Re: ISS : événements à venir

[Invité]

Quelle vue !! Christer voit Beamer et la Terre plus bas et on me dit (depuis le Brésil) que les îles en-bas sont la Nouvelle Zélande
Est-ce cela?

On dirait bien le détroit de Cook effectivement.

[doublemexpress]

Quelle vue !! Christer voit Beamer et la Terre plus bas

Au secours, j'ai le vertige :D :D :D :D :D

:amour: :amour: :amour: :amour: :amour: :amour:

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #06-23
8:30 p.m. CST, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006
Expedition 14 Crew

HOUSTON -- Inspection of Discovery’s heat shield was conducted today as the seven crewmembers began the task of preparing their ship for their high-speed return to Earth on Friday.

One hour after removing the sensor-equipped 50-foot Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the payload bay with the shuttle’s robotic arm, Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick began to scan the reinforced carbon-carbon surface of Discovery’s wings and its nose cap to ensure the shuttle incurred no micrometeoroid debris damage during its time in space. The six-hour inspection was completed at 4:22 p.m. Imagery and damage assessment teams at the Johnson Space Center immediately began analyzing the data. A report will be offered to mission managers on Thursday.

While the inspection was conducted, Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Joan Higginbotham and European Space Agency astronauts Christer Fuglesang and Thomas Reiter began to pack up equipment for Discovery’s scheduled landing Friday at the Kennedy Space Center. With only one wave-off day available on Saturday, backup landing sites at Edwards Air Force Base, CA and the White Sands Space Harbor, NM are being activated for landing support Friday in the event weather diverts the shuttle and its crew from the Florida spaceport. Discovery’s scheduled landing time at the Kennedy Space Center Friday is 2:56 p.m. CST.

Late today, Discovery’s astronauts sent commands to deploy small technology demonstration satellites for the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program.

The crew deployed a pair of coffee cup-sized satellites at 6:19 p.m. CST to demonstrate how a small, low-powered autonomous satellite can observe larger spacecraft. The Micro-Electromechanical System-Based PICOSAT Inspector, known as MEPSI, may one day use on-board imagery to assess spacecraft damage.

The crew then released another pair of small scientific satellites as part of a student experiment sponsored by the United States Naval Academy at 7:58 p.m. CST. The Radar Fence Transponder, or RAFT, experiment is designed to test technology for new spacecraft design.

The last satellite experiment, the Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment, or ANDE, will be deployed from Discovery’s payload bay Thursday afternoon. ANDE consists of two spherical microsatellites that will measure the density and composition of the low Earth orbit atmosphere while being tracked from the ground. The data will be used to better predict the movement of objects in orbit.

Aboard the International Space Station, the newly comprised Expedition 14 crew, Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams, enjoyed their first full day together after Discovery’s departure yesterday.

Discovery’s astronauts will begin its sleep period just after 10 p.m. CST and will be awakened Thursday at 6:17 p.m. for a day in which they will check out the shuttle’s aero surfaces and steering jets in preparation for Friday’s landing.

[vp]

Planning pour 2007

Janvier
17 - desamarrage du progress M-57 de Pirs
18 - Lancement du progress M-59
20 - Amarrage du progress M-59 à Pirs

Février
02 - EVA (ISS U.S. EVA-6) - Lopez-Alegria et S.Williams
06 - EVA (ISS U.S. EVA-7) - Lopez-Alegria et S.Williams
10 - EVA (ISS U.S. EVA-8) - Lopez-Alegria et S.Williams
19 - EVA (ISS Russe EVA-21) - Tyurin et Lopez-Alegria

Mars
16 - Lancement d'Atlantis STS-117 - Sturckow, Archambault, Forrester, Swanson, Olivas, Reilly
18 - Amarrage
19 - EVA - Reilly et Olivas
20 - EVA - Forrester et Swanson
21 - EVA - Reilly et Olivas
24 - Desamarrage
27 - Atterrissage d'Atlantis - Sturckow, Archambault, Forrester, Swanson, Olivas, Reilly

Avril
08 - Desamarrage du progress M-58 de zvezda
09 - Lancement de soyuz TMA-10 - Kotov, Yurchikhin, Simonyi
11 - Amarrage à zvezda
20 - desamarrage et atterrissage de soyuz TMA-9 de zarya - Tyurin, Lopez-Alegria, Simonyi

