Malenchenko Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, One child. Born in Svetlovodsk, Kirovograd, Ukraine. Soviet Air Force Soviet Air Force Soviet Air Force

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: Air Force Group 8 - 1987. Active Entered space service: 26 March 1987. Number of Flights: 4.00. Total Time: 514.50 days. Number of EVAs: 4.00. Total EVA Time: 1.01 days.

Call sign: Agat (Agate). NASA Official Biography

NAME:Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (Colonel, Russian Air Force)

Test Cosmonaut at the Yu.A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

PERSONAL DATA:

Born Dec. 22, 1961, in Svetlovodsk, Kirovograd Region, Ukraine. He has one son, Dmitri. His mother, Nina Ivanovna, father, Ivan Karpovich, and brother, Sergei Ivanovich live in Svetlovodsk.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Svetlovodsk public schools. In 1983, he graduated from S.I. Gritsevets Kharkov Higher Military Aviation School with a pilot-engineer's diploma. In 1993, he graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.

HONORS:

Awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation medal, and the National Hero of Kazakhstan medal.

EXPERIENCE:

After graduating from Military Aviation School, he served as pilot, senior pilot, and multi-ship flight lead. In 1987, he was assigned to the Cosmonaut Training Center. From December, 1987 to June 1989, he underwent a course of general space training. Since September, he has continued training as a member of a group of test cosmonauts. He was the Commander of the back-up crew for Mir 15. From July 1 to November 4, 1994, he served as Commander of Mir 16 with Musabayev, Polyakov, Kondakova, Victorenko, and Ulf Merbold. He has logged 126 days in space, including 2 EVA's totaling 12 hours. During this flight also, he controlled the first manual docking of Progress. In the summer of 1998, Malenchenko was appointed to the Shuttle crew of STS-101 for the ISS 2A.2 mission.

• 1 July 1994 Flight: Mir EO-16. Flight Up: Soyuz TM-19. Flight Back: Soyuz TM-19. Flight Time: 125.95 days.

• 8 September 2000 Flight: STS-106. Flight Up: STS-106. Flight Back: STS-106. Flight Time: 11.80 days.

• 26 April 2003 Flight: ISS EO-7. Flight Up: Soyuz TMA-2. Flight Back: Soyuz TMA-2. Flight Time: 184.95 days.

• 10 October 2007 Flight: ISS EO-16. Flight Up: Soyuz TMA-11. Flight Back: Soyuz TMA-11. Flight Time: 191.80 days.

26 March 1987 - Soviet Air Force Cosmonaut Training Group 8 selected..

The next Shuttle crew to visit the ISS was finalized last week and includes Jim Voss, Susan Helms and Yuri Usachev - the second crew that will live aboard the ISS next year. They now will take an early 'peak' at their home during the STS-101 mission that will be commanded by Jim Halsell and piloted by Scott Horowitz. Rounding out the crew will be Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber and Jeff Williams. Atlantis is being readied at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch scheduled for no earlier than April 13.

While vehicle processing continues, mission planners are working on stowage and maintenance tasks that will be carried out on the 11-day flight. A spacewalk by Williams and Voss will include checking the position of a small crane mounted outside Zarya in addition to other tasks. The crane was installed during a spacewalk on the most recent Shuttle visit to the ISS. Plans call for Williams and Voss to ensure the crane is properly secured in its mounting socket.

Meanwhile, battery cycling continues on orbit with two of the six batteries currently in restoration mode, which is a procedure periodically carried out to maintain the life and capacity of each unit. At present, three batteries are supplying all the electrical needs of Station equipment.

STS-101 is designed to not only supply the Station with more logistics for use by future crews, but also to replace some of Zarya's aging batteries and other equipment in preparation for the arrival of the Zvezda service module in July. Presently, Zvezda is being readied for a launch between July 8-14.

Station managers plan to hold a meeting with the International Partners in the next week or two to finalize updates to the assembly sequence that will include launch target dates for the remainder of this year. That schedule will include Russian supply launches using the Progress resupply vehicles in addition to Shuttle logistics and assembly missions.

The first shuttle flight after the arrival of the Zvezda was approved to take place within a month after the service module's arrival. That STS-106 crew will be commanded by Terry Wilcutt with Scott Altman serving as pilot. Mission specialists include Dan Burbank, Rick Mastracchio, Ed Lu, Yuri Malenchenko, and Boris Morukov.

The International Space Station is in an orbit of 237 by 226 statute miles. Since the launch of Zarya in 1998, the ISS has completed more than 7,227 orbits. S

Following the Aug. 8 docking of a Progress supply vehicle to the station, controllers pressurized the vestibule between Progress and Zvezda and conducted a successful check for leaks. The seven-member crew of STS-106 will unload supplies and equipment from the Progress into the station through the vestibule.

Propellant lines between the supply craft and Zvezda also were checked, and controllers began moving propellants -- fuel and oxidizer -- from the Progress tanks to fill those on the Zvezda module on Thursday. That fuel transfer was successfully completed. However, on Friday, during the transfer of oxidizer from Progress to Zvezda, the operation was automatically stopped due to a suspected instrumentation problem. The transfer of propellant is expected to begin again this week.

During the fuel transfer, Zvezda's attitude control thrusters were shut down for about two and a half hours due to a ground command error. The shutdown posed no problems for the station, since it is in a naturally stable orientation that requires extremely few jet firings to maintain. Further commands reestablished operation of the attitude control thrusters.

Also this week, controllers, using views from a camera on the Zarya module, confirmed that one docking target on the exterior of Zvezda had only partially deployed after launch. Although the situation has no impact on current station activities, controllers are assessing the possibility of STS-106 astronauts Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko deploying the target manually during a spacewalk that is already planned for the mission.

A successful test firing of thrusters on the Progress craft was performed Tuesday and changed the velocity of the station by about two miles per hour (one meter per second). A second firing is planned Thursday that will change the velocity by about nine miles per hour (four meters per second). During the next few weeks one or two more firings may be performed to fine-tune the station's position for the Shuttle's rendezvous on STS-106.

Meanwhile, at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Atlantis has been moved to its launch pad in anticipation of a planned Sept. 8 liftoff. At the station, Atlantis' crew will unpack the Progress and a Spacehab module in the Shuttle's cargo bay, setting the stage for the arrival of the first resident station crew this fall.

With the arrival of the Progress, the station continues a rapid expansion, now measuring 143 feet in length with a mass of 67 tons. The ISS can easily be viewed from the ground under proper lighting conditions.

One set of fuel and oxidizer tanks aboard Zvezda is now full following the unloading of propellants from the cargo craft. Propellants will be transferred from the Progress tanks to a second set of tanks on Zvezda this week. The transfer of propellants was interrupted last week due to a sensor problem that was quickly resolved.

Also in preparation for the rendezvous by Atlantis in a few weeks, station controllers in the United States and Russia completed two firings of engines on the Progress craft last week. The firings raised the station's average altitude by about 4.5 statute miles. Another engine firing is planned in early September to further adjust the station's orbit in preparation for the shuttle's launch. The seven-member crew of Atlantis, currently targeted for launch Sept. 8, will open the doors to the station's new Zvezda living quarters for the first time in space and prepare the outpost for the arrival of the first resident crew later this fall.

Early Monday, Station flight controllers noted irregularities in the charging and discharging of one of five batteries aboard Zvezda and are now troubleshooting the problem. The other four batteries on Zvezda are operating well and the single battery problem has no impact on the station's normal operation. Three additional batteries are currently planned to be installed in Zvezda during Atlantis' mission next month.

Station managers are continuing to evaluate and plan the possibility of manually deploying a docking target on the aft end of Zvezda during a space walk to be conducted by astronauts Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko when Atlantis visits. The target is positioned near where Lu and Malenchenko are already scheduled to work on other tasks during the planned space walk

Meanwhile, International Space Station partners agreed this week to update the station's planned assembly sequence launches, adjusting the launch schedule for some elements in the latter years of station assembly. Target launch dates for the first phase of assembly in orbit, missions planned through the end of 2001, remain basically unchanged. The launches of remaining missions were, for the most part, adjusted later than the previous schedule. The final station assembly flight is now planned for April 2006.

At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations of Atlantis for a Sept. 8 launch on mission STS-106 continue at Launch Pad 39B. Space Shuttle managers are planned to meet Tuesday for a review of all mission preparations called the Flight Readiness Review, following which an official launch date will be announced. Also next week, the Canadian-built Mobile Base System is scheduled to join the quarter million pounds of station components now at KSC's Space Station Processing Facility undergoing preflight testing and launch preparations. When launched in 2002, the Mobile Remote Servicer Base System will provide a base for the Canadian Space Station Remote Manipulator System robotic arm as it moves along the eventual 300-foot long station truss structure.

Now in an orbit with a high point of 228 statute miles and a low point of 222 statute miles, the 67-ton, 143-foot long International Space Station can easily be viewed from the ground under proper lighting conditions.

Atlantis docked with the PMA-2 adapter on the International Space Station at 05:51 GMT on September 10. The orbiter's small RCS engines were used to gently reboost the station's orbit several times.

Astronauts Lu and Malenchenko made a spacewalk on September 11 beginning at 04:47 GMT. They rode the RMS arm up to Zvezda and began installing cables, reaching a distance of 30 meters from the airlock when installing Zvezda's magnetometer. Total EVA duration was 6 hours 21 minutes.

During their 12-day flight, the astronauts spent a week docked to the International Space Station during which they worked as movers, cleaners, plumbers, electricians and cable installers. In all, they spent 7 days, 21 hours and 54 minutes docked to the International Space Station, outfitting the new Zvezda module for the arrival of the Expedition One crew later this fall.

The Shuttle undocked from ISS at 03:44 GMT on September 18 and made two circuits of the station each lasting half an orbit, before separating finally at 05:34 GMT. The payload bay doors were closed at 04:14 GMT on September 20 and at 06:50 GMT the OMS engines ignited for a three minute burn lowering the orbit from 374 x 386 km x 51.6 deg to 22 x 380 km x 51.6 deg. After entry interface at 07:25 GMT, the orbiter glided to a landing on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center with main gear touchdown at 07:56:48 GMT for a mission duration of 283 hr 11min.

During its first full day in space the crew will prepare for Sunday's rendezvous and docking with the station and Monday's early-morning space walk by astronaut Ed Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.

About three hours after the wake-up call, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman will initiate the first burn of the orbiter's Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) to continue refining Atlantis' orbit for a precision rendezvous and docking. The docking will occur at about 12:53 a.m. Sunday at an altitude of about 220 statute miles over the Russia and Kazakhstan border north of the Caspian Sea.

Lu, Malenchenko and mission specialist Dan Burbank will unpack, assemble and test spacesuits and checkout the tools Lu and Malenchenko will use as they work on the station's exterior sometimes about 110 feet above the orbiter. The space walk to connect electrical, communications and fiberoptic cables and install a magnetometer to the station will last about 6 and a half hours.

Tonight, mission specialist Rick Mastracchio will check out the remote manipulator system, and then he and cosmonaut Boris Morukov will prepare to transfer station equipment and supplies from the orbiter and the Russian Progress vehicle.

The STS-106 launch countdown proceeded smoothly throughout the morning and the five astronaut, two cosmonaut crew was loaded into the crew compartment by 5 a.m. to await the final two and a half hours of the count.

Once on orbit, Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov began configuring the shuttle for 11 days of on-orbit operations.

Their mission to the 143-foot-long International Space Station will focus on unloading nearly three tons of cargo from the orbiter and a Progress supply craft already docked to the opposite end of the station's Zvezda module. The equipment and provisions basically complete the onboard stowage of supplies that will be used by the first resident crew - Expedition One - scheduled for launch aboard a Soyuz rocket in late October to begin permanent human presence on the station.

The crew begins its first sleep period just five hours after liftoff, at 12:45 this afternoon and will receive a wakeup call from Mission Control at 8:45 tonight.

After wakeup, Wilcutt and Altman will perform the first of a series of maneuvers designed to put the shuttle on a precise course to the International Space Station.

As of about 6:30 p.m. this evening, the Shuttle trailed the station by about 230 statute miles and was closing in by about 184 miles with each 90-minute orbit of Earth. The final phase of rendezvous will begin when Atlantis reaches a point about eight nautical miles directly behind the station and fires its engines in a terminal phase initiation burn just before 10 p.m. Central.

The TI burn, as it is called, will put the Shuttle on a course directly toward the station during the next orbit of Earth. As Atlantis moves within about a half-mile of the station, Wilcutt will take over manual control of the Shuttle's approach, flying the Shuttle from controls in the aft cockpit. Atlantis will arrive at a point about 600 feet directly below the station about 11:28 p.m. Central, and Wilcutt then will begin a half-circle of the orbiting outpost. Atlantis will pass about 350 feet in front of the station and then move to a point about 250 feet directly above it about 11:55 p.m. Central.

Wilcutt will then begin to descend toward the station and, just before midnight Central, hold position at a point about 170 feet away. Wilcutt will maintain that distance for about 20 minutes to allow the station to move within range of Russian ground communications stations before continuing the approach. At 12:41 a.m., Wilcutt will hold position again briefly at a point about 30 feet from the station to verify the Shuttle and station docking mechanisms are precisely aligned. Docking is expected about 11 minutes later with the Shuttle contacting the station at a slow rate of about a tenth of a foot per second. At the time of docking, the ISS and Atlantis will be at 49.6 degrees North Latitude, 57.1 degrees East Longitude as they fly over Western Kazakhstan.

During the rendezvous, Altman will assist Wilcutt in controlling Atlantis' approach. Mastracchio and Malenchenko also will assist with the rendezvous and docking, with Burbank and Lu operating the Shuttle's docking mechanism.

Once docked the astronauts and cosmonauts will briefly open the hatch between Atlantis and the mating adapter on ISS to gather an air sample. The hatch will then be closed in preparation for Monday morning's planned 6½-hour space walk by Lu and Malenchenko.

Near the end of their work day, Atlantis's crew will get 4 hours of off duty time to relax before beginning a planned eight hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. on Sunday.

In preparation for that linkup, the crew spent today readying a variety of tools and equipment needed to support the rendezvous and docking, as well as equipment that will be used during Monday morning's scheduled space walk.

With the assistance of crew mate Dan Burbank, spacewalkers Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko checked out the suits they will wear during their planned 6 ½ hour long space walk Monday. Burbank will act as the in-cabin choreographer for that space walk. Also today, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman verified the operation of navigational aids that will be used during the final phases of Sunday's rendezvous and docking.

Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio powered up the Shuttle's robot arm, verifying its operation and conducting a photographic survey of the payload bay. Cosmonaut Boris Morukov tended to experiments and photography and television-related activities.

Atlantis is scheduled to begin the final phase of rendezvous about 10 p.m. tonight, closing in toward the early Sunday docking. At present, Atlantis is approximately 1600 miles behind and slightly below the ISS, closing the distance between them by approximately 172 miles with each orbit of the Earth.

Today, flight controllers reported that one of Atlantis' two onboard star trackers is not operating properly and has been powered off. The star trackers can be used as one method of updating navigation information aboard Atlantis. The failure of the star tracker, a device located on the left side of Atlantis' nose that looks upward, will have no significant impact on the planned rendezvous and docking. The remaining star tracker can be used to perform the needed functions.

Once docked the astronauts and cosmonauts will briefly open the hatch between Atlantis and the mating adapter on ISS to gather an air sample. The hatch will then be closed in preparation for Monday morning's space walk.

Monday evening, the crew will open 12 hatches throughout the length of the 143-foot long station and the attached Progress supply vehicle to begin transferring equipment and hardware.

The crew will begin a seven hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. today. They will be awakened at 5:46 p.m. to begin the final rendezvous and docking.

The approach and docking went almost exactly as planned, with Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov, helping Wilcutt close the final gap between the two spacecraft as they sped around the Earth at 17,500 miles an hour over Kazakhstan. The only change to the plan was a brief tilt of the shuttle to sight the station with Atlantis' only working star tracker at a distance of 50 miles from the station.

As soon as docking was complete, the crew activated hooks and latches to forge a hard bond between Atlantis and the station's Unity module. Soon after docking, the shuttle's cabin atmospheric pressure was lowered in preparation for tonight's six and a half hour space walk, or Extravehicular Activity (EVA), by Lu and Malenchenko. This significantly reduces the amount of time crewmembers must pre-breathe pure oxygen before exiting the airlock. This purges the body of nitrogen bubbles and prevents symptoms called "the bends," well known by divers.

The space walk is scheduled to begin about midnight and conclude at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

The two space walkers will integrate the recently docked Russian Zvezda module with the rest of the International Space Station, routing and connecting nine power, data and communications cables between Zvezda and the other Russian-built module, Zarya. They'll also assemble a magnetometer boom on the outside of Zvezda. All the while, the robot arm will be used to help move equipment from the payload bay to the station. Atlantis's STS-106 crew will turn in for the day at about 10:45 this morning and will be awakened for space walk preparations at 6:46 this evening.

The astronauts and cosmonauts will enter the station Monday night, by opening 12 hatches in preparation for delivering supplies for use by the first resident crew - Expedition One.

Today's wake up call was "All Star" by the band Smash Mouth. The song was played for the two space walkers at the request of the EVA training and flight control teams to celebrate what will be the sixth space walk in support of station assembly and the 50th space walk in Space Shuttle history. After completing a final pre-breathing session of pure oxygen to purge nitrogen from their blood stream and putting on their EVA spacesuits, Lu and Malenchenko will exit Atlantis' airlock just after midnight Central.

Lu who carries the designation EV 1, will be making his first space walk and will wear the space suit marked by red stripes. Malenchenko, who conducted two space walks totaling 12 hours during his 1994 flight aboard the Russian Mir Space Station, is designated EV 2 and will wear the pure white suit.

The main objective of the space walk will be to attach a 6-foot long magnetometer and boom to a port on the Russian Zvezda Service Module. The magnetometer will serve as a type of navigation tool, or compass, using data acquired from the Earth's magnetic field to "tell" Zvezda's computers how it is oriented in relation to the Earth. The information provided by the magnetometer will minimize the amount of propellent Zvezda's thrusters use to maintain the position of the International Space Station.

STS-106 Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Dan Burbank will also play key support roles in the space walk activities. Mastracchio will operate the Shuttle's robot arm to move the two space walkers as far as the arm will take them, about 50 feet above Atlantis' cargo bay. Lu and Malenchenko then will use tethers and handrails along the ISS' modules to make their way to a point more than 100 feet above the cargo bay for the magnetometer installation, the farthest any tethered space walker has ventured outside a Shuttle. Burbank, the IV crewmember, will serve as "space walk choreographer " guiding Lu and Malenchenko's through their various activities.

Once the magnetometer hook up is complete, electrical, data and television cables between the Zvezda Service Module and the Zarya Control Module will be connected. In all, nine cables will be rigged between the two spacecraft in a procedure expected to last almost three hours.

Four of the cables are critical power connections required before the end of the future STS-97 mission to the ISS which will deliver the U.S. solar arrays. These cables will enable power to flow from the U.S. arrays to the Russian modules to augment the solar arrays on both Zarya and Zvezda since the U.S. arrays will shade portions of the Russian arrays once they are installed on the top of the Z-1 truss framework.

Two of the cables installed by Lu and Malenchenko will provide an internal closed circuit video feed and two other cables will link data from Zvezda to Zarya and allow commanding of Zarya solar array pointing from Zvezda now that the Zarya's motion control system has been deactivated.

A final fiber optic cable will be strung between Zvezda and Zarya to enable data to flow from the suits worn by Russian space walkers once the ISS airlock is installed at the starboard port of the Unity connecting node to accommodate joint U.S.-Russian space walks. Until then, ISS space walks must be conducted from Zvezda's transfer compartment.

The STS-106 crew will wind up the day's efforts early Monday morning before turning in for an eight-hour sleep period beginning at 10:46 a.m. CDT. After they wake up Monday evening, the will enter the station Monday evening by opening 12 hatches in preparation for delivering supplies for use by the first resident crew who will arrive at the station in late October.

The space walk was the sixth in support of ISS assembly and the 50th in Shuttle Program history. It began at 11:47 last night and ended at 6:01 this morning.

The two crewmembers essentially served as construction workers and electricians while outside, attaching cabling that fully, and permanently, integrate Zvezda to the rest of the ISS.

During the extravehicular activity (EVA), or space walk, Mission Specialists Lu and Malenchenko stayed ahead of the timeline with choreography from inside by their crewmate, Dan Burbank. By his side on the flight deck was Rick Mastracchio, who deftly maneuvered them around the station using the robot arm.

They connected nine cables between Zvezda and Zarya, including four 27-foot long cables to permit power usage from future solar arrays provided by the U.S. This will eventually allow the sharing of electrical power as the station grows in size. Another four cables extending 16 feet were secured that will provide video and data transmissions throughout the ISS. A final fiber-optic telemetry cable was installed that will be used to provide Russian spacesuit data to be transferred to the ground during future space walks.

The final task was to construct and attach a magnetometer that serves as a backup navigation system for the station. This task took the two tethered space walkers the furthest distance from the shuttle than ever before - 110 feet above the payload bay. That's twice as far as when astronauts work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Following the space walk, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman fired small thruster jets on Atlantis to slowly increase the station's overall altitude. Three separate one-hour reboost maneuvers are planned during the docked phase of the flight.

The STS-106 crew will be awakened at 6:46 p.m. today and open the 12 hatches required in preparation for the transfer of almost 3 tons of hardware and supplies from the shuttle and a Progress vehicle to the ISS.

Wilcutt and his crew will open the doors to the recently expanded International Space Station later this evening as the crew begins the transfer of more than 3 tons of hardware and supplies from Space Shuttle Atlantis and a Russian Progress supply ship. Atlantis' astronauts will be the first individuals to see the interior of the Russian Zvezda Service Module since it was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan back on July 12.

A total of 12 different hatches will be opened as Wilcutt and his crew travel through the different sections of the station. The first station hatch, located on Primary Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2) is expected to be opened about 10 p.m. Central. The crew should enter the Unity Node about 10:45 p.m. The hatch to the Zarya Control Module will be opened just after midnight. The hatch to the Zvezda module, which will be the living quarters for the first station crew when they are launched later this year, should be opened around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Even before all the hatches are opened, the STS-106 crew will begin their transfer activities as items from Atlantis are moved into the Unity node. When the final hatch, the one between the rear portion of Zvezda and a Russian Progress supply vehicle which docked to the station on August 8, is opened, the crew will begin transferring items from the Progress to the station.

One of the major objectives in tonight's activities inside the station will be the removal of hardware that is no longer needed onboard the orbiting facility. Launch restraint hardware in Zvezda, the Zarya and Progress docking probe along with manual docking system hardware in Zarya will all be removed and brought back to Earth.

The crew will begin an eight hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. on Tuesday and will be awakened at 6:46 p.m. Tuesday evening to continue their station transfer activities.

The STS-106 crew was awakened at 6:46 p.m. to begin its fourth day of docked operations. This morning's wake up call - "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison - was played for Mastracchio at the request of his wife.

Some of the major activities for the crew today will include the installation of three batteries inside the Zvezda Service Module. In order to reduce it's weight for launch, Zvezda was launched with only five of its eight batteries in place. The STS-106 crew also will complete the battery replacement work in the Zarya Control Module begun by the STS-101 crew back in May by installing two new batteries to go along with the four installed earlier this year.

In and around the battery work in Zvezda and Zarya, the transfer of hardware and supplies from both Atlantis and the Russian Progress supply vehicle will continue with what will now be a full week of docked operations.

Early tomorrow morning as his work day is coming to an end, Wilcutt, a native of Kentucky, will take some time to conduct interviews with three Kentucky television stations about the progress of the flight. The trio of interviews is scheduled to begin at 6:51 a.m. Central.

To replace one component in Zarya, Mission Specialists Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov had to use a hammer and chisel to remove some rivets holding the floor bracket in place. They then were able to easily remove and replace the unit that controls the flow of current through the battery.

Burbank and Morukov's battery work took care of the first of two Zarya module batteries and related equipment replacement scheduled for this mission. The second battery will be replaced Wednesday. The replacements will finish work begun in May when the STS-101 crew replaced the other four of the module batteries.

Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko installed three batteries and associated electrical equipment inside the Zvezda module. The newest space station component was launched in July with only five of its eight batteries in place to save weight.

In and around the battery work in Zvezda and Zarya, Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio transferred hardware and supplies from both Atlantis and the Russian Progress supply vehicle. That work will now extend to a full week after mission managers in Houston and Moscow granted the extra day to continue outfitting the station for its first resident crew scheduled to arrive in November.

Early this morning as his workday neared its end, Wilcutt, a native of Kentucky, took time to answer questions from reporters at three television stations in his home state.

The crew's bedtime is about 11 this morning with the Flight Day 7 wake-up call scheduled for 6:46 p.m. today.

This morning's wake up song from Mission Control was Kombaht by the group called Loobeh, played for Mission Specialist Boris Morukov of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

After finishing their post-sleep activities, Commander Terry Wilcutt and his crew - Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Morukov, will resume the transfer of almost three tons of equipment and supplies from Atlantis and a Russian supply vehicle to the newly expanded Station.

Included in today's "To Do" list will be the installation of a battery charger in the Zvezda Service Module. The device will be hooked into Zvezda's electrical power system to allow batteries in visiting Progress or Soyuz vehicles to be charged, using the station's power system. The crew will also complete the installation of a final battery in the Zarya module before installing the two Russian Orlan spacesuits that will be used by resident crews to perform space walks outside the station.

Wilcutt and Altman will conduct a second space station reboost early Thursday at 1:13 a.m. The Shuttle's RCS jets will be pulsed 36 times over an hour to gently increase the station's altitude by about 4 ½ statute miles.

Near the end of the day's activities, Wilcutt and Burbank will answer questions from reporters from the Associated Press, ABC's "Good Morning America" and CNBC's "Squawk Box." program The trio of interviews is scheduled to begin at 7:11 a.m. Central on Thursday.

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov were awakened shortly before 7 p.m. Central. The wake up song was "Haze Has Melted Away" by Konstantin Nikolsky's Group and was requested for Malenchenko by his wife.

Highlights of the day include the continuing transfer of equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the International Space Station and the organization and stowage of that gear inside the ISS. The 1,300 pounds of ISS gear aboard the Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the aft end of the Zvezda module already has been unloaded.

The Progress is beginning its second role, as a space garbage truck. It will be loaded with unneeded gear-packing material as an example-which will be incinerated with the vehicle during a fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Lu and Malenchenko will spend much of their day installing voltage and current stabilizers in the Zvezda Service Module. They also will install components of the Elektron system in Zvezda. That equipment, sent into orbit aboard the Progress, separates water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is vented overboard while the oxygen replenishes the air in the ISS. The system will not be activated until after arrival of the first station crew.

The third in a series of RCS jet firings to gently raise the station's altitude will happen early on Friday morning. Beginning about 1:46 a.m., Atlantis' maneuvering thrusters will be pulsed 36 times over a one hour period to raise the station about 3½ statute miles (5.6 km). One more altitude-raising burn is planned before the shuttle undocks Sunday.

Wilcutt and Altman will give their impressions of the ISS as a home and the progress of the STS-106 mission with reporters from The CBS "Early Show," the Cable News Network (CNN) and the Louisville Courier-Journal. The series of interviews will begin at 7:31 a.m. Central time on Friday.

Atlantis' astronauts will conclude their activities mid-morning on Friday and begin an eight-hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m.

Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko hooked up a third battery in the Zvezda module, bolstering its supply of power reservoirs. The module was launched in July with five of eight batteries installed to save weight. One of the newly installed batteries in Zvezda is not working properly and Russian flight controllers are investigating. Regardless, the station will have plenty of power to accommodate the needs of the first resident crew scheduled to arrive in early November.

Meanwhile, Mission Specialists Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov, removed and replaced a fourth battery and related equipment in the Zarya module, bringing its complement of six batteries back up to speed with fresh replacements.

Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman used Atlantis' propulsion system to reboost the station's orbit to an altitude of 236 by 225 statute miles (380 x 362 km) firing the jets 36 times over the course of an hour. The maneuver raised the stations orbit about 4 ½ miles (7 km). Two more altitude-raising burns are planned before the shuttle undocks Sunday.

Through it all, Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio oversaw the unpacking of Atlantis' cargo hold and the Progress supply ship, moving all manner of equipment and supplies on board the station for the first crew. The crew also unpacked Russian-made Orlan space suits that will be used to perform space walks outside the station.

Another important item for those first residents was installed earlier today when Malenchenko moved the hardware and hoses for the station's first toilet from the Progress to Zvezda. The unit's waste tank and hose were installed. The task of activating the bathroom will be left to the Expedition One crew.

As of Noon Wednesday, the crew had transferred 1,900 pounds of hardware and supplies to the ISS. Total planned transfer from the shuttle and Progress is expected to be about 6,000 pounds.

Atlantis' crew will turn in about 11 this morning and be awakened at 6:46 this evening.

Thirty-six pulses of Atlantis' reaction control system thrusters boosted the station another 3 ½ miles (5.6 km). The third reboost of the mission placed the ISS in a 237 by 229 statute mile orbit (381 x 368 km). One more reboost maneuver is scheduled Sunday before the shuttle undocks from the station.

Mission Specialists Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko spent much of their day installing power converters in the Zvezda module. These will allow current from U.S. solar arrays to be used in the Russian modules. The first set of these large arrays is scheduled to be installed on the station in early December.

