjects and another six are 

needed to conclude the experiment series. 

Science Team 

A. Chouker (DE), F. Christ (DE), 

M. Thiel (DE), I. Kaufmann (DE), 

B. Morukov (RU) 

MOP 

When entering weightlessness, astronauts 

suffer from a phenomenon called space motion 

sickness, which has symptoms comparable to 

seasickness. This disturbance in the body’s 

orientation and balance is similar to the 

disturbances experienced by subjects who have 

undergone rotation in a human centrifuge 

having experienced two to three times Earth’s 

gravity for up to several hours. This experiment 

aims to obtain an insight into this process and 

could help in developing countermeasures to 

space motion sickness. 

Science Team: 

E. Groen (NL), J. Bos (NL), S. Nooij (NL), 

W. Bles (NL), R. Simons (NL), 

T. Meeuwsen (NL) 

Muscle 

The deep muscle corset plays an important role 

in posture when in the upright position. It is 

thought that this deep muscle corset atrophies 

during spaceflight leading to strain and hence 

pain in certain ligaments, in particular in the 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 79

iliolumbar region in the back. The objective of 

this experiment is to assess the occurrence and 

characteristics of back pain. The results will be 

correlated to data related to back pain and 

atrophy obtained in ground-based studies. 

Science Team: 

A. Pool-Goudzwaard (NL), 

C. Richardson (AU), J. Hides (AU), 

L. Danneels (BE) 

Neurospat 

This is the very first experiment to use the 

Columbus laboratory’s European Physiology 

Modules Facility (MEEMM). Neurospat is 

actually a combination of two experiments: 

Neurocog-2 and Prespat. 

Neurocog-2: In this project the purpose is to 

study brain activity that underlies cognitive 

processes involved in four different tasks that 

humans and astronauts may encounter on a 

daily basis: visuo-motor tracking; perception of 

self-orientation; 3D navigation; and the 

discrimination of the orientation of objects. 

These tasks are designed to produce changed 

responses of the sensorimotor system, 

responsible for the body’s coordination and 

stability, in the presence or absence of gravity. 

The involvement of five cognitive processes will 

be examined: perception, attention, memory, 

decision and action. The roles played by 

gravity on these neural processes will be 

analyzed by different methods such as EEG 

during virtual reality stimulation. 

Science Team: 

G. Cheron (BE), C. Desadeleer (BE), 

A. Cebolla (BE), A. Berthoz (FR), 

A. Bengoetxea (BE) 

Prespat: This experiment will use physiological 

and behavioral measures to assess changes in 

general activation, prefrontal brain 

function and perceptual reorganization. 

Different measurements will be taken during a 

spatial orientation task using such devices as 

an EEG. Novel visual stimuli also will be 

introduced, which are not task relevant to help 

make an electrophysiological assessment of 

novelty processing. The Prespat experiment is 

funded as part of the European Commission 

SURE project. 

Science Team: 

L. Balazs (HU), I. Czigler (HU), 

G. Karmos (HU), M. Molnar (HU), 

E. Nagy (HU), J. Achimowicz (PL) 

PADIAC 

The PAthway DIfferent ACtivators experiment is 

a study of white blood cells (T-lymphocytes) in 

weightlessness. It will carry out a genetic 

analysis of T-cell activation by the CD28 

molecule. Weightlessness alters the response 

of the immune system. The goals of this 

project are to determine different pathways 

for T-cell activation in space. This will improve 

the knowledge of the immune system and 

allow validation of control of T-cell activation. 

The experiment will make use of one of the 

European Kubik Incubators already on the 

station. 

Science Team: 

I. Walther (CH), M. Hughes-Fulford (US), 

P. Pippia (IT), A. Cogoli (CH) 

Portable Pulmonary Function System 

The Portable Pulmonary Function System is a 

new autonomous multi-user facility supporting a 

broad range of human physiological research 

experiments under weightless condition in the 

areas of respiratory, cardiovascular and 

metabolic physiology. The Portable Pulmonary 

Function System is an evolution to the existing 

Pulmonary Function System, (which is a 

joint ESA/NASA collaboration in the field of 

respiratory physiology instrumentation) 

currently on the space station. The Portable 

Pulmonary Function System will be utilized for 

undertaking the following experiments during 

Expedition 19/20: 
80 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

EKE: The preservation of astronauts’ aerobic 

capacity is a major goal of exercise 

countermeasures during space missions. A 

widely used measurement for endurance 

capacity is the maximal volume of oxygen used 

during exhaustive exercise, otherwise known as 

VO2 max. A potential alternative method that 

will at least allow the reduction in the frequency 

of such tests is to determine the rate of 

changes in pulmonary oxygen uptake (VO2) and 

heart rate responses during changes in 

workload. 

Specific goals are the development of a 

diagnostic tool for the assessment of endurance 

capacity from oxygen uptake and heart rate in 

response to changes in exercise intensity and 

the development of a physiological model to 

explore the transport of oxygen from the lungs 

to muscle cells. 

The EKE experiment will make use of the new 

Portable Pulmonary Function System. 

Science Team: 

U. Hoffman (DE), S. Fasoulas (DE), 

D. Essfeld (DE), T. Drager (DE) 

Thermolab: It is hypothesized that heat 

balance, thermo-regulation and circadian 

temperature rhythms are altered in humans 

during long-term spaceflights because of: 

changes in the natural convective heat transfer 

from the body surface to the environment; fluid 

shifts along the body axis from peripheral to 

central parts; changes in the cardiovascular 

and autonomous nervous systems; and 

changes of metabolism and body composition. 

Since these factors are particularly cross-linked 

with each other in view of thermoregulation, an 

integrative study of the topic under weightless 

conditions is necessary. This experiment 

will investigate thermoregulatory and 

cardiovascular adaptations during rest and 

exercise in the course of long-term exposure to 

weightlessness. The experiment utilizes the 

ESA-developed Portable Pulmonary Function 

System. 

Science Team: 

H.C. Gunga (DE), P. Arbeille (FR), 

K. Kirsch (DE), E. Koralewski (DE), 

J. Cornier (DE), H.V. Heyer (DE), 

P. Hofmann (DE), J. Koch (DE), 

F. Sattler (DE) 

Solo 

The Solo experiment is carrying out research 

into salt retention in space and related human 

physiology effects. It is a continuation of 

extensive research into the mechanisms of fluid 

and salt retention in the body during bed rest 

and spaceflights and subsequent effect on 

bone metabolism. The astronaut subjects will 

participate in two study phases, six days each. 