Mai
11 - Desamarrage du progress M-59 de Pirs
12 - Lancement du progress M-60
14 - Amarrage à Pirs
?? - déplacement du soyuz TMA-10 de zvezda vers zarya

Juin
?? - EVA (ISS Russe EVA-22) - Kotov et Yurchikhin
?? - EVA (ISS Russe EVA-23) - Kotov et Yurchikhin
28 - Lancement d'Endeavour STS-118 - S.Kelly, Hobaugh, Caldwell, Mastracchio, D.Williams, Morgan, C.Anderson
30 - Amarrage

Juillet
01 - EVA - Mastracchio et D.Williams
03 - EVA - Mastracchio et D.Williams
05 - EVA - Mastracchio et C.Anderson
07 - EVA - D.Williams et ?
10 - Desamarrage
12 - Atterrissage d'Endeavour - S.Kelly, Hobaugh, Caldwell, Mastracchio, D.Williams, Morgan, S.Williams
?? - EVA (ISS U.S. EVA-9) - C.Anderson et Yurchikhin
25 - lancement de l'ATV-1 "Jules Verne"

Août
11 - Amarrage de l'ATV à zvezda

Septembre
02 - Desamarrage du progress M-60 de Pirs
03 - Lancement du progress M-61
05 - Amarrage à Pirs
07 - Lancement d'Atlantis STS-120 - Melroy, Zamka, Parazynski, Wilson, Nespoli, Wheelock, Tani
09 - Amarrage
11 - EVA - Parazynski et ?
13 - EVA - Parazynski et ?
15 - EVA - Parazynski et Tani
16 - Desamarrage
18 - Atterrissage d'Atlantis - Melroy, Zamka, Parazynski, Wilson, Nespoli, Wheelock, C.Anderson

Octobre
?? - Desamarrage de l'ATV de zvezda
06 - Lancement de soyuz TMA-11 - Malenchenko, Whitson, Shukor
08 - Amarrage à zvezda
17 - Atterrissage du soyuz TMA-10 - Kotov, Yurchikhin, Shukor
?? - déplacement du soyuz TMA-11 de zvezda vers zarya

Novembre
?? - EVA (ISS U.S. EVA-10) - Whitson et Tani
?? - EVA (ISS U.S. EVA-11) - Whitson et Tani
?? - EVA (ISS U.S. EVA-12) - Whitson et Tani
15 - Lancement du progress M-62
17 - Amarrage à zvezda
27 - Lancement de Discovery STS-122 - Frick, Poindexter, Love, Melvin, Walheim, Schlegel, Eyharts
29 - Amarrage

Décembre
3 EVA - Walheim et ?
08 - Atterrissage de Discovery - Frick, Poindexter, Love, Melvin, Walheim, Schlegel, Tani

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #06-53
2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29, 2006
Expedition 14 Crew

The three residents of the International Space Station spent a busy week unpacking, inventorying and stowing more than two tons of equipment and supplies left by the space shuttle Discovery.

Monday was Christmas, a day off for the crew except for required maintenance and exercise. Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Sunita Williams were back on their regular schedule Tuesday, waking at midnight CST and going to bed at 3:30 p.m.

Unpacking of Discovery-delivered items took up parts of nearly every day during the week. Crew members entered the new supplies and equipment in the Inventory Management System, a computerized, bar-coded tool to keep track of the voluminous material aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin passed a milestone of their stay on the station – Tuesday was their 100th day in space. Williams came to the station aboard Discovery earlier this month. She had an hour budgeted each day to familiarize herself with the station and adapt herself to life on board. These unstructured hours are scheduled during a new crew member's first two weeks aboard to get them used to the station and its activities.

Scientific activities picked up again on station. During the week crew members worked on experiments including heart function during long-duration spaceflight, a Nutritional Status Assessment, cosmic ray measurement, plant growth and changes in blood of long-duration space farers.

Crew members also did required station maintenance activities and did their daily 2½ hours of exercise, designed to mitigate some of the negative effects of lengthy space flights.

[doublemexpress]

...

Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin passed a milestone of their stay on the station – Tuesday was their 100th day in space. Williams came to the station aboard Discovery earlier this month. She had an hour budgeted each day to familiarize herself with the station and adapt herself to life on board. These unstructured hours are scheduled during a new crew member's first two weeks aboard to get them used to the station and its activities.

...

Le fait de ne remplacer qu'une partie de l'équipage permanent n'est il pas un avantage au vu de cet extrait de "News" ?