The crew took a closer look at the connections on one of Zvezda's eight batteries that is not working properly. Mission managers have elected to disconnect cables from the battery and do no further work since seven of the eight batteries are working fine. As few as five can supply enough electrical capability when a crew is stationed on the ISS.

Lu and Malenchenko also installed components of the Elektron system in Zvezda. That equipment, sent into orbit aboard the Progress, separates water into oxygen and hydrogen and will be used to replenish the air in the station. The system will be activated after arrival of the first station crew.

Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov concentrated their efforts on transferring, organizing and stowing equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the station. The 1,300 pounds of gear aboard the Progress cargo spacecraft that is docked to the aft end of the Zvezda module already has been unloaded, and that vehicle is now being utilized as a trash container that eventually will be remotely undocked to burn up harmlessly in the Earth's atmosphere.

So far, 3,700 pounds of hardware and supplies has been moved into the ISS, including six, 100 pound bags of water, all the food for the first resident crew, office supplies, onboard environmental supplies, a vacuum cleaner and a computer and monitor.

Atlantis' astronauts will go to bed mid-morning today and will be awakened from Mission Control at 6:46 this evening. Their next workday will focus on the assembly of the station's treadmill exercise equipment.

The wake up call for Wilcutt and his crew - Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov - was the U.S. Coast Guard's "Semper Paratus" (Always Ready), played for Burbank, a Lieutenant Commander in the Coast Guard.

The Atlantis astronauts will finish checking the three tons of supplies and equipment that have been transferred from the Shuttle and an unmanned Russian supply vehicle in preparation for the arrival of the first station crew in November. Then in a reversal of the procedures they followed last Monday when they entered the station, the crew will close and secure the hatches that connect each of the station components. The first hatch closure between the Progress vehicle and the Zvezda Service Module should take place just after 10 p.m. Central. The final hatch between the station and Atlantis will be secured around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday.

In addition to station closeout activity, the STS-106 astronauts will checkout rendezvous tools and install the centerline camera in the orbiter docking system that will be used to support the undocking and fly around of the station Sunday night.

The fourth and final in a series of jet thruster firings to gently raise the station's altitude will occur while the hatch closing activity is taking place. Beginning about 10:30 p.m., Atlantis' maneuvering thrusters will be pulsed to gently raise the station about 3½ statute miles. In all, the four maneuvers will have raised the average altitude of the orbiting facility by 14 statute miles.

The STS-106 crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. tomorrow morning. Following their wake up, the astronauts will immediately move into undocking preparations with undocking scheduled for 10:44 p.m. Sunday.

All of the systems on Atlantis and the International Space Station are functioning normally.

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov received their wake up call from Mission Control at 6:46 p.m. Central. The wake up song, "YMCA" was played for Scott Altman at the request of his wife.

The seven STS-106 astronauts will shortly begin the final preparations for undocking. Atlantis is scheduled to separate from the station at 10:44 p.m. while the two spacecraft are flying over the northeastern portion of the Ukraine.

The initial separation will be performed by springs in the docking mechanism that will gently push the shuttle away from the station. Both Atlantis and the station's steering jets will be shut off to avoid any inadvertent firings during this initial separation.

Once the docking mechanism's springs have pushed Atlantis away to a distance of about two feet, when the docking devices will be clear of one another, Altman will turn the shuttle's steering jets back on and fire them to begin very slowly moving away from the station. From the aft flight deck, Altman will manually control Atlantis within a tight corridor as he separates from the station, essentially reversing the task performed by Wilcutt when Atlantis docked.

Atlantis will continue away to a distance of about 450 feet, where Altman will begin the close fly-around of the station, first crossing a point directly behind, then directly underneath and then again above the station. Altman will circle the station twice in 90 minutes as the crew records views of the exterior with still photography and video. As Atlantis crosses directly above the station for the second time, Altman will fire Atlantis' jets to perform a final separation.

Early on Monday, all seven astronauts will conduct an in-flight press conference during which they will answer questions from reporters at various NASA centers and the Russian mission control center outside of Moscow. The press conference is scheduled to begin at 2:11 a.m. CDT.

Atlantis' astronauts will get some off duty time just after 3 a.m. Central before they turn in for an eight hour sleep period at 9:46 a.m. When they wake up early Monday evening, the crew will checkout the orbiter systems used for reentry and landing and secure equipment and transfer items in preparation for landing at Kennedy Space Center at 2:56 a.m. Central on Wednesday.

"We laid out the red carpet for the first crew to come aboard," said Bob Cabana, manager of international operations for the International Space Station Program.

Undocking occurred at 10:46 p.m. CDT Sunday over Russia near the northeastern portion of the Ukraine. When Atlantis was at a safe distance from the station, about 450 feet, Pilot Scott Altman performed a 90-minute, double-loop fly around to enable the crew to document the station's exterior. He fired Atlantis' jets one final time to separate from the station at 12:35 a.m.

"It glistened out there in the different sunlight, watching the sunrise and sunset. The way it illuminated the solar arrays on the service module was just phenomenal," Altman said, when asked about the fly around during a crew news conference early Monday. "It sparkled like a jewel against the blue background of the oceans."

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov all answered questions posed by reporters at NASA centers and the Russian mission control center outside of Moscow.

Wilcutt said he had no advice for the first station residents - Bill Shepherd, Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko -- other than to "enjoy it like a new home." When asked about living conditions aboard the station, in particular noise levels inside the Zvezda service module, he said "We all think it's just fine. No louder than the shuttle. It's just fine the way it is."

Following the in-flight press conference, Malenchenko and Morukov remained in Atlantis' middeck to field questions from Russian reporters in Moscow before enjoying six hours of off-duty time and an eight-hour sleep period.

When the astronauts are awakened at 5:46 p.m. CDT this afternoon, they will check out the shuttle systems used for reentry and landing and secure equipment and transfer items in preparation for their homecoming. Landing is scheduled for 2:56 a.m. CDT Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center.

STS-106 Mission Commander Terry Wilcutt along with Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov were awakened at 5:46 p.m. Central to begin what should be their final full day in orbit. This evening's wake-up song was "Home in the Islands" by The Brothers Cazimero, played for Lu who considers Honolulu a hometown.

This evening Wilcutt and Altman will test the systems that will be used during the return home to Kennedy Space Center to ensure that equipment remains in good condition. Around 8:45 p.m. Central, a test of the flight control systems that maneuver the shuttle once it re-enters the atmosphere and begins to operate like an airplane will be conducted. Just before 10 p.m., a test fire of all 44 thruster jets on Atlantis will be performed to verify they are in good working order.

The astronauts also will spend part of their work day putting away the equipment they have been using over the last week along with items being brought back from the International Space Station in preparation for their return to Earth.

Atlantis remains in excellent operating condition, as does the International Space Station, now more than 100 statute miles behind the shuttle. The two spacecraft are moving about 8.8 miles farther apart with each orbit of Earth. For a touchdown in Florida at 2:56 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, Atlantis would fire its engines to begin a descent at 1:49 a.m. CDT. A second opportunity also exists for a landing in Florida on the next orbit. The second opportunity would have the deorbit burn taking place at 3:27 a.m. CDT and Atlantis touching down on the 3-mile-long runway at KSC at 4:33 a.m. CDT.

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov were awaken at 5:46 p.m. to the song "Houston", performed by Dean Martin.

Just before 10 p.m., the astronauts will begin their deorbit preparations. After closing Atlantis' payload bay doors at 11:10 p.m., the crew will put on their pressurized launch and entry suits and strap into their seats shortly before 1 a.m. Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale is expected to poll the flight control team for the final decision for the deorbit burn 20 minutes prior to the planned firing of Atlantis' orbital maneuvering system engines at 1:50 a.m. Central which would result in a landing for Atlantis at 2:56 a.m.

There is a second landing opportunity available on the next orbit if needed. For the second landing opportunity, Atlantis would fire its engines at 3:26 a.m., for a KSC touchdown at 4:33 a.m. Central.

During their 12-day flight, the astronauts spent a week docked to the International Space Station during which they transferred more than 3 tons of supplies and equipment, preparing the orbiting facility as a home for the first resident, or Expedition, crew, scheduled to arrive at the new outpost in early November.

Commander Terry Wilcutt guided Atlantis to a landing at 2:56 a.m. Central time, wrapping up a 4.9 million mile mission in which more than three tons of equipment were delivered to the international outpost. Wilcutt and his crewmates, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov completed the 23rd consecutive landing of a shuttle at the Florida spaceport, and the 30th landing of a shuttle at the Cape in the last 31 flights.

During their 12-day flight, the astronauts spent a week docked to the International Space Station during which they worked as movers, cleaners, plumbers, electricians and cable installers. In all, they spent 7 days, 21 hours and 54 minutes docked to the International Space Station, outfitting the new Zvezda module for the arrival of the Expedition One crew later this fall.

Atlantis' landing came just two weeks before the launch of Discovery on the next assembly flight to the station, the STS-92 mission, scheduled for liftoff around October 5. Seven astronauts will install a large truss structure to the Unity node of the Station, housing motion control gear and communications equipment. The so-called Z1 truss will also serve as the mounting platform for the large U.S. solar arrays for the station which will be delivered late this year.

The STS-106 crew is scheduled to return to Houston and a welcome home at Ellington Field about 2 p.m. Thursday.

Through a series of meetings, ISS partners announced that near-term station crew rotations will involve two-person crews flying to the International Space Station in Russian Soyuz spacecraft, beginning with the previously scheduled launch in late April or early May. Expedition 6 will return to Kazakhstan in early May in the Soyuz currently docked to the station. Smaller crews will mean a reduced demand for on-board supplies, which can be delivered only on Russian Progress ships until the shuttles are cleared for flight. One Progress arrived at the station early this month, and the next is due to launch in June.

U.S. astronauts Mike Foale and Ed Lu, and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko and Alexander Kaleri, all of whom were previously named to various ISS expedition crews and who have many months of preparation for ISS missions under their belts, are training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

Specialists at the Payload Operations Control Center, at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., continue troubleshooting the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox in the station's Destiny laboratory module. The MSG, developed by the European Space Agency with scientists at MSFC, provides an enclosed space for experiments involving fluids or flames. This week Pettit did troubleshooting for the ground-based team looking for the cause of the failure of two power controller boxes on the facility last November, and this month's tripping of a circuit breaker on the facility shortly after the installation of new power boxes delivered on the recent Progress resupply ship. Additional hands-on tests are being planned for next week.

Tuesday morning the crewmembers answered questions about their mission and human spaceflight from middle school science students from Pettit's old junior high school, Mark Twain Middle School in Silverton, Ore. During the event -- staged at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Ore. -- Pettit spoke with the teacher, who was his own science teacher in junior high school. On Friday the crewmembers conducted interviews with USA Today and KPTV-TV in Portland, Ore.

Spacewalk tasks include reconfiguring power connections, providing a second power source for one of the station's control moment gyroscopes, securing thermal covers on quick disconnect fittings for the station's thermal control system, and releasing a light stanchion on one of the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) carts.

The preparations included a talk with experts on the ground today, spacesuit and tool battery charging through much of the week, a detailed review Wednesday of the spacewalk timeline preceded by a checkout of the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) by Pettit and followed by a 30-minute EVA conference with experts on the ground. Earlier in the week they had worked with EVARM (EVA Radiation Monitoring) equipment.

Expedition 6 crewmembers also prepared for their return home, members gathering and packing personal items and working to put the orbiting laboratory in top condition for its next residents. On Tuesday the Expedition 7 crew, Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Astronaut Ed Lu, was formally named. They are to be launched to the ISS from Kazakhstan in a Soyuz TMA capsule on April 26.

Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will return to Earth in early May aboard the Soyuz TMA now attached to the Russian segment's Pirs Docking Compartment. They were launched Nov. 23 and have been aboard the station since Nov. 25. Malenchenko and Lu will visit the Kazakhstan launch site at Baikonur next week to inspect the Soyuz TMA on which they will travel to the station.

Russian controllers at Mission Control Moscow today used thrusters of the unpiloted Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the Zvezda Service Module to increase the altitude of the station in preparation for arrival of the Expedition 7's Soyuz. The 14-minute firing of the Progress thrusters raised the average altitude of the station by about 1.9 statute miles.

A wide range of science activities continues aboard the ISS. Pettit had spent considerable time since arriving on the station troubleshooting the power supply of the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox. The MSG provides a sealed environment for experiments that involve potential hazards like fluids, flame, fumes or particulates. After successful testing of his repairs, Pettit this week completed the increment's first experiment runs in the facility. The MSG performed successfully in the InSpace (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment, which studies how particles and clumps of particles respond to an external magnetic field. Though the InSpace runs Monday and Tuesday produced unexpected results, many scientists were delighted to see the MSG working again.

Taking advantage of the final days of a three-man presence on the ISS before the new Expedition 7 crew is launched, Bowersox and Pettit began the second spacewalk of their increment at 7:40 a.m. CDT (1240 GMT). It was the second spacewalk for both Bowersox and Pettit, the 51st spacewalk for ISS assembly and maintenance and the 17th spacewalk staged from the U.S. Quest Airlock. Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin helped the crew suit up and monitored ISS systems from inside the Destiny Laboratory during the excursion.

Bowersox and Pettit set out immediately to set up tools and tethers, and quickly went to work on separate tasks. Bowersox reconfigured electrical connectors at the interfaces between the Starboard Zero (S0) Truss and the two trusses flanking it, the Starboard One (S1) Truss and the Port 1 (P1) Truss. The connector work will insure that additional protection is in place to prevent the inadvertent release of the truss segments from the S0 Truss through the trusses' Bolt Bus Controller system. Bowersox also inspected a faulty heater cable on the P1 Truss Nitrogen Tank Assembly but found nothing unusual.

While that work was being conducted, Pettit replaced a power relay box in the Mobile Transporter railcar system, which has experienced some electrical problems in recent weeks.

Both spacewalkers then made their way to the Z1 (Zenith One) Truss, where they successfully rerouted power cables to two of the four Control Moment Gyros (CMGs) that provide orientation control for the ISS from the U.S. segment. One CMG failed almost a year ago, and the cable reconfiguration to CMGs # 2 and 3 will prevent both from being disabled in the unlikely event a power failure occurs. The ISS can be properly oriented with just two CMGs in operation. A replacement for the failed CMG will be flown to the ISS and installed on the first post-Columbia shuttle mission, STS-114.

Bowersox and Pettit pressed ahead to install two so-called Spool Positioning Devices on fluid quick disconnect lines for the heat exchanger on the Destiny Laboratory. The devices help keep internal seals and moving parts from experiencing internal leakage as ammonia flows through the station's cooling system.

With that completed, the two station crewmembers ventured to the S1 Truss to secure a thermal cover on the truss' Radiator Beam Valve Module, which controls the flow of ammonia to the truss' heat-rejecting radiators.

One final task awaited Bowersox and Pettit --- the deployment of a balky light stanchion for the handrail cart on the S1 Truss that would not unfurl during the previous spacewalk by the two crewmembers in January. The stanchion proved to be just as stubborn this time, but Pettit used a hammer to tap the stanchion free from its stowed position on the 10th try. A light was then installed on the stanchion, giving the truss the illuminating capability it needs to assist future spacewalkers.

With all of their work completed, Bowersox and Pettit retrieved some tools for future spacewalks from external locations and returned to Quest to complete their spacewalk at 2:06 p.m. CDT (1906 GMT).

The crew will spend a quiet day tomorrow relaxing before resuming its complement of scientific research and routine maintenance work on board the ISS Thursday.

Meanwhile, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer/NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu completed final preparations before traveling to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan tomorrow from their training base in Star City, Russia to inspect the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle in which they will be launched on April 26 to begin a six-month mission on the ISS.

During a 6-hour, 26-minute spacewalk Tuesday, Bowersox and Pettit reconfigured critical power cables and continued the external outfitting of the station. They also completed a number of get-ahead tasks for future ISS assembly.

Science experiments this week measured the amount of radiation the astronauts receive and the possible changes in their lung function, before and after spacewalks. Other experiments studied fluids used in mechanical lines such as those in automobile brake systems for possible improvement, and allowed middle school students around the world to command a camera to take pictures of Earth from the station.

Bowersox and Pettit maneuvered the space station robotic arm, Canadarm2, three times this week. The first session, on Sunday, put the robotic arm in position to use its cameras to view the spacewalk and the next two completed the on-orbit checkout of robotic components and gathered data from a sensor.

The altitude of the station was raised to an average 244 statute miles in preparation for the arrival of a new Soyuz spacecraft and its crew. Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer/NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu traveled to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan from their training base in Star City, Russia, to inspect the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle in which they will be launched on April 26 to begin a six-month mission on the ISS. They also did fit checks today.ce operations can be found on an Internet site administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Monday the Expedition crewmembers -- Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit-got into their Sokol launch and entry suits for a fit check in the shock-absorbing seats in the Descent Module of the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft docked to the station's Pirs Docking Compartment. Wednesday morning, taking advantage of their ability to look at the actual hardware on orbit, the crewmembers spent an hour answering questions from members of the flight control team in Houston about the details of several maintenance and repair tasks completed during the past few months. Packing of personal gear, and other preparations for departure and landing, continued all week.

Plans for the launch of the next crew to the International Space Station advanced this week, too. On Monday at the General Designer's Review in Moscow officials confirmed that the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle is ready for launch. Today officials at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, certified the Expedition 7 crewmembers for flight.

Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu are due to depart Star City for the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan on Sunday to make final preparations for their launch April 26, at 9:54 a.m. Baikonur time (10:54 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 25). The new crew should arrive at the station early in the morning of Monday, April 28, to begin six days of handover briefings with the returning crew. Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit are scheduled to land in the old Soyuz on May 4; Bowersox and Pettit will be the first American astronauts ever to land in a Soyuz spacecraft.

While spending more time on departure preparations this week, the station crew continued their science operations. All three participated in biomedical experiments looking into lung function and kidney stone formation in microgravity, and each day Pettit oversaw experiment runs of the InSpace investigation in the Destiny Laboratory's Microgravity Sciences Glovebox. Pettit has been applying and removing magnetic forces to particles and clumps of particles suspended in paramagnetic fluids for the benefit of investigators looking to develop better fluids for brake and vibration damping systems.

All three crewmembers also continued their participation in several research protocols to learn more about how the human body reacts to extended periods in a weightless environment.

Thursday the Expedition 6 crewmembers participated in another educational event, answering questions about their mission and about living in space posed by students from Mountain Park Elementary School in Roswell, Ga., who have been participating in a year-long celebration of the Centennial of Flight.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Ed Lu, who will become the NASA ISS Science Officer, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 10:54 p.m. CDT. They are now bound for a docking with the orbiting complex at 12:58 a.m. CDT Monday. After a six-day handover of responsibilities aboard the station, Malenchenko and Lu will take over duties from the Expedition 6 crew of Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit. Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit have now been in orbit for 154 days.

Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will undock from the complex at 5:40 p.m. CDT May 3 en route to a landing at 9:03 p.m. CDT in Kazakhstan that same day. They will travel home in a Soyuz spacecraft that has been docked to the station for six months. Malenchenko and Lu will remain aboard the station conducting a series of scientific and educational activities until October.

Early Saturday morning, Malenchenko and Lu will oversee two engine firings by their spacecraft that will adjust its course toward the Monday docking. On Sunday, another engine firing will be performed to further refine its course. Aboard the station, the Expedition 6 crew will spend Saturday with a quiet slate of activities that includes participating in planning teleconferences with the ground, off duty time and a series of "Saturday Morning Science" hobby activities conducted by Pettit.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu monitored systems as their Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft gently flew to a smooth, automated docking with the station's Zarya Control Module at 12:56 a.m. CDT. At the time of docking, the two space vehicles sailed some 240 statute miles over Kazakhstan, home of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, from where Malenchenko and Lu were launched on Saturday. Within minutes, hooks and latches on the Soyuz and Zarya docking mechanisms were fully engaged to provide a firm mate.

On the ISS, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit watched closely as the first visitors of their increment eased the new Soyuz to its port along side the Soyuz TMA-1 capsule, which has been linked to the Pirs Docking Compartment since November. Three Russian vehicles now reside at the ISS, including a Progress resupply ship.

Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will ride home in on the older Soyuz Sunday (late Saturday CDT) to a landing in Kazakhstan to complete a mission that began with their launch Nov. 23, 2002. It will mark the first time in history U.S. astronauts will have returned from space in a Russian craft.

At the time of docking, Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit had been in space for 156 days, 154 days on the station.

Shortly before docking, while the new Soyuz sat about 200 meters away from the ISS for a few minutes of stationkeeping and systems checks, Pettit used high-powered digital camera lenses in the Destiny laboratory to document the capsule's arrival at the station.

At 2:27 a.m. CDT, after comprehensive leak checks between the newly arrived Soyuz and the Zarya module, hatches swung open and the two crews greeted one another to begin six days of joint handover operations primarily designed to familiarize the new crew with ISS systems and the location of key hardware and consumables.

The five crewmembers accepted congratulations from Deputy NASA Administrator Frederick Gregory, Deputy Associate Administrator Michael Kostelnik and ISS Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier in a call from the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow, where they watched the docking with a large contingent of U.S. and Russian space officials.

The crews then began to transfer a small amount of clothes and supplies carried into orbit on the new Soyuz, and are scheduled to conduct a safety briefing later today.

Malenchenko, Budarin and Bowersox will have a Soyuz descent and landing training session Wednesday to fine tune techniques Budarin will use on Saturday as he commands the return craft for its trip back to Earth. Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will undock from the complex at 5:40 p.m. CDT May 3 en route to a landing in Kazakhstan at 9:03 p.m. that day.

Malenchenko and Lu will remain aboard the station conducting a series of scientific and educational activities until late October.

A little over three hours later, at 9:07 p.m., the Expedition 6 crew, Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, is scheduled to land in northern Kazakhstan. Their return will end a mission that began with their launch on Nov. 23 and their docking to the orbiting laboratory two days later. Weather for the landing area is predicted to be acceptable.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu spent much of the week learning the ropes aboard their new home, where they are to remain for about the next six months. They also unpacked gear and equipment.

On Thursday, the station's file server went down. The event was not a serious impediment to crew activities, though flight controllers and computer experts on the ground and the crew did spend time working to restore the server. The server was up and running again by Friday morning. As a result of the incident, the Expedition 7 crew got a quick review on how the server and the station computers function.

Bowersox and Lu did a handover session on Friday with the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. Both the CDRA and the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system in the Russian Zvezda Service Module are operating because of five crewmembers being on the station. On Thursday Budarin had temporarily shut down the Vozdukh to install new power cables. Normally only the Vozdukh or the CDRA is running.

On Friday the Expedition 7 crew got familiarization training with the Canadarm2, the station's robotic arm. That and the CDRA activity were, in contrast to the rest of the week, among the few familiarization periods today. Much of the day was devoted to stowing materials on the station and packing Expedition 6 gear in their Soyuz.

The Soyuz landed about 275 miles west and a little south of its predicted touchdown point. The aircraft found the capsule and established radio contact with the crew at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The plane's crew subsequently reported seeing Expedition 6 crewmembers outside the Soyuz, waving and apparently well.

The crew, Commander Ken Bowersox, Soyuz Commander Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, spent about 51/2 months in space, all but two days of it on the station. The landing ended a mission that began with their launch on Nov. 23 and their docking to the orbiting laboratory two days later. It marked the first landing of an advanced Soyuz TMA spacecraft, and it was the first time U.S. astronauts have landed in any Soyuz capsule.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who arrived at the station early last Monday, formally began their increment on the station with the departure of their predecessors. A change-of-command ceremony began at 1:15 p.m. Saturday. After farewells, hatches between the station and the Soyuz TMA-1 were closed at 2:38 p.m. Malenchenko and Lu will be aboard the orbiting laboratory for about six months.

The undocking procedure began right on time at 5:40 p.m. Saturday, with springs pushing the Soyuz away from the ISS three minutes later. At 5:46 p.m. a separation burn of Soyuz thrusters increased its speed as it moved away. Minutes later, the station began maneuvering itself from the undocking attitude back to the standard "duty attitude."

The 4-minute, 18-second deorbit burn began at 8:12 p.m. About 8:40 p.m. the orbital and instrumentation/propulsion modules separated from the crew's descent module, the only one of the three intended to return to Earth. Minutes later that module began to feel the effects of the upper atmosphere. About 8:52 p.m. the first of a series of parachutes deployed to slow the module's rate of descent and six small rocket engines fired just before touchdown to further slow the capsule.

Helicopters with ground support personnel had to refuel before flying to the Soyuz to retrieve the crew. The crew will fly today to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan before returning to Star City, the Russian space center near Moscow. There the crew will begin debriefings and physical rehabilitation. Bowersox and Pettit are scheduled to return to Johnson Space Center in a little over two weeks.

The week began with Sunday and Monday off for Malenchenko and Lu to help them become accustomed to their home for the next six months. An hour of ISS familiarization followed on Tuesday, along with standard maintenance and inspection activities.

The station's toilet system underwent three hours of periodic maintenance on Wednesday, with Malenchenko changing out elements, including hoses and filter inserts. Lu also had a three-hour project, inspecting emergency lighting power sources in the station's U.S. segment.

The first medical tests for the new crew were a Thursday highlight. The experiments looked at crew body mass, red blood cell count and heart activity. The Resistive Exercise Device (RED) was out of kilter, showing higher than normal resistance and making unusual sounds.

Today was the Russian holiday, Victory Day, marking the end of World War II in Europe.The crew had the day off, but they did perform scheduled maintenance and two sessions each of physical exercise. Lu changed out canisters on the RED. The device is functioning well after the canister change out.

Meanwhile, the Expedition 6 crew remains at Star City, the Russian cosmonaut training center near Moscow, after its landing in Kazakhstan on May 3. E6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit are undergoing debriefings and physical rehabilitation. Bowersox and Pettit are scheduled to return to Johnson Space Center a little over a week from now.

Each ISS crew undergoes orientation sessions to become familiar with its new home during the first two weeks of the mission, as has Expedition 7. This week, Malenchenko and Lu, along with flight controllers on the ground, also went through fire and emergency evacuation procedures.

Malenchenko and Lu also did maintenance throughout the station. They focused on the Russian Zvezda Service Module by cleaning out the ventilation duct work and taking inventory of the Russian communication system equipment. Lu also worked with the U.S. defibrillator unit and checked out the system.

The E7 crewmembers harvested their first crop on the ISS. The "Red and White" peas harvested were planted by the Expedition 6 crew. They were part of the Russian PLANTS-2 experiment.

Lu worked in the U.S. laboratory Destiny on daily science payload status checks and is scheduled to work with the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) next week. Lu will activate the InSPACE (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment inside the MSG on Monday. InSPACE studies new fluids that may help improve brake systems, robotics, airplane landing gear and vibration damper systems.

On Thursday, Lu took digital photos of the lunar eclipse.

Meanwhile, the Expedition 6 crew remains at Star City, the Russian cosmonaut training center near Moscow, after its landing in Kazakhstan on May 3. Commander Ken Bowersox, Cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit are undergoing debriefings and physical rehabilitation. Bowersox and Pettit are scheduled to return to Johnson Space Center next week.

Each day this week Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu completed a variety of maintenance tasks to keep their home on orbit in good shape, from monitoring the operation of life support systems to testing the quality of air and water.

In the coming week mission managers plan to have the crewmembers replace a storage battery in the Zvezda Service Module. As training for a contingency spacewalk, they also will have Malenchenko and Lu get into, and then out of, the American spacesuits. In their pre-flight training Malenchenko and Lu always had help donning and doffing the Extravehicular Mobility Unit. No spacewalks are planned for this increment.

The science mission of Expedition 7 picked up this week. Malenchenko took part in Russian biomedical experiments gauging the impact of the microgravity environment on blood cell count and body mass, while Lu began a new series of experiment runs with the InSPACE experiment in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) this week.

The MSG is a sealed container in the Destiny laboratory housing experiments involving materials that need to be isolated from the station environment. InSPACE, or Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions, which was started during Expedition 6, studies how particles that are capable of being magnetized respond when a magnetic field is pulsed on and off.

Scientists hope to develop better fluids for systems that are routinely exposed to magnetic fields, such as automobile brake fluids and vibration damping systems, and to develop new applications such as vibration damping systems for buildings in earthquake-prone areas.

Wednesday morning the Expedition 7 crewmembers discussed the progress of their mission and its scientific research with the BBC Radio's World Service and WHEC-TV in Rochester, N.Y., near Lu's hometown of Webster, N.Y. Thursday they took part in an educational event, answering questions from students gathered at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

The station's Microgravity Science Glovebox is back in action supporting hands-on experiments in a closed/controlled environment after researchers reset the unit's computer to resume activity with the InSPACE experiment (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions), which began during the Expedition Six increment on the station.

Scientists hope to develop better fluids for systems that are routinely exposed to magnetic fields, such as automobile brake fluids and vibration damping systems. Experimenters also hope to use data from InSPACE to develop new applications such as vibration damping systems for buildings in earthquake-prone areas.

Earlier this week a faulty battery in the Zvezda living quarters module was replaced and the crew practiced techniques for conducting a spacewalk without the assistance of a third crewmember. Portions of the demonstration will be rescheduled due to a problem encountered when the water flow in Lu's undergarment failed to work properly. The Extravehicular Activity team is evaluating the problem.

No spacewalk is planned for the six months the Expedition Seven crew is aboard the complex, but the on-orbit training exercise - or dry run - was designed to prepare the crew in the event an unscheduled spacewalk is warranted.