Subjects follow a diet of constant either low 

or normal sodium intake, fairly high fluid 

consumption and isocaloric nutrition. This 

metabolically controlled study will make use of 

the European Physiology Modules Facility and 

Human Research Facility capabilities. 

Science Team: 

M. Heer (DE), N. Kamps (DE), 

F. Baisch (DE), P. Norsk (DK) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 81

Ground Experiments: Baseline Data Collection 

The following experiments are ground-based 

experiments, i.e., the experiment procedures 

will take place before and after the actual 

mission. A majority are continuations of 

experiments in order to increase the statistical 

significance of the results produced: 

EDOS: Early Detection of Osteoporosis in 

Space (EDOS) is a study into the mechanisms 

underlying the reduction in bone mass, which 

occurs in astronauts in weightlessness. The 

EDOS experiment will evaluate the structure 

of weight- and non-weight-bearing bones of 

cosmonauts/astronauts pre- and post-flight 

using the method of computed tomography 

(pQCT) together with an analysis of bone 

biochemical markers in blood samples. 

Science Team: 

C. Alexandre (FR), L. Braak (FR), 

L. Vico (FR), P. Ruegsegger (CH), 

M. Heer (DE) 

Otolith: The working of our balance system 

and our eyes are strongly interconnected and 

understanding their adaptation to 

weightlessness is important for maintaining an 

astronaut’s capacity for carrying out tasks in 

space. The otolith organs in the inner ear play 

an important role in our balance system as 

detectors of vertical and horizontal acceleration. 

This experiment will make an assessment of 

otolith function before and after short-term 

spaceflight. This includes an assessment of 

otolith-ocular response to determine neural 

pathway communication between the otoliths 

and the Central Nervous System; an indication 

of function of the saccule, which transmits 

neural impulses of head movements to the 

brain; and evaluating the symmetry of 

information generated by the otoliths using an 

estimation of the astronaut’s subjective visual 

vertical. 

Science Team: 

A. Clarke (DE), S. Wood (US), F. Wuyts (BE) 

Skin Properties: Skin Properties is a human 

physiology experiment, which aims at 

characterizing aging of human skin (specifically: 

hydration grade, transepidermal water loss, 

elasticity, skin surface video imaging) in 

weightlessness and inside the International 

Space Station during a long-duration mission. 

With regard to already known effects on skin of 

a long-duration stay on the space station and 

the physiological effects of weightlessness, the 

investigators will test the applicability of the 

space environment as a model of the aging 

skin. The scientists will perform non-invasive 

medical measurements on selected astronauts, 

before and after their space missions. The Skin 

Properties experiment is funded as part of the 

European Commission SURE project. 

Science Team: 

T. Rodic, C3M (SI) 
82 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Spin: This experiment is a comparison 

between preflight and post-flight testing of 

astronaut subjects using a centrifuge and a 

standardized tilt test. Orthostatic tolerance, 

i.e., the ability to maintain an upright posture 

(without fainting) will be correlated with 

measures of otolith-ocular function, i.e., the 

body’s mechanism linking the inner ear with the 

eyes that deals with maintaining balance. 

Science Team: 

F. Wuyts (BE), S. Moore (US), 

H. MacDougall (AU), G. Clement (FR), 

B. Cohen (US), N. Pattyn (BE), 

A. Diedrich (US) 

ZAG: ZAG, which stands for Z-axis Aligned 

Gravito-inertial force, is an investigation into the 

effect that weightlessness has on an 

astronaut’s perception of motion and tilt as well 

as his level of performance before and 

immediately after spaceflight. Different tests 

will take place pre- and post-flight including an 

analysis of the astronaut’s motion perception 

and eye movements while using a track-and-tilt 

chair. It also will be evaluated whether a tactile 

vest improves perception and performance 

during these tests. 

Science Team: 

G. Clement (FR), S. Wood (US), 

M.F. Reschke (US), P. Denise (FR) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 83

Internal Experiments: Fluid Science 

Fluid Science Laboratory: Geoflow 

Geoflow was the first experiment to take place 

within the Fluid Science Laboratory inside the 

European Columbus Laboratory, its first runs 

starting in August during Expedition 17. The 

experiment will continue to investigate the flow 

of an incompressible viscous fluid (silicon oil) 

held between two concentric spheres rotating 

about a common axis. A temperature gradient 

is maintained from the inside to the outside 

sphere as is an electrical field. This 

geometrical configuration can be seen as a 

representation of a planet, with the electric field 

simulating its gravitational field. This research 

is of importance in such areas as flow in the 

atmosphere, the oceans and in the liquid 

nucleus of planets on a global scale. 

Science Team: 

Ch. Egbers (DE), P. Chossat (FR), 

F. Feudel (DE), Ph. Beltrame (DE), 

I. Mutabazi (FR), L. Tuckerman (FR), 

R. Hollerbach (UK) 

Foam Stability 

The project aims at the study of aqueous 

and non-aqueous foams in a weightless 

environment. The behavior of foams in 

weightlessness and on Earth are very different, 

because the process of drainage is absent 

under weightless conditions. The effect/ 

enhancement of the foamability of liquid 

solutions without this drainage effect of gravity 

is investigated. Other fundamental questions 

addressed are: How long can those foams be 

stable? What is the role of solid particles in the 

liquid in water foam stabilization? Is it possible 

to create very “wet” foams in weightlessness? 

Part of the experiment consists of a session to 

be compared with students in Europe who will 

perform the same experiment on the ground. 

Science Team: 

N. Vandewalle (BE), H. Caps (BE), 

D. Langevin (FR), D.Weaire (IE), 

M. Adler (FR) et al. 
84 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Microgravity Science Glovebox – SODI 

DSC and IVIDIL are two of the three SODI 

experiments, which also includes the Colloid 

experiment, which will take place during 

Expedition 21. 

DSC 

The “Diffusion and Soret Coefficient 

Measurements for Improvement of Oil 

Recovery” experiment consists of three stages: 

1) The determination of diffusion data 

requirements for petroleum reservoir models; 

2) The simultaneous measurement of the Soret 

diffusion coefficients in binary and in 

tertiary systems; 3) The refinement of a 

multi-component transport model applied to 

petroleum reservoir evaluation. This 

experiment will provide information, which can 

be used in the more efficient extraction of oil 

resources. 