L'équipage "à mi-parcours" pouvant (in)former le(les) nouveau(x) sur un laps de temps plus long (et sans le reste de l'équipage du STS "dans les pieds") que lors d'une relève totale (comme avant 2003 par les STS) .

:?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

[vp]

STATUS REPORT: SS07-01


International Space Station Status Report: SS07-01

HOUSTON - New gear helped the astronauts on the International Space Station kick off a new year as they prepared a second oxygen-generating system, upgraded soundproofing in the living quarters and unpacked supplies delivered just before Christmas by the space shuttle.

After a New Year's Day holiday, station Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Suni Williams spent most of the week installing the U.S. oxygen generation system activation kit in the Destiny laboratory. The parts had been delivered on shuttle mission STS-121 in July 2006. The new generator will supplement the Russian Elektron oxygen system on the station. The additional oxygen generating capacity will be important as the standard station crew size increases to six as the complex grows. In their work with the new system this week, Lopez-Alegria and Williams installed a hydrogen vent valve and power, data and fluid hoses and cables. The system will be activated and tested later this year.

Meanwhile Expedition 14 Flight Engineer and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin worked in the Russian segment of the station, where he upgraded soundproofing of the ventilation system. Tyurin installed new fans, sound-deadening vibration isolators and air ducts with acoustic shields to reduce the noise they create.

This morning, Lopez-Alegria and Williams took time out from their work to share their mission with a group of students in the fifth through eighth grades from the Columbia Explorers Academy. From the Adler Planetarium in Chicago the students asked the astronauts about living in orbit and the goals of their mission.

Also this week, the crew finished unpacking and stowing supplies delivered last month on shuttle mission STS-116, and they marked milestones in two laboratory experiments. On Tuesday, Williams set up the hardware for the Test of Reaction and Adaptation Capabilities, or TRAC investigation. It is a NASA-sponsored experiment jointly managed by scientists from Germany and Canada. Crew members' hand and eye coordination are tested before, during and after missions. For the tests, subjects use a joystick to control a cursor on a computer screen and respond to audio and visual stimuli. The experiment gathers data about how, and to what extent, the brain adapts to weightlessness.

Crew members completed the final operations of a biological experiment on the impact of varying levels of light and gravity on plant root growth. The final images of samples in the European Modular Cultivation System were taken and downlinked, and the samples were stowed in a freezer for eventual return to Earth.

[Charly]

Il faut vraiment 17 jours pour que l'ATV fasse le voyage de la Terre à l'ISS alors que les Progress mettent 2 jours ???? :scratch:

[shuttlegirl]

Si je ne me trompe pas, c'est parce qu'ils vont effectuer toute une série de manoeuvres/tests et arrêter plusieurs fois la procédure pour ensuite la relancer avant l'amarrage proprement dit.

[Invité]

Tout à fait, l'ATV ne sera pas envoyé immédiatement vers l'ISS, il y aura toute une batterie de test en orbite.

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-2
3 p.m. CST Friday, Jan. 12, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

After a three-day holiday to celebrate the Russian Orthodox Christmas, astronauts on the International Space Station spent the week packing trash into the ISS Progress 22 cargo craft and unpacking items delivered by ISS Progress 23 as they prepared for the arrival of new supplies.

Packed with discarded items no longer needed on the outpost, Progress 22 will undock from the station’s Pirs Docking Compartment next Tuesday at 5:28 p.m. CST. Its engines will be fired three hours later to send it back into the atmosphere, where it will burn up.

The station crew, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams, geared up for the docking of ISS Progress 24 at Pirs, which is slated for Friday, Jan. 19 at 9 p.m. CST. Progress 24 will launch on Wednesday, Jan. 17, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:12 p.m. CST.

The new Russian cargo ship will bring about 2.5 tons of food, fuel, oxygen and supplies to the complex, including clothing and spacewalk hardware for the next resident crew that will arrive at the station in April.

In preparation for the undocking of Progress 22, Tyurin disassembled and removed the docking mechanism in the hatchway between the cargo craft and the docking compartment. The mechanism will be returned to Earth on Space Shuttle Atlantis' mission to the complex in March.

During the week, the crew worked for several hours in the Zvezda Service Module on a major systems replacement task, trained on the Robotics Onboard Trainer and relocated it to a new rack in the Destiny lab. They also repaired and tested a Russian exercise machine.