Earlier today, trajectory flight controllers planned, and then executed, a slight orbit-raising firing of the Progress resupply ship engines to position the ISS out of the path of an orbiting satellite.

The one-meter per second posigrade maneuver lasted a little more than 7 minutes and was conducted at 11:50 a.m. CDT Friday after three days of tracking confirmed the need for the burn. The result of the burn actually raised the station's average altitude by about 1.8 kilometers. The closest approach to the station occurred at 3:55 p.m. CDT Friday. The maneuver was the sixth in the history of the ISS since construction began in November 1998. The ISS Program estimates that about two such maneuvers would be needed each year, but the actual number thus far is fewer than one each year.

Thursday, the crew gathered in the Destiny Laboratory to talk about their mission with WABC Radio's "Rambling with Gambling" show in New York City and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.

That followed Lu's demonstration of the properties of flight in microgravity using a paper airplane and a small model of the Wright Flyer he brought along in honor of the Centennial of Flight activities of the Wright Brothers' achievement. Preparations continue on track for the launch of a new Progress 11 cargo ship to the ISS June 8, which will dock to the station June 11, delivering more than 5,000 pounds of food, water and supplies for the crew on board.

Preparations stepped up this week for the launch and docking of a new unmanned Progress spaceship carrying about 5,300 pounds of supplies for the Space Station crew. Today, Malenchenko and Lu reconfigured stowed items in the Pirs Docking Compartment to which the Progress ship will link up next Wednesday. Malenchenko also completed a successful test of a backup docking system that would allow him to manually control the Progress' docking from inside the station in the unlikely event the primary automated docking system was not available.

Early this morning, the Soyuz rocket carrying the new Progress resupply vehicle was moved to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for its scheduled launch Sunday.

The 11th Progress supply ship destined for ISS is set to lift off Sunday at 5:34 a.m. CDT (1034 GMT) and is scheduled to dock at the Pirs at 6:17 a.m. CDT (1117 GMT) Wednesday. NASA Television coverage of the docking will begin at 5:30 a.m. CDT on Wednesday.

Another Progress vehicle is currently docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module, and the crew's Soyuz TMA-2 return craft is docked to the nadir port of the Zarya Module.

Lu conducted additional operations with the InSPACE experiment (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) this week and had a conference with the experiment's principal investigator to provide her with a first-hand report on recent activities as well as discuss future experiment runs. Located in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox in the Station's Destiny Laboratory, the InSPACE experiment investigates how particles capable of being magnetized react to a pulsed magnetic field. The results are hoped to provide insight that will contribute to the development of better fluids for systems that are exposed to such conditions on Earth, such as automobile braking systems and vibration damping systems.

On Wednesday, both crewmembers had an opportunity for some hands-on experience flying the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Malenchenko and Lu each guided the 58-foot-long, double-ended arm through the capture and release of a fixture on the exterior of the Destiny lab. The operations served not only as training for the crew but also as a successful test of an adjustment made to the arm's software to improve its grappling procedure.

Tomorrow, the crew, on a request from engineers involved with planning for the Space Shuttle's return to flight, will calibrate and focus cameras aboard the Station on several ISS locations to test lighting and imagery capabilities for future inspection of the Shuttle's thermal protection system as the vehicles approach the ISS for docking. Imagery will be downlinked to flight controllers for analysis. The inspection procedures are expected to be included in return to flight requirements being developed for future Shuttle missions to the Station.

The Progress 11 vehicle lifted off on time from its Central Asia launch pad at 5:34 a.m. Central time (1034 GMT, 2:34 p.m. Baikonur time). Less than nine minutes later the Progress settled into orbit, and moments later, its solar arrays and navigational antennas had been deployed. At the time of the Progress launch, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were flying near the Equator off the west coast of Africa at an altitude of 240 statute miles.

After three days of pre-programmed engines firings to reach the ISS, the Progress will link up automatically to the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Station's Zvezda Service Module on Wednesday at 6:17 a.m. Central time (1117 GMT). Within a few hours, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and begin to unload its cargo.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the Progress are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew for about a week's worth of scientific research on the ISS under a contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle currently docked to the Station.

The Progress 11 vehicle automatically linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment attached to the Zvezda Service Module over Central Asia at 6:15 a.m. Central time (1115 GMT) three days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As the Progress neared Pirs for docking, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were in Zvezda, monitoring its approach. At the time of contact and capture, the ISS was flying over Central Asia at an altitude of 240 statute miles. After conducting leak checks to insure a tight seal between the Progress and the ISS, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and begin to unload its cargo.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the Progress are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew for about a week's worth of scientific research on the ISS under a contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle currently docked to the Station.

The arrival of the new Progress puts three Russian vehicles at the ISS. Docked to the aft port of Zvezda is the Progress 10 resupply craft that arrived at the Station on February 4, and docked to the Zarya Module is the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle that brought Malenchenko and Lu to the ISS on April 28.

The Progress brought replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the cargo ship are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle, which is currently docked to the Station.

On Tuesday, Lu used the Microgravity Science Glovebox to continue the Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) experiment. InSPACE is investigating a type of 'smart materials' that researchers hope will improve the types of fluids used in braking and vibration damping systems. InSPACE is one of three experiments Lu will do aboard the Space Station using the glovebox.

While looking out the window of the Destiny Lab Thursday, Lu noticed an object floating away from the Station. Lu characterized the object as a rectangular-shaped piece of metal that was about 5 cm long. Station flight controllers determined that the object was possibly a small label that may have come loose from an exterior part of the station, and that, because of its low mass and relative velocity, it posed no threat to the complex. However, an analysis of photographs of the object taken by Lu before it drifted away continues.

Malenchenko and Lu answered questions posed by reporters from CNN, CBS and KCRA-TV, Sacramento, Calif., during breaks in their Progress unloading and scientific research. Lu even took a moment in one interview to play a short rendition of the "Peanuts" theme on a keyboard he has been practicing with on orbit.

But for the most part, it was a busy week of work as the pair unloaded about two tons of food, water, clothing, office supplies, environmental system replacement parts and experiment gear from Progress 11. The Russian cargo craft automatically docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment on June 11; the Expedition 7 crew began unloading the cargo ship last Friday. Water transfers were effected using hoses and a portable electric pump that moved about 210 liters of drinking water from the Progress into a bladder in the Zvezda Service Module. Each crewmember uses about 2 liters of water per day.

In addition, propellant valves were opened between the Service Module fuel system and the Pirs system to enable fuel to be transferred from the new Progress to Zvezda.

Tuesday, Lu slipped his hands into the Microgravity Science Glovebox to continue work with the Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) experiment. InSPACE is investigating a type of "smart fluids" that researchers hope will help improve braking and vibration damping systems. Lu beamed down video of his setup and deactivation of the experiment, as well as shots of the bright green liquid inside the experiment chamber. Scientists at the Payload Operations Center at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., monitored the experiment and the associated video.

Next week, the crew will continue unpacking the Progress and transferring fuel to Zvezda's tanks. Also on the schedule is a ship-to-ship conversation between the crew and Peggy Whitson, the Expedition 5 science officer who is commanding a 14-day underwater research mission as part of the NASA Extreme Environment Operations (NEEMO) project. That conversation will be broadcast live on NASA TV at 11:25 a.m. CDT Wednesday, June 25, between the ISS and the Aquarius underwater lab off the coast of Key Largo, Fla.

InSPACE stands for Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions. The experiment, in the U.S. laboratory Destiny, looks at fluids that contain small particles that can be magnetized. The research could result in improved brake or vibration dampening fluids, or even improved systems to make buildings better able to survive earthquakes.

Malenchenko spent part of today loading the Progress 10 unpiloted supply craft docked to the aft port of Zvezda with ISS discards. With its load of trash, that progress will be undocked in October and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. A similar craft, Progress 11, arrived at one of the Zarya docking ports on June 11 and crewmembers have worked to unload it.

Lu and Malenchenko on Monday and Wednesday replaced the flexpacks in the canisters of the resistive exercise device (RED). The flexpacks provide the resistance as crewmembers exercise major muscle groups. The new flexpacks were brought up on Progress 11.

Tuesday Lu calibrated an ultrasound device and downlinked ultrasound images from the instrument in the Human Research Facility, a rack in the U.S. laboratory. Malenchenko did maintenance on the Zarya module's cooling system, replacing a pump in one of the cooling loops.

Medical tests continued throughout much of the week. On Wednesday Lu set up and calibrated the Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer (PCBA). The next day each crewmember performed health status checks on one another using a variety of equipment, including the PCBA.

The two crewmembers talked on Tuesday with reporter Stephen Young of SpaceflightNow.com. Wednesday they held a ship-to-ship chat with the six-member Aquarius crew of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO). Peggy Whitson, the first NASA ISS science officer, who flew on ISS Expedition 5 from June to November 2002, commands the Aquarius crew. And on Thursday they talked with people from the NASAexplorers website at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Saturday and Sunday will be days off, though exercise and necessary station maintenance will be performed both days. On Sunday they will have a chance to talk with their families in private family conferences. Another InSPACE run is scheduled for Monday, as is data transfer with the EXPRESS Rack 1 in the Destiny laboratory.

Lu, who considers Honolulu, Hawaii, one of his hometowns, celebrated his 40th birthday aboard the Station on Tuesday, a milestone that was marked by the observance of "Edward Tsang Lu Day" in Hawaii. Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle read a proclamation of the observance to Lu on Monday. Lu's birthday also was marked by an "Aloha Day" celebration in Mission Control and throughout NASA with ground team members donning Hawaiian garb and shirts such as those Lu has frequently worn in orbit. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe took part in the celebration with a congratulatory call to Lu marking the occasion.

Lu completed work this week with the InSPACE experiment in the Destiny Laboratory's Microgravity Science Glovebox. Lu conducted runs of the experiment, which studies the behavior of magnetic particles in a fluid when subjected to a pulsed magnetic field, almost daily during the week. InSPACE stands for Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions.

Other activities during the week included standard maintenance inspections of Russian systems, windows, and the Pirs Docking Compartment's docking cone. The Expedition 7 crew took time out of its activities on Monday to field questions from educators gathered in Seattle, Washington, for launch of the NASA Explorer Schools program. The program includes teams of educators from 50 schools who will work with NASA to bring the excitement of space exploration and science into the classroom. Friday, July 4, will be a holiday for the crew. Light activities interspersed with time off also are planned for Saturday and Sunday.

In the Russian segment of the Station, Malenchenko installed a refurbished component of the Satellite Navigation System and new pipe conduits in the condensate separation and pumping unit; all of that hardware was delivered to the ISS last month on a Russian resupply craft. The crewmembers upgraded a relay unit in the Russian audio system which enables module-to-module "telephone" calls; completed inspections of life support systems, smoke detectors and microbe filters throughout the Station; rebuilt and restored laptop computer hard disk drives; and audited supplies to help mission managers decide what to launch on upcoming Progress resupply ships.

The presence of a crew on orbit supplies test subjects for human life sciences research into how people respond to long periods in the absence of gravity, and this week Malenchenko and Lu gathered data for U.S. and Russian experiments gauging their health in microgravity. They also completed two hours or more of exercise each day to maintain their muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness.

Last weekend Lu set up an electronic still camera in the Earth-facing window of the Destiny Laboratory for another session of the EarthKAM experiment (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools). In this experiment, students in grades six through eight study Earth geography and orbital mechanics to understand when Station will be over a particular spot on Earth, and then submit requests that are uplinked to the on-board computer that controls the camera. The students later study the photos "they took" of the Earth from an altitude of more than 240 miles; more than 300 such photos were taken during this week's operations.

Malenchenko and Lu took time throughout the week to share the experience of ISS. On Monday they used the Station's amateur radio system to answer questions from participants in the Euro Space Center Space Camp in Belgium, and sent a message of greeting and encouragement for a Space Day event at ceremonies commemorating the 65th anniversary of the city of Korolev, home of the Russian Mission Control Center. Tuesday they chatted with Japanese middle school students at the "Tokyo FM" Radio Network station, and on Thursday they discussed the mission with a reporter from the Voice of America. Today they talked with the winners of a Russian school science contest.

Lu completed the installment of, and checkout procedures for the Coarsening of Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2 experiment in preparation for its first scientific run aboard the Space Station next week. The materials science payload is ready for data collection in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The experiment will study a process called coarsening during which the strength of a material is reduced. This phenomenon is seen in high-temperature turbine blades and even in the material used in dental fillings.

Lu transferred the file server that houses information for the Station Support Computer (SSC) laptops to a Next Generation Laptop to increase the speed and memory of the Station network. The crew uses the six SSC laptops to access daily plans, procedures, the inventory management system and electronic mail. Ultimately all of the SSC laptops as well as the Portable Station Computers that perform command and control functions of the ISS will be upgraded to the Next Generation Laptops.

Malenchenko and Lu routinely inspected the Zvezda Service Module and Pirs Docking Compartment windows and took electronic images to downlink to engineers for analysis. Malenchenko also replaced a failed battery in Zvezda with a spare.

A troubleshooting procedure performed by Lu to recover the cooling capability in his spacesuit was unsuccessful. A third, larger spacesuit is available to be resized for Lu's use in the event a spacewalk is necessary. The cooling system in Lu's spacesuit did not function correctly during a practice run in the Quest Airlock at the beginning of this mission. The Expedition 7 crew is not scheduled to conduct a spacewalk, but had practiced getting into the U.S. spacesuits in case of emergency.

Earlier this week, the Johnson Space Center and the Mission Control Center remained at a concerned level of preparedness but there was no impact to mission operations during the arrival of Hurricane Claudette along Texas Coast. Lu was able to capture video and still images of the storm as it approached the coast on Tuesday.

Today's activity, with Lu working with flight controllers in Houston, began a little after 3 a.m. CDT. It was a feasibility study. Lu performed task the ground cannot yet do - operating the latching end effector and initiating joint motion, for example. The task was completed successfully before 7 a.m. Results will be used in validation of the concept and in determining software, hardware or procedural changes that would be needed for arm control from the ground.

Lu also spent some time working with the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) experiment's sample processing units (SPUs) in the Microgravity Science Glovebox of the U.S. laboratory Destiny. One unit Lu installed was found to be distorted, so he reinstalled the previous SPU. The CSLM experiment was delayed from early in the week because of internal humidity and dew point concerns. The experiment is expected to begin next week. It will study "coarsening" during which the strength of a material is reduced. This phenomenon is seen in many materials, including water droplets in rain clouds and dental fillings. It can weaken high-temperature turbine blades. Meanwhile, Malenchenko worked for more than two hours to load discarded items into the Progress 10 unpiloted cargo craft docked at the rear of the Zvezda Service Module.

Last Monday the crew focused on medical experiments and an inventory by Malenchenko of 44 Russian medical, food supplement and ointment kits, about a two-hour task. Tuesday saw additional medical tests and Mission Control Moscow continued testing a new satellite navigation system antenna. Both crewmembers took time to answer questions from elementary, middle and high school students relayed to them by educators at Kennedy Space Center.

After Soyuz descent training and continued work with the week-long process of space suit batteries conditioning Wednesday, Lu and Malenchenko on Thursday prepared for today's robotic operations and Malenchenko continued participation in a Russian study of bioelectrical heart activity while at rest.

Throughout the week both crewmembers continued regular maintenance activities on the Station, and performed their daily exercise sessions, designed to ward off the effects of lengthy exposure to the microgravity environment of the orbiting laboratory.

NASA announced on Friday that astronaut Michael Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri will be the Expedition 8 crew of the International Space Station. They are scheduled to launch on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain on Oct. 18. Duque will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew, which arrived at the station April 28. Their Soyuz is scheduled to land in Kazakhstan Oct. 28.

On Tuesday, the crew marked the 1,000th day of human occupancy of the Station with a downlinked video message and a call from the heads of the five global space agencies that represent the 16 nations of the ISS Program.

During the week, Lu worked with the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the Destiny Laboratory. That experiment will be continued next week. CSLM is being used to study a physical process called "coarsening" that can reduce the strength of metals, such as those in jet engine turbine blades. Lu also performed a functional check of the Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller, which will be used in a fluid dynamics experiment later in the Expedition 7 mission.

Throughout the week, Malenchenko took part in various Russian medical studies to continue gathering data on the effects of microgravity on the human body during a long-duration spaceflight. He also worked with the Russian/German Plasma Crystal-3 (PK-3) experiment, which is being used to examine fine particles inside an evacuated work chamber that have been charged and excited by radio frequencies.

Both crewmembers also took time from their schedules to answer questions from TV Globo's "Fantastico" show in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and from teachers participating in the NASA Explorer Schools Program at Ames Research Center, Calif.

Throughout the week, Malenchenko and Lu continued regular maintenance activities on the Station and performed daily physical exercises to minimize the long-term effects of living in microgravity.

The Expedition 7 crewmembers, who arrived at the station April 28, are scheduled to return to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft on Oct. 28. They will be replaced by the Expedition 8 crew, U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain. Duque will then return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station.

On Monday, the crewmembers passed the 100-day mark on orbit since their launch to the Station April 26. The crew is scheduled to return to Earth in late October aboard the same Soyuz vehicle they arrived in. The Expedition 8 crew, U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, will replace the Expedition 7 crew. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain. Duque will then return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station. Foale, Kaleri and Duque will talk to reporters about their upcoming mission during a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, which will be broadcast on NASA TV.

Throughout the week aboard the ISS, Lu worked with a run of the Coarsening of Solid-Liquid Mixtures-2 (CSLM-2) experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. CSLM-2 is studying how the strength of metals, such as those used in jet engine turbine blades, is reduced during a process called coarsening. Malenchenko worked with Earth observation experiments and wrapped up a Russian agriculture experiment studying the growth of plants in space. He saved the data from the Rasteniya-2 experiment in preparation for its return to Earth.

Tuesday, the Station operating system briefly shifted into "survival mode" when the on-board computers did not recognize both thermal system loops in the Russian segment. Nonessential systems were automatically turned off, but flight controllers and payload controllers worked with the crew to reactivate the operating and payload systems without major impacts to operations or science.

Lu and Malenchenko resized a spare U.S. spacesuit to fit Lu. Malfunctions in Lu's original suit were found during a test earlier in the mission and the larger modular-designed suit was easily adjusted to fit Lu in the event he needs to conduct a U.S. airlock-based spacewalk. Initially, during the fit check of the suit, the cooling system did not function correctly but began working later in the test. Spacesuit experts will continue to troubleshoot the issues with both spacesuits.

This week, Malenchenko used oxygen from the Progress cargo vehicle docked to the aft of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station. The extra oxygen is being used before the spacecraft is undocked later this month to make room for a new Progress resupply craft scheduled for launch to the Station Aug. 28 (U.S. time).

Lu talked with former Station Science Officer Don Pettit to help locate hardware for the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) that Lu installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox Monday. Lu was scheduled to begin science operations with PFMI this week, but was unable to locate an essential cable to complete the installation. Pettit's ideas as to where he left the cable were fruitful. With the cable now installed, Lu can begin a run of the experiment next week.

Troubleshooting continued this week with the two U.S. spacesuits experiencing cooling system issues onboard. Lu and Malenchenko executed a procedure to closely inspect valves and filters for water circulation in the system of the first suit Lu tried on during the mission. Investigations of the cooling system of the spare suit he re-sized last week are still underway. Even though they are not scheduled to conduct a spacewalk during this mission, Lu and Malenchenko could use the Russian Orlan spacesuits to conduct a spacewalk, if needed, since Lu does not currently have a working U.S. spacesuit to wear.

This week, Malenchenko continued to use oxygen from the Progress cargo vehicles docked to the aft of the Zvezda Service Module and to the Pirs Docking Compartment to repressurize the Station. The extra oxygen is being used before the two spacecraft are undocked, taking with them trash and used supplies to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. The Progress docked to Zvezda will undock Aug. 27 to make room for a new Progress resupply craft scheduled for launch to the Station Aug. 28 (U.S. time). The Progress docked to Pirs will undock Sept. 4 to make room for the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft scheduled to arrive Oct. 20 with the Expedition 8 crew and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque.

Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, will replace the Expedition 7 crew. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with Duque who will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station on Oct. 28.

Today marked the crew's 118th day on orbit. Sample processing for the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) concluded today after beginning Wednesday inside the U.S. laboratory Destiny and the protective environment of the Microgravity Science Glovebox. Processing of the first Expedition 7 sample had been postponed from the previous week due to a missing data cable. Lu found the cable after he talked with former Station Science Officer Don Pettit via cell phone. Plans call for Lu to process seven more samples.

Malenchenko participated in his fifth session with a Russian heart experiment, Study of the Bioelectric Activity of the Heart at Rest, with Lu assisting as crew medical officer and administering the electrocardiogram. Lu also performed periodic health tests with a portable clinical blood analyzer.

"The crew is in great spirits and looking forward to a busy week of departures and arrivals next week," said Expedition 7 Lead Flight Director John McCullough.

As the crew exhausted the supply of oxygen from the Progress 10 cargo vehicle docked to the back of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station, they continued filling it with trash and worn-out equipment. The old Progress is scheduled to undock from Zvezda at 5:43 p.m. CDT Aug. 27, and later will be commanded to re-enter and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. That undocking will vacate a port for the Progress 12 vehicle that is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:48p.m. CDT Aug. 28, and dock to Zvezda at 10:43p.m. CDT Aug. 30. Progress 12 will deliver about 1,000 pounds of food, supplies and equipment for use on the Station.

Early next month, the Progress 11 resupply craft will depart its Pirs docking compartment moorings to make room for the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft that will ferry the Expedition 8 crew and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the Station on Oct. 20. Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri will replace the Expedition 7 crew, which will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Duque after he completes more than a week of science activities.

The Progress 10 craft, which arrived at the Station in early February, departed from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 5:48 p.m. CDT (2248 GMT) after hooks holding the Progress to Zvezda had been commanded to unlatch. As the Progress undocked, the ISS was flying 240 statute miles over eastern China. The Progress was filled with items no longer needed on the Station and trash. The Progress will automatically fire its engines later this evening to drop out of orbit and will burn up in the atmosphere.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu was asleep at the time of undocking, but ISS Commander Yuri Malenchenko was allowed by flight controllers to remain awake to monitor the autonomous operation.

The departure of Progress 10 sets the stage for tomorrow's scheduled launch of a new Progress resupply ship to the ISS. Progress 12 is due to liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Thursday at 8:48 p.m. CDT (148 GMT Aug. 29). It will dock to the Zvezda aft port on Saturday night at 10:45 p.m. CDT (345 GMT Aug. 31).

The new Progress will carry a half ton of food, fuel, supplies and water for Malenchenko and Lu and science gear for European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is scheduled to launch October 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

The new Progress is also filled with personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on September 4 to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on October 20.

The Progress 12 craft lifted off right on time from its Central Asian launch pad at 8:48 p.m. CDT (148 GMT Aug. 29) as the ISS sailed over the south Atlantic Ocean east of South America at an altitude of 240 statute miles. Less than 10 minutes later, the Progress settled into its preliminary orbit and its solar arrays and navigational antennas were successfully deployed.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were already in their sleep period as the Progress climbed to orbit.

The new Progress is scheduled to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Saturday night at 10:45 p.m. CDT (345 GMT Aug. 31). Another Progress ship that arrived at the ISS in February filled with discarded items and trash was undocked yesterday and commanded to deorbit, burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Progress 12 is loaded with supplies for Malenchenko and Lu and science gear for European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is set to launch October 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

Among the supplies aboard the Progress is a satellite phone and Global Positioning System locator hardware which Malenchenko, Lu and Duque would use in the unlikely event they land off-course, as did the Expedition Six crew back in May.

The new Progress also carries personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on September 4 to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on October 20.

The Expedition 7 crew, Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, spent part of their week seeing to the proper operation of the Station's systems, as well as completing their regularly scheduled exercise. They also finished preparing the old Progress ship for its departure. After loading the craft with material no longer needed on board and removing hardware that will be refurbished and used on future Progress flights, the Station crew closed the hatch on Progress 10 Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon, specialists at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow commanded the ship to release its grip on the ISS and back away from the Station. It was destroyed as it plunged into the Earth's atmosphere.

In the Station's Destiny laboratory this week, Lu oversaw completion of the second successful test run inside the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation, in which samples of a transparent test material are melted so researchers can study the formation of bubbles that might diminish the strength or usefulness of metals or crystals. Two more test sessions of PFMI are scheduled for next week, and three others later in Expedition 7.

Supported by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., Lu also activated the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus for use in future fundamental space biology research. He also installed a new laptop computer to function as an interim control unit for the Space Acceleration Measurement System. SAMS, which measures small vibrations on the Station that might impact delicate microgravity science, is now back to full operation.

Russian mission managers reported this week that the charge/discharge unit of Battery No. 2 in the Zvezda module has been declared fully failed and will need replacement. The seven other storage batteries in Zvezda are fully operational and provide sufficient electricity.

The Progress 12 vehicle automatically linked up to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module at 10:40 p.m. CDT (0340 GMT), two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As the Progress neared the Space Station for docking, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were inside Zvezda, monitoring its approach. At the time of contact and capture, the Station was flying over Central Asia at an altitude of 240 statute miles. After conducting leak checks to insure a tight seal between the Progress and the ISS, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and then begin unloading the supplies.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for Station systems, tools, a satellite telephone and Global Positioning System hardware, next generation laptop computers, educational demonstrations, science experiment gear and office supplies. The Progress also carried to the ISS science equipment for European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is set to launch Oct. 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the Space Station conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

The new Progress also carries personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on Sept. 4, to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on Oct. 20.

Just a week after a twin vehicle was cast away from a different Station port, the ISS Progress 11 craft, which arrived at the Station in mid-June, departed the Pirs Docking Compartment at 2:42 p.m. CDT (1942 GMT) following the unlatching of hooks holding the Progress to Pirs. As the Progress undocked, the ISS was flying 240 statute miles over eastern China. The Progress was filled with items no longer needed on the Station and trash.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu monitored the autonomous operation and kept tabs as the Progress backed away from the Station.

For the next month, Russian flight controllers will conduct several scientific experiments with the Progress, using its television cameras to capture imagery of sites of ecological interest to Russian researchers while maintaining a safe distance away from the Station. Once those experiments are completed, the Progress will automatically fire its engines to drop out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere.

A new ISS Progress 12 vehicle arrived at the ISS late Saturday night, U.S. time, ferrying food, fuel, water and supplies for the Station's current inhabitants and those to follow.

The departure of ISS Progress 11 sets the stage for next month's arrival of the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle to the Pirs Docking Compartment delivering the next resident crew to the ISS along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain.

Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale, Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, and Duque are scheduled to be launched October 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, headed for a docking to Pirs on October 20. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu. Foale and Kaleri will spend almost 200 days on the Station.

The ISS Progress 12 unpiloted cargo vehicle arrived Saturday with about 5,000 pounds of food, water, equipment and fuel for the ISS. Its docking port had been vacated a week earlier by ISS Progress 10. It re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned shortly after its Aug. 27 undocking.

The ISS Progress 11 spacecraft left its Pirs berth Thursday at 2:42 p.m. CDT for another month alone in orbit, as part of a Russian scientific experiment. It will then be deorbited with its load of station refuse and burn in the Earth's atmosphere. The docking port it occupied will in October welcome the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri aboard. With them will be Spaniard Pedro Duque a European Space Agency astronaut who will spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory. He will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew.

The spacesuit work today by Lu and Malenchenko involved what amounted to annual maintenance. The work is called a mid-term checkout and included emptying and refilling the suit's water tank and loops, cycling relief valves, checking sensors and collecting data, a leak check and running the suit's fan for two hours to lubricate it. Such maintenance is required no more than 369 days after the last spacewalk, previous maintenance or a checkout on the ground.

Other activities during the week included successful completion by Lu of two more runs of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox of the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The experiment involves melting a transparent material to see how bubbles form in the molten material and how they interact with one another. Researchers hope to gain understanding of molten materials and the potentially weakening bubbles that can form in them.

Malenchenko and Lu also continued regular station maintenance activities and their daily exercise sessions scheduled to mitigate some of the physiological effects of their extended stay in micorgravity.

The ISS Progress 12 (12P) vehicle brought food, fuel and equipment to the Station Aug. 30,U.S. time. This week, the thrusters on 12P were successfully tested and can be used to increase the Station's altitude when necessary. Also, nitrogen from the cargo vehicle's gas tanks was used to add pressure to the atmosphere inside the Station, while oxygen repressurization from 12P will occur later.

Among the new supplies were two canisters for the Resistive Exercise Device weightlifting machine, which Lu installed Friday. Coincidentally, Lu had trouble adjusting the resistance on one of the previous canisters Wednesday. He removed that set and will work to repair the problematic canister next week so that the new ones that arrived on Progress can be reserved for the next crew to live aboard the Station.

Friday, flight controllers in Mission Control Houston worked on the communication link between the Space Station and control centers in Houston, Moscow and Huntsville, Ala. The crewmembers noticed they were barely able to hear voice calls from the capcoms, or spacecraft communicators, from each of the centers. The problem was narrowed down to equipment in Houston that relays the audio to the Station from all the control centers. Engineers will continue to troubleshoot the issue with the hardware. In the meantime, the audio link to the Station has been restored to normal levels by temporarily bypassing that specific piece of hardware.