Science Team: 

S. Van Vaerenbergh (BE), J.C. Legros (BE), 

J.P. Caltagirone (FR), J.L. Daridon (F), 

Z. Zaghir (CND), A. Shapiro (DK) 

IVIDIL 

The Influence of Vibrations on Diffusion in 

Liquids (IVIDIL) experiment will investigate the 

effects of vibrations on liquid diffusion. On the 

space station, there are residual vibrations 

(g-jitter). Although they seem to have a major 

impact on the measurement of the diffusion 

coefficient, very few studies have been carried 

out on this topic. Hence, the researchers plan 

to characterize the spectral influence of g-jitter. 

The objective of the experiment is to increase 

the understanding of the kinetic mechanisms 

influencing diffusion effects in the presence of 

vibrations. 

Science Team: 

J.C. Legros (BE), V. Shevtsova (BE), 

B. Roux (FR), D. Lyubimov (RU), 

T. Lyubimova (RU), S. van Vaerenbergh (BE), 

Z. Saghir (CA) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 85

Internal Experiments: Material Science 

Material Science Laboratory – CETSOL 

& MICAST 

CETSOL and MICAST will be the first ESA 

experiments to take place in the Europeandeveloped Materials Science Laboratory, which 

is scheduled to be transported to the space 

station on shuttle flight STS-128. These two 

complementary projects will carry out research 

into the formation of microstructures during the 

solidification of metallic alloys. 

The goal of MICAST is to study the formation of 

microstructures during casting of technical 

alloys. In space, buoyancy convection is 

eliminated and the dendritic solidification of 

the alloys can be quantitatively studied under 

purely diffusive conditions. Controlled 

convection can also be realized by applying 

rotating magnetic fields to the conducting 

metallic melt. 

The objective of CETSOL is then to study the 

transition from columnar growth – that is a front 

of dendrites developing into the melt as studied 

in MICAST – to equiaxed growth that occurs 

when crystals start to nucleate in the melt and 

grow independently. 

The results obtained with the joined 

experimental program in space will permit to 

validate numerical simulations. These will in 

turn serve to optimize industrial casting 

processes. 

Science Team CETSOL: 

A. Gandin (FR), B. Billia (FR), 

G. Zimmermann (DE), Y. Fautrelle (FR), 

D. Browne (IE), D. Poirier (US) 

Science Team MICAST: 

L. Ratke (DE), G. Mueller (DE), 

Y. Fautrelle (FR), A. Roosz (HU), 

G. Zimmermann (DE), J. Lacaze (FR), 

S. Dost (CA), D. Poirier (US) 

European Drawer Rack: Protein 

Crystallization Diagnostics Facility 

The first subrack payload configuration of the 

European Drawer Rack in the Columbus 

laboratory includes the Protein Crystallization 

Diagnostics Facility, which will tackle the 

problems of protein crystallization in space. 

The aim of this project is to understand to what 

extent various transport-related phenomena 

contribute to the formation of defects and 

imperfections in biomolecular crystals. The 

expected results from experiments in 

weightlessness will help to identify the growth 

conditions and stages that are responsible for 

these defects. This will hold benefits in various 

industrial applications. 

Science Team: 

F. Otalora (E), D. Maes (B), S. Weinkauf (D), 

E. Weckert (D), A. Chernov (USA), 

J. Martial (B), G. Nicolis (B), F. Dubois (B) 
86 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Internal Experiments: Radiation Dosimetry 

DOSIS (See also DOBIES) 

The Dose Distribution inside the International 

Space Station (DOSIS) experiment will 

determine the nature and distribution of the 

radiation field inside the European Columbus 

laboratory. Measurements of energy, charge 

and LET spectra of heavy ions will be carried 

out using different active and passive detectors. 

The passive dosimeters will be distributed over 

10 different locations for taking measurements, 

so-called area dosimetry. This experiment also 

makes additional use of information from the 

DOBIES experiment. 

Science Team: 

G. Reitz (DE) et al. 

DOBIES (See also DOSIS) 

The aim of Dosimetry for Biological 

Experiments in Space (DOBIES) is to develop a 

standard method to measure the radiation 

dosage experienced by biological samples in 

specific areas of the station using a 

combination of different dosimetric techniques. 

The areas of interest are the Columbus 

laboratory and specifically the European 

Physiology Modules facility, and also in the 

EXPOSE-E and EXPOSE-R payloads (see 

EuTEF and EXPOSE-R respectively). Some of 

the measurements attained in the DOBIES 

experiment will contribute to the area dosimetry 

measurements in the DOSIS experiment. 

Science Team: 

F. Vanhavere (BE) et al. 

Matroshka 

The ESA Matroshka facility has been an 

ongoing experiment on the station since 

February 2004, having been located on the 

external surface of the station and currently 

inside the station, with the aim of studying 

radiation levels experienced by astronauts. It 

consists of a human shape (head and torso) 

called the Phantom equipped with several 

active and passive radiation dosimeters. It is 

currently foreseen that the Phantom will be 

located inside the Japanese Kibo laboratory, 

equipped with a set of new passive dosimeters 

to take measurements for one year. 

Science Team: 

G. Reitz (DE), R. Beaujean (DE), 

W. Heinrich (DE), M. Luszik-Bhadra (DE), 

M. Scherkenbach (DE), P. Olko (PL), 

P. Bilski (PL), S. Derne (HU), J. Palvalvi (HU), 

E. Stassinopoulos (US), J. Miller (US), 

C. Zeitlin (US), F. Cucinotta (US), 

V. Petrov (RU) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 87

Experiments: Technology Demonstrations 

ERB-2 Life and Work on the International 

Space Station 

This activity will utilize the first digital highdefinition stereo camera, the Erasmus 

Recording Binocular (ERB) 2, to be flown on 

the station. Footage will be used to produce 

narrated video material for immediate and later 

use for promotional and educational purposes. 

One of the major objectives is to record 3D 

footage of different station elements to allow for 

an accurate 3D mapping of the interior of 

the station. The camera, a follow-up of the 

precursor ERB 1 in 2006, is capable of 

downlinking live footage in real time and 

recorded footage. This activity will take place 

during Expedition 20, when various events 

involving ground-based audiences are planned. 