Tyurin also performed maintenance on a Russian ergometer and removed the volatile organic analyzer from the Crew Health Care Systems rack to prepare it for routine maintenance. The analyzer is used to identify and quantify a targeted list of organic compounds in the station atmosphere. Tyurin also spent time on two Russian experiments, one that studies locomotor system disorders in weightlessness and one that studies the effect of spaceflight on the growth and development of plants.

Also during the week, Lopez-Alegria completed taking samples and documented his daily diet for his mid-mission session on a renal stone experiment. This experiment examines the risk of renal, or kidney, stone formation in crewmembers pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight. In this study, potassium citrate tablets are administered to astronauts, and multiple urine samples are taken before, during and after spaceflight to evaluate the risk of renal stone formation. Lopez-Alegria is the final subject to complete the experiment.

Lopez-Alegria and Williams took the WinSCAT, a cognitive test battery used during space missions. The WinSCAT helps to assess the effects on performance of behavioral stress induced by workload demands.

The astronauts also tested emergency light power supplies onboard. In addition, Williams swapped power supplies on one of the station’s laptop computers, completed some modifications on the umbilical interface assembly in the Quest airlock, and configured and trained on the station’s Robotic Onboard Trainer. She also worked in the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for the International Space Station, or MELFI, replacing the desiccant in Dewar 4 -- a desiccant is a material that absorbs water or moisture -- and checked to make sure the nitrogen pressure was within acceptable range.

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-3
9 p.m. CST Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

A shipment of supplies began its journey to the International Space Station Wednesday as the ISS Progress 24 cargo ship was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The new resupply ship lifted off at 8:12 p.m. CST (8:12 a.m. Baikonur time Jan. 18). Less than 10 minutes later, the cargo ship reached orbit, and its solar arrays and navigational antennas were deployed for the three-day trip to the orbital outpost.

Pre-programmed firings of the Progress’ main engine are scheduled over the next two days to fine-tune the ship’s path to the space station as the craft approaches the station for docking.

When the Progress launched, Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams were flying 220 miles over the South Atlantic Ocean just off the southeast coast of Argentina.

Carrying more than 2.5 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, air, spare parts and other supplies, the Progress is scheduled to automatically dock to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 9 p.m. CST Friday. NASA TV coverage of the docking will begin Friday at 8 p.m. CST. The inventory aboard the new Progress includes 1,720 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen and 3,285 pounds of supplies, spare parts and experiment and environmental system hardware.

The ISS Progress 22 craft, which arrived in June 2006, undocked from Pirs Tuesday to clear the port for the new cargo vehicle.

[vp]

Success of the 1718th launch of Soyuz

Evry, January 18, 2006

The 1718th flight of a Soyuz launch vehicle was performed Thursday, January 18, 2007 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:12 a.m. Baikonur time (3:12 a.m., in Paris).

Starsem, Arianespace and their Russian partners report that the Progress cargo spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station.

This was the first Soyuz family mission in 2007. It came after the successful Starsem's launch of the Corot, the astrophysics pioneer mission in the discovery of telluric extrasolar planets, using the next generation evolved Soyuz 2-1b launch vehicle.

With the introduction of the Soyuz at the Guiana Space Center (CSG), this famed Russian launch vehicle becomes an integral part of the European launcher fleet, together with the heavy-lift Ariane 5 and the lightweight Vega. To be offered exclusively by Arianespace to the commercial market, the Soyuz at CSG is Europe's reference medium-class launch vehicle for governmental and commercial missions.

Starsem is the Soyuz Company, bringing together all key players involved in the production, operation and international commercial marketing of the world's most versatile launch vehicle. Shareholders in Starsem are Arianespace, Astrium, the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Samara Space Center.

The Starsem manifest for Soyuz missions currently includes contracted launches for the European Space Agency, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd and Globalstar LLC.

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-4
9:30 p.m. CST Friday, Jan. 19, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

New supplies arrived at the International Space Station Friday night as an unpiloted Russian cargo spacecraft docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment.

With more than 2.5 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the station's Expedition 14 crew, the ISS Progress 24 automatically docked to Pirs at 8:59 p.m. CST (5:59 a.m. Moscow time Saturday) as the station flew 220 miles above the South Atlantic off the southeast coast of Uruguay. The 24th Progress to visit the station launched Wednesday night from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Unlike its predecessor, Progress 24 linked up to the station after its automated rendezvous antenna retracted as planned in the final 50 meters prior to docking. On Oct. 26 the automated navigation antenna on the Progress 23 failed to retract. Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin will conduct a spacewalk in late February to manually retract and tie down the antenna before the older Progress undocks from the aft port of the Zvezda service module in early April.