This week's Earth Observation research focused on Hurricane Isabel. Starting last Friday morning, and continuing this past Saturday and Monday, cameras on the Station's S1 Truss and Destiny Laboratory, plus a handheld camera operated by Lu, provided an additional perspective on the size and shape of the large storm as it moved through the western Atlantic Ocean on its way to landfall along the North Carolina coast.

Lu performed the first operations with the Hand Posture Analyzer this week; it was delivered on the most recent Russian Progress resupply vessel last month. Working at the Human Research Facility rack in the Destiny Laboratory, Lu donned an instrumented glove and performed a series of hand and arm movements. Researchers will study the data to learn how a person in zero-g uses hand and arm muscles to reach and grasp items, and what impact that has on muscle fatigue. Lu also used the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) to complete two more experiment runs of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation, a study of the formation of bubbles in samples of metals or crystals that may weaken the sample's strength or effectiveness.

Lu's work inside Destiny this week included two educational activities: his demonstration of how to use MSG will be incorporated into a NASA Educator Guide for teachers of middle school students, who will attempt to build their own gloveboxes and perform simple experiments. He also completed a demonstration illustrating the difference between the scientific concepts of weight and mass. NASA's Office of Spaceflight sponsored both demonstrations.

Both Station crewmembers spent time each day looking after the proper operation of Station systems. In particular, Lu completed troubleshooting ISS's Resistive Exercise Device, which affords the crewmembers another option for exerting muscles that don't encounter even routine resistance in the weightless environment of the Station, and Malenchenko performed upgrades in the Russian Service Module Zvezda by installing a replacement 800-amp battery, replacing a failed hard drive in Zvezda's portable computer system, and installing removable handrails on the galley table.

Malenchenko and Lu took time Thursday to discuss their mission with reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Crew News Conference was part of a workshop on NASA efforts to meet the recommendations set out by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board to return the Space Shuttle to flight after the loss of Columbia and its crew on Feb. 1.

Preparation of components for delivery to ISS continues at the Kennedy Space Center, where the Multi-Element Integrated Test between the Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module-Kibo-and NASA's Node-2 has been completed. Node-2 will be attached to the forward end of the Destiny Laboratory after its delivery on assembly mission 10A, and Kibo will later be docked to the port side of Node-2.

Malenchenko and Lu powered up the Station's 60-foot Canadian robotic arm, named Canadarm2, on Tuesday for some in-flight training and tests. The conducted a series of maneuvers that moved part of the arm into sunlight to characterize how a force and moment sensor on the arm might work differently in sunlight than in shade. Later in the week, they performed systems checks and maintenance work on the two Russian spacesuits aboard the Station. The activities verified that the gear remains in good condition, although there are no plans for Malenchenko and Lu to use the suits. The next Station spacewalk is tentatively scheduled for the next crew, Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, in late February or early March 2004.

Science activities this week included a final Expedition 7 run of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The experiment studied how air bubbles can weaken metals, crystals and other materials as they form in space. Lu also worked with the Fluid Dynamics Investigation to optimize operations of the Cellular Biotechnology Support System bioreactor equipment that grows three-dimensional tissue samples for biological research. Malenchenko participated in a Russian experiment to improve the equipment and routines used to stay in good physical condition during long-duration spaceflight. Biological readings were taken while Malenchenko exercised on a stationary bicycle and performed weight lifting exercises. For the third part of the experiment, Malenchenko provided blood samples for analysis.

In a separate task, Malenchenko used an ultrasound device in the Destiny Lab's Human Research Facility to take echocardiograph measurements of Lu while Lu exercised on a stationary bicycle. The operations were the first time such measurements had been attempted while exercising aboard the station and helped ground medical personnel verify that the equipment could be used for diagnostic purposes if needed.

Expedition 8's Foale and Kaleri, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, will hold a prelaunch press conference next week at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow. The press conference will be replayed on NASA TV at 8 a.m. CDT Wednesday. The trio is scheduled to launch at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18. Duque, who is flying under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

Lu spent much of his time inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory setting up and performing science investigations. He installed a protein crystal growth experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox that will be operated by European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who will arrive at the Station Oct. 20 with the oncoming Expedition 8 crew. Duque, who is flying to the Station on a Soyuz spacecraft under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

A soldering experiment that is providing insight into how solder connections in space can be improved and an automated Earth observation camera system were also set up by Lu in the lab. This week, Lu worked with the Fluid Dynamics Investigation, which scientists believe will help alleviate problems with mixing samples for tissue growth experiments. Those samples are housed in a bioreactor, which allows three-dimensional tissue cells, like those in the human body, to grow.

As part of an educational project to help inspire the next generation of explorers, Lu used well-known objects to videotape center-of-mass demonstrations. Using a screwdriver, a compact disc player, a cassette tape and a ruler, he showed how these objects behave differently without gravity. The video will be distributed to science centers across the country for use in lesson plans and future exhibits.

Malenchenko conducted science experiments in the Russian segment of the Space Station. They included biomedical studies of the human body in microgravity as well as observations of thunderstorm activity, the world's ocean biology and studies of how space-based predictions of man-made disasters could be made.

The maintenance activities onboard the Station included Malenchenko inspecting fire sensors in the Zarya control module and checking systems in the Pirs Docking Compartment. Both Lu and Malenchenko did monthly maintenance on the treadmill and resistive exercise equipment.

Lu also configured the U.S. laptop computers so the Expedition 8 crew can begin using them when it arrives. The oncoming resident crew, Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, along with Duque, are set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18.

Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow began inserting about an hour a day into the crew's timeline to concentrate on preparations for their return to Earth on Oct. 28. Malencheno and Lu will ride home in the Soyuz that delivered them to the Station and is docked to a port on the Zarya control module.

Thursday, the duo put on their Sokol launch and reentry suits and measured how well they fit into their custom seat-liners, which help absorb shock during the reentry and brake rocket-aided landing. The fit check is required because astronauts gain additional height during long-duration stays on orbit as the absence of gravity allows their spines to stretch slightly.

Similar fit checks were under way at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for Expedition 8 Commander and Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Along with Spaniard Pedro Duque, who is flying to the Station under a commercial contract between the European Space Agency and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The trio is making final preparations for launch aboard another Soyuz at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Friday, the two crews had an opportunity to converse by teleconference about the upcoming week of joint operations, handover activities and scientific investigations. The Expedition 7 crew also reviewed computer training lessons on the operation of the Chibis lower body negative pressure device that will be used by Malenchenko as part of his Russian protocol for return to gravity.

Lu spent time inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory checking out acceleration sensor systems and monitors, and making electrical connections as part of the In Space Soldering Investigation, or ISSI. That experiment is designed provide information useful to future Station assembly and maintenance work, as well as fundamental scientific information about the role surface tension plays in soldering on Earth. He also exchanged ideas with Dr. Joshua Zimmerberg from the National Institutes of Health about a Fluid Dynamics Investigation, about how to alleviate problems with mixing samples for tissue growth experiments in the Station's bioreactor, which allows three-dimensional tissue cells, like those in the human body, to grow.

Late in the week, one of the remote power controller modules that is used to route electricity and data throughout the station experienced a failure in one of its circuits. The affected circuit is for the Destiny Laboratory's video switching unit. The failure poses no serious obstacles for the crew or the upcoming Soyuz rendezvous and docking, but does disable a camera port in Destiny and eliminate some redundancy on board. Flight controllers are working on a plan to troubleshoot the failure and possibly replace the module.

Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu worked to prepare their ISS Soyuz 7 spacecraft for their voyage home, checking out its systems and related station equipment, gathering their personal possessions and beginning to pack the spacecraft. They also checked out instrumentation that will be used to dock the ISS Soyuz 8 capsule bringing Expedition 8 Commander and Science Officer Michael Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri to the station, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain.

Duque is flying to the Station under a commercial contract between the European Space Agency and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. He will return home with the Expedition 7 crew after about a week of conducting science experiments.

The Expedition 8 crew and Duque are scheduled to launch at 12:38 a.m. CDT Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Their spacecraft will dock to the Station at about 2:17 a.m. CDT on Monday. Hatches between the two spacecraft should open about 5:14 a.m. CDT.

On Oct. 27 at about 5:20 p.m. CST, Malenchenko, Lu and Duque are to undock Soyuz 7 and perform a burn to drop out of orbit at about 7:40 p.m. CST. A landing in Kazakhstan will follow at about 8:35 p.m. CST (8:35 a.m. Oct. 28 Kazakhstan time).

Malenchenko and Lu continued to work with scientific experiments. On Wednesday, Lu successfully removed and replaced a Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The device routes electricity and data throughout the station. One of its circuits had failed. The replacement RPCM is functioning well.

Another highlight of the week was the launch of China's first human space mission. Lu took some time on Wednesday to welcome the single crewmember of the Shenzhou V spacecraft into orbit. Lu, speaking in Chinese and English, wished him a successful mission and a safe return home.

On Friday, Lu spent several hours taking a water sample from the cooling system in the U.S. airlock Quest. The system provides cooling to spacesuits. Officials want to confirm the quality of the water with the samples that will be returned with the Expedition 7 crewmembers. Meanwhile, Malenchenko was prepared a workspace for Duque and his scientific experiments.

ISS Expedition 8 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri are accompanied by European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque aboard the ISS Soyuz 8 spacecraft. The trio plan to dock Soyuz 8 to the Station at about 2:17 a.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 20, and hatches between the Station and Soyuz 8 are to be opened at about 5:14 a.m. CDT. Foale and Kaleri are bound for a six-month stay aboard the international research complex. Duque, flying under a commercial agreement between Rosaviakosmos and the European Space Agency, will spend a week aboard the Station conducting a series of scientific studies.

Foale and Kaleri will relieve Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who have flown aboard the Station since late April. Malenchenko, Lu and Duque will depart the station on Oct. 27 aboard the ISS Soyuz 7 craft en route to a landing hours afterward in Kazakhstan.

The week ahead will include a variety of joint activities for the five station crew members as they hand over activities onboard. The plans include an interview by ABC News and the Houston Chronicle at 8:45 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Oct. 21; an interview by CNN and CBS News at 9:25 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Oct. 22; a crew news conference at 10 a.m. CDT Thursday, Oct. 23; and a formal change of command ceremony at 1:20 p.m. CDT Friday, Oct. 24. Undocking of the Soyuz 7 carrying Duque and the Expedition 7 crew home is planned for 5:20 p.m. CST on Oct. 27 leading to a touchdown in Kazakhstan at 8:36 p.m. CST.

With Soyuz Commander and Expedition 8 Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri at the controls, the Soyuz vehicle softly linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment as the two spacecraft flew 240 miles above central Asia. The docking followed Saturday's launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Joining Kaleri are Expedition 8 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Pedro Duque of Spain.

Foale and Kaleri will spend more than six months living on the Station while Duque, who is flying under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will conduct an eight-day research mission before returning October 27 with Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who monitored the new crew's arrival from onboard the ISS. Today marked 177 days in space for Malenchenko and Lu, and 175 days on the ISS.

After docking, clamps were affixed to the interface between the Soyuz and Pirs, and leak checks in the small tunnel connecting the two craft was underway. The hatches will be opened at about 5:15 a.m. Central time signaling the start of eight days of joint operations. Foale, Kaleri and Duque are the first visitors for Malenchenko and Lu, who have overseen operations and been in orbit since late April.

On the scene at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev outside Moscow are NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy and International Space Station Program Manager William Gerstenmaier.

Greeting them on the station were Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who are 177 days into their six months in space. The two crews will conduct eight days of joint operations and research before Expedition 7 and Duque return home on October 27.

Among those observing the on orbit arrival of Expedition 8 to the station were NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy and International Space Station Program Manager William Gerstenmaier. Both talked to the five station crew members delivering best wishes for the mission.

The plan for the two crews includes eight days of handover activities and scientific experiments carried out by Duque for Spanish and other European scientists under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

After lunch, the new crewmembers will receive a safety briefing from Malenchenko and Lu and install a seat liner for Duque in the Soyuz earmarked for landing Oct. 27 (U.S. time) and then begin setting up a host of Duque's equipment previously launched on Russian Progress resupply spacecraft.

The crews are scheduled to go to bed about 3 p.m. CDT today and wake up at midnight to begin their first full day of joint operations. Expedition 8 officially will take control of Station operations October 27 when Malenchenko, Lu and Duque close the hatches between their returning Soyuz and the station. Foale and Kaleri will remain on board until late April 2004.

Ready to take over is the Expedition 8 crew, which has spent the last week in space "cramming" for its role as prime station crew effective Monday afternoon when the hatches close between the station and returning Soyuz spacecraft, signaling the official change of command. A ceremonial "Change of Command" ceremony took place Friday afternoon.

Flight controllers in the U.S. and Russia have been closely monitoring the predicted effects of the recent solar activity and anticipate no change to any of the landing plans. NASA flight control personnel have determined that no additional radiation exposure to the ISS crew is expected as a result of the solar activity. Increased solar activity is forecast for the next few weeks, and the control team will continue to monitor the progress of events with support from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Since arriving early Monday morning at their home for the next six months, Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri have spent the week familiarizing themselves with real-time station operations from departing Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu.

Among the handover activities conducted this week were robotic training for Foale on the station's remote manipulator system, called Canadarm2. He will serve as the incoming NASA ISS science officer also, and spent a great deal of his handover activities in the Destiny laboratory where most of the experiment work will take place during his six months aboard. Meanwhile, Kaleri and Malenchenko devoted their attention to operational handover in the Russian segment of the station, which will be overseen by Kaleri throughout the increment.

The weekend will be devoted almost exclusively to Soyuz stowage activities for the Expedition 7 crew's return to Earth along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque, who has spent the last eight days conducting a host of science experiments in support of a commercial contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

The station crews will wake up Monday about 1 a.m. CST and the hatch to the Expedition 7 crew's Soyuz is set to be closed around 2 p.m. Undocking is planned for 5:18 p.m. followed by the deorbit burn at 7:47 p.m. and landing at 8:41 p.m.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque undocked from the Station at 5:17 p.m. today, leaving behind the eighth resident Space Station crew, Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque flew to the Station with the Expedition 8 crew, launching on October 18.

A formal change of command ceremony between the Expedition 7 and 8 crews occurred this afternoon, just before Malenchenko, Lu and Duque climbed aboard their Soyuz spacecraft for the return trip home. After final farewells, hatches between the Station and the ISS Soyuz 6 were closed at 2:14 p.m. Foale and Kaleri are beginning a planned six-month stay on board the ISS. About three hours later, a command was issued to release latches, with undocking occurring at 5:17 p.m.

A 4-minute, 17-second deorbit burn began at 7:47 p.m. CST. About 8:17 p.m., the orbital and instrumentation/propulsion modules separated from the crew's descent module, the only one of the three modules intended to return to Earth. Minutes later, that module began to feel the effects of the upper atmosphere. About 8:25 p.m. the first of a series of parachutes deployed to slow the module's rate of descent, with six small rocket engines firing just before touchdown to further slow the capsule.

Helicopters with U.S. and Russian ground support personnel retrieved the crew shortly before 9 p.m. CST. NASA officials and flight surgeons reported Malenchenko, Lu and Duque were in excellent condition. Following brief medical exams, the crew will return to Star City, near Moscow, site of the Russian space center where they will be reunited with their families and begin their formal rehabilitation regimen. Malenchenko and Lu are expected to return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston in approximately two weeks.

Video of the crew's arrival will air on NASA Television at 5 a.m. EST Tuesday.

Kaleri spent much of the day setting up, working with and then stowing the Russian PILOT experiment, which looks at psychological and physiological changes in crew performance during long-duration spaceflight. The subject uses two hand controllers to make inputs for the experiment. Foale did inspections of the emergency lighting power supply in the U.S. laboratory Destiny and the Unity Node modules of the Station.

The crew's workweek began with the Monday departure of its Expedition 7 predecessors, Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque in their ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft. Duque had come to the Station with the Expedition 8 crew Oct. 18. He flew under a European Space Agency contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Administration. After about eight days of intensive and very successful science activity, he landed with the Expedition 7 crew in Kazakhstan at 8:41 p.m. CST Monday.

That crew is resting and debriefing at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City near Moscow. Malenchenko and Lu are expected to return to Johnson Space Center in mid-November.

Tuesday was a quiet day for Foale and Kaleri aboard the ISS, with a chance to rest a little after intensive handover activities and moving in with equipment and supplies. They got another half-day off on Wednesday, followed by a training drill on emergencies. Both crewmembers performed maintenance and Station configuration activities.

Thursday was a full day for the crew, including exercise and maintenance and inspection of exercise devices and work with medical experiments. Both crewmembers had an hour of Station familiarization, as they do each day early in their increment.

Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri began their week by making room inside the habitable volume of the Station. After equalizing pressure with the Destiny Laboratory, they opened Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA2) and stowed a variety of supplies and equipment that will not be needed on short notice. They then closed the hatch to PMA2 and depressurized the module.

Foale slipped on a specially instrumented glove as part of an Italian scientific investigation into how hand and arm muscles are used differently for reaching and grasping in microgravity. The Hand Posture Analyzer also will attempt to quantify muscle fatigue associated with long-duration space flight. Measurements taken with a Posture Acquisition Glove on the hand, an Inertial Tracking System on the wrist and Hand Grip and Pinch Force Dynamometers will be compared with those taken before and after flight.

Foale and Kaleri also began taking either potassium citrate pills or placebos and recording their food, water and medication intake as part of the Renal (Kidney) Stone Risk During Spaceflight experiment. Previous on-orbit experiments have shown an increased risk in the development of kidney stones during and immediately after space flight, and the experiment is testing a proven Earth-based remedy in space.

Finally, Foale set up the Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools digital camera in Destiny's optical-quality window so that students in grades six through eight could take photos of the Earth and downlink them for analysis by the student science team.

Meanwhile, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu are at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, continuing their immediate post-flight medical evaluations and debriefings. They are expected to return to Houston on Nov. 18. They landed on Oct. 27 after spending 183 days aboard the Station. Joining them on the returning ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft was European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who conducted eight days of intensive research after launching with the Expedition 8 crew.

The first Station component, the control module Zarya, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Nov. 20, 1998. Thirty-seven launches later, the Station now has a mass of more than 412,000 pounds and an interior volume of 15,000 cubic feet, as large as a three-bedroom house. More than 100 different space travelers from five space agencies and nine countries have visited the complex.

To assist planners as they evaluate a potential spacewalk early next year, Expedition 8 Commnader Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri spent the first part of this week working with Russian Orlan spacesuits. They evaluated how to get into the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the Station's Pirs compartment while wearing the bulky suits. Such a procedure could be necessary if they were unable to repressurize Pirs, which is used as an airlock to begin and end Russian spacewalks, and had to board the Soyuz.

The potential February spacewalk would exchange samples in exterior experiments and prepare an aft Station docking port for the European Space Agency's Automated Transport Vehicle, a new, uncrewed station cargo vehicle targeted for launch late next year.

In anticipation of the crew's first use of the Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, Foale spent time Friday going through a computer-guided refresher on arm operations. Their first use of the arm, a training session, is planned for early next week.

On Friday, Foale completed alterations to an instrumented suit for use in next week's work with the Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Spaceflight (FOOT) experiment. The Lower Extremity Monitoring Suit (LEMS), a customized pair of Lycra cycling shorts outfitted with 20 sensors, will measure forces on Foale's feet and joints and gauge his muscle activity while completing his normal activities in the Station. The experiment's researchers hope to learn more about the reasons for bone and muscle loss by astronauts in orbit, insight that may lead to better countermeasures for astronauts.

Engineers are analyzing the effects of a possible gyroscope failure in the Station treadmill's vibration isolation system. The analysis began after the crew reported hearing unusual noises from that system. While the analysis is under way, the crew has been asked not to use the treadmill and instead to use a stationary bicycle and other exercise equipment.

The Expedition 7 crewmembers returned to Houston this week after more than three weeks of medical checkups and debriefings with Russian specialists. Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who completed a 185-day spaceflight with a landing in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz spacecraft on Oct. 27, will continue their postflight operations with checkups and debriefings at the Johnson Space Center.

Additional Details: ISS EO-15: Station Crew Moves Soyuz.

Malenchenko and Whitson, together with visiting Korean astronaut Yi, who had been delivered to the ISS by Soyuz TMA-12, undocked from the station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 at 05:06 GMT on 19 April 2008. Following the deorbit burn at 07:40 GMT the aft service module of the Soyuz failed to separate and the spacecraft began re-entry in a reversed position, with the forward hatch taking the initial re-entry heating. As was the case with Soyuz 5 in 1970, the connections with the service module finally melted away, and the freed capsule righted itself aerodynamically with the heat shield taking the brunt of the re-entry heating. However the crew experienced a rough ride, a ballistic re-entry of over 8 G's force, smoke in the cabin, a failure of the soft landing system, and a very hard landing. They landed 470 km short of the target point at 50 deg 31" N, 61 deg 7" E at 08:29 GMT. A small grass fire was started at the landing point and the injured crew had to be helped from the capsule by passers-by. Malenchenko and Whitson suffered no permanent injury, but Yi was hit by Whitson's personal effects bag on impact and required physical therapy for neck and spine injuries.

Additional Details: ISS EO-15: Space Station Crew Back on Earth.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #04.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #03.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #5.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #6.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #09.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #13.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 10/30/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 10/31/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/01/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/02/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/03/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/04/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #26.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/05/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #30.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #29.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/06/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #32.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/07/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #31.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/08/07.

Additional Details: ISS EO-16: Station Spacewalk Prepares for PMA, Harmony Moves.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/09/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/10/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/11/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/12/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/13/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/14/07.

Additional Details: ISS EO-16: Spacewalkers to Hook Up Harmony at its New Location.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Peggy and Dan wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/15/07.

"Uborka", normally done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the FE's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/16/07.

After setting up the video camera gear for covering their CEVIS cycle ergometer workout, Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani activated the OUM-PFE (Oxygen Uptake Measurement - Periodic Fitness Evaluation) equipment at the HRF-2 (Human Research Facility 2) rack, including the HRF PFM/PAM (Pulmonary Function Module/Photoacoustic Analyzer Module), Mixing Bag System and GDS (Gas Delivery System). Both crewmembers then completed the evaluation protocol, wearing HRMs (Heart Rate Monitors), with each one in turn acting as subject and operator, obtaining measurements on themselves on the CEVIS cycle ergometer. (The operations were documented with photo and video. Later, Peggy and Dan updated the evaluation protocol, deactivated & stowed the gear, including photo/video equipment, and powered down the OUM-PFE laptop. Purpose of OUM-PFE is to measure aerobic capacity during exercise within 14 days after arrival on ISS, and once monthly during routine PFEs. The data allows exercise physiologists & flight doctors to assess the crew's health & fitness and to provide data for modifying & updating crew-specific exercise regimes. PFE-OUM is a collaborative effort between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency).)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/17/07.

Ahead: Week 5 of Increment 16.

The crew completed the mandatory CHeCS (Crew Health Care Systems) emergency/contingency medical OBT (on-board training) drill, a one-hour U.S. exercise designed to refresh crewmembers' acuity in applying HMS (Health Maintenance System) equipment like ACLS (Advanced Cardio Life Support) in an emergency. (The drill gives the crew the opportunity to work as a team in resolving a simulated medical emergency onboard ISS and to refresh their memory of on-orbit stowage & deployment locations, equipment use, and procedures. Setting up (but not actually operating/manipulating) onboard equipment such as the RSP (Respiratory Support Pack), ALSP (Advanced Life Support Pack), intubation kit, HMS defibrillator, all stowed in the Lab CHeCS rack, and the CMRS (Crew Medical Restraint System), Peggy, Yuri and Dan stepped through the ACLS algorithm manual to resolve a simulated medical emergency onboard ISS. Objectives of the exercise include practicing communication and coordination necessary to perform medical emergency procedures, locating appropriate emergency medical components, and determining each crewmember's individual method of delivering CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) in zero-G.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/18/07.

Before breakfast, CDR Peggy Whitson & FE-2 Dan Tani accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Peggy and Dan wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, currently as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/19/07.

Crew sleep cycle: 1:00am - 4:30pm EST.

EVA-11 'Bravo' was completed fully successfully in 7 hrs 16 min, accomplishing all objectives plus several get-ahead tasks. During the spacewalk, CDR Peggy Whitson (EV1) and FE-2 Dan Tani (EV2), supported by FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko as intravehicular (IV) crewmember, connected and configured one half of the Node-2 fluid, power, and cooling jumpers. The other half will be done on EVA-12 'Charlie' on 11/24 (Saturday).
Specifically, the spacewalkers -

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/20/07.

(The test, using the RSS2 laptop, consisted of switching from the regular 128-byte TM frame to a 206-byte format, for the ground to run tests overnight from RGS (Russian Ground Sites). Tomorrow, in part 2 the FE-1 will reconfigure the BSR-TM back to 128-byte format.)

Afterwards, Malenchenko recorded the post-EVA radiation readings from the Russian EMU-worn plus one background 'Pille-MKS' dosimeters in a log table for subsequent downlink to the ground.

Starting preparations of their next spacewalk, EVA-12 'Charlie' on 11/24 (Saturday), CDR Whitson and FE-2 Tani -

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/21/07.

CDR Whitson & FE-1 Malenchenko started off on today's light-duty schedule with another standard 30-min Shuttle RPM (R-bar Pitch Maneuver) skill training, Peggy's third, Yuri's fourth, using DCS-760 digital still cameras with 400 & 800mm lenses at Service Module (SM) windows 6 & 8 to take imagery of documented EO (Earth Observation) targets facing the velocity vector (in flight direction). Afterwards, Peggy downlinked the obtained images to the ground for analysis, to be discussed at a subsequent tagup. (The skill training prepares crewmembers for the bottomside mapping of the Orbiter at the arrival of STS-122/1E in December. During the RPM at ~600 ft from the station, the ISS crew will have only ~90 seconds for taking high-resolution digital photographs of all tile areas and door seals on the Atlantis from SM windows 6 & 8, to be downlinked for launch debris assessment. Thus, time available for the shooting will be very limited, requiring great coordination between the two headset-equipped photographers and the Shuttle.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/22/07.

(The test, controlled from the RSS2 laptop, began 11/21 with Yuri switching from the regular 128-byte TM frame to a 206-byte format, for TsUP to run tests from RGS (Russian Ground Sites). Today, in Part 2 as per plan the FE-1 returned the BSR-TM to the nominal 128-byte format.)

Malenchenko also transferred measurements & imagery from the ESA/RSC-Energia experiment ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS) to OCA for subsequent downlink to the ground, after yesterday's first repositioning of the spectrometer. (ALTCRISS uses the AST spectrometer to monitor space radiation in the Russian segment (RS).)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/23/07.

Node-2 Harmony is ready to accept Columbus!

EVA-12 'Charlie' was completed fully successfully in 7 hrs 4 min, accomplishing all objectives & get-ahead tasks.
As a consequence, Node-2 Harmony was fully activated by the ground, one day earlier than originally planned, enabling interior activations by the crew tomorrow.

During the spacewalk, CDR Peggy Whitson (EV1) and FE-2 Dan Tani (EV2), supported by FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko as intravehicular (IV) crewmember, connected and configured the second half of the Node-2 fluid, power, and cooling jumpers (the first half was accomplished on EVA-11 'Bravo' on 11/20).
Specifically, the spacewalkers -

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/24/07.

Ahead: Week 6 of Increment 16.

The FE-1 started his day by recording post-EVA radiation readings from the Russian 'Pille-MKS' dosimeters in the two spacesuits worn by Whitson & Tani during yesterday's spacewalk and from one background dosimeter. Measurements were logged in a table for subsequent downlink to the ground.

In the SM (Service Module), Malenchenko afterwards activated the Kenwood D700 amateur radio station and started the program for the Russian SHADOW-BEACON (Tenj-Mayak) experiment. (Objective of the experiment is the automatic retranslation of time tag (pre-planned executable) packets from ground stations. SHADOW (or ECLIPSE), sponsored by Roskosmos and its leading Moscow research organization TSNIIMASH (Central Research Institute of Machine Building), employs VHF amateur radio (ham) operators around the globe (via ARISS/Amateur Radio on ISS) to help in observing refraction/scattering effects in artificial plasmas using the method of RF (radio frequency) sounding in space experiments under different geophysical conditions. This is the experiment's second run, after Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin conducted it first on Expedition 14 in November 2006.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/25/07.

ff-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani. Underway: Week 6 of Increment 16. Having passed the Day 30 mark in her flight, CDR-16 Whitson began her second session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, for which she had to forego exercising and food intake for eight hours. (After collecting an initial urine sample, Whitson, assisted by Dan Tani, followed it with phlebotomy, i.e., drawing blood samples (from an arm vein) which she first allowed to coagulate in the Repository, then spun in the HRF RC (Human Research Facility/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned (see RC troubleshooting, below). The equipment was then stowed. NUTRITION activities today included the required 24-hour data urine collection by Whitson, by securing samples during the day, all stored immediately in MELFI. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile currently required on all U.S. Astronauts collects blood and urine samples preflight and postflight. NUTRITION expands this protocol by also capturing inflight samples and an additional postflight sample. Furthermore, additional measurements are included for samples from all sessions, including additional markers of bone metabolism, vitamin status, and hormone and oxidative stressor tests. The results will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures (exercise and pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and nutrient requirements. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L), first started on two Mir crewmembers and then on all ISS US crews, nominally consists of two pre-flight and one post-flight analysis of nutritional status, as well as an in-flight assessment of dietary intake using the FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire). The current NUTRITION project expands MR016L testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/26/07.