Project Team: 

ESA Erasmus Center (ESA, NL) 

GTS-2 (Global Transmission Service) 

The Global Transmission Services (GTS) 

Experiment is continuously operating on the 

Russian segment of the station since the year 

2000, with its second generation active since 

the summer of 2007. This experiment is testing 

the receiving conditions of a time and data 

signal for dedicated receivers on the ground. 

The time signal distributed by the GTS has 

special coding to allow the receiver to 

determine the local time anywhere on the Earth 

without user intervention. The main scientific 

objectives of the experiment are to verify 

under real space operation conditions: the 

performance and accuracy of a time signal 

transmitted to the Earth’s surface from low 

Earth orbit; the signal quality and data rates 

achieved on the ground; measurement of 

disturbing effects such as Doppler shifts, multipath reflections, shadowing and elevation 

impacts. Following a short period of inactivity 

while awaiting prolongation of its operational 

agreement, GTS-2 was reactivated on 

Jan. 15, 2009. The ground control station in 

Stuttgart, Germany, is in continuous contact 

with the Russian Mission Control Center for 

GTS-2 operations. 

Project Team: 

F. Huber (DE) 
88 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Internal Experiments: Education Activities 

Lesson-2 for secondary level classes 

(Take your classroom into school) 

This activity will include a live link to secondary 

school students to give them an appreciation of 

the conditions of free fall through two simple, 

curriculum relevant demonstrations by using a 

stand-alone kit. The first demonstration is 

about mass measurement (‘Do objects have 

weight in space?’) and the second one about 

capillarity (‘Exploring capillarity’). A T-shirt with 

a visual graphic element designed by children 

will be worn by the ESA astronaut during the 

live link recording. The recording of the 

demonstration will be used to produce ESA 

multimedia educational material. 

Project Team: 

ESA Human Spaceflight Coordination Office 

(ESA, NL) 

LES-3: Lesson from Space 

An overview lecture will be given by 

Frank De Winne about life on the station 

including demonstrations of various water 

properties. One live link from the station to 

primary school students will take place. This 

will be broadcast to the Brussels planetarium 

with further distribution to various interested 

schools. The recording of the demonstration 

will be used to produce ESA multimedia 

educational material for upper primary school 

teachers and their students aged 10-12. 

Project Team: 

ESA Human Spaceflight Coordination Office 

(ESA, NL) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 89

External Experiments: Astrophysics/Technology/ Exobiology/Earth 

Observation 

Solar 

The Solar facility, which has been on the 

External Payload Facility of Columbus since 

February 2008, has been studying the sun with 

unprecedented accuracy across most of its 

spectral range. This study is currently 

scheduled to last for two years. Solar is 

expected to contribute to the knowledge of the 

interaction between the solar energy flux and 

the Earth’s atmosphere chemistry and 

climatology. This will be important for Earth 

observation predictions. The payload consists 

of three instruments complementing each other, 

which are: 

SOL-ACES

The goal of the Solar Auto-Calibrating Extreme 

UV-Spectrometer (SOL-ACES) is to measure 

the solar spectral irradiance of the full disk from 

17 to 220 nm at 0.5 to 2 nm spectral resolution. 

By an auto-calibration capability, it gains 

long-term spectral data with a high absolute 

resolution. In its center, it contains 4 Extreme 

Ultra-Violet spectrometers. 

Science Team: 

G. Schmidtke (DE) 

SOLSPEC

SOLSPEC (SOLar SPECctral irradiance 

measurements) measures the solar spectrum 

irradiance from 180 nm to 3000 nm. The aims 

of this investigation are the study of solar 

variability at short and long term and the 

achievement of absolute measurements (2% in 

UV and 1% above). The SOLSPEC instrument 

was fully refurbished and improved with respect 

to the experience gained in the previous 

missions (Spacelab-1, Atlas-1, Atlas-2, Atlas-3, 

Eureca). 

Science Team: 

M.G. Thuillier (FR) 

SOVIM

The Solar Variability and Irradiance Monitor 

(SOVIM) is a re-flight of the SOVA experiment 

on board Eureca-1. The investigation has been 

studying the irradiance of the sun, with high 

precision and high stability. The total irradiance 

is being observed with active cavity radiometers 

and the spectral irradiance measurement is 

being carried out by one type of 

sun-photometer. 

Science Team: 

C. Frohlich (CH) 

EuTEF 

The European Technology Exposure Facility 

(EuTEF) has also been located on the External 

Payload Facility of Columbus since February 

2008. Along with Solar, it is one of the first two 

external facilities attached outside the 

Columbus laboratory. EuTEF houses the 

following experiments requiring either exposure 

to the open space environment or a housing on 

the external surface of the space station: 

DEBIE-2

DEBIE, which stands for ‘DEBris In orbit 

Evaluator’, is a standard in-situ space debris 

and micro-meteoroid monitoring instrument 

which requires low resources from the 

spacecraft. It measures sub-mm sized particles 

and has three sensors facing in different 

directions. The scientific results from several 

DEBIE instruments on board different 

spacecraft will be compiled into a single 

database for ease of comparison. 

Science Team:

G. Drolshagen – ESA 
90 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Dostel

Dostel (DOSimetric radiation TELescope) is a 

small radiation telescope that is measuring the 

radiation environment outside the station. 

Science Team: 

G. Reitz – DLR (DE) 

EXPOSE-E

EXPOSE-E is a subsection of EuTEF and 

consists of five individual exobiology 

experiments: 

• Life

This experiment tests the limits of survival of 

Lichens, Fungi and symbionts. 

Science Team: 

S. Onofri (IT), L. Zucconi (IT), 

L. Selbmann (DE), S. Ott (DE), 

J.P. de Vera (ES), R. de la Torre (ES) 

• Adapt

This experiment concerns the molecular 

adaptation strategies of micro-organisms to 

different space and planetary UV climate 

conditions. 

Science Team: 

P. Rettberg (DE), C. Cockell (UK), 

E. Rabbow (DE), T. Douki (FR), 

J. Cadet (FR), C. Panitz (DE), 

R. Moeller (DE), G. Horneck (DE), 

H. Stan-Lotter (AT) 

• PROCESS

The main goal of the PROCESS (PRebiotic 

Organic ChEmistry on Space Station) 

experiment is to improve our knowledge of 

the chemical nature and evolution of organic 

molecules involved in extraterrestrial 

environments. 