The crew will open the hatch to the new Progress overnight and deactivate the systems of the newly arrived craft before its cargo is unloaded over the next few weeks. Progress 24 holds 1,720 pounds of propellant for the Russian thrusters, 110 pounds of oxygen and almost 3,300 pounds of spare parts, experiment hardware and life support components.

In addition to preparing for the cargo ship’s arrival, the Expedition 14 crew worked this week on a variety of station maintenance tasks and science experiments. Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Suni Williams reported what they ate and drank, and collected blood and urine samples as part of an experiment know as Nutrition. The experiment looks at how the human body processes nutrients in microgravity.

Lopez-Alegria replaced limited-life components in the Volatile Organic Analyzer (VOA), part of the Crew Health Care System. The VOA is a gas analysis system used to assess the levels of organic compounds in the station atmosphere, some of which could become harmful to the crew in high concentrations. The old components will be returned to Earth on the next shuttle mission.

Williams focused on work with lentil seedlings as part of an experiment called Threshold Acceleration for Gravisensing, or “Gravi.” The experiment uses a European Modular Cultivation System centrifuge to document the effects of varying levels of gravity on the development of plant roots with an eye toward growing edible plants for future, long-duration spaceflights.

Tyruin worked with a number of Russian experiments, including an instrumented workout on a stationary bicycle to collect data on ways to limit bone and muscle density loss associated with long-duration spaceflights.

All three crew members also spoke with experts on the ground planning the upcoming Expedition 14 spacewalks. Lopez-Alegria, Tyurin and Williams will begin on-board preparations for those spacewalks along with a fourth to remove the navigation antenna from Progress 23. The first three spacewalks by Lopez-Alegria and Williams are designed to continue outfitting the newly activated cooling systems for the station’s truss and to continue preparations for the relocation of the P6 solar array truss structure.

[Invité]

L'équipage se prépare à la sortie extra-véhiculaire du 31 janvier.
Ce sera une sortie type US avec sortie depuis Quest pour Suita Williams et Mike Lopez-Alegria

Crew Unloads Supplies, Preps for Spacewalk

The Expedition 14 crew members began the week unloading more than 2.5 tons of supplies that were delivered to the station by the ISS Progress 24 cargo craft. Supplies included food, gifts from home, clothing, spare parts, oxygen and water.

The crew members also started preparations for the upcoming spacewalks, with the first spacewalk scheduled for January 31. They readied the spacesuits to be worn by Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Sunita Williams. Lopez-Alegria and Williams also used computer-based training to refresh their skills with the Simplified Aid For Extravehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) jetpack. The SAFER backpack allows spacewalkers to fly themselves back to the station in the event they become untethered and separated from the complex.

The crew took time out from their work on Monday to speak with television host Martha Stewart. They also took time to field questions from schools in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and another in Winnebago, Neb. by amateur radio.

[doublemexpress]

L'équipage se prépare à la sortie extra-véhiculaire du 31 janvier.
Ce sera une sortie type US avec sortie depuis Quest pour Suita Williams et Mike Lopez-Alegria

Lopez-Alegria and Williams also used computer-based training to refresh their skills with the Simplified Aid For Extravehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) jetpack. The SAFER backpack allows spacewalkers to fly themselves back to the station in the event they become untethered and separated from the complex.

Y en a pas eu be&aucoup dce test du SAFER, ils doivent l'utiliser prochainement (donc déjà cette EVA ?)

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-5
4 p.m. CST Friday, Jan. 26, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

The crew aboard the International Space Station focused this week on preparing for an unprecedented series of spacewalks set to begin in a few days.

Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Suni Williams will begin a 6.5-hour spacewalk from the station at about 9 a.m. CST on Wednesday, Jan. 31. It will be the first of a record four spacewalks planned during the next month.

Lopez-Alegria and Williams will conduct other spacewalks on Feb. 4 and Feb. 8. The first three spacewalks will originate from the station's Quest airlock, and the astronauts will use U.S. spacesuits. Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin will use Russian spacesuits for a Feb. 22 spacewalk originating from the station's Pirs airlock.

The three U.S. spacewalks will rearrange the station's cooling system, bringing online new portions of the system that were activated during a shuttle mission in December. The Russian spacewalk will free a stuck antenna on the ISS Progress 23 cargo craft docked to the aft end of the station, ensuring that craft can undock safely in April.