Today she collected another urine sample for storage in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The sampling kit was then stowed away. (The current NUTRITION project expands the previous Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L) testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/27/07.

(The FE-2 configured the hardware to allow the ground to perform ground commanding to the MLC (Microgravity Science Glovebox Laptop Computer) for diagnostic testing and to develop recovery steps for the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) to be reprogrammed correctly.)

FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko performed a thorough 2-hr. troubleshooting inspection & verification of the connections of the Russian segment's Onboard Cabling System (BKS) to the FGB's Thermal Control System (SOTR). (Using the Nikon D200 digital camera, Yuri documented the SOTR layout behind panel 215 and checked connector pins for dirt or misalignment.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/28/07.

(SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/29/07.

This includes inspection and audio function checks of all comm panels (PA) in and between the Service Module (SM), FGB and Docking Compartment (DC1), VHF receiver tests, and an audit of headsets. (The "Voskhod-M" STTS enables telephone communications between the SM, FGB, DC1 and U.S. segment (USOS), and also with users on the ground over VHF channels selected by an operator at an SM comm panel, via STTS antennas on the SM's outside. There are six comm panels in the SM with pushbuttons for accessing any of three audio channels, plus an intercom channel. Other modes of the STTS include telegraphy (teletype), EVA voice, emergency alarms, Packet/Email, and TORU docking support. Last time done 4/15/07 by Yurchikhin & Kotov.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/30/07.

(After yesterday's hardware setup, leak checking of the electronics box and evacuation of the vacuum work chamber (ZB) with the turbopump, the CDR conducted more testing and calibration, uploaded new software from a USB stick to the payload laptop, checked out the software installation and verified the readiness of the experiment. After additional leak checking on the work chamber during the day, Yuri will deactivate the turbopump tonight at ~4:25pm EST. The experiment is performed on plasma, i.e., fine particles charged and excited by HF (high frequency) radio power inside the evacuated work chamber. Main objective is to obtain a homogeneous plasma dust cloud at various pressures and particle quantities with or without superimposition of an LF (low frequency) harmonic electrical field. The experiment is conducted in automated mode. PK-3+ has more advanced hardware and software than the previously used Russian PKE-Nefedov payload.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/01/07.

Ahead: Week 7 of Increment 16.

FE-1 Malenchenko supported his first experiment session with the Russian TEKh-20 Plasma Crystal-3+ (Plazmennyi-Kristall/PK-3+) payload by activating the turbopump in the Service Module (SM)'s Transfer Compartment (PkhO) for keeping the vacuum chamber (ZB) in the SM Work Compartment (RO) evacuated. The turbopump will be deactivated tonight at ~4:25pm EST. (Main objective of PK-3 is to study dust plasma wave propagation and dispersion ratio at a specified power of HF discharge, pressure, and a varied number of particles.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/02/07.

FE-1 Malenchenko continued his support of his first experiment session with the Russian TEKh-20 Plasma Crystal-3+ (Plazmennyi-Kristall/PK-3+) payload by activating the turbopump in the Service Module (SM)'s Transfer Compartment (PkhO) for keeping the vacuum chamber (ZB) in the SM Work Compartment (RO) evacuated. The turbopump will be deactivated tonight at ~4:25pm EST. (Main objective of PK-3 is to study dust plasma wave propagation and dispersion ratio at a specified power of HF discharge, pressure, and a varied number of particles.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/03/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/04/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/05/07.

The next liftoff opportunity is tomorrow, Friday, at 4:09pm EST.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/06/07.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/07/07.

The delayed launch of STS-122/Atlantis/Mission ISS-1E has tentatively been rescheduled for tomorrow, Sunday (12/9) at 3:21pm EST, assuming no major problems turn up in engineering reviews taking place today. Weather forecast for 12/9 predicts an 80 percent chance of good weather.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/08/07.

Ahead: Week 8 of Increment 16.

The launch of STS-122/Atlantis/Mission ISS-1E has now been targeted for not earlier than 1/2/08 for additional troubleshooting of the four LH2 low level cutoff sensors (after the #3 sensor again failed this morning during another tanking attempt).

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

The FE-2 later conducted inflight maintenance on the Node-2 ITCS (Internal Thermal Control System)'s MTL (Moderate Temperature Loop) by adjusting its fluid sampling adapter metering valve and then taking another fluid sample for return to the ground and one for OPA (Ortho-Phthalaldehyde) testing.. Afterwards, Dan repeated the sampling process on the LTL (Low Temperature Loop) side of the Node-2 ITCS. (OPA, an antimicrobial agent, was introduced into the Lab ITCS coolant by the AmiA (Antimicrobial Applicator).)

FE-1 Malenchenko performed monthly maintenance on the Russian IK0501 GA (gas analyzer) of the SOGS Pressure Control & Atmospheric Monitoring System, deactivating the unit and replacing its CO2 filter assembly (BF) with a new unit from FGB stowage (replaced last: 10/29). (After ensuring good seals on the instrument's base and no leaks around the installed filter, Yuri reactivated the GA and stowed the spent BF for disposal. IK0501 is an automated system for measuring CO2, O2, and H2O in the air as well as the flow rate of the gas being analyzed.)

CDR Whitson completed the periodic offloading of the Lab CCAA (Common Cabin Air Assembly) dehumidifier's condensate tank, filling CWC (Contingency Water Container) #1062 with the collected water slated for processing, and putting aside two water samples in sample bags for analysis. (Estimated offload time before termination (leaving ~6 kg in the tank): ~20 min.)

The crewmembers conducted their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), RED resistive exerciser (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Job items on Peggy's and Dan's discretionary 'job jar' task list today were -

Removal of panel fasteners in Node-2 to provide temporary access to the AR SDS (Atmosphere Revitalization/Sample Delivery System). (The SDS, along with the MCA (Major Constituents Analyzer), PCA (Pressure Control Assembly), TCCS (Trace Contaminant Control Subassembly) and CVV (Carbon Dioxide Vent Valve assembly), is a subsystem of the Atmosphere Control & Supply System of the Lab's ECLSS (Environment Control & Life Support System));
Lubrication of TVIS treadmill SPDs (Subject Positioning Devices); and
Monthly battery check and rebooting of the PCS (Portable Computer System) A31p laptops.
No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/10/07.

FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/11/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/12/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/13/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/14/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/15/07.

Ahead: Week 9 of Increment 16.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/16/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/17/07.

During the spacewalk, Tani (EV1) & Whitson (EV2), supported by FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko as intravehicular (IV) crewmember, inspected the Stbd (right-side) 1A BGA (Beta Gimbal Assembly) and BMRMM (Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module), followed by a detailed investigation and photo documentation of the Stbd SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint).
Specifically, the spacewalkers -

Found no obvious signs of external damage on cables or hardware of the BGA & BMRMM that might have caused the repeated tripping of circuit breakers (RPCs/Remote Power Controllers), making it more likely that the issue is internal to the hardware or its electrical system;
Entered into the S5 truss to disconnect some wiring to allow the ground to perform diagnostic continuity tests, and later reconnected the cables;
Temporarily removed 22 protective MLI (Multi-Layer Insulation) covers to inspect the SARJ, its two DLAs (Drive Lock Assemblies), and its 12 TBAs (Trundle Bearing Assemblies), reattaching the covers afterwards,
Found most metal shavings around TBA-4 and TBA-5, i.e., metallic, magnetic contamination on the main gear bearing's outboard angled race ring as well as pitting and abrasions on the ring but no obvious damage on the inboard race ring or on the gear teeth themselves. DLA (Drive Lock Assembly) #2 appeared especially 'ugly', i.e., filled with contamination, and, according to the spacewalkers, the further away from the DLA, the less contamination was observed;
Took photographs, measured the depth of surface pits with a special probe and collected debris samples; and
Deinstalled and removed TBA-5 from its housing under cover #20, using a PGT (Pistol Grip Tool), then brought it inside in a bag for eventual return to Earth aboard STS-122/Atlantis (SARJ can function OK on only 11 TBAs).
(Official start time of the spacewalk was 4:50am EST, 70 minutes ahead of the timeline, ending at 11:46am. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 6h 56min. It was the 100th spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 72nd from the station (28 from Shuttle, 50 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 436h 3m, and the 4th for Expedition 16 (totaling 28h 11m. During the spacewalk, her fifth, Peggy Whitson set a new record of aggregated EVA time by a woman (of 32h 36m) when she exceeded the 29h 18m held by Sunita Williams. After today's EVA, a total of 121 spacewalkers (90 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and ten astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-1 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 624h 25m outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 122nd spacewalk by U.S. astronauts. The 100th EVA dedicated to ISS assembly & maintenance originally was to have been conducted by Rex Walheim & Hans Schlegel of the delayed STS-122/1E mission.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/18/07.

billion kilometers (1.37 billion st.miles) in 3316 days. The 19,300 kg (42,600 lbs) Zarya ('Dawn') was launched on a Russian/Khrunichev Proton from Baikonur over nine years ago (11/20/1998) as the first element of the multi-national space station.<<<<

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/19/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/20/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/21/07.

Happy 46th Birthday, Yuri Ivanovich!

Last night, Progress M-61/26P successfully undocked from the ISS at 10:59pm EST (hook opening command: 10:57pm). The separation appeared smooth with no vibrations noted. Downlinked video from the cargo vehicle showed that the docking ring surface was nominal. The first separation burn was performed at 11:03pm and a second separation burn followed at 11:09pm. The spacecraft initially moved aft of the station, then forward, overtaking the ISS on a lower (faster) orbit. 26P will remain in orbit in free flight for 3-4 weeks, continuing to phase out in front of the ISS (about 40 km per orbit) as part of a Russian Earth observation experiment.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/22/07.

Ahead: Week 10 of Increment 16.

With the usual dependability, Progress M-62/27P launched nominally this morning at Baikonur at 2:12am EST. Orbit insertion and 3rd stage separation were nominal at ~2:21:30am. Critical antennae and solar array deployments took place without issue. Docking is scheduled on Wednesday, 12/26 (~3:25am EST). Congrats, Baikonur!

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani and CDR Peggy Whitson completed their daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/23/07.

Merry Christmas and Great Holidays to everyone!

Progress M-62/27P is continuing its 3-day flight to the ISS for docking Wednesday morning (12/26) at ~3:25am EST at the DC1 nadir port. All onboard tests (TV, KURS, TORU), performed today during RGS (Russian ground site) passes, were without issues.

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani and CDR Peggy Whitson completed their daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/24/07.

Progress M-62/27P is continuing its 3-day flight to the ISS for docking tomorrow morning (12/26) at ~3:25am EST at the DC1 nadir port. All onboard tests (TV, KURS, TORU) and the DV3 burn on Orbit 33, during RGS (Russian ground site) passes were nominal. (See Timeline, below).

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani and CDR Peggy Whitson completed their daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process will be terminated at ~2:45pm EST. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. Filter bed 1 was regenerated yesterday.)

Yuri also performed the routine servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. (Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.)

The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation (CDR, FE-1), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Afterwards, Peggy copied the exercise data file to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

At ~1:00pm, Dan Tani had a PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop).

At ~11:30am, CDT Whitson conducted a teleconference with the Houston Flight Control Team (FCT).

ASN-M Testing: TsUP-Moscow began with tests of the ASN-M Satellite Navigation System over six orbits, without crew involvement. (ASN-M is required for ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) 'Jules Verne' prox ops next year.)

Timeline for 27P Approach & Docking (all times EST):

ISS mnvr to dock attitude: 12:50am - 1:40am (-XVV -YLV)
Start of automated rendezvous: 12:56am
Progress Kurs-A activation: 1:42:30am
SM Kurs-P activation: 1:44:30am
Good Kurs-P data at 80 km: 2:09:36am
Range = 9km - VHF-2 activation (TORU cmd link): 2:36am
Range = 8km - Progress TV activation: 2:37am
Flyaround mode start: 2:54am
Stationkeeping start: 3:03am
RGS AOS: 3:15am
Final Approach start: 3:17am
27P Docking at DC1 nadir port: 3:25am
RGS LOS: 3:37am
Progress hooks closed: 3:46am
CEO photo targets uplinked for today again were Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMC - also known as noctilucent clouds) over selected ground sites (12 minutes for each). Also suggested for Dan Tani were a series of night photographs of city lights. (Use of the footprint of city lights as a proxy for population size and density (in different cultures/economies) is proving out as a workable method of observing population change through time).

Progress M-62 (27P), approaching from below the station, docked nominally at the DC1 Docking Compartment nadir port at 3:14am EST, with automatic AO-VKA orientation antenna retraction, followed by docking probe retraction and hook closure ('sborka') at 3:23am after motion damp-out, while the ISS was in free drift. (Launched 12/23 (2:12am EST), the 27P resupply drone delivered about 2.5 tons of cargo for the ISS crews, including propellants for the Russian thrusters, fresh water, oxygen, food, spare parts, repair gear, life support and science experiment hardware. For the docking, ISS attitude control authority was handed over to Russian MCS (Motion Control System) thrusters at 11:48pm and returned to US Momentum Management at 5:06am. Starting with TV camera activation at ~2:37am (range ~8 km), the KURS TV camera display data overlay failed to show through docking despite attempts by the crew to activate the numerical display. The docking took place nominally, without violation of any joint flight rules, since Malenchenko and Whitson had all numerical data on a laptop before them. Telemetry was also available in TsUP-Moscow.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/26/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/27/07.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Upon wakeup, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko terminated his fifth MBI-12 SONOKARD experiment session, started last night, by taking the recording device from his SONOKARD sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-MED laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. (SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/28/07.

Whitson and Tani began the day with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/29/07.

New Year's Eve's Eve! Ahead: Week 11 of Increment 16.

Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani began the day with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/30/07.

Crew off-duty day. Underway: Week 11 of Increment 16.

Peggy and Dan began the day with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment 's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers ' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew 's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/31/07.

Peggy and Dan began the New Year with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/01/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Peggy and Dan spent several hours getting 'the broom out of the closet', i.e., accessing the PMA-3 (Pressurized Mating Adapter 3) at the Node-1 nadir port and retrieving the spare BMRMM (Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module) for its planned installation at the Stbd (right-side) 1A BGA (Beta Gimbal Assembly) on the S4 truss in an upcoming EVA, replacing the failed BMRRM. The following steps were successfully executed to retrieve the spare part:

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/02/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Dr. Whitson conducted her first clinical blood analysis of the US PHS (Periodic Health Status) with Blood Labs exam. Afterwards, all PHS hardware was stowed again. (The PHS exam, with PCBA (Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer) analysis and clinical evaluation, is guided by special software (IFEP, in-flight examination program) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). While PCBA analyzes total blood composition, the blood's hematocrit is particularly measured by the Russian MO-10 protocol.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/03/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Also before breakfast, Peggy Whitson, Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani performed the periodic Russian biomedical routine assessments PZEh-MO-7/Calf Volume Measurement and PZEh-MO-8/Body Mass Measurement (5th for CDR & FE-1, 4th for FE-2), using the IM mass measurement device which Malenchenko afterwards broke down for stowage. (Calf measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and lower foot as fixed reference pints, to provide a rough index of deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures. For determining body mass in zero-G, where things are weightless but not massless, the Russian IM "scales" measure the inertial forces that arise during the oscillatory motion of a mass driven by two helical metering springs with known spring constants. By measuring the time period of each oscillation of the unknown mass (the crewmember) and comparing it to the period of a known mass, the crewmember's mass is calculated by the computer and displayed.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/04/08.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/05/08.

Ahead: Week 12 of Increment 16. Also:

Christmas Eve for tomorrow's Russian Orthodox Christmas.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/06/08.

Ahead: Week 12 of Increment 16.

S Rodzhestvom Kristovym!

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

At ~5:00am EST, FE-1 Malenchenko received a 10-min VIP call via S-band from Patriarch Alexis II of the Russian Orthodox Church, speaking from TsUP/Moscow and extending best wishes to the crew on the occasion of today's Orthodox Christmas celebration. (The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates its Christmas 13 days after Western Christmas, on January 7, in accordance with the old Julian calendar. It is a day of both solemn ritual and joyous celebration. Christmas was banned throughout Russia after the 1917 Revolution, along with other religious celebrations, and it wasn't until 75 years later, in 1992, that the holiday was again openly observed. Today, it's once again celebrated in grand fashion, with citizens participating in an all-night Mass in incense-filled Cathedrals amidst the company of the painted icons of Saints, along with a traditional family get-together and special meal on Christmas Eve.)

Later, Yuri completed today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP.

The crewmembers performed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Afterwards, Peggy Whitson copied the exercise data file to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

With the Russian O2 (oxygen) generator 'Elektron' turned off since 12/28/07, the FE-1 had time set aside for another 1-hour O2 repress of the cabin atmosphere from Progress M-62/27P storage tankage, if required. Yesterday's repress added about 8 mmHg of O2 into the ISS as per plan. (The Elektron will remain powered down until 1/9/08 to conserve hardware lifetime. During this time, the station will be periodically repressurized with oxygen from Progress 27P.)

A new entry still on discretionary US 'job jar' task list for Peggy and Yuri is 'ghosting' an updated personal image with their preferred material on a 60GB hard disk in an A31p laptop UltraBay Adapter reserved as their CPSD (Crew Personal Support Disk), a 45-min task for each.

Also on Whitson's voluntary task list, at her convenience, is an audit of rack locations, using the IMS (Inventory Management System). (The audit function, introduced with the implementation of IMS software version 2.0, allows the crewmember to set up audits of bags, kits, containers and stowage locations on the laptop.)

A third new item on the 'job jar' task list is for FE-2 Tani to continue his crew departure preparations.

The two flight engineers were scheduled for PFCs (Private Family Conferences) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-9 laptop), Yuri at ~6:20am EST, Dan at ~11:50am.

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Working in the DC1 Docking Compartment, FE-1 Malenchenko, later joined by CDR Whitson, started a three-day maintenance activity on three Russian Orlan-M spacesuits (#25, #26, #27), first initiating discharge of 825M3 Orlan battery pack #1, then scrubbing and degassing the Orlan water loops, followed by the coolant loops in the DC1 and SM PkhO (Service Module Transfer Compartment) BSS Orlan Interface Units. (Functional inspection & checkout of the suits and their spare parts, including bladder leak tests, are scheduled tomorrow & Thursday.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/08/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

The FE-2 worked in the Airlock (A/L), starting on a lengthy (2h 25m) troubleshooting procedure on the EACP (EVA/EMU Audio Control Panel), first setting up comm from the A/L, then activating the EACP and connecting it via the 'low clearance' Y-cable to ATU-4 (Audio Terminal Unit, #4) and ATU-6 on the A/L Avionics Rack. After initial testing, the EACP was turned off again. (ATU-6 was installed by Clay Anderson on 10/11/07 in place of a failed unit, and the failed ATU-6 was returned on 10A. The new ATU-6 has been experiencing periodic lockups and PBIT (passive built-in test) faults. Engineering analysis and testing indicate that these issues may be caused by improperly mated J3 & J4 connections, a problem with the address connector, or a dirty fiber-optic connector. There are 3 ATUs in the A/L, one of which must be functional for EVAs, so long as the suited EVA crew has established UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio communication.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/09/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Upon wakeup, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko terminated his seventh MBI-12 SONOKARD experiment session, started last night, by taking the recording device from his SONOKARD sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-MED laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. (SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/10/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

At ~3:10am EST, the FE-2 activated the VDS MPC (Video Distribution System/Multi-Purpose Converter) with its four downlinks to allow the ground to conduct HDTV (high-definition TV) playback and downlink operations. Later (~11:30am), the MPC was powered off again.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/11/08.

Saturday -- off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani except for housekeeping and voluntary work. "CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers ' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew 's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/12/08.

Ahead: Week 13 of Increment 16.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko prepared for today's last day of his five-day wearing test of the spring-loaded 'Penguin-3' antigravity pressure/stress suit with its load measuring system (SIN), donning the suit and its equipment, then going about his business and downloading performance measurements several times. (Each day, Yuri has selected higher symmetrical (shoulders) & asymmetrical (chest & back) loads (~20-30 kgf), after calibrating the system with no load on the suit's internal tension straps. Load data are then collected by the SIN electronics (via analog-to-digital converters) and downloaded to a A31p laptop three times daily, followed by downlink to the ground via BSR-TM.)

FE-2 Tani performed his daily status check on the BCAT-3 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3) science payload, running by itself in Node-2 since 12/13/07 (briefly interrupted for EVA-13 photo support). (The status check, conducted on the last image taken by the DCS 760 digital still camera which is controlled by EarthKAM software on an A31p laptop, is to verify proper image focus and camera alignment. The SSC (Station Support Computer) is taking photography of the phase separation occurring in the BCAT Sample 3, with the photo flash going off every half hour.)

Malenchenko completed today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP.

The crewmembers performed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR, FE-2), TVIS treadmill (FE-1), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

The CDR and FE-2 each had their weekly PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop), Dan at ~9:05am EST, Peggy at ~12:00pm.

Working off his discretionary 'time permitting' task list, Yuri conducted another session of the Russian "Uragan" (hurricane) earth-imaging program, using the Nikon D2X digital camera with 800 mm focal length lens. (Targets uplinked for today were Patagonia Glaciers and Icebergs in the Drake Passage.)

A second job item on the FE-1's voluntary list for today was another KPT-3 session to make observations and take aerial KPT-3 photography of environmental conditions for Russia's Environmental Safety Agency (ECON) using the Nikon D2X digital camera with SIGMA 300-800mm telephoto lens.

Task items on Peggy's and Dan's discretionary 'job jar' task list today were (1) a thorough review of uplinked draft material on the BMRRM (Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module) hardware and EVA-14 procedures for its upcoming R&R, (2) an audit of CTB (Cargo Transport Bags) and their contents, and (3) installation of a ground wire on the PFA (Portable Fan Assembly).

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/14/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary "job jar" task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #1 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process will be terminated before sleeptime, at ~2:20pm EST. Regeneration of bed #2 follows tomorrow. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/15/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process was terminated at ~2:00 EST. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. Filter bed 1 was regenerated yesterday.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/16/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Preparatory to today's pump R&R (Removal & Replacement) of the EHS VOA (Environmental Health Systems/Volatile Organic Analyzer), CDR Whitson rotated the CHeCS rack down for some AAA(Avionics Air Assembly) fan/filter and smoke detector cleaning, before FE-2 Tani performed the VOA IFM (Inflight Maintenance), with filter inspection, preceded and followed by taking CSA-O2 (Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen) readings in the affected rack areas. (If the O2 percentage was between 15.7% - 24.1%, Dan was Go to proceed. If not, the ground had steps to be taken to ventilate the area. Ground analysis has shown that the secondary seals in QDs (Quick Disconnects) in the Nitrogen/Oxygen systems do not always seal properly, which can result in an increased N2/O2 concentration behind panels & racks with no ventilation. The CHeCS (LAB1D4) is one of these racks.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/17/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Also before breakfast, Peggy Whitson, Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani performed the periodic Russian biomedical routine assessments PZEh-MO-7/Calf Volume Measurement and PZEh-MO-8/Body Mass Measurement (6th for CDR & FE-1, 5th for FE-2), using the IM mass measurement device which Malenchenko afterwards broke down for stowage. (Calf measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and lower foot as fixed reference pints, to provide a rough index of deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures. For determining body mass in zero-G, where things are weightless but not massless, the Russian IM "scales" measure the inertial forces that arise during the oscillatory motion of a mass driven by two helical metering springs with known spring constants. By measuring the time period of each oscillation of the unknown mass (the crewmember) and comparing it to the period of a known mass, the crewmember's mass is calculated by the computer and displayed.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/18/08.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/19/08.

Ahead: Week 14 of Increment 16.

For today's VolSci (Voluntary Weekend Science) program, CDR Whitson continued her work with the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) and the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment, today conducting runs #18, #19, and #20, then powered down the payload and switched the MSG to standby. (After activation of MSG plus InSPACE & InSPACE-2 equipment, Peggy checked on alignment & focusing of MSG video cams, switched the magnetic field between runs, today pulsing the field at 2 Hz (Hertz) instead of 20 Hz as she did previously. Peggy also repositioned the sample vial (VA-004) by 90 deg, used camera 2 & recorder 2 in the vial position 2 starting with run #19, changed out video recorder tapes and later deactivated InSPACE & MSG. InSPACE, conducted last in June 2006 by Jeff Williams on Increment 13, obtains basic data on magnetorheological fluids, i.e., a new class of "smart materials" that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damper systems. The dispersed particles are contained in CAs (Coil Assemblies) in the MSG that subject them to electric fields of certain strength and frequencies.)

FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily status check on the BCAT-3 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3) science payload, running by itself in Node-2 since 12/13/07 (briefly interrupted for EVA-13 photo support). (The status check, conducted on the last image taken by the DCS 760 digital still camera which is controlled by EarthKAM software on an A31p laptop, is to verify proper image focus and camera alignment. The SSC (Station Support Computer) is taking photography of the phase separation occurring in the BCAT Sample 3, with the photo flash going off every half hour.)

FE-1 Malenchenko conducted today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP.

The crewmembers performed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR), TVIS treadmill (FE-1, FE-2), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

At ~9:30am EST, Yuri had his PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop).

At ~2:22pm, Dan had his PFC.

With the Elektron-VM O2 (oxygen) generator currently off, a 5-min cabin air refresh is to be performed by the FE-1 (off his voluntary task list) from Progress M-62/27P storage (SrPK) as required.

MPC HDTV Update: Dan Tani was lauded by the ground for his great work on 1/17 verifying the MPC HDTV (Multi-Purpose Converter/High-Definition TV) capability all the way to the NASA TV satellite. The test was very successful, yielding an overall end-to-end audio latency (delay) for the MPC System of 3.2 seconds. This is the delay from the crewmember to JSC/MCC-H to NASA Headquarters and out to the NASA TV satellite in high definition, i.e. the sum total of the audio delay the interviewer and interviewee will "feel" during an interactive event. This Japan/JAXA originated system will be utilized soon for downlink messages and in-flight interviews based on client capability.

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today. (Due to the Martin Luther King Federal Holiday tomorrow (1/21), the next CEO observations will be conducted on 1/23 (targets uplinked 1/22).)

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/21/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

At ~2:55am EST, the FE-2 again activated the VDS MPC (Video Distribution System/Multi-Purpose Converter) with its four downlinks to allow the ground to conduct HDTV (high-definition TV) playback and downlink operations. Later (~12:15pm), the MPC was powered off again. (The end-to-end test of the system, conducted by the crew and ground specialists on 1/17 to verify the MPC HDTV (Multi-Purpose Converter/High-Definition TV) capability all the way to the NASA TV satellite, was very successful, yielding an overall end-to-end audio latency (delay) for the MPC System of 3.2 seconds. This is the delay from the crewmember to JSC/MCC-H to NASA Headquarters and out to the NASA TV satellite in high definition (including, but are not limited to, CNNHD, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Discovery HD Theater), i.e. the sum total of the audio delay the interviewer and interviewee will "feel" during an interactive event. This Japan/JAXA originated system will be utilized soon for downlink messages and in-flight interviews based on client capability.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/22/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Peggy Whitson continued her work with the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox), today conducting runs #23 and #24, then powering down the payload and switching the MSG to standby. (After activation of MSG plus InSPACE & InSPACE-2 equipment, Peggy checked on alignment & focusing of MSG video cam #2, repositioned the sample vial, changed out video recorder tapes and later deactivated InSPACE & MSG. InSPACE, conducted last in June 2006 by Jeff Williams on Increment 13, obtains basic data on magnetorheological fluids, i.e., a new class of "smart materials" that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damper systems. The dispersed particles are contained in CAs (Coil Assemblies) in the MSG that subject them to electric fields of certain strength and frequencies.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/23/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Dan Tani dismantled the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) and stowed the equipment, including the video gear.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/24/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Upon wakeup, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko terminated his eighth MBI-12 SONOKARD experiment session, started last night, by taking the recording device from his SONOKARD sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-MED laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. (SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/25/08.

FE-1 Malenchenko finished Part 2 of his first stress test plus saliva and blood sampling of the ESA/Russian biomed experiment 'IMMUNO' (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS), today completing remaining urine sample collections. Specimens were then stowed in a special urine containment bag (blood samples were secured yesterday in the MELFI {Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS} in cold packs). (IMMUNO is a 24-hr. test of human immune system changes, with the objective to investigate immune neuro-endocrine reactions in the space environment by studying samples of saliva, blood and urine using collection kits and the biomedical (MBI) protection kit. Also included are entries in a fluid/medications intact log, and a stress-test questionnaire to be filled out by the subject at begin and end of the first day.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/26/08.

Ahead: Week 15 of Increment 16.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night on his Actiwatch, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink.

The crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning. ("Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the CDR's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/27/08.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night on his Actiwatch, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink.

The FE-2 also performed standard switch-over maintenance on the starboard & portside Lab CCAA (Common Cabin Air Assembly) air conditioners, closing the ITCS LTL (Internal Thermal Control System/Low Temperature Loop) flow to the first (LAB1S6) and initiating it on the second (LAB1P6) unit. This is a periodic service task.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/28/08.

With the Elektron-VM O2 (oxygen) generator currently off, a one-hour cabin air refresh was to be performed by the FE-1 from Progress 27P storage (SrPK) if required.