Science Team: 

H. Cottin (FR), P. Coll (FR), D. Coscia (FR), 

A. Brack (FR), F. Raulin (FR) 

• Protect

The aim of this experiment is to investigate 

the resistance of spores, attached to the 

outer surface of spacecraft, to the open 

space environment. Three aspects of 

resistance are of importance: the degree of 

resistance, the types of damage sustained 

and the spores repair mechanisms. 

Science Team: 

G. Horneck (DE), J. Cadet (FR), 

T. Douki (FR), R. Mancinelli (FR), 

R. Moeller (DE), W. Nicholson (US), 

J. Pillinger (UK), E. Rabbow (DE), 

P. Rettberg (DE), J. Sprey (UK), 

E. Stackebrandt (DE), 

K. Venkateswaren (US) 

• Seeds

This experiment is testing the plant seed as 

a terrestrial model for a panspermia vehicle, 

i.e., a means of transporting life through the 

universe and as a source of universal UV 

screens. 

Science Team: 

D. Tepfer (DE), L. Sydney (FR), 

S. Hoffmann (DK), P. Ducrot (FR), 

F. Corbineau (FR), C. Wood (UK) 

EVC 

The Earth Viewing Camera (EVC) payload is a 

fixed-pointed Earth-observing camera. The 

main goal of the system is to capture color 

images of the Earth’s surface, to be used as a 

tool to increase general public awareness of the 

station and promote the use of the station to the 

potential user community for observation 

purposes. 

Science Team: 

ESA Erasmus Center (ESA, NL) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 91

FIPEX 

FIPEX is the Flux (Phi) Probe Experiment. It is 

important to build up a picture of the varying 

atmospheric conditions in low Earth orbit 

where orbiting spacecraft are still affected by 

atmospheric drag. The density of the 

atmosphere is the major factor affecting drag 

and this is affected by solar radiation and the 

Earth’s magnetic and gravitational fields. The 

flux of atomic oxygen is important as it shows 

different interactions with spacecraft surfaces, 

e.g., surface erosion. The FIPEX micro-sensor 

system is being used to measure the atomic 

oxygen flux as well as the oxygen molecules in 

the surrounding area of the International Space 

Station. 

Science Team: 

S. Fasoulas (DE) 

MEDET 

The aims of the Materials Exposure and 

Degradation ExperimenT (MEDET) are: to 

evaluate the effects of open space on materials 

currently being considered for utilization on 

spacecraft in low Earth orbit; to verify the 

validity of data from the space simulation 

currently used for materials evaluation; and to 

monitor solid particles impacting spacecraft in 

low Earth orbit. 

Science Team: 

V. Inguimbert (FR), A. Tighe – ESA 

PLEGPAY 

The scientific objective of PLEGPAY (PLasma 

Electron Gun PAYload) is the study of the 

interactions between spacecraft and the space 

environment in low Earth orbit, with reference to 

electrostatic charging and discharging. 

Understanding these mechanisms is very 

important as uncontrollable discharge events 

can adversely affect the functioning of 

spacecraft electronic systems. 

Science Team: 

G. Noci – Laben-Proel (IT) 

Tribolab 

This series of experiments covers research 

in tribology, i.e., the science of friction and 

lubrication thereof. This is of major 

importance for spacecraft systems. The 

Tribolab experiments cover both experiments in 

liquid and solid lubrication, such as the 

evaluation of fluid losses from surfaces and the 

evaluation of wear of polymer and metallic 

cages in weightlessness. 

Science Team: 

R. Fernandez – INTA (ES) 

EXPOSE-R 

The EXPOSE-R facility is a European external 

facility that was transported to the station on 

Progress flight 31P for attachment to the 

outside of the Russian Zvezda service module. 

It houses a number of experiments covering the 

areas of photochemistry, photobiology and 

astrobiology, requiring exposure to the open 

space environment. 

The experiment package is as follows: 

Amino

The main objective of the Amino experiment is 

to determine to what extent biologically active 

molecules (amino acids and peptides) are 

converted into a mixture of so-called L- and D 

molecules when exposed to UV-C radiation. 

(Organic material is principally made up of 

L-molecules on Earth). The experiment will 

also determine to what degree the samples are 

protected by the porous material in which they 

are accommodated. Another experiment 

objective is to test whether photosensitive 

amino acids can use the energy from ultraviolet 

light from the sun to chain together under space 

conditions. 

Science Team: 

H. Cottin (FR) 
92 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

Endo

This experiment will assess the impact of 

increased UV-B and UV-C radiation, due to 

ozone depletion, on algae and cyanobacteria 

from Antarctic sites under the ozone hole. It will 

also determine the probability for endolithic 

microbial communities, i.e., microbes 

embedded in rock surfaces, to survive in 

regions where exposed communities become 

extinct. The findings will contribute to our 

understanding of the potential for such 

communities to have survived UV-exposure in 

past times on Mars. 

Science Team: 

C.S. Cockell (UK), H.G.M. Edwards (UK) 

Organic

The goal of the Organic experiment which 

concerns the evolution of organic matter in 

space is to study the effects of UV radiation, 

low pressure, and heavy ion bombardment on 

organic molecules of interest in astrophysics 

and astrobiology. This includes polycyclic 

aromatic hydrocarbons, fullerenes, kerogens of 

different origin, and complex mixtures. 

Science Team: 

P. Ehrenfreund (NL), Z. Peeters (NL), 

B. Foing (ESA, NL), M. Breitfellner (ESA, NL), 

F. Robert (FR), E. Jessberger (DE), 

W. Schmidt (DE), M. Mumma (US) 

Osmo

This experiment aims to understand the 

response of microbes to the vacuum of space 

and to solar radiation. It will especially focus on 

bacteria that survive in environments of high 

osmotic pressure, in this case two bacteria 

(Synechococcus and Haloarcula-G) that survive 

in salt-rich environments. It will asses whether 

these salt-rich environments, as well as the 

high intracellular potassium concentration of the 

micro-organisms, play a role in protecting their 

DNA from drying out in space. 

Science Team: 

R. Mancinelli (US) 

Photo

This experiment is studying the effect of 

exposure of bacterial spores and samples of 

their DNA to solar UV radiation. The objective 

is to assess the quantity and chemistry of 

chemical products produced. The samples will 

be completely exposed, or protected by artificial 

meteorite materials, clays, and salt crystals. 