The crew began the week unloading some of the more than 2.5 tons of food, fuel and supplies that were delivered to the station on Jan. 19 by the ISS Progress 24 cargo craft. Supplies aboard the 24th Progress to visit the station included fresh produce, gifts from home, new clothing, spare parts, oxygen and water.

The crew's attention quickly turned to preparations for the upcoming spacewalks. On Monday, the crew began working with the U.S. spacesuits. Batteries for the suits were charged, and the suit cooling systems cleaned.

On Tuesday, Lopez-Alegria and Williams trained using an onboard, laptop computer-based simulation. The training refreshed their skills operating the Simplified Aid For Extravehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) jetpack that is worn on spacesuits. The SAFER backpack allows spacewalkers to fly themselves back to the station in the event they become untethered and separated from the complex.

On Thursday, ground controllers in Houston commanded the station's robotic arm to maneuver into the position it will occupy for the start of the spacewalk. Aboard the station, the crew set time aside to review the plans for the first spacewalk.

Lopez-Alegria and Williams continued checks of their spacesuits and checks of the SAFER backpacks Friday. The SAFER backpacks are propelled by compressed nitrogen gas, and, during the checkout, the harmless gas was released, depleting the nitrogen in one unit below the usable quantity. Two other usable SAFER backpacks remain onboard, however, and the loss of the third unit does not affect plans for the upcoming spacewalks.

The crew took time out from their work on Monday to speak with television host Martha Stewart. Crew members also took time to field questions from two schools, one in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and another in Winnebago, Neb., by amateur radio.

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-6
6 p.m. CST, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

Two residents of the International Space Station stepped outside their orbital home Wednesday for a 7-hour, 55-minute spacewalk to begin the connection of recently activated cooling systems from their temporary to their permanent locations and to conduct other station assembly work.

Wearing U.S. spacesuits, Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Suni Williams began their spacewalk at 10:14 a.m. EST. After setting up tools and tethers, they moved to the area that connects the Z1 truss to the S0 truss at the middle of the station’s large girder-like truss system.

There, in a location known as the “rats' nest,” Williams and Lopez-Alegria conducted laborious work in tight quarters to demate and reroute a series of two electrical cables and four fluid quick disconnect lines from the soon-to-be defunct Early External Active Thermal Control System to a permanent cooling system in the Destiny Laboratory.

The cooling loop reconfigured today, known as the Low Temperature Loop (Loop A), removes heat from the station’s environmental control systems through a heat exchanger system in the Destiny Laboratory. On the next spacewalk by Lopez-Alegria and Williams on Sunday, a Moderate Temperature Loop (Loop B) rejecting heat from avionics and payloads will be rerouted as well to the permanent system and the heat exchangers in Destiny. The thermal systems officer in Mission Control reported that the reconfiguration of the system was successful.

Lopez-Alegria began the first of a two-step process to route electrical cable harnesses from the Z1 truss’ power outlets to the S0 truss. The two wire harnesses strung today will be joined on Sunday by two more harnesses that will be connected from the S0 truss to the Destiny Lab and, in turn, to its forward docking port, Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2).

Once completed, that Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS) will enable docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend their visits to the outpost. SSPTS is scheduled to debut on the STS-118 mission in June, enabling Endeavour to fly for two weeks. Subsequent shuttles will be able to remain aloft for comparable periods.

Lopez-Alegria and Williams then moved on to assist as flight controllers sent commands to retract the starboard heat-rejecting radiator on the P6 truss. It had been used to keep station systems at the correct temperature through the temporary cooling system after the truss was installed in 2000. They helped tie the radiator down with a series of cinches. A second radiator will be retracted during the Sunday spacewalk. A third radiator will be retracted later in the year, the only one of the three radiators on the P6 truss that will be redeployed after the truss is relocated.

The spacewalkers then installed a shroud over the radiator to keep it at the proper temperature for the next few months until it is extended once again. A similar retraction of the aft radiator on the P6 truss will be conducted during Sunday’s spacewalk.

With time running out, Lopez-Alegria and Williams moved on to another area of the P6 truss to disconnect and stow one of two fluid lines attached to a large reservoir known as the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS). The EAS was designed to replenish ammonia to the temporary cooling system on the station in the event of a coolant leak. No longer required, the reservoir will be unbolted and jettisoned during a spacewalk by the Expedition 15 crew this summer. By stowing the fluid lines the crew preserved the ability to reuse the system, if required.