CDR Whitson conducted the periodic (every two weeks) 10-min inspection of the RED (Resistive Exercise Device) canister cords and accessory straps as well as the canister bolts for re-tightening if required.

Malenchenko completed today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM, including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables.

Working off his 'time permitting' discretionary job list, Yuri performed the daily 20-min. IMS maintenance, updating/editing its standard 'delta file' including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

At ~8:45am EST, the crew conducted a teleconference with the Shuttle crew of STS-122/1E, scheduled for launch on 2/7.

At ~9:40am, Peggy, Dan and Yuri tagged up with EVA specialists at MCC-H to discuss final arrangements for tomorrow's EVA-14 spacewalk.

Spending time in the Airlock (A/L) for final preparations for EVA-14, Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani -

Configured the DCS-760 digital camera and flash attachment to be taken outside,
Recharged three batteries for the EVA EMU-prebreathe period, to be installed in the EVA photo flash unit and EVA camera just prior to the spacewalk (when off station power),
Prepared the A/L EL (Airlock Equipment Lock) for the Campout & spacewalk,
Tagged up with ground specialists at ~9:40am EST for reviewing EVA particulars, and
Underwent the standard pre-EVA PMC (Private Medical Conference) via S- & Ku-band audio/video.
Yuri prepared three Russian 'Pille-MKS' radiation dosimeters, recorded their dosages and equipped each of the two EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) with a radiation sensor (A0309/CDR & A0310/FE-2). (A third sensor, A0308, was placed in the SM on the PULT reader for background readings.)

The CDR powered down the ham radio equipment in SM (Service Module) and FGB at ~12:30pm to prevent RF interference with the EMUs during the spacewalk. Peggy also closed the protective Lab science window shutters.

The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR, FE-2), TVIS treadmill (FE-1, FE-2), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2), and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Whitson then transferred the crew's exercise data file to the MEC for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

At ~2:50pm EST, Whitson and Tani began their overnight Campout prebreathe and lockout in the A/L. With METOX (Metal Oxide) canisters for CO2 removal in the A/L, the two spacewalkers performed PBA (Portable Breathing Apparatus) mask prebreathe for denitrogenation, while readying their equipment, then depressed the A/L to 10.2 psi for the campout.

After the 8.5-hr sleep period before the spacewalk, the A/L CL (Crewlock) hatch will be cracked at ~1:00am EST for a hygiene break/with mask prebreathe for Whitson and Tani, after spending the night on 10.2 psi. Around 2:10am, the hatch will be closed again by IV Yuri Malenchenko for EVA preparations in 10.2 psi, followed by EMU purge & prebreath. Afterwards, Yuri will support CL depressurization and EV1 & EV2 will egress (~5:20-5:30am).

CEO photo targets uplinked for today were IPY - Aurora Borealis; Heard Island, S. Indian Ocean (clear weather windows continue to be present in the region of Heard Island at the time of the ISS orbit pass. Looking to the right of track as ISS approached Antarctica. Mapping photography of the island was requested to capture snow and ice extent. The island of Kerguelen may also be visible to the northwest of Heard Island), and Patagonian Glaciers, S. America (this orbit track provided a traverse across the central portion of the Patagonian ranges. Overlapping, nadir mapping frames of glaciers on the western side of the mountains were requested).

>>>>Today 50 years ago, the U.S. launched its first Earth satellite, Explorer 1, on a Redstone/Jupiter rocket built by the Wernher von Braun team for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). The satellite, developed by JPL and equipped with radiation sensors by Dr. James Van Allen, discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belts of Earth.<<<<

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/31/08.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Before breakfast, CDR Whitson completed her 120-Day NUTRITION/w Repository session (blood collection only). Whitson also set up NUTRITION w/Repository hardware for the 24-hour urine sample collections that will begin tomorrow morning and end Sunday morning.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/01/08.

>>>Yesterday, NASA observed the annual Day of Remembrance honoring those members of the NASA Family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. This memorial event honors the families and crews of Columbia STS-107, Challenger STS 51-L, and Apollo 1, as well as all the astronauts who have sacrificed their lives for this nation. <<<

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/02/08.

Ahead: Week 16 of Increment 16.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/03/08.

This morning, Progress M-62/27P successfully undocked from the ISS DC1 at 5:32am EST 26P will remain in orbit in free flight until 2/15, continuing to phase out in front of the ISS (about 40 km per orbit) in order to support Russian Earth observation experiments. (The separation appeared smooth, with no anomalous behavior reported by the crew. TsUP-Moscow confirmed a 15 second first separation burn complete at approximately 5:35:07anm EST. The ISS returned to US Momentum Management (MM) at approximately 6:46am EST.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/04/08.

Ascent was nominal, all appendages (antennae and solar arrays) deployed nominally and the vehicle reached orbital insertion at 8:12am. 28P is scheduled to dock to the ISS on 2/7 (Thursday) at 9:38am. Congrats, Baikonur!

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/05/08.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/06/08.

Yest kasaniye! Progress M-63 (28P), approaching from below the station, docked flawlessly at the DC1 Docking Compartment nadir port at 9:38am EST, followed by docking probe retraction and hook closure ('sborka') after motion damp-out, while the ISS was in LVLH (local vertical/local horizontal) attitude. All Progress systems operated nominally from Automated Rendezvous start. (Launched on 2/5 (8:02am EST), the 28P resupply drone delivered about 2.5 tons of cargo for the ISS crews, including propellants for the Russian thrusters, fresh water, oxygen, food, spare parts, repair gear, life support and science experiment hardware.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/07/08.

Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-122 at 1:45 p.m. CST. Aboard the shuttle are Commander Steve Frick, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts. Schlegel and Eyharts are European astronauts.

Atlantis is in excellent condition. The shuttle is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Saturday. On Friday, the crew will use the shuttle's robotic arm to inspect Atlantis' heat shield on the wing leading edges and nose. They also will check the spacesuits that will be used for three spacewalks during the mission.

After Atlantis arrives at the station, Eyharts will become a member of the Expedition 16 crew, joining Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko. Flight Engineer Dan Tani, who has been aboard the station since October 2007, will return to Earth on Atlantis.

The launch of Atlantis is the 121st space shuttle launch and the 29th flight of Atlantis. The Columbus module is Europe's primary contribution to the space station. Columbus will host experiments in life, physical and earth sciences.

The shuttle crew will begin a sleep period at 7:45 p.m. CST and awaken at 3:45 a.m. CST Friday to begin their first full day in space.<

The crew's work/sleep cycle was shifted once more in preparation for Atlantis 1E arrival, to 5:00am-8:15pm.

STS-122/Atlantis continues its catch-up flight for tomorrow's FD3 ISS docking at ~12:25pm EDT, to begin ISS Stage 1E. (Catch-up rate ~480 nmi. per revolution of ~92 min.). (Hatch opening: expected at ~1:35pm, followed by: Safety Briefing, OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) handoff from SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) to SRMS (Shuttle RMS) at ~4:30pm, Soyuz seat liner transfer (for the Tani/Anderson exchange), and preparations for the first spacewalk, EVA-1, by EV1 Walheim & EV2 Schlegel, on 2/10, preceded by their overnight Campout tomorrow night in the Airlock (A/L) for denitrogenation/pre-breathe. Objectives of the nominal 11-day mission: Delivering & installing the Columbus module, delivering new ISS-16 crewmember LÃ(c)opold Eyharts & bringing Dan Tani back home, and conducting a total of three EVAs. Landing will nominally take place at KSC on FD10 (2/18) at ~9:59am EST.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/08/08.

Installing the laboratory, named for Christopher Columbus, is the primary goal of this 121st space shuttle mission. It will add 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the space station.

This morning's wakeup song, 'The Book of Love,' performed by Peter Gabriel, was played for European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts at 3:45 a.m. CST. Eyharts will become a member of the Expedition 16 crew, replacing Flight Engineer Dan Tani, after Atlantis arrives at the space station Saturday.

Today Atlantis Commander Steve Frick and his crewmates, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Eyharts will perform an inspection of Atlantis' heat shield using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. They'll also check out the tools they need for Saturday's rendezvous and docking to the station and install a centerline camera in the shuttle's orbiter docking system.

Spacewalkers Walheim, Schlegel and Love will prepare spacesuits that they will wear during the mission's three spacewalks; two by Walheim and Schlegel and one by Walheim and Love.

The International Space Station's Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Tani started their day at 4 a.m. CST. Today they will conduct a leak check of the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 where Atlantis will dock to the station Saturday morning at 11:25 a.m. CST.

Commander Steve Frick and his crewmates, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts, today completed a five-hour inspection of Atlantis' heat shield using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Imagery analysts and engineers on the ground will add today's three-dimensional sensor images to imagery and accelerometer data collected at launch and during the climb to orbit and continue their analysis of the shuttle's heat shield.

Also today, the crew checked out the tools that will be used during tomorrow's rendezvous and docking to the station, installed the centerline camera that will be used during docking and extended the outer ring of the Orbiter Docking System.

Spacewalkers Walheim, Schlegel and Love checked out the spacesuits that they will wear during the mission's three spacewalks. At 2:02 p.m. Walheim reported that the suits had been fully prepared for transfer to the space station.

On board the space station, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani readied the station for the arrival of Atlantis' crew by conducting a leak check of Pressurized Mating Adapter-2, Atlantis' docking point.

Tomorrow, Frick will perform the rendezvous pitch maneuver, an orbiter back-flip 600 feet below the space station that will allow Whitson and Malenchenko to take hundreds of detailed images of the orbiter's underside. With the pitch maneuver complete, Frick will fly the shuttle ahead of the station and slowly ease the orbiter back to a docking with the space station.

Tomorrow also marks Whitson's 48th birthday. She commented today that she was looking forward to Atlantis' arrival as her birthday present.

The STS-122 crew is on an 11-day mission that will deliver a new research module to the International Space Station, the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory. Columbus will be Europe's largest contribution to the construction of the station, adding 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the orbiting complex.

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 7:45 p.m. and will awaken at 3:45 a.m.

aturday = Docking Day. Happy Birthday, Peggy Whitson!

STS-122/Atlantis docked smoothly at the PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter-2) port at 12:17pm EST, eight minutes ahead of time, after successfully completing the RPM (R-Bar Pitch Maneuver) at 11:32am. The station now hosts ten occupants again as Mission 1E is underway. (The combined crew is comprised of ISS CDR Peggy Whitson, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko, FE-2 Dan Tani, STS CDR Steve Frick, PLT Alan Poindexter, MS1 Leland Melvin, MS2 Rex Walheim, MS3 Hans Schlegel, MS4 Stanley Love, and MS5 LÃ(c)opold Eyharts who replaces Dan Tani as FE-2, while the latter returns on the Atlantis as MS-5.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/09/08.

Space shuttle Atlantis will deliver the new module and a new crew member to the station when it docks at 11:25 a.m. CST to begin 6 days of docked operations.

Today's wakeup song, played for Commander Steve Frick, at 3:45 a.m. CST was the theme song from Garrison Keillor's radio variety show 'A Prairie Home Companion.' The song is the Spencer Williams composition "Tishomingo Blues," but with lyrics written especially for the show.

Frick and his shuttle crewmates begin rendezvous operations at 5:30 a.m. CST. At 10:23 a.m., at a range of 600 feet below the station, Frick will command Atlantis to perform a back flip so ISS Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko can photograph the thermal tiles on the shuttle's underside. Those digital images will be sent to Mission Control for analysis.

With the pitch maneuver complete, Frick will then fly the shuttle ahead of the station and slowly ease the orbiter back to a docking with the space station.

After hatch opening, the crew members will begin moving spacewalking equipment into the Quest airlock to prepare for the first excursion on Sunday. Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel will go outside to prepare the Columbus module to be grappled by the station's robotic arm, lifted from Atlantis' payload bay, and installed on the starboard side of Harmony.

The official exchange of Atlantis crewmember LÃ(c)opold Eyharts with space station Flight Engineer Dan Tani, who arrived at the station in October, is planned for 6 a.m. CST Sunday. The transfer becomes official with the installation of Eyharts' customized seat liner in the Soyuz.

The STS-122 crew is on an 11-day mission to install and activate Columbus. The new laboratory is Europe's largest contribution to the construction of the station, adding 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the orbiting complex.

What wasn't delayed, however, was the official crew rotation of ESA Astronaut Leopold Eyharts and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani, which was completed at 5:20 p.m. Eyharts now is a member of Expedition 16 and Tani is an STS-122 mission specialist.

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Tani welcomed the seven-man Atlantis crew into the space station at 12:40 p.m., following an 11:17 a.m. docking, following a flawless rendezvous throughout the morning.

They'll have 24 extra hours to finish preparing for the mission's next major milestone, however, due to a crew medical issue. The mission's first spacewalk originally was scheduled for Sunday, but has been postponed until Monday. Mission Specialist Rex Walheim will be joined for the spacewalk by Mission Specialist Stanley Love, rather than Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, as originally planned.

Space Shuttle Program Deputy Manager John Shannon said ground teams are currently reworking the mission timeline and there should be no impact to the completion of the mission's objectives, despite being shifted one day later.

To make up for the delay, Shannon said the crew will conserve enough power to spend an additional day in space. Atlantis went into orbit with the option of adding one day to its mission, which was to be used for additional work commissioning the new Columbus module. By adding a second day, the crew could shift their activities by one day and still have time for more Columbus work after the module is installed.

Before docking, Commander Steve Frick flew the shuttle through a backflip to allow the space station crew a good view of Atlantis' heat shield. Whitson and Malenchenko took about 300 photos of the shuttle's thermal protection system and sent them down to teams on the ground for analysis.

The teams also are paying close attention to photos sent down by the crew Friday of minor damage to a thermal blanket over the shuttle's right Orbital Maneuvering System pod. A similar condition occurred on the left pod last year on STS-117 and was repaired during a spacewalk.

Shannon said this case does not seem to be as much of a concern, because this particular blanket location does not experience as much heat during the shuttle's reentry.

Docking went smoothly with the exception of a hiccup with one of the station's five general purpose computers. After experiencing some problems with guidance and navigation software on the computer, the crew opted to use other computers for the shuttle's rendezvous with the station. Only one computer is needed to perform the rendezvous, with one computer required for backup. Mission Control will review the computer's software to ensure its health.

Ahead: Week 17 of Increment 16.

Mission 1E replanning by MCC-Houston, driven by the one-day delay of the first spacewalk, was completed last night, as follows:

Approved mission extension by one day (i.e., 12+0+2 instead of 11+0+2), resulting in 2/19 (Tuesday) as return date for Atlantis;
Limiting resource being oxygen (O2), under further discussion is the option to either extend by one more docked day or transfer the unexpended O2 to the ISS (current O2 margins are estimated to be 11+1+2 plus an additional 20-25 hours. These are still being refined given the insertion of the new FD4);
All FD 4 activities moved to FD 5. EVA-1 will be conducted by Stanley Love and Rex Walheim tomorrow, with Campout of the two tonight;
Today (FD 4) was replanned and includes 1.5 hrs of focused inspection (FI) of the starboard OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) pod blanket that has a corner slightly peeled back (the FI, starting at ~ 2:15 pm EST, is planned for 90 min, with additional FI time available on FD 06 if needed);
Transfer status: 22% of transfer complete, 6 hours of transfer scheduled for FD 4, expect 35/40 lbs N2 transfer today, 3 CWCs filled.
Wakeup time for the ISS crew remains at 4:45am EST, with sleep time tonight 8:45pm. Same times for the Shuttle crew.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/10/08.

Mission 1E's EVA-1 was completed successfully by Stanley Love & Rex Walheim in 7hr 58min, accomplishing all its objectives.
(During the spacewalk, Walheim (EV1) & Love (EV2) prepared Columbus for unberthing and installation, hooking up electric cables, removing protective covers from the module's docking mechanism and equipping Columbus with the PDGF (Power & Data Grapple Fixture) required for grappling. They also started preparing the NTA (Nitrogen Tank Assembly) for removal, preparatory to replacement with a new NTA on EVA-2 (disconnecting electric cables and two ammonia flex hoses was deferred to Wednesday, but Walheim unfastened two of the four bolts holding down the NTA). Official start time of the spacewalk was 9:13am EST, about 25 minutes ahead of the timeline, and it ended at 5:11pm. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 7h 58min. It was the 102nd spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 74th from the station (28 from Shuttle, 52 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 451h 11min, and the 6th for Expedition 16 (totaling 43h 19min.) After today's EVA, a total of 125 spacewalkers (94 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and ten astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-1 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 639h 33min outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 124th spacewalk by U.S. astronauts.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/11/08.

At ~9:15am EST, the European Columbus laboratory was opened and entered by crewmembers for the first time. (Columbus is permanently attached at the starboard port of Node-2.)

Crew sleep cycle remains at 4:45am - 8:15pm for both crews.

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

CDR Peggy Whitson and FE-2-16 Leo Eyharts continued their IMMUNO (Integrated Immune Assessment) experiment, begun on 2/9, with liquid saliva collections, first thing after wake-up and prior to breakfast, drinking and teeth-brushing. All samples were stored at ambient temperature. Dan Tani's IMMUNO liquid saliva collection starts tomorrow morning. (IMMUNO (Integrated Immune Assessment)is a 24-hr. test of human immune system changes, with the objective to investigate immune neuro-endocrine reactions in the space environment by studying samples of saliva, blood and urine using collection kits and the biomedical (MBI) protection kit, to develop and validate an immune monitoring strategy consistent with operational flight requirements and constraints. The strategy uses both long and short duration crewmembers as study subjects. The saliva is collected in two forms, dry and liquid. The dry samples are collected at intervals during the collection day using a specialized book that contains filter paper. The liquid saliva collections require that the crewmember soak a piece of cotton inside their mouth and place it in a salivette bag; there are four of the liquid collections during docked operations. The on-orbit blood samples are collected right before undocking and returned on the Shuttle so that analysis can occur with 48 hours of the sampling. This allows assays that quantify the function of different types white blood cells and other active components of the immune system. For cold storage, samples are secured in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). Also included are entries in a fluid/medications intact log, and a stress-test questionnaire to be filled out by the subject at begin and end. Urine is collected during a 24-hour period, conventionally divided into two twelve-hour phases: morning-evening and evening-morning.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/12/08.

Crew sleep cycle remains at 4:45am EST - 8:15pm for both crews.

Mission 1E's EVA-2 was completed successfully by Rex Walheim & Hans Schlegel in 6h 45m, accomplishing all its objectives and get-aheads.
(During the spacewalk, Walheim (EV1) & Schlegel (EV2) removed the new NTA (Nitrogen Tank Assembly) from the Shuttle PLB (Payload Bay), 'flew' it to the CETA (Crew & Equipment Translation Aid) cart for transfer to the P1 truss, installed it in place of the failed NTA, which they returned via CETA for stowage in the PLB, and performed Get-Aheads, viz.: Clean up Lab MMOD (Micrometeoroid/Orbital Debris Shield) & install Columbus Trunnion Covers.) Official start time of the spacewalk was 9:27am EST, about 8 min ahead of the timeline, and it ended at 4:12pm. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 6h 45min. It was the 103rd spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 75th from the station (28 from Shuttle, 53 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 457h 56min, and the 7th for Expedition 16 (totaling 50h 04min). After today's EVA, a total of 127 spacewalkers (95 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and 11 astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-2 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 646h 18min outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 125th spacewalk involving U.S. astronauts.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/13/08.

Crew sleep cycle shifted one hour earlier: 3:45am - 7:15pm for both crews.

Last night, Mission 1E was extended by one day (13+0+2), with landing now on Wednesday, 2/20, at ~9:03am EST (if at KSC).

Columbus final activation has been completed.

After yesterday's command queue lockup between the COL CCS (Columbus Orbital Laboratory Command & Control System) and the COL MMC (Mission Management Computer), final activation of COL data management systems was accomplished late last night by transitioning/swapping the primary & backup C&C MDM (Multiplexer/Demultiplexer) computers. (The MMC is the intermodule interface computer required between the US C&DH (Command & Data Handling) system and the COL DMC (Data Management Computer) which handles equipment monitoring)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/14/08.

This morning, Shuttle Commander Steve Frick and Mission Specialists Hans Schlegel and Daniel Tani, station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Also participating were European Space Agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and former astronaut Thomas Reiter of the German Space Agency.

The astronauts then spoke with NBC News, WOI-TV and WBBM radio. WOI-TV is in Des Moines, Iowa, capital of Whitson's home state. WBBM is in Chicago, near Tani's hometown of Lombard, Ill.

Tonight, Mission Specialists Stanley Love and Rex Walheim will camp out inside the Quest airlock. This will purge the nitrogen from their bodies in advance of tomorrow's spacewalk.

During the 6.5-hour spacewalk that is scheduled to start at 7:40 a.m. CST, Love and Walheim will install two experiment platforms on the outside of the Columbus module. If time allows, they also will take a closer look at some damage to a handrail on the Quest airlock. The astronauts have built a special tool that will be used during the inspection, which comprises an overglove material wrapped around a socket. They will run the tool over the damaged handrail to see if there are any edges sharp enough to cut the material.

The shuttle crew woke up at 2:45 a.m. to 'Consider Yourself at Home.' The song, which is from the musical 'Oliver!', was played for Mission Specialist Stanley Love.

The first major event of the day will begin at 8:55 a.m., when shuttle Commander Steve Frick, Mission Specialists Hans Schlegel and Daniel Tani, station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts speak with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. Schlegel, a European Space Agency astronaut, is from Germany.

Tani, Whitson and Malenchenko will then speak with reporters from NBC News, WOI-TV and WBBM radio at 10:10 a.m. WOI-TV is in Des Moines, Iowa, capital of Whitson's home state. WBBM will be calling from Chicago, near Tani's hometown of Lombard, Ill.

Before the day is over, the crews will also go over the plan for the mission's third and final spacewalk. Love and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim will be installing experiment platforms on the outside of the new Columbus laboratory and storing a failed control moment gyroscope in the shuttle's cargo bay. They will also take a closer look at some damage to a handrail on the Quest Airlock that may be the cause of cuts to spacesuit gloves on recent missions.

Part of today's preparations will involve building a tool that will be used in the inspection. Astronauts will wrap an overglove around a socket, then run the tool over the damaged handrail to see if there are any edges sharp enough to cut the material.

ISS crew goes to sleep one hour earlier than yesterday: 3:45am - 6:15pm, Shuttle crew half an hour later. 3:45am - 6:45pm.

Mission 1E's EVA-3 was completed successfully by Rex Walheim & Stan Love in 7h 25m, accomplishing all its objectives and get-aheads.
(During the spacewalk, Walheim (EV1) & Love (EV3) transferred the European SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory) and the EuTEF (European Technology Exposure Facility) to the COL EPF (Columbus Orbital Laboratory External Payload Facility), retrieved the failed CMG (Control Moment Gyro) for stowage in the Shuttle PLB for return, installed COL worksite interface fixtures and handrails, inspected a suspected sharp-edged MMOD impact site on an Airlock (A/L) handrail (#508), and inspected, photographed and took samples from the failed starboard SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint) race ring and covers not yet inspected before. Official start time of the spacewalk was 8:07am EST, about 28 min ahead of timeline, and it ended at 3:32pm. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 7h 25min. It was the 104th spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 76th from the station (28 from Shuttle, 54 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 465h 21min, and the 8th for Expedition 16 (totaling 57h 29min). After today's EVA, a total of 129 spacewalkers (97 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and 11 astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-2 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 653h 43min outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 126th spacewalk involving U.S. astronauts.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/15/08.

Wake/sleep cycle shifted back again to prepare for 2/18 undocking: 3:15am - 5:15pm EST, Shuttle crew: 3:15am - 5:45pm.

More crewtime was applied to COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) rack configuration, activation & operation, led by CDR Peggy Whitson and FE-2-16 Leo Eyharts. (In particular, Whitson focused on readying the EDR (European Drawer Rack), gathering equipment, outfitting the rack, installing PCDF EU (Protein Crystalization Diagnostic Facility Electronic Unit) coolant water and data connections, setting up the laptop, verifying its software load & activating it, checking out the EDR RFI (Rack Fire Indicator), and checking out the functionalities of the rack's various subsystems.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/16/08.

Earlier in the day, space shuttle Atlantis' propulsion system was used to reboost the station's altitude by about 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers) -the first reboost of the station using shuttle thrusters since 2002.

The altitude adjustment lasted 36 minutes and used four of the shuttle's vernier jets that produced about 28 pounds of thrust each to gently raise the orbit. The increased altitude will allow the station to be in the proper orbit for next month's arrival of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission.

Early Saturday, all 10 members of the shuttle and station crews held their traditional news conference with media in the United States and Europe. Today set the stage for the final transfer of cargo between the shuttle and station early on Sunday. The crews will bid farewell to one another and close the hatches between the shuttle and station shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday. Atlantis' departure remains scheduled for early Monday.

Dan Tani's 118th day in space (116 aboard ISS). Ahead: Week 18 of Increment 16.

Wake/sleep cycle shifted further back to prepare for 2/18 undocking: 1:45am - 4:15pm EST (incl. Eyharts), Shuttle crew: 1:45am - 4:45pm (incl. Tani).

CDR Peggy Whitson performed her final INTEGRATED IMMUNE blood collection, assisted by MS1 Leland Melvin, right before hatch closure. FE-2 Dan Tani will continue his saliva collections, both liquid and dry, and blood collections aboard the Atlantis all the way home FE-2-16 Leo Eyharts transferred his and Peggy's saliva return pouches and blood sleeves as well as Dan's saliva collection kit to the Shuttle for return. (Background: IMMUNE assessment, integrated with the Russian IMMUNO, is a 24-hr. test of human immune system changes, with the objective to investigate immune neuro-endocrine reactions in the space environment by studying samples of saliva, blood and urine using collection kits and the biomedical (MBI) protection kit, to develop and validate an immune monitoring strategy consistent with operational flight requirements and constraints. The strategy uses both long and short duration crewmembers as study subjects. The saliva is collected in two forms, dry and liquid. The dry samples are collected at intervals during the collection day using a specialized book that contains filter paper. The liquid saliva collections require that the crewmember soak a piece of cotton inside their mouth and place it in a salivette bag; there are four of the liquid collections during docked operations. The on-orbit blood samples are collected right before undocking and returned on the Shuttle so that analysis can occur with 48 hours of the sampling. This allows assays that quantify the function of different types white blood cells and other active components of the immune system. For cold storage, samples are secured in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). Also included are entries in a fluid/medications intact log, and a stress-test questionnaire to be filled out by the subject at begin and end. Urine is collected during a 24-hour period, conventionally divided into two twelve-hour phases: morning-evening and evening-morning.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/17/08.

US Holiday (President's Day).

STS-122/Atlantis and ISS are flying in separate orbits again (Flight Day 12 for STS-122/1E)

After final preparations on both sides of the hatches (closed yesterday on ISS side at 1:03pm EST), Atlantis this morning undocked smoothly at 4:27am from PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter 2), after a total docked time of 11d 13h 42m. (For undocking, the station was turned from -XVV through ~180 deg to +XVV ZLV (+x-axis in velocity vector, z-axis in local vertical) at ~3:30am, put briefly on free drift for the undocking, and then maneuvered to 1E Stage attitude of +XVV TEA attitude at 5:06am.) See picture from Atlantis flight deck, below.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/18/08.

Wake/sleep cycle for the crew was adjusted to 1:00am-4:30pm EST.

For today's Voluntary Science program, CDR Whitson continued her work with the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox), conducting runs #28, #29 and #30, investigating low frequency behavior of the lowest concentration magnetorheological (MR) fluid, exchanging video tapes after each run, then switching to the highest concentration (vial #4) and finally powering the MSG down. (The activity included an EPO (Education Payload Operation) Demo for grades 9-12. InSPACE obtains basic data on MR fluids, i.e., a new class of "smart materials" that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damper systems. The colloidal (dispersed) particles are contained in CAs (Coil Assemblies) in the MSG that subject them to electric fields at certain strength and frequencies. The desired strong dipolar interaction between the small colloidal particles can be achieved in micro-G simply with an external magnetic field being turned on and off. On the ground, the flow properties (rheology) of many materials, especially those making up consumer products like detergents, fabric softeners, toothpaste and paints, are similarly controlled, though not by magnetic fields but by adding a polymer. It now appears, for example, that new formulations of fabric softeners may perform better in space than on earth. )

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/19/08.

STS-122/Atlantis returned to Earth this morning after 12d 18h 22min in space, touching down at KSC on the first landing opportunity at 9:07am EST, after 202 orbits & 5.3 million miles. During the perfectly executed ISS 1E mission, its seven-member crew conducted three EVAs, delivered and installed the European Columbus laboratory, brought up new Expedition 16 crewmember LÃ(c)opold Eyharts and returned his predecessor Dan Tani who spent 121 days in space (116 on board the station). It was the 121st flight of a Space Shuttle, the 24th Shuttle mission to visit the station and the 29th for Atlantis. Welcome back, Atlantis! Next up: STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A on March 11 with the Kibo laboratory module - Japan/JAXA's BIG day.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/20/08.

The regen process will be terminated before sleeptime, at ~2:15pm EST. Regeneration of bed #2 follows tomorrow. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods.)