Science Team: 

J. Cadet (FR), T. Douki (FR), J.L. Ravanat (FR), 

S. Sauvaigo (FR) 

PUR

The Phage and Uracil Response (PUR) 

experiment is studying the effect of solar UV 

radiation on a type of virus (Phage T7) and an 

RNA compound (uracil) to determine their 

effectiveness as biological dosimeters for 

measuring UV dose in the space environment. 

Science Team: 

G. Rontó (HU), A. Fekete (HU), P. Gróf (HU) 

Spores

This experiment will assess how meteorite 

material acts as a protection for bacterial 

(Bacillus subtilis), fungal (Trichoderma koningii) 

and ferny (Athyrium filix-femina, Dryopteris filixmas) spores against space conditions, i.e., UV, 

vacuum and ionizing radiation. 

Science Team: 

G. Horneck (DE), B. Hock (DE), F. Wänke (DE), 

P. Rettberg (DE), D.P. Häder (DE), 

G. Reitz (D), T. Dachev (BG), D. Mishev (BG) 
MARCH 2009 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM 93

Subtil

This experiment will determine the extent of 

mutation of spores and plasmid DNA of the 

model bacteria Bacillus subtilis induced by 

exposure to space vacuum and solar UV 

radiation. Plasmids are DNA segments capable 

of reproducing themselves independently of 

chromosomes. The experiment also will study 

the molecular differentiation in mutations 

brought about by principal exposure to space 

vacuum and mutations brought about by just 

UV exposure. The experiment will use two 

different strains of the bacteria, one of which is 

deficient in cellular repair. 

Science Team: 

N. Munkata (JPN), K. Hieda (JPN) 

IBMP Experiments 

These experiments from the Institute for 

Biomedical Problems in Moscow are looking 

into the effect of exposing a diverse collection 

of terrestrial organisms in a resting stage of 

their life cycle to space conditions. Included are 

bacterial spores, fungal spores, plant seeds and 

eggs of lower crustacea. 

Science Team: 

V. Sychev (RU), N. Novikova (RU), 

S. Poddubko (RU), M. Levenskikh (RU), 

T. Agaptseva (RU) 
94 EUROPEAN EXPERIMENT PROGRAM MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION 95

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Science Operations 

JAXA Kibo Utilization 

During Expedition 19/20, the Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency (JAXA) will start external 

experiment operations outside Kibo, in addition 

to conducting science research and educational 

programs on board Kibo. 

Kibo’s external experiment platform, the 

Exposed Facility (EF), will be delivered to the 

International Space Station on the STS-127 

mission, along with Kibo’s external logistics 

pallet, the Experiment Logistics ModuleExposed Section (ELM-ES) and two external 

experiments, SEDA-AP and MAXI. 

JAXA’s H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), the 

“Technical Demonstration Vehicle,” is 

targeted to be launched to the station in 

September 2009. The HTV will deliver 

SMILES, another external experiment to be 

installed and operated on the EF, as well as 

science materials, supplies, and spare items. 

Three external experiments, SEDA-AP, MAXI, 

and SMILES, will eventually be conducted on 

the EF. 

The following are Kibo utilization programs 

planned for Expedition 19/20.

Category Experiment Program 

Material Science 

• Chaos, Turbulence and its Transition 

Process in Marangoni Convection 

• Spatio-temporal Flow Structure in 

Marangoni Convection 

• Facet (Investigation on Mechanism of 

Faceted Cellular Array Growth) 

Life Science 

• Space Seed (Life cycle of higher 

plants under microgravity conditions) 

• Rad Silk (Integrated assessment of 

long-term cosmic radiation through 

biological responses of the silkworm, 

Bombyx mori, in space) 

• Microbe-I (Microbial dynamics in the 

International Space Station (Part1)) 

Category Experiment Program 

Applied Research • JAXA PCG (High-Quality Protein 

Crystal Growth Experiment) 

Astrophysics/Earth 

Observation 

• MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image)

• SMILES (Superconducting 

Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission 

Sounder) 

• SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data 

Acquisition equipment--Attached 

Payload) 

Human Space 

Flight Technology 

Development 

• JAXA Holter (Digital Holter ECG 

(Electrocardiograph)) 

• Area PADLES (Passive Dosimeter for 

Life science Experiments in Space) 

JAXA EPO • ISS Moon Score 

• Dewey’s Forest 

Material Science Experiments 

Chaos, Turbulence and its Transition 

Process in Marangoni Convection

investigates the surface-tension-driven flow that 

occurs in a liquid bridge. This program was 

performed in Expedition 17/18 and during 

Expedition 19/20 further experiments will be 

performed. 

Within a silicone oil liquid bridge formed into a 

pair of disks, convection is induced by imposing 

a temperature difference between the disks. 

The flow and temperature fields in each stage 

(e.g., steady, oscillatory, and chaotic flow) are 
96 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION MARCH 2009

observed using several visualization techniques 

to determine the transition process. The 

experiment data and images are downlinked in 

real time and also recorded for detailed 

analysis. The experiment uses the Fluid 

Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) in the 

RYUTAI rack. 

Principal Investigator: 

Hiroshi Kawamura, Tokyo University of Science 

Spatio-temporal Flow Structure in 

Marangoni Convection is another Marangoni 

experiment that will be performed on board 

Kibo. The operational method is almost the 

same as that of the Chaos, Turbulence and its 

Transition Process in Marangoni Convection. 

The flow phenomenon is to be investigated by 

using the pulsed ultrasonic velocity profiler to 

obtain the spatio-temporal velocity field inside 

the fluid column, so as to investigate and clarify 

the flow transition scheme from laminar to 

turbulence through chaos. The experiment cell 

of this experiment will be delivered to the ISS 

via the HTV. 

Principal Investigator: 

Yasushi Takeda, Hokkaido University 

Facet (Investigation on Mechanism of Faceted 

Cellular Array Growth) will investigate 

phenomena at the solid-liquid interface for 

facet-like crystallization that are considered to 

be strongly influenced by the temperature and 

concentration distributions in the liquid phase. 

The in-situ observation of both concentration 

and temperature diffusion fields with a 

two-wavelength interferometer will be 

performed for facet-like crystallization using 

transparent organic materials under 

microgravity conditions, a convection-free 

environment. The Facet Cell 1 will be installed 

in the Solution Crystallization Observation 

Facility (SCOF) in the RYUTAI rack. After 

completing the first set of experiments with 

Facet Cell 1, a crew member will change the 

direction of the facet cell so that more 

experiments using Facet Cell 2 can be 

performed. 