The second EAS fluid line will be disconnected and stowed at a later date.

Because a few “flakes” of ammonia were seen floating away from one of the fluid line connector caps, the crew was directed to conduct preventative decontamination measures to “bakeout” their spacesuits once they returned to the Quest airlock prior to the airlock being repressurized.

The spacewalk ended at 5:09 p.m. CST., tying for 5th for the longest spacewalk in history. It was the seventh spacewalk of Lopez-Alegria’s career, and the second for Williams. The excursion was the 78th spacewalk in support of station assembly and maintenance and the 50th staged out of the station.

With today’s spacewalk, Lopez-Alegria moved into fourth place on the all-time spacewalking list for most time outside an orbiting vehicle ahead of astronaut Joe Tanner with 47 hours and 31 minutes. Lopez-Alegria will become the all-time U.S. record holder for spacewalking time and second on the all-time spacewalking list behind Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev during the third in the current series of spacewalks on Feb. 8.

Williams is now second on the all-time list for female spacewalkers for total time outside with 15 hours and 26 minutes of spacewalking time.

Lopez-Alegria and Williams will have time to relax Thursday and Friday as they prepare spacesuits and tools for the Sunday spacewalk.

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-7
4 p.m. CST Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

For the second time in four days, two residents of the International Space Station stepped outside for a spacewalk to complete connecting cooling loops from a temporary to a permanent system. This time the excursion lasted just over seven hours.

Wearing U.S. spacesuits, Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Suni Williams began their spacewalk at 7:38 a.m. CST, a few minutes ahead of schedule. After setting up tools and tethers outside the Quest airlock, they moved to the area that connects the Z1 truss to the S0 truss at the middle of the station’s large girder-like truss system. This area is known as the "rats' nest.”

In these tight quarters, they rerouted a series of two electrical cables and four fluid quick disconnect lines from the soon-to-be defunct Early External Active Thermal Control System to a permanent cooling system in the Destiny Laboratory.

The cooling loop reconfigured Sunday, known as the Moderate Temperature Loop (Loop B), removes heat from the station’s avionics systems and payload racks through a heat exchanger system in the Destiny Laboratory. On Jan. 31, Lopez-Alegria and Williams reconfigured a Low Temperature Loop (Loop A) that rejects heat from the station’s environmental systems.

On Sunday, the spacewalkers also assisted in the retraction of the aft heat-rejecting radiator on the P6 truss. The radiator had been used since 2000 to keep station systems at the correct temperature through the temporary cooling system. They helped tie the radiator down with a series of cinches. Unlike the starboard radiator, which was retracted Jan. 31, the aft radiator did not require the installation of a protective thermal shroud due to the station's orientation to the sun. During this summer's STS-118 shuttle mission, a third radiator will be retracted, the only radiator on the P6 truss that will be redeployed after the truss is relocated to the far port side of the truss.

Once the radiator was retracted, Lopez-Alegria and Williams completed Wednesday’s unfinished task of disconnecting and stowing the second of two fluid lines for the Early Ammonia Servicer, a large tank on the P6 truss that is no longer needed. The EAS was designed to replenish ammonia to the temporary cooling system on the station in the event of a coolant leak. The servicer will be jettisoned during a spacewalk by the Expedition 15 crew this summer.

Lopez-Alegria, at the base of the P6 truss, photographed the starboard solar array and the blanket box into which it folds. Engineers will analyze the photos and finalize plans to retract that array during the STS-117 shuttle mission to the station next month.

After the photographs were taken, Lopez-Alegria and Williams resumed the stringing of electrical cables from the S0 truss to the Destiny Laboratory and to its forward docking port, Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2), to which visiting shuttles dock. The cables provide electricity for the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS). The system will enable docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend their missions. SSPTS is scheduled to debut during STS-118, enabling Endeavour to fly for two weeks. Three of the six cables were connected Sunday. The others probably will be connected during a spacewalk Thursday, Feb. 8.

Lopez-Alegria removed a sunshade from a data relay box on another pressurized mating adapter that connects the U.S. and Russian segments of the station. Since the shade is no longer needed, it was folded up and brought inside to be discarded either on a future Russian Progress cargo ship or a shuttle mission

Back in the airlock, Lopez-Alegria and Williams did some precautionary decontamination procedures after a few ammonia flakes were seen early in the spacewalk.