CDR Whitson and FE-2 Eyharts completed the mandatory 30-min. medical CBT (Computer-based Training) contingency drill, with video & text material, to refresh their CMO (Crew Medical Officer) proficiency/rating. (To maintain proficiency in using HMS (health maintenance systems) hardware, today's training focused on Part 2 of the regular exercise, viz., a review of Nasal Airway, Suction Device, ILMA (Intubating Laryngeal Mask Airway) with endotracheal tube, and Cricothyrotomy (incision to re-enable breathing air inflow).)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/21/08.

(SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/22/08.

The crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning. ("Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the CDR's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/23/08.

Ahead: Week 19 of Increment 16.

For today's Voluntary Science program, Peggy Whitson continued her work with the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox), conducting runs #31, #32 and #33 to investigate low frequency behavior (0.66 Hz) at the highest particle concentration MR (magnetorheological) fluid, exchanging video tapes after each run, then removing the vial assembly and finally powering the MSG down. (InSPACE obtains basic data on MR fluids, i.e., a new class of "smart materials" that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damper systems. The colloidal (dispersed) particles are contained in CAs (Coil Assemblies) in the MSG that subject them to electric fields at certain strength and frequencies. The desired strong dipolar interaction between the small colloidal particles can be achieved in micro-G simply with an external magnetic field being turned on and off. On the ground, the flow properties (rheology) of many materials, especially those making up consumer products like detergents, fabric softeners, toothpaste and paints, are similarly controlled, though not by magnetic fields but by adding a polymer. It now appears, for example, that new formulations of fabric softeners may perform better in space than on earth.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/24/08.

Underway: Week 19 of Increment 16.

Before breakfast, having reached the FD15 (Flight Day 15) mark in his flight, FE-2 Eyharts undertook his first session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, today limited to two blood draws (for Serum & Heparin). (Acting as operator and CMO (Crew Medical Officer), Peggy Whitson performed phlebotomy on Leo, i.e., drew blood samples (from an arm vein) which were first allowed to coagulate in the Repository, then spun in the HRF RC (Human Research Facility/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned. Background: NUTRITION is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight; this includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile currently required on all U.S. Astronauts collects blood and urine samples preflight and postflight. NUTRITION expands this protocol by also capturing inflight samples and an additional postflight sample. Furthermore, additional measurements are included for samples from all sessions, including additional markers of bone metabolism, vitamin status, and hormone and oxidative stressor tests. The results will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures (exercise and pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and nutrient requirements. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L), first started on two Mir crewmembers and then on all ISS US crews, nominally consists of two pre-flight and one post-flight analysis of nutritional status, as well as an in-flight assessment of dietary intake using the FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire). The current NUTRITION project expands MR016L testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/25/08.

The samples were consecutively stored in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). Blood collections were performed by Peggy on Leo yesterday. (The current NUTRITION/Repository project is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight. It includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes, expanding the previous Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L) testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/26/08.

The sampling kit was then stowed away. Leo's next NUTRITION/Repository activity will be his Flight Day 30 (FD30) session. (The current NUTRITION project is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight. It includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes, expanding the previous Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L) testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/27/08.

Progress thrusters (DPO) were inhibited and not involved. (Crew activities focused on TORU activation, inputting commands via the RUO Rotational Hand Controller and close-out ops. TORU lets an SM-based crewmember perform the approach and docking of automated Progress vehicles in case of failure of the automated KURS system. Receiving a video image of the approaching ISS, as seen from a Progress-mounted docking television camera ('Klest'), on a color monitor ('Simvol-Ts', i.e. 'symbol center') which also displays an overlay of rendezvous data from the onboard digital computer, the crewmember steers the Progress to mechanical contact by means of two hand controllers, one for rotation (RUO), the other for translation (RUD), on adjustable armrests. The controller-generated commands are transmitted from the SM's TORU control panel to the Progress via VHF radio. In addition to the Simvol-Ts color monitor, range, range rate (approach velocity) and relative angular position data are displayed on the 'Klest-M' video monitor (VKU) which starts picking up signals from Progress when it is still approximately 7 km away. TORU is monitored in real time from TsUP over Russian ground sites (RGS) and via Ku-band from Houston, but its control cannot be taken over from the ground.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/28/08.

Before breakfast and exercise, FE-2 Eyharts performed his first PHS (Periodic Health Status) w/Blood Labs examination. CDR Whitson assisted in drawing blood and using the U.S. PCBA(Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer). The second part of PHS, Subjective Clinical Evaluation, was performed later in the day. (The PHS exam, with PCBA analysis and clinical evaluation, is guided by special software (IFEP, In-Flight Examination Program) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). While PCBA analyzes total blood composition, the blood's hematocrit is particularly measured by the Russian MO-10 protocol.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/29/08.

The crew completed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning. ("Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the CDR's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/01/08.

Ahead: Week 20 of Increment 16.

For today's Voluntary Science program, Peggy Whitson continued her work with the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox), conducting another three runs (#38, #39 and #40) to investigate higher-frequency behavior (2 Hz for #38 & #39, 5Hz for #40) at different current levels for the MR (magnetorheological) fluid with no vial change, exchanging video tapes after each run, then removing the vial assembly and finally powering the MSG down. (InSPACE obtains basic data on MR fluids, i.e., a new class of "smart materials" that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damper systems. The colloidal (dispersed) particles are contained in CAs (Coil Assemblies) in the MSG that subject them to electric fields at certain strength and frequencies. The desired strong dipolar interaction between the small colloidal particles can be achieved in micro-G simply with an external magnetic field being turned on and off. On the ground, the flow properties (rheology) of many materials, especially those making up consumer products like detergents, fabric softeners, toothpaste and paints, are similarly controlled, though not by magnetic fields but by adding a polymer. It now appears, for example, that new formulations of fabric softeners may perform better in space than on earth.)

FE-1 Malenchenko completed the routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables plus the weekly collection of the toilet flush counter (SPK-U) and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP/Moscow. (Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists of replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers, replacement of an EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine container, replacement of the KOV EDV for the Elektron-intended water, and processing U.S. condensate water as it becomes available in a filled CWC (Contingency Water Container) from the Lab humidifier. Weekly SOZh reports (on Sundays) to TsUP/Moscow deal with number & dates of water and urine containers, counter readings of water consumption & urine collection, plus data and total operating time of the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SOGS air revitalization subsystem.)

After Houston flight controllers deactivated the CDRA (Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly) early this morning (4:00am-9:00am EST) and cooling was no longer required, CDR Whitson disconnected the ITCS LTL QD (Internal Thermal Control System/Low Temperature Loop/Quick Disconnect) jumper to the CDRA rack (LAB1D6).

Working from the Russian voluntary 'time permitting' task list, Yuri Malenchenko -

Completed his eighth run of the Russian DZZ-2 "Diatomeya" ocean observations program (using the NIKON F-5 digital still camera with 80-200 mm lens and the SONY PD-150P camcorder at medium zoom Yuri focused on phytoplankton field blooming in early March in the sub-arctic front of the Atlantic and bioproductive processes intensifying at this time of year in the Indian Ocean due to restructuring of the monsoon circulation; also of interest were associated oceanic phenomena (cloud pattern, water surface dynamics) in the target areas, today in the Indian Ocean were the Oman coastal area and the areas west of Australia, and in the Atlantic Ocean the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Western Sahara offshore area);
Conducted the regular daily checkup on the Japanese experiment GCF-JAXA (Granada Crystallization Facility) in the Russian TBU incubator, maintained at +20 degC, including a temperature check on its ART (automatic temperature recorder), and
Performed the daily monitoring, picture-taking and downloading for the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 ("Plants-2") experiment which researches growth and development of plants (peas) under spaceflight conditions in the Lada-12 greenhouse from IBMP (Institute of Bio-Medical Problems, Russian: IMBP).
At ~3:45am, the FE-1 participated in today's Presidential Election in the Russian Federation with a personal downlink at ~3:45am EST as a Crew Choice event via RGS (Russian Ground Site) VHF.

Eyharts and Whitson had their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop), Leo at ~10:45am EST, Peggy at ~12:12pm

The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), RED resistive exercise device (CDR) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1, FE-2).

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

FE-1 Malenchenko updated software on the Russian RS1 laptop HDD (Hard Disk Drive). (After first connecting the A31p to the AGAT external monitor (temporarily disconnected from TP2 laptop), the FE-1 'ghosted' (cloned) its HDD with Vers. 07.05 file structure from a DVD, then updated the RS1 HDD new software from an USB memory stick, and created a copy of the load.)

Afterwards, Malenchenko conducted the periodic/long-term inspection of the pressure hull in the Service Module Working Compartment (SM RO), looking for any moisture, deposits, mold, corrosion and pitting behind panels 107, 109, 130, 134, 135, 138, 139, 452, also underneath the TVIS treadmill (where deposit was discovered earlier) and the cold plates (where SNT and STR lines are installed). (The inspection of the hull surface, which is coated with a primer and dark-green enamel, is done using cleaning napkins to wipe the area in question if required and reporting results to the ground. The hull inspection looks for changed color and cavities; if cavities are found, they are to be measured for depth after cleaning. Digital photographs of the shell before and after the removal of deposits will be made for documentation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/03/08.

(Today's troubleshooting dealt with repair and cleaning of a threaded hole on a standoff element for the right K-BAR capture fitting. The FE-2 used a vacuum cleaner to remove FOD (Foreign Object Debris) plus safety goggles, rubber gloves and a surgical mask for his protection.)

Leo also continued COL commissioning, today unlocking (but not completely removing) the AVM (Anti-Vibration Mount) locking bolts of the module's ISFA (Intermodular Ventilation Supply Fan Assembly) and IRFA (Intermodular Ventilation Return Fan Assembly). (The two fan assemblies are located at opposite sidewalls of the module, both behind cover panels.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/04/08.

(Today's troubleshooting dealt with repair and cleaning of a threaded hole on a standoff element for the right K-BAR capture fitting. The FE-2 used a vacuum cleaner to remove FOD (Foreign Object Debris) plus safety goggles, rubber gloves and a surgical mask for his protection.)

Leo also continued COL commissioning, today unlocking (but not completely removing) the AVM (Anti-Vibration Mount) locking bolts of the module's ISFA (Intermodular Ventilation Supply Fan Assembly) and IRFA (Intermodular Ventilation Return Fan Assembly). (The two fan assemblies are located at opposite sidewalls of the module, both behind cover panels.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/05/08.

CDR Whitson performed the periodic calibration of the two CSA-O2 (Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen sensor) instruments #1041 & #1052, using a calibration tank with accurately known pressure. (Partial Pressure Oxygen (ppO2) readings were 21.4% before and 21.3% after calibration on #1041, 23,3%/21.3% on #1052.)

Afterwards, Whitson took the periodic CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) measurements in the cabin atmosphere with the CDMK (CO2 Monitoring Kit, #1013). (Measured levels were 0.45% in the Lab, 0.43% in the SM (Service Module), 0.44% in the COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory). 0.45% = 4,500 ppm (parts per million).)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/06/08.

(SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/07/08.

>>>Tonight's BIG EVENT: Launch of ATV Jules Verne (see Ascent Timeline below).

For his second run with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, FE-2 Eyharts completed the all-day session, collecting urine samples for 24 hrs (to continue through tomorrow morning) and blood samples (for Serum & Heparin). (Acting as operator and CMO (Crew Medical Officer), Peggy Whitson performed phlebotomy on Leo, i.e., drew blood samples (from an arm vein) which were first allowed to coagulate in the Repository, then spun in the HRF2 RC (Human Research Facility 2/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned. Background: NUTRITION is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight; this includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile currently required on all U.S. Astronauts collects blood and urine samples preflight and postflight. NUTRITION expands this protocol by also capturing in-flight samples and an additional postflight sample. Furthermore, additional measurements are included for samples from all sessions, including additional markers of bone metabolism, vitamin status, and hormone and oxidative stressor tests. The results will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures (exercise and pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and nutrient requirements. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L), first started on two Mir crewmembers and then on all ISS US crews, nominally consists of two pre-flight and one post-flight analysis of nutritional status, as well as an in-flight assessment of dietary intake using the FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire). The current NUTRITION project has expanded MR016L testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/08/08.

Ahead: Week 21 of Increment 16.

After a flawless, precise on-time launch last night at 11:03:04 pm EST at Kourou/French Guiana, ATV1 Jules Verne is on its way to the ISS. (Currently entering a period of test and orbit raising maneuvers, the European automated freighter will start 'loitering' on 3/19 about 1200 miles ahead of ISS (which at that time is busy with STS-123/1J/A), then will begin maneuvering at 3/27, conduct checkout Demos toward an IMMT Go/No Go decision on 4/2, and Docking on 4/3 (start Final Approach: ~6:10am EDT, contact SM aft port: ~10:20am.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/09/08.

Underway: Week 21 of Increment 16.

After consulting with Col-CC (Columbus Control Center) specialists, FE-2 Eyharts set up a video camcorder in front of the FSL RIC (Fluid Science Laboratory Rack Interface Controller) to monitor its LEDs, then performed an uplinked troubleshooting procedure on the FSL facility, using wire cutter, wire stripper and crimp tools in an effort to repair its LAN (Local Area Network) jumper that could not be connected with the UIP (Utility Interface Panel) J46 LAN-1 connector last week.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/10/08.

STS-123/Endeavour (ISS-1J/A) lifted off spectacularly in darkness early this morning right on time (2:28am EDT) with all systems performing nominally, for rendezvous with ISS tomorrow (3/12, Wednesday) and docking at approximately 11:25pm EDT. The Orbiter is carrying the seven-member crew of Commander Dominic L. Gorie, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Richard M. Linnehan, Robert L. Behnken, Michael J. Foreman, Takao Doi and Garrett E. Reisman. Reisman will replace LÃ(c)opold Eyharts as ISS Flight Engineer 2, who returns on 3/26 (nominal) with STS-123. STS-123 is the 122nd space shuttle flight, the 21st flight for Endeavour, the 25th flight to the station and the second of six Shuttle flights planned for 2008 (including the Hubble Service Mission 4). Its primary payloads are the 18,490-lbs Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (ELM-PS or JLP) and the 3,400-lbs Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) 'Dextre'. We are off to another great mission!

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/11/08.

The crew was awakened at 3:28 p.m. by the Vince Guaraldi Trio's 'Linus & Lucy.' The song, which is from the album 'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' was played for Mission Specialist Mike Foreman.

The main activity of the day is the standard inspection of Endeavour's heat shield to ensure it is in good condition following launch. Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialist Takao Doi will use the shuttle's robotic arm and orbiter boom sensor system to scan the shuttle's wing leading edges and nose cap. The survey results will be sent to the ground for analysis.

Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken, Rick Linnehan and Garrett Reisman will check out spacesuits in preparation for the five spacewalks they and Foreman will perform while at the International Space Station. Foreman has several other activities scheduled for the day, including preparations for Wednesday's docking with the station.

The station crew also is preparing for Wednesday's docking. Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts started their day at 3 p.m., after a shortened sleep period that allowed them to align their schedules with that of the shuttle crew.

Aboard the shuttle are Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Robert Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan, Garrett Reisman and Takao Doi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut.

Endeavour will deliver the first component of the Japanese laboratory complex, Kibo, to the station. Kibo, which means "Hope" in English, is the major contribution of Japan to the International Space Station. The laboratory complex will take three shuttle flights to assemble. Endeavour also is carrying an intricate robotics system called Dextre that was developed for the station by the Canadian Space Agency. The two-armed robot will be attached to the end of the station's robotic arm to handle smaller tasks that otherwise would require a spacewalk to accomplish.

The STS-123 mission will be the longest mission to date to the station and will include five spacewalks.

International Space Station Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts were awake beginning their workday when Endeavour launched. Reisman will become a member of the station crew after docking as he trades places with Eyharts, who will return to Earth aboard Endeavour once it departs the station.

Endeavour's crew will begin a sleep period at 7:28 a.m. today and awaken at 3:28 p.m. to begin its first full day in space. The shuttle is scheduled to dock to the station at 10:20 p.m. Wednesday.

STS-123/Endeavour continues its chaser flight for tonight's docking at ~11:25pm EDT, to begin ISS Stage 1J/A. (Catch-up rate ~480 nmi. per revolution of ~92 min). (Hatch opening is expected at ~1:08am, followed by: Safety Briefing, Soyuz seat liner transfer (for the Eyharts/Reisman exchange), SRMS (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System)- transfer of SLP-D1 (Spacelab Pallet Deployable 1), carrying SPDM 'Dextre', from Shuttle cargo bay to POA (Payload ORU Attachment) on MBS (Mobile Base System) at ~2:30am, and preparations for the first spacewalk, EVA-1, to be conducted by EV1 Linnehan & EV2 Reisman on 3/13 (~9:23pm EDT), preceded by their 'overnight' Campout tomorrow (6:43am-7:45pm) in the Airlock (A/L) for denitrogenation/pre-breathe. Main objectives of the nominal 16-day mission: Installation of the 18,490-lbs ELM-PS or JLP (Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section) and the 3,400-lbs Canadian SPDM (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator) 'Dextre', delivering new ISS-16 crewmember Garrett Reisman & bringing LÃ(c)opold Eyharts back home, and conducting a total of five EVAs. Landing will nominally take place at KSC on FD17 (3/26) at ~8:35pm EDT.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/12/08.

Commander Dom Gorie and his crewmates, Pilot Greg Johnson and Mission Specialists Bob Behnken, Mike Foreman, Takao Doi, Rick Linnehan and Garrett Reisman, early Wednesday completed a five-hour inspection of Endeavour's heat shield using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Imagery analysts and engineers on the ground will add these sensor images to those collected at launch and during the climb to orbit and continue their analysis of the orbiter's heat shield.

Additionally the STS-123 crew checked out the tools that will be used during Wednesday's rendezvous and docking to the station; installed the centerline camera that will be used during docking; and extended the outer ring of the Orbiter Docking System.

Spacewalkers Linnehan, Foreman, Behnken and Reisman checked the spacesuits that they will wear during the mission's five planned spacewalks.

On board the space station, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts readied the station for the arrival of Endeavour by conducting a leak check of the docking port attached to the Harmony node.

About an hour before docking as the shuttle approaches the station, Gorie will perform the rendezvous pitch maneuver -an orbiter back-flip -600 feet below the station that will allow Whitson and Malenchenko to take hundreds of detailed images of the orbiter's underside. With the pitch maneuver complete, Gorie will fly the shuttle to a point about 300 feet in front of the station and then slowly ease the orbiter back to a docking.

STS-123 is budgeted for 16 days -the longest mission to the station -and will deliver the Japanese logistics compartment and the Canadian dextrous robot arm to their permanent home. A record five spacewalks will be performed while Endeavour is docked to the station to assist with the robotic attachment of the small logistics module and the assembly of Dextre -the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator that will extend the reach and capability of the station's robotic arm.

Endeavour's crew is scheduled to go to sleep at about 7 a.m. with the wakeup call from Mission Control scheduled for 2:58 Wednesday afternoon.

STS-123/Endeavour docked smoothly last night at 11:49pm EDT at the PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter-2) port, 24 minutes behind schedule (due to loss of target lock by the CW {Continuous Wave} laser of the Shuttle's TCS {Trajectory Control Sensor} during the manual rendezvous phase, requiring manual lock re-acquisition). The RPM (R-Bar Pitch Maneuver) started at 10:26pm and was successfully completed at 10:34pm, with Whitson and Malenchenko taking 200-300 close-up photographs of Endeavour's bottom heatshield. The station now hosts ten occupants again as Mission 1J/A is underway. (At the point of docking, Peggy Whitson rang the traditional ship's bell and announced 'Endeavour landed!' The combined crew is comprised of ISS CDR Whitson, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko, FE-2 LÃ(c)opold Eyharts, STS CDR Dominic Gorie, PLT Gregory Johnson, MS1 Robert Behnken, MS2 Mike Foreman, MS3 Takao Doi (Japan), MS4 Rick Linnehan, and MS5/FE-2-16 Garrett Reisman who replaces Eyharts as FE-2, as the latter returns on the Endeavour as MS-5.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/13/08.

Shuttle Commander Dom Gorie started the approach with the Terminal Initiation burn earlier Wednesday evening leading to the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver at 9:26 p.m. From a distance of 600 feet below the station, Gorie manually flew the shuttle through a well-timed backflip allowing the station crew to photograph the shuttle's heat shield. The photos are being analyzed by engineers in Mission Control to ensure the heat shield is in good condition.

Following docking and leak checks, the hatches between the two spacecraft were opened at 12:36 a.m. Thursday.

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson, joined by Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts, welcomed the shuttle crew onboard and provided an orientation of station operations and safety before proceeding to the remaining tasks.

The first 'transfer' item after hatch opening was swapping Mission Specialist Garrett Reisman for Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Eyharts from the European Space Agency.

The transfer was official when the form-fitting Soyuz seatliners were swapped at 2:50 a.m. Eyharts officially spent 33 days as a member of Expedition 16. With an on-time landing March 26, Eyharts will have spent 48 days in space.

The crew also prepared for the mission's first spacewalk, set to begin Thursday evening by Mission Specialist Rick Linnehan and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Reisman.

Linnehan and Reisman transferred spacesuits to the station, and will spend the night in the Quest Airlock as part of the routine "campout" prebreathe protocol. The spacewalk will take about 6.5 hours as they plan to prepare the Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section for unberthing from the payload bay. They also will work on some of the initial outfitting and assembly of the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator's two arms.

In preparation for that task, using the Canadarm2, Pilot Gregory Johnson and Mission Specialist Robert Behnken unberthed the Spacelab Pallet containing the Dextre and mated it to a temporary location on the station's Mobile Base System.

Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Takao Doi commenced with the initial transfer work that will continue throughout the docked phase and set up photo and TV equipment between the two vehicles. The crews are scheduled to go to bed about 7 a.m. and wake up at 3:28 p.m.

Crew sleep cycle today:sleep 8:00am-4:30pm; wake 4:30pm-7:00am tomorrow.

Mission 1J./A's EVA-1 was completed successfully by Rick Linnehan & Garrett Reisman in 7h 1m, accomplishing all its objectives (no get-aheads).
(During the spacewalk, Linnehan (EV1) & Reisman (EV2) -

Prepared the JAXA JLP (JEM Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section) for its transfer, i.e. -
opened and secured the protective flap over the Node-2 topside (zenith) hatch viewport for the internal CBCS (Centerline Berthing Camera System),
removed 8 PCBM (Passive Common Berthing Mechanism) contamination protection covers,
demated & stowed JLP LTA (Launch-to-Activation) connectors & installed protective caps on the LTA receptacles;
Performed Part 1 Assembly of the SPDM (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator), i.e. -
released two OTCMs (ORU Tool Changeout Mechanisms) from the launch locations on the SLP (Spacelab Pallet),
installed the OTCMs on the SPDM,
released the OTP EDFs (ORU Temporary Platform Expandable Diameter Fasteners),
inspected the SLP PDGF (Power & Data Grapple Fixture) horseshoe connectors;
Took photographs of the SPDM, and
Installed a protective wire tie over the sharp edge divot discovered during Flight 1A on the Airlock (A/L) handrail.
Official start time of the spacewalk was 9:18pm EDT, about 5 min ahead of timeline, and it ended at 4:19am. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 7h 1min. It was the 105th spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 77th from the station (55 from Quest, 22 from Pirs, 28 from Shuttle) totaling 472h 22min, and the 9th for Expedition 16 (totaling 64h 30min) and the 6th so far this year. After today's EVA, a total of 131 spacewalkers (99 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and 11 astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-2 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 660h 44min outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 127th spacewalk involving U.S. astronauts.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/14/08.

f the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory, was installed on the station early Friday morning.

With Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Doi at the controls and assisted by Commander Dominic Gorie, the JLP was gently attached to its interim location on the Harmony Node 2 module at 3:06 a.m. CDT. The module, which primarily will be used for storage space atop the larger Kibo Laboratory, will be relocated to its permanent location after the arrival of Kibo on space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission in May.

Preparations for the move were among the tasks accomplished in today's spacewalk, the first of five planned for the mission. Mission Specialist Rick Linnehan and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman ventured out of the pressurized confines of the station at 8:18 p.m. to begin the 7-hour, 1-minute spacewalk, which ended at 3:19 a.m.

Once outside the Quest Airlock, they first removed a thermal cover to reveal the Centerline Berthing Camera System on top of the Harmony module. The system provides live video to assist with docking spacecraft and modules together and was used for the attachment of the Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurized Section.

Once in the shuttle's payload bay, the two spacewalkers removed contamination covers from the JLP docking mechanism. They also disconnected other power and heater connections, preparing it for its removal.

Next, the two headed to the port truss segment where they worked on the initial assembly of the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, known as 'Dextre.' They installed both the Orbital Replacement Unit/Tool Changeout Mechanisms (OTCMs) -the 'hands' of Dextre's arms. The OTCMs are parallel jaws that can hold a payload or tool. They each also have a retractable motorized socket wrench to turn bolts and mate or detach mechanisms, as well as a camera and lights.

Initial attempts to route power to Dextre were not successful Thursday after its unassembled components were temporarily parked on the station's truss in a pallet structure. Canadian Space Agency engineers spent the day developing a software patch to bypass what was initially believed to be a problem in a communications path from the station's robotic workstation to the new device.

But Pierre Jean, CSA's acting ISS program manager, told a Friday morning briefing that a problem with a cable harness on Dextre's pallet housing, and not the robot itself, might be the cause for the initial power glitch. Jean said the grapple of Dextre by the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm later today should initiate the routing of power to Dextre to set the stage for the rest of its assembly over the next few days.

Pilot Greg Johnson also supported the spacewalk activity, overseeing the video operations and Mission Specialist Mike Foreman served as the intravehicular officer, assisting with the choreography of the spacewalks.

Meanwhile, Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson assisted with the pre- and post-spacewalk activities, while Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko worked in the Russian segment.

Friday's spacewalk marks the 105th devoted to assembly and maintenance of the station with a total cumulative time of 660 hours. The second spacewalk is scheduled for Saturday night.

Crew sleep cycle today: Sleep 7:00am -3:30pm; wake 3:30pm -7:00am tomorrow.

Node-2/JLP vestibule outfitting, JLP ingress & JLP rack reconfigurations successfully accomplished! The first Japan-made human-rated space facility is now in operation. Arigato Gozaimasu!
(After completing outfitting the Node-2 vestibule to the JAXA JLP (JEM Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section), including removing CBM (Common Berthing Mechanism) hardware, installing several utility jumpers & taking air samples, crewmembers, led by 'high-productivity' Peggy Whitson, ingressed the module three hours early (~9:20pm EDT). This allowed the reconfiguring of three JLP racks (including relocating rack front stowage to Node-2 in preparation for the racks transfer to the JEM during Flight 1J, plus retrieving two bags from behind a rack that contain K-Bars and pivot fittings) to be completed right away, rather than tonight (FD6) as planned. FD6 timeline replanning includes troubleshooting/repair of the broken ISS Multimeter.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/15/08.

Ahead: Week 22 of Increment 16. Crew sleep cycle today: Sleep 7:00am -3:30pm; wake 3:30pm -6:00am tomorrow.

More good news!

SPDM Dextre was checked out and is working nominally with both arms. (The waist-up-only robot from Canada arrived in space in nine separate pieces that are being assembled in the current spacewalks. Each of the two arms has seven joints; in addition, SPDM (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator) Dextre can pivot at the 'waist'. Its grippers (hands) have built-in socket wrenches, cameras & lights. Only one arm is movable at a time, to keep the robot stable and avoid a two-arm collision. Dextre can be attached to MT (Mobile Transporter) to translate along the stations rail tracks, or alternately to the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) to swing to places where the railcart can't go. What a supercool helper!)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/16/08.

Crew sleep cycle today: Sleep 6:00am -2:30pm; wake 2:30pm -6:00am tomorrow.

After wake-up yesterday at ~3:30pm, CDR Peggy Whitson completed another session with the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink, as suggested on her discretionary 'job jar' task list. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Peggy wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/17/08.

Crew sleep cycle today: Sleep 6:00am -2:30pm; wake 2:30pm -6:00am tomorrow.

EVA-3 was completed successfully by Rick Linnehan and Bob Behnken in 6h 53m, accomplishing most of its objectives.
(During the spacewalk, Linnehan (EV1) & Behnken (EV2) -

Installed the OTP (ORU {On-Orbit Replaceable Unit} Temporary Platform) and THA (Tool Holder Assembly) on the SPDM (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator),
Removed MLI (Multi-Layered Insulation) thermal blankets,
Installed the CLPA (Camera, Light & Pan/Tilt Assembly) on the SPDM,
Cleaned up & configured the SLP (Spacelab Pallet) for return (to be transferred with the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) from the POA (Payload ORU Attachment) to the Orbiter PLB (Payload Bay) tomorrow evening (FD9)),
Transferred the spare SSRMS yaw joint from the PLB to stowage on the ESP-2 (External Stowage Platform 2),
Transferred two spare DCSUs (Direct Current Switching Units) from the PLB to stowage on the ESP-2,
Transferred the LWAPA (Light Weight Adapter Plate Assembly) for installation on the Columbus EPF (External Payload Facility) and prepared for the installation of two MISSE-6 (Materials International Space Station Experiment) payloads,
Removed the MCAS EBCS (Mobil Common Attachment System External Berthing Camera System) cover flap as a get-ahead, and
Stowed the JLP (JEM Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section) trunnion covers on a handrail for future installation.
Tasks not completed:

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/18/08.

Crew sleep cycle today: Sleep 5:00am -1:30pm; wake 1:30pm -5:00am tomorrow.