Principal Investigator: 

Yuko Inatomi, JAXA 

Life Science Experiments 

Space Seed (Life cycle of higher plants under 

microgravity conditions) will investigate the role 

of gravity in regulating the developmental 

processes of higher plants, using seeds of 

Arabidopsis thaliana, also known as 

arabidopsis or thale cress. 

Plant Experiment Unit (PEU) 

The seeds will be planted in the plant 

experiment sample chambers in the Plant 

Experiment Unit (PEU) before launch. On orbit, 

the plants in the eight PEUs will be incubated in 

the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) in 

the SAIBO rack and will be observed using the 

PEU CCD camera. After 30 days of incubation, 

half of the germinated samples (stems, leaves, 

and roots) will be harvested, fixed, and stored in 

the Minus Eighty degrees Laboratory Freezer 

for the ISS (MELFI) at 2°C (35.6°F) and -95°C 

(-139°F). A quarter of the other half will be 

harvested after an additional 30 days of 

incubation then fixed and refrigerated in the 

MELFI. The rest of the samples also will be 

refrigerated. All the stored samples will be 

returned to the ground for analysis. 

Principal Investigator: 

Seiichiro Kamisaka, Toyama University 
MARCH 2009 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION 97

Rad Silk (Integrated assessment of long-term 

cosmic radiation through biological responses 

of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, in space) will 

examine the effects of space radiation and 

microgravity on silkworm eggs. The silkworm 

egg is assumed to have a highly sensitive stage 

for radiation exposure after diapause, since 

white spots are observed on silkworm 

caterpillars when exposed to radiation during 

their egg stages. The eggs will be placed in 

egg cases. After the launch at 4°C (39.2°F), 

the eggs in the egg cases will be kept cool in 

the MELFI at 2°C (35.6°F) for diapause. Before 

returning to the ground, the eggs will be 

incubated at 20°C (68°F) for eight days using 

the CBEF, then stored in the MELFI at 2°C 

(35.6°F). Some eggs will be frozen at -95°C 

(-139°F). As the control sample, one egg case 

will remain at 2°C (35.6°F) without incubation. 

On the ground, the returned eggs will be 

germinated, and their radiation effects will be 

analyzed with mutation assay, genetic assay, 

and biochemical assays. 

Left: No radiation exposure during the egg 

stage 

Right: Exposed to radiation during the egg 

stage 

 

Principal Investigator: 

Toshiharu Furusawa, Kyoto Institute of 

Technology University 

Microbe-I [Microbial dynamics in the 

International Space Station (Part1)] will monitor 

microbes, especially fungi and bacteria, in Kibo. 

The environment on board the ISS is controlled 

to be comfortable for the crew and for 

saprophytic microorganisms. Therefore, it is 

possible that the crew and equipment are 

exposed to a high concentration of microbes, 

especially fungal spores, in the enclosed 

environment. Thus, it is essential to investigate 

the microbial biota present in the space station 

in order to control microbial infection, allergies, 

and disaster. 

This experiment includes sampling with the use 

of a microbial detection sheet for yeast and 

mold, and a swab and sampling tube in the 

three specific surfaces in Kibo for culture, direct 

microscopy, and molecular biological analysis. 

Principal Investigator: 

Koichi Makimura, Teikyo University 
98 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION MARCH 2009

 

Microbial detection sheet for yeast and mold, and grown mold on fabric sheet 

Swab and sampling tube 
MARCH 2009 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION 99

Applied Research 

JAXA PCG (High-Quality Protein Crystal 

Growth Experiment) seeks to grow crystals of 

biological macromolecules by the counterdiffusion technique. The main scientific 

objective of the JAXA PCG experiment is to 

produce fine-quality protein crystals in a 

microgravity environment. 

The crystals will be grown in the JAXA PCG 

Canister using the Protein Crystallization 

Research Facility (PCRF) in the RYUTAI rack. 

The space-grown crystals will be applied to 

structural biology and pharmaceutical activities. 

JAXA PCG Canister and PCRF 

JAXA PCG Canister in a canister bag 

Science Team: 

T. Kobayashi, M. Sato, and S. Sano, JAXA 

Astrophysics/Earth Observations 

MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image) is an 

external observatory that will be operated on 

the Exposed Facility (EF). MAXI will monitor 

the X-ray variability for more than 1,000 X-ray 

sources covering the entire sky. MAXI consists 

of two types of highly sensitive X-ray slit 

cameras, the Gas Slit Camera (GSC) and the 

Solid-state Slit Camera (SSC). The GSC uses 

a gas proportional counter for X-ray detection, 

and the SSC uses peltier-cooled CCDs for 

X-ray detection. MAXI is equipped with 

12 GSCs and two SSCs. 

The discoveries of X-ray novae and gamma-ray 

bursts with MAXI will be distributed worldwide 

via the Internet, so that the astronomical 

observatories may conduct follow-up and 

detailed observations by telescopes or 

astronomical satellites. 

MAXI 

Principal Investigator: 

Masaru Matsuoka, JAXA 
100 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION MARCH 2009

SMILES (Superconduction Submillimeter-wave 

Limb-Emission Sounder) is an external 

observatory that will be operated on the EF. 

SMILES aims at global mapping of 

stratospheric trace gases, using the most 

sensitive sub millimeter receiver. A 

Superconductor Insulator Superconductor (SIS) 

mixer in a dedicated cryostat with a mechanical 

cooler achieved SMILES’s super-high 

sensitivity. SMILES will observe ozonedepletion-related molecules such as ClO, HCl, 

HO2, HNO3, BrO, and O3 in the frequency 

bands of 624.32 to 626.32GHz and 649.12 to 

650.32GHz. A scanning antenna will cover 

tangent altitudes from 10 to 60km every 

53 seconds, while tracing the latitudes from 

38°S to 65°N along its orbit. 

Due to its global coverage capability, SMILES 

can observe the low- and mid-latitudinal areas, 

as well as the Arctic peripheral region. 

SMILES data will enable us to investigate 

chlorine and bromine chemistry, and will 

provide a database for ozone variations in time 

and position around the upper troposphere and 

lower stratosphere. 