The spacewalk ended at 2:49 p.m. as the crew returned to Quest. It was the eighth spacewalk of Lopez-Alegria’s career and the third for Williams. He surpassed astronaut Steve Smith to vault into third place on the all-time spacewalking list for most hours spent outside. Williams now holds the record for most spacewalking time by a female. Former astronaut Kathy Thornton previously held that honor. Sunday’s spacewalk was the 79th for station assembly and maintenance and the 51st done without a shuttle present.

On Monday, Lopez-Alegria and Williams will recharge batteries and prepare their spacesuits and tools for the next spacewalk set for Thursday morning

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-8
4:30 p.m. CST Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

With all scheduled tasks accomplished, International Space Station Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Sunita Williams wound up a 6-hour, 40-minute spacewalk at 2:06 p.m. CST Thursday.

It was the last in an unprecedented series of three U. S. spacewalks in nine days from the Quest airlock. Major tasks of this spacewalk included removing and jettisoning two large shrouds and installing an attachment for cargo carriers.

Lopez-Alegria and Williams moved from the airlock out to Crew Equipment Transfer Aid (CETA) carts on the rails of the main truss. Pushing one cart with their equipment, including a foot restraint, they moved to the Port 3 truss segment. Their first job was to remove two thermal shrouds, one from each of two Rotary Joint Motor Controllers (RJMC) on P3.

Next, they removed two large shrouds from P3 Bays 18 and 20. The shrouds, larger than king-size bed sheets, provide thermal shading. With the station in its present orientation, they are no longer needed and are being removed to avoid trapping heat.

Each large shroud was packed with one of the smaller RJMC shrouds into a package weighing about 20 pounds. Lopez-Alegria jettisoned them toward the rear of the station. Afterward, an Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Assembly Attachment System (UCCAS) on the upper face of the P3 truss was deployed. That was done in preparation for attachment of a cargo platform on the STS-118 mission to the ISS later this year.

While Lopez-Alegria finished work on the UCCAS, Williams moved to the end of the P5 truss to remove two launch locks in preparation for the relocation of the P6 truss to that segment.

The final scheduled task of the spacewalk was connecting the final four cables of the Station to Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS) to Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2) at the forward end of the Destiny laboratory where shuttles dock. The SSPTS will allow visiting shuttles to derive power from the station to extend their missions.

Work began on the system during the Jan. 31 spacewalk, and two of the cables were routed and connected to PMA-2 on the Feb. 4 spacewalk. The astronauts completed one get-ahead task to photograph a suspect connector on the outboard end of PMA-2. It carries station shuttle communications when the shuttle is docked but hatches are closed. Communications have been intermittent during recent shuttle missions.

Approximately 3 hours, 50 minutes into his ninth spacewalk, Lopez-Alegria set a record Thursday for cumulative spacewalk time by a U.S. astronaut. Jerry Ross previously held the title with 58 hours, 32 minutes accumulated during nine spacewalks. Lopez-Alegria completed the spacewalk with 61 hours, 22 minutes of spacewalking time.

The three spacewalks from the Quest airlock in U.S. spacesuits and a Russian spacewalk on Feb. 22 are the most ever done by station crew members during such a short period and will mark five spacewalks in all for Exp. 14, a record for any expedition. Starting from scratch, it takes crew members about 100 hours to prepare for a spacewalk. By doing the U.S. spacewalks just a few days apart, considerable crew time can be saved by not having to repeat some of the preparation.

Thursday's spacewalk was the 80th for station assembly and maintenance. It was the 52nd from the station and the 32nd from Quest. It was the fourth for Williams, the most for any woman.

During the final spacewalk on Feb. 22, Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin will wear Russian Orlan suits to work on an antenna on the Progress 23 cargo ship docked at the aft port of the Zvezda service module. The antenna did not properly retract when that spacecraft docked in October. The spacewalkers will try to secure or remove the antenna to avoid any interference with the undocking of a Progress in April. The spacewalk will be the 10th for Lopez-Alegria, a new record for a U. S. astronaut.

[nikolai39]

Futurs équipages :

EO-16 :
Peggy WHITSON
Youri MALENTCHENKO
Léopold EYHARTS / Garrett REISMAN

EO-16 doublure :
Mickael FINCKE
Salizhan CHARIPOV
Frank de WINNE (!) / Timothy KOPRA

EO-17 :
Sergueï VOLKOV
Oleg KONONENKO
Sandra MAGNUS