Three more major mission steps were accomplished:

SPDM (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator) 'Dextre', with repositioned arms, was successfully stowed on the U.S. Lab PDGF (Power & Data Grapple Fixture) (and is looking very cool);
SLP (Spacelab Pallet) was returned to the Shuttle PLB (Payload Bay) for re-berthing; and
SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) was 'walked off' the Node-2 PDGF onto MT/MBS (Mobile Transporter/Mobile Base System) PDGF-3 and maneuvered into position for today's MT translation from Worksite 6 (WS6) to WS4.
(During commanding of the SPDM's body ('waist') roll joint to stowage mode, it rotated in the opposite direction than expected, due to a sign mistake (polarity inversion, i.e., a plus-sign instead of a minus-sign) in the DMCS (Dexterous Manipulator Control Software) configuration file. Flight Controllers worked around this in real time, and the crew was able to maneuver the SPDM LEE (Latching End Effector) onto the LAB PDGF without further ado. Work is underway at CSA/MDA to write a corrective software patch.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/19/08.

Crew sleep/wake cycle today: Sleep 5:00am -1:30pm; wake 1:30pm -5:00am tomorrow.
FD10 was off-duty for both crews.

After wakeup yesterday at ~1:30pm EDT and before breakfast, CDR Peggy Whitson completed another session with the SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop, as suggested on her discretionary 'job jar' task list. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Peggy wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/20/08.

Crew sleep/wake cycle today: Sleep 5:00am -1:30pm; wake 1:30pm -4:00am tomorrow.

EVA-4 was completed successfully by Bob Behnken & Mike Foreman in 6h 24m, accomplishing most of its objectives.
During the spacewalk, Behnken (EV1) & Foreman (EV2) -

Demonstrated an on-orbit heat shield repair technique using the T-RAD (Tile Repair Ablator Dispenser) to demonstrate an Orbiter tile repair DTO (Development Test Objective) in space. (The spacewalkers tested STA-54, a pink putty-like material consisting of two compounds that are mixed together in a pressure-driven applicator gun just before they exit the nozzle. With Foreman working the applicator, the test was completed nominally, and the test samples were stowed in the TSA (Tool Stowage Assembly in the Orbiter PLB (Payload Bay) for return and analysis; results looked good);
Removed RPCM (Remote Power Controller Module) S02B-D on the S0 truss and replaced it with a new unit. (Since the RPCM controls CMG-2 (Control Moment Gyroscope #2), circuitry had to be powered down and the CMG-2 removed from the steering law beforehand. After the successful R&R, the spacewalkers attempted several times to reconfigure the Z1 patch panel, a pre-requisite for powering the new RPCM, but were unable to do so due to tough-to-reach connectors which could not be unmated. The patch panel reconfiguration currently remains incomplete, but there are no impacts to current operations);
Inspected the Z1 truss toolbox for MMOD (Micrometeoroid/Orbital Debris) damage and noticed several 'pits'. (Video imagery will be assessed by specialists);
Released Node-2 Port ACBM (Active Common Berthing Mechanism) launch locks in preparation for berthing the JEM (Japanese Experiment Module) module 'Kibo' on Flight 1J next May;
Removed the remaining SPDM OTCM-2 (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator/ORU Tool Changeout Mechanism #2) thermal covers, reconfigured some of the wrist blankets and flaps, and inspected the Shoulder Roll joint of SPDM Arm #2 for possible MLI (Multi-Layered Insulation) interference. None was seen. (WVS (Wireless Video System) helmet cam video was also obtained for ground analysis.)
Additionally, two get-ahead tasks were completed:

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/21/08.

Crew sleep/wake cycle today: Sleep 4:00am -12:30pm; wake 12:30pm -4:00am tomorrow. HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!

After wakeup yesterday (~1:30pm EDT) and before breakfast, CDR Peggy Whitson completed another session with the SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop, as suggested on her discretionary 'job jar' task list. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Peggy wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/22/08.

Ahead: Week 23 of Increment 16. HAPPY EASTER! Congratulations, Shuttle & ISS crews: Five EVAs in a row, all successful. What a great Easter gift!

>>>>Today at ~7:43am EDT, the ISS, specifically its FGB module, completed 53,500 orbits of the Earth, having covered a distance of 2.25 billion kilometers (1.4 billion st.miles) in 3411 days. The 19,300 kg (42,600 lbs) Zarya ('Dawn') was launched on a Russian/Khrunichev Proton from Baikonur over nine years ago (11/20/1998) as the first element of the multi-national space station.<<<<

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/23/08.

Underway: Week 23 of Increment 16. (Yesterday, 3/23, was the birthday of Wernher von Braun who would have turned 96.)

ISS crew sleep/wake cycle today: Sleep 3:15am -11:45am; wake 11:45am -11:00pm.

After wakeup yesterday, FE-2-16 Reisman had his third session with the biomed experiment INTEGRATED IMMUNE (Validating Procedures for Monitoring Crew member Immune Function), collecting dry saliva samples. (INTEGRATED IMMUNE protocol requires the collection to occur first thing post-sleep, before eating, drinking and brushing teeth, and all samples are stored at ambient temperature. Along with NUTRITION (Nutritional Status Assessment), IMMUNE samples & analyzes participant's blood, urine, and saliva before, during and after flight for changes related to functions like bone metabolism, oxidative damage and immune function to develop and validate an immune monitoring strategy consistent with operational flight requirements and constraints. The strategy uses both long and short duration crewmembers as study subjects. The saliva is collected in two forms, dry and liquid. The dry samples are collected at intervals during the collection day using a specialized book that contains filter paper, all stored at ambient temperature.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/24/08.

ISS work cycle today: Sleep 11:00pm (last night) -7:30am; wake 7:30am (this morning) -5:30pm.

STS-123/Endeavour and ISS are flying in separate orbits again (Flight Day 15/16 for STS-123/1J/A)

After final preparations on both sides of the hatches (closed yesterday on ISS side at 5:51pm EDT), Endeavour undocked last night at 8:25pm, 29 min late, from PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter 2) after a total docked time of 11d 20h 36m. (For undocking, the station was turned from -XVV through ~180 deg to +XVV ZLV (+x-axis in velocity vector, z-axis in local vertical, i.e., flying Shuttle-leading again) at ~7:09pm, put briefly on free drift for the undocking, and then moded to 1J/A Stage attitude of +XVV TEA attitude. During pre-undock feathering & locking of the station's P6 solar arrays, latch #2 of the 2B BGA (Beta Gimbal Assembly) latched only at the third attempt, delaying the undocking by ~29 min.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/25/08.

ISS crew is back on its regular work cycle: 2:00am - 5:30pm EDT.

For her VolSci (Voluntary Science) program today, CDR Peggy Whitson set up the SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device) equipment on the HRF1 (Human Research Facility 1) rack, performed the scheduled checkout/control run and took a body mass measurement, documenting the activities with digital still & video imagery for ground evaluation and finally disassembling the equipment again. (SLAMMD provides an accurate means of determining the on-orbit mass of humans spanning the range from the 5th percentile Japanese female and the 95th percentile American male. The procedure, in accordance with Newton's 2nd Law of Motion, finds the mass by dividing force, generated by two springs inside the SLAMMD drawer, by acceleration measured with a precise optical instrument that detects the position versus time trajectory of the SLAMMD guide arm and a micro controller which collects the raw data and provides the precise timing. The final computation is done via portable laptop computer with SLAMMD unique software. To calculate their mass, crewmembers wrap their legs around a leg support assembly, align the stomach against a belly pad and either rest the head or chin on a head rest. For calibration, an 18-lbs. mass is used at different lengths from the pivot point, to simulate different mass values. Allowable crew mass range is from 90 to 240 lbs.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/26/08.

STS-123/Endeavour returned to Earth last night after 15d 18h 11m in space, the longest Shuttle mission to ISS so far, touching down at KSC on the second opportunity at 8:39pm EDT, after 250 orbits & 6.6 million miles (first opportunity waived off due to cloud layer). (During the perfectly executed ISS 1J/AE mission, its seven-member crew conducted a record five EVAs, delivered & installed the JAXA JLP (Japanese Experiment Module Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section) and the Canadian SPDM Dextre, brought up new Expedition 16 crewmember Garrett Reisman and returned his predecessor Leopold Eyharts who spent 48 days in space (44 aboard the station). It was the 122nd flight of a Space Shuttle, the 25th Shuttle mission to visit the station, the 21st for Endeavour and the second of six Shuttle missions planned for 2008. Next up: STS-124/Discovery/1J on 5/25 with JAXA's JEM Pressurized Module 'Kibo', racks & the JEM RMS.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/27/08.

(To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Garrett wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.)

FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process was terminated before sleeptime, at ~4:30pm EDT. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. Filter bed 1 was regenerated yesterday.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/28/08.

(To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Garrett wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.)

Also before breakfast, having reached the FD15 (Flight Day 15) mark in his flight, Reisman undertook his first session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, collecting blood and urine samples. (Acting as operator and CMO (Crew Medical Officer), CDR Whitson performed phlebotomy on Garrett, i.e., drew blood samples (from an arm vein) which were first allowed to coagulate in the Repository, then spun in the HRF RC (Human Research Facility/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned. Garrett's urine samples were also placed in the MELFI. Background: NUTRITION is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight; this includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile currently required on all U.S. Astronauts collects blood and urine samples preflight and postflight. NUTRITION expands this protocol by also capturing in-flight samples and an additional postflight sample. Furthermore, additional measurements are included for samples from all sessions, including additional markers of bone metabolism, vitamin status, and hormone and oxidative stressor tests. The results will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures (exercise and pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and nutrient requirements. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L), first started on two Mir crewmembers and then on all ISS US crews, nominally consists of two pre-flight and one post-flight analysis of nutritional status, as well as an in-flight assessment of dietary intake using the FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire). The current NUTRITION project expands MR016L testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/29/08.

Ahead: Week 24 of Increment 16. Flight Control to Crew: 'Everyone at the ATV-CC (as well as MCC-M and MCC-H) could not be more pleased with how Demo Day 1 went!'

From his voluntary 'job jar' task list, after wakeup and before breakfast FE-2 Garrett Reisman completed his third session with the SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Garrett wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/30/08.

As suggested on his voluntary 'job jar' task list, after wakeup and before breakfast FE-2 Garrett Reisman completed his fourth session with the SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Garrett wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/31/08.

They also changed the battery of SFP (Space Flight Participant) Yi So-yeon's Actiwatch and initialized the unit for her. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, crewmembers wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.)

FE-1 Malenchenko began his activities with the routine checkup of DC1 (Docking Compartment) circuit breakers and fuses. (The monthly checkup in the 'Pirs' DC1 looks at AZS circuit breakers on the BVP Amp Switch Panel (they should all be On) and the LEDs (light-emitting diodes) of 14 fuses in Fuse Panels BPP-30 & BPP-36.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/01/08.

Yi So-yeon, the South Korean SFP (Space Flight Participant), will participate in the experiment. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, crewmembers wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.)

Also upon wake-up, CDR Whitson started Part 2 (of 5) of the periodic acoustic measurement protocol by recording post-sleep data of the crew-worn acoustic dosimeters, later deploying the dosimeters statically in Node-2, COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory), and SM (Service Module) near the Central Post for the duration of the day. (Acoustic data must be taken twice per Increment, each time for the duration of the 16-hour crew workday.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/02/08.

SM hooks were closed at 10:56am. The docking was essentially a repeat of Demo Day 2 except for the final approach from S41 (~12m) to Contact and Hooks Closed. (The 19-ton unmanned ATV maneuvered from a holding position 39 km behind the ISS and conducted a 4-hour staged approach with several stops at reference points for checks. It autonomously computed its own position through relative GPS (Global Positioning System) data, comparing with GPS data received from ISS, and in close range it used VDM (Videometer) lasers pointed at LRRs (Laser Retroreflektors) on the SM for distance & orientation determination relative to its target. Final approach was at a relative velocity of 7 cm/s and with an accuracy of better than 10 cm. The cargo transport, which remains docked for the next four months, is delivering 1,150 kg of dry cargo, including food, clothes and equipment as well as two original manuscripts handwritten by Jules Verne and a 19th Century illustrated edition of his novel 'From the Earth to the Moon'. The cargo also includes 856 kg of propellant, 270 kg of drinking water and 21 kg of oxygen, to be transferred to the SM.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/03/08.

This included conducting a 30-min OBT (Onboard Training) procedures review for Docked ATV Operations,
Completing a one-hour leak check of the SM PrK (Service Module Transfer Compartment)/ATV vestibule interface,
Preparing the necessary equipment for the first ingress (including GSC (Grab Sample Container), IPD-CO air sampler for CO (Carbon Monoxide), AK-1M air sampler, a manual sampling pump, goggles, a dusk mask, an A-2 air scrubber filter, etc.)
Donning the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) i.e.,safety goggles, dust mask) (keeping PPE on until after ATV closeout operations and egress),
Opening the hatches for partial ingress (~6:20am EDT),
Installing the QD BZV (quick disconnect screw clamps) of the SSVP docking & internal transfer mechanism to rigidize the coupling,
Taking copious air samples from the ATV interior, and
Starting the air scrubber, equipped with an FPP electronic/EMI interference filter, to run for about 8h 20m with hatches closed.
For the second ingress, scheduled tomorrow (Saturday, 4/5, at ~4:00am EDT), the air scrubbing in the ATV will make the PPE unnecessary. ATV1 will then be readily accessible to the crew for nominal operations. Also scheduled for tomorrow is an ATV thruster test.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/04/08.

Having passed Day 180 of her flight, Dr. Peggy Whitson began her fourth session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, for which she had to forego exercising and food intake for eight hours. Today's protocol consisted of two blood draws (for Serum & Heparin). Later, the CDR set up the equipment for the 24-hour urine collections which start with the first void early tomorrow morning and continue through Sunday morning. (Acting as operator, CMO (Crew Medical Officer)Garrett Reisman performed phlebotomy on Peggy Whitson, i.e., drawing blood samples (from an arm vein) which was first allowed to coagulate in the Repository for 20-30 minutes, then spun in the HRF RC (Human Research Facility/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned. Background: NUTRITION is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight; this includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile currently required on all U.S. Astronauts collects blood and urine samples preflight and postflight. NUTRITION expands this protocol by also capturing inflight samples and an additional postflight sample. Furthermore, additional measurements are included for samples from all sessions, including additional markers of bone metabolism, vitamin status, and hormone and oxidative stressor tests. The results will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures (exercise and pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and nutrient requirements. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L), first started on two Mir crewmembers and then on all ISS US crews, nominally consists of two pre-flight and one post-flight analysis of nutritional status, as well as an in-flight assessment of dietary intake using the FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire). The current NUTRITION project expands MR016L testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/05/08.

Ahead: Week 25 of Increment 16.

Having passed Day 180 of her flight, Dr. Peggy Whitson ended her fourth session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository by collecting a final urine sample upon wakeup for storage in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The sampling kit was then stowed away. (The current NUTRITION project is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight. It includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes, expanding the previous Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L) testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/06/08.

This morning at 4:49am EDT, Progress M-63/28P successfully undocked from the ISS. All separation burns went off nominally, and the deorbit burn followed at 7:50am for destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean. This freed the DC1 Docking Compartment port for Soyuz TMA-12/16S docking on 4/10 at ~9:02am. (For the undocking, ISS attitude control was handed over to Russian MCS (Motion Control System) at ~2:55am and returned to U.S. momentum management at ~5:45am, still in earth-fixed LVLH (local vertical/local horizontal). During the undocking, the station was in free drift for ~9 min. Structural response data were taken by MAMS (Microgravity Acceleration Measuring System) and the external truss-mounted SDMS (Structural Dynamic Measurement System). The undocking was preceded at ~4:15am by a temporary shutdown of the amateur radio equipment in the FGB (Ericsson) & SM (Kenwood) to prevent radiofrequency interference with the departing Progress vehicle.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/07/08.

Separations from second & third stage were nominal. Orbit was attained at L+ 8:45 min at an altitude of ~202 km (perigee ~189.6 km/apogee ~230.1 km, downrange ~520 km, velocity ~7.50 km/s). Antennas and solar arrays deployed nominally at orbit insertion. 16S has a planned two-day rendezvous profile, to aim for docking on Thursday, 4/10. (At orbit insertion, Soyuz unfolded two solar arrays, four Kurs antennas, one TORU/Rassvet-M antenna and one telemetry antenna. Later, the crew activated antenna heaters, set the maneuver mode, turned on the RKO orbit radio tracking system, started leak checks, etc. Two orbit adjustment burns of ~5 min duration each were executed this morning, DV1 (~25.55 m/s) at ~10:57am, DV2 (~14.27 m/s) at ~11:50am, both with the SKD main engine. After the two-day "chase", supported by several more midcourse burns, 16S will dock at the DC1 Docking Compartment on 4/10 at ~9:02am EDT.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/08/08.

(FD1 activities yesterday included the first two maneuver burns, DV1 (10:57am) & DV2 (11:50am), both with the SKD main engine. FD2 activities, started yesterday afternoon with Soyuz crew wakeup at ~4:05pm on Orbit 12, include systems & crew health status reports to TsUP, preparation of the Soyuz Habitation Module (SA) workspace, building attitude for and executing the DV3 burn, placing Soyuz back in its sun-spinning "barbecue" mode (ISK), and swapping CO2 absorption cartridges (LiOH) in the BO. Afterwards, the crewmembers will put on their Sokol suits and PKO biomed harnesses, transfer to the SA, activate its air purification system (SOA) and close the hatch to the Descent Module (BO). After activation of the active Kurs-A system on Soyuz and of the passive Kurs-P on the Service Module (SM), with a short Kurs-A/P test and several additional adjustment burns during automated rendezvous, station fly-around to align with the DC1 Docking Compartment will begin tomorrow at ~8:37am at ~400m range, followed by station keeping at ~160m (~8:46am) and docking at the DC1 port at ~9:02am. Volkov & Kononenko will replace Expedition 16 CDR Whitson & FE-1 Malenchenko. FE-2 Dr. Garrett Reisman remains on the station, joining Expedition 17 until early June when he is replaced by U.S. Astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff on STS-124/1J. So-Yeon Yi, the 30-year old biotechnologist student from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology) and South Korea's first astronaut, will return with Peggy & Yuri on 4/19 in Soyuz TMA-11/15S.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/09/08.

Work period will shift again tomorrow (6:20am -5:50pm) and on 4/12 (2:10am -5:40pm).

Yest kasaniya! Soyuz TMA-12/16S docked smoothly at the DC1 port at 8:57am EDT, five minutes ahead of time, with Expedition 17 crewmembers CDR Sergei Volkov and FE-1 Oleg Kononenko, plus Korean SFP (Spaceflight Participant) So-Yeon Yi, 14th Visiting Crewmember (VC). After about 1.5 hrs spent in Soyuz on pre-transfer activities, the crew opened hatches, followed by crew transfer, the traditional joyful welcome event and the installation of the BZV QD (quick disconnect) clamps by Volkov and Kononenko at ~12:10pm. (After successful "kasaniya" (contact), automatic "sborka" (closing of Soyuz & DC1 port hooks & latches) took place shortly thereafter (~9:07am) while ISS was in free drift. Attitude control authority had been handed over to the Russian MCS (Motion Control System) at ~5:25am and was returned to US CMG control at ~10:05am. For the 16S docking, Russian thrusters were disabled during Soyuz volume pressurization and clamp installation; they were afterwards returned to active attitude control (~12:30pm). Before hatch opening, the crew performed leak checks of the Soyuz modules and the Soyuz/ISS interface vestibule. They then doffed their Sokol suits and set them up for drying (~1:05pm), deactivated the Atmosphere Purification Unit (BOA) in the Descent Module (SA), replaced the Soyuz ECLSS LiOH cartridges, equalized Soyuz/ISS pressures, and put the spacecraft into conservation mode on ISS integrated power.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/10/08.

The crew's work/sleep cycle shifted again, from yesterday's wakeup at 5:00am to 6:20am EDT (sleeptime tonight at 5:50pm, from 9:30pm). Work period will shift again tomorrow (to 2:20am -5:50pm).

Aboard ISS, the E16/E17 crew rotation/handover period went underway with full activity schedules for all six residents involved.

CDR-17 Sergei Volkov and FE-1-16 Yuri Malenchenko conducted a communications test between the two docked Soyuz vehicles (15S/16S), checking out comm systems both via hard-line mode (MBS) and S-band, and VHF mode on two channels, including the ground (TsUP-Moscow). (The test was also intended to provide multi-segment comm procedure training. Systems were reconfigured to nominal mode afterwards.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/11/08.

Today Russia observes Denj Kosmonavtov (Cosmonauts Day) and the world Yuri's Night -- celebrating Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin's pioneering flight into space 47 years ago. And NASA is observing the 27th anniversary of STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission to orbit. (Yuri was accepted into the cosmonaut unit in 1960, at age 26. After his historic 108-min. flight around the Earth in 'Vostok 1', which ended with a parachute ejection at 7 km altitude over a farm field near the city of Engels in Saratov Oblast (province), he was promoted to unit leader. Seven years later, on March 27, 1968, Yuri died with a flight instructor in a fighter jet crash. Chief Designer of the thusly inaugurated Soviet human space program was Sergey Pavlovich Korolev. Exactly 20 years later, John Young and Bob Crippen took the Columbia into space for a test mission lasting 2 days 6 hours 20 minutes 52 seconds.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/12/08.

Sunday. Ahead: Week 26 of Increment 16.

The crew's work/sleep cycle again was adjusted slightly, from yesterday's wakeup at 2:20am to 2:10am EDT (sleeptime tonight at 5:40pm). Tomorrow, work period will be adjusted by 5 min (to 2:15am -5:45pm).

Aboard ISS, the E16/E17 crew rotation/handover period went underway with full activity schedules for all six residents involved. Whitson, Volkov, Malenchenko and Kononenko had several hours crewtime between them for dedicated CDR/CDR & FE/FE handover activities. In addition, there are 'generic' handovers where crewmembers are scheduled together to complete various designated standard tasks.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/13/08.

Underway: Week 26 of Increment 16.

The crew's work/sleep cycle again was adjusted slightly, from yesterday's wakeup at 2:10am to 2:15am EDT (sleeptime tonight at 5:45pm). Tomorrow, work period will again be adjusted by 5 min (to 2:20am -5:50pm).

Aboard ISS, the E16/E17 crew rotation/handover period went underway with full activity schedules for all six residents involved. Whitson, Volkov, Malenchenko and Kononenko had several hours crewtime between them for dedicated CDR/CDR & FE/FE handover activities. In addition, there are 'generic' handovers where crewmembers are scheduled together to complete various designated standard tasks.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/14/08.

Day 188 in space for Peggy & Yuri.

The crew's work/sleep cycle again was adjusted slightly, from yesterday's wakeup at 2:15am to 2:20am EDT (sleeptime tonight at 5:50pm). Tomorrow, work period will again be adjusted by 5 min (to 2:15am -5:45pm).

Aboard ISS, crew rotation/handover activities continued for all six residents involved. Whitson, Volkov, Malenchenko and Kononenko had several hours scheduled between them for dedicated ('functional') CDR/CDR & FE/FE handover activities; in addition, there are 'generic' handovers where crewmembers are scheduled together to complete various designated standard tasks.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/15/08.

Day 189 in space for Peggy & Yuri.

The crew's work/sleep cycle again was adjusted slightly, from yesterday's wakeup at 2:20am to 2:15am EDT (sleeptime tonight at 5:45pm). Tomorrow, work period will be adjusted again (to 2:00am -12:00pm).

Aboard ISS, crew rotation/handover activities continued for all six residents involved. Whitson, Volkov, Malenchenko and Kononenko had several hours scheduled between them for dedicated ('functional') CDR/CDR & FE/FE handover activities; in addition, there are 'generic' handovers where crewmembers are scheduled together to complete various designated standard tasks.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/16/08.

Day 190 in space for Peggy & Yuri.
Yesterday, Peggy Whitson set a new US endurance record of 374 days for the longest cumulative time spent in space, held before by Mike Foale (heading the list: Sergei Krikalev with 803 days).

With undocking time on 4/19 approaching, the ISS crew went on an irregular sleep/wake cycle:

Wake #1 this morning: 2:00am - 10:00am EDT;
'Nap': 10:00am - 2:00pm
Wake #2: 2:00pm - 1:00am (4/18)
Tomorrow:

Sleep: 1:00am - 12:30pm
Wake for E16/E17: 12:30pm - 4:45am (4/19) - E16 departs @ 1:06am
Saturday:

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/17/08.

Day 191 in space for Peggy & Yuri.

Last day before Soyuz 15S undocking, with the ISS crew on an irregular wake/sleep cycle:

Sleep: 1:00am - 12:30pm EDT;
Wake-up: 12:30pm - 4:45am (4/19); E16 departs @ 1:06am
Sleep time for E17: 4:45am - 2:00am (4/20)

The E16/E17 crew rotation/handover period is running down. Whitson, Volkov, Malenchenko and Kononenko are completing their joined crewtime for dedicated ("functional") CDR/CDR & FE/FE handover activities plus "generic" handovers where crewmembers are scheduled together to complete various designated standard tasks.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/18/08.

Expedition 17 Crew: CDR Sergei Volkov, FE-1 Oleg Kononenko, FE-2 Garrett Reisman. "Yest posadka! (We have Landing!) Welcome back home, Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson and So-Yeon Yi! After 192 days in space (190 docked to ISS), Soyuz TMA-11/15S, carrying two-thirds of the Expedition 16 crew plus the South-Korean SFP, landed successfully this morning at ~4:30am EDT in the steppes of Kazakhstan, with the crew in excellent condition. The landing in Kazakhstan was approximately 450 km west of the prime landing area in the 'ballistic mode' zone. (The 15S undocking sequence was initiated on 4/19 with the command to open the Soyuz hooks at 1:03 am EDT. 15S separated from ISS at 1:06 am using the docking system springs. Three minutes after initial separation an automatic separation burn was performed by the Soyuz vehicle. A 4 min 18 sec de-orbit burn was initiated at 3:40 am EDT. During descent, the 15S vehicle guidance system down-moded to a ballistic entry mode. The satisfactory condition of the crew was confirmed by 15S CDR Yuri Malenchenko when he made contact with TsUP-Moscow via the 15S Iridium satellite phone. Russian SAR (Search & Rescue) helicopters from the ballistic staging area, including a NASA crew surgeon, reached the crew approximately 30 minutes after landing, and reported the crew to be in good health. The crew was transported to Kustenai, Kazakhstan via helicopter and departed for Star City, arriving at approximately 1:00pm EDT, where they were received by a welcoming NASA delegation headed by Christopher Scolese, Michael Ryschkewitsch, and William Gerstenmaier. Post-flight analysis of data from the descent module systems will be conducted after the module is returned to Moscow.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/19/08.

Crew wake/sleep cycle has 'normalized', Today's wakeup - 2:00am, sleeptime - 5:30pm EDT.

First activity this morning for FE-2 Reisman was to start on his FD30 (Flight Day 30) session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository. Reisman completed the all-day session, collecting urine samples for 24 hrs (to continue through tomorrow morning) and blood samples (for Serum & Heparin). (Garrett performed self-phlebotomy, i.e., drew his blood samples (from an arm vein) which were first allowed to coagulate in the Repository, then spun in the HRF2 RC (Human Research Facility 2/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned. Background: NUTRITION is the most comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA to date of human physiologic changes during long-duration space flight; this includes measures of bone metabolism, oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and hormonal changes. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile currently required on all U.S. Astronauts collects blood and urine samples preflight and postflight. NUTRITION expands this protocol by also capturing in-flight samples and an additional postflight sample. Furthermore, additional measurements are included for samples from all sessions, including additional markers of bone metabolism, vitamin status, and hormone and oxidative stressor tests. The results will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures (exercise and pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and nutrient requirements. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L), first started on two Mir crewmembers and then on all ISS US crews, nominally consists of two pre-flight and one post-flight analysis of nutritional status, as well as an in-flight assessment of dietary intake using the FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire). The current NUTRITION project has expanded MR016L testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/20/08.

MSG was later powered down from its A31p laptop (~8:30am EDT). (CSLM-2 examines the kinetics (e.g., growth rate) of 'competing' particles within a liquid matrix. During this process, small particles shrink by giving up atoms to larger particles, causing the larger particles of tin, suspended in a liquid comprised of molten lead/tin alloy ('matrix'), to grow in size ('coarsen'). This study defines the mechanisms and rates of coarsening that govern the manufacture with metals from turbine blades to dental amalgam fillings.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/25/08.

To provide cooling for the ground-commanded activation of the U.S. CDRA (Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly), FE-2 Reisman begun his workday by connecting the regular ITCS LTL (Internal Thermal Control System/Low Temperature Loop) coolant jumper connection to the LAB1D6 rack. (CDRA activation took place at 4:00am-5:15am EDT. The CDRA will operate over the weekend. Deactivation will occur when ppCO2 drops to 2.5 mmHG. Deactivation will be Sunday evening or early Monday morning.)

The crew conducted the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough house cleaning. ("Uborka", normally done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the FE's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab. Additionally, as part of the weekly cleaning, Malenchenko performs an inspection of structural elements, cables and instruments behind SM panels for moisture.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 05/03/08.

CDR Sergey Volkov in turn will start his third overnight MBI-12 session tonight. (SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 05/28/08.