SMILES 

Principal Investigator: 

Masato Shiotani, Kyoto University 

SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data 

Acquisition equipment – Attached Payload) is 

an external instrument to be operated on the 

EF. SEDA-AP collects space environment 

data. It consists of common bus equipment, an 

extendible mast that extends the neutron 

monitor sensor into space, and seven 

measurement units that measure space 

environment data. The measurement units are 

(1) Neutron Monitor (NM), (2) Heavy Ion 

Telescope (HIT), (3) Plasma Monitor (PLAM), 

(4) Standard Dose Monitor (SDOM), (5) Atomic 

Oxygen Monitor (AOM), (6) Electronic Device 

Evaluation Equipment (EDEE), and (7) MicroParticles Capture (MPAC) and Space 

Environment Exposure Device (SEED). 

SEDA-AP 

Principal Investigator: 

Tateo Goka, JAXA 
MARCH 2009 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION 101

Human Space Flight Technology 

Development 

JAXA Holter verifies JAXA’s Digital Holter ECG 

(Electrocardiograph), which was developed for 

monitoring the circadian (24h) cardiovascular 

and autonomic functions of astronauts in orbit. 

The ultimate goal is to understand the effects of 

microgravity and long-duration spaceflight on 

the cardiovascular and autonomic systems of 

astronauts who stay in orbit for long durations. 

This research also evaluates changes in skin 

condition before and after attaching the ECG 

electrodes for crew health and safety. 

The ECG measurements will be conducted four 

times at different measuring points (once 

preflight, twice in-flight, and once post-flight). 

The ECG electrodes will be attached to the 

chest wall of a crew member to monitor heart 

rate and arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). After 

the 24h ECG measurement, the crew member’s 

chest will be videoed by a High-Definition 

Television (HDTV) camera to record visual 

changes in the skin condition where the ECG 

electrodes were attached. 

Principal Investigator: 

Chiaki Mukai, JAXA 

Area PADLES (Passive Dosimeter for Life 

Science Experiments in Space) surveys the 

space radiation environment inside Kibo using 

PADLES analysis system and passive and 

integrating dosimeter developed by JAXA for 

measuring absorbed dose, LET distributions 

and dose equivalents. Ultimate goals of this 

program are to support risk assessment and 

dose management for Japanese astronauts, 

and to update radiation assessment models for 

the human spaceflight in the next generation. 

There are 12 Area PADLES dosimeters 

installed in Kibo’s Pressurized Module (PM) and 

they are replaced each space station 

increment. After the STS-128 mission (17A), 

the numbers of Area PADLES in Kibo will be 

increased to 17; some of them will be 

installed in Kibo’s Experiment Logistics ModulePressurized Section (ELM-PS) as well as in 

the PM. This is the series experiments in 

succession from Expedition17. 

Additionally, another type of PADLES, called 

Experiment PADLES (Exp PADLES), will be 

installed in the ELM-PS during the Expedition 

19/20 to investigate the directional distributions 

of the fluxes and doses in the ELM-PS. This 

study is needed to determine the storage 

location and directions where the onboard 

equipment (or experiments) are less affected by 

the radiation environment inside the ISS. 

Principal Investigator: 

A. Nagamatsu, K. Murakami, JAXA

(a) Area PADLES dosimeter (b) Exp PADLES dosimeter (mockup)
102 JAXA KIBO UTILIZATION MARCH 2009

JAXA Education Payload Observations 

(JAXA EPO) 

The JAXA Educational Payload Observation 

(EPO) focuses on educational and cultural 

activities, and artistic experiments. The 

following programs are planned for Expedition 

19/20. 

ISS Moon Score is an artistic experiment 

aimed at composing music using photos of the 

moon. The Expedition 19/20 crew members 

will take 80 to 100 photos of the moon, using a 

digital camera from Kibo’s windows. The 

photos will be downlinked to the ground for 

musical score composition. 

Dewey’s Forest is a cultural experiment that 

demonstrates how gravity controls the laws of 

nature and influences our way of thinking. This 

experiment also will seek to rediscover the 

relationship between humans and plants, and 

the age-old history of our gardens. The 

Expedition 19/20 crew members will prepare 

this experiment. 
MARCH 2009 NASA TELEVISION 103

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. 

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 Human Space Flight 

Web, 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 Shuttle Web’s 

address is: 

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

General information on NASA and its programs 

is available through the NASA Home Page and 

the NASA Public Affairs Home Page: 

http://www.nasa.gov

or 

http://www.nasa.gov/newsinfo/

index.html
104 NASA TELEVISION MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 PAO CONTACTS 105

Expedition 19/20 Public Affairs Officers (PAO) Contacts 

Michael Braukus 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

michael.j.braukus@nasa.gov

International Partners 202-358-1979

Katherine Trinidad 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

katherine.trinidad@nasa.gov

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 202-358-1100

John Yembrick 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 202-358-1100

Michael Curie 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

michael.curie@nasa.gov

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 202-358-1100

Grey Hautaluoma 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov

Research in Space 202-358-0668

Ashley Edwards 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 

ashley.edwards-1@nasa.gov

Research in Space 202-358-1756

James Hartsfield 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston 

james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov

Astronauts/Mission Operations 281-483-5111

Rob Navias 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston 

rob.navias-1@nasa.gov

Mission Operations 281-483-5111

Josh Byerly 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston 

rob.navias-1@nasa.gov

Mission Operations 281-483-5111
106 PAO CONTACTS MARCH 2009

Kelly Humphries 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston 

kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov

International Space Station and 

Mission Operations Directorate 

281-483-5111

Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters 

NASA Johnson Space Center 

Houston 

nicole.cloutier-1@nasa.gov

Astronauts 281-483-5111

Steve Roy 

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 

Huntsville, Ala. 

steven.e.roy@nasa.gov

Science Operations 256-544-0034

Ed Memi 

The Boeing Company 

Houston 

edmund.g.memi@boeing.com

International Space Station 281-226-4029

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 

JAXA Public Affairs Office 

Tokyo, Japan 

011-81-3-6266-6414, 6415, 6416, 6417 

proffice@jaxa.jp

Naoko Matsuo 

JAXA Public Affairs Representative 

Houston 

281-483-2251 

matsuo.naoko@jaxa.jp

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) 

Media Relations Office 

Canadian Space Agency 

450-926-4370 

European Space Agency (ESA) 

Clare Mattok 

Communication Manager 

European Space Agency (ESA) 

Paris, France 

011-33-1-5369-7412 

clare.mattok@eas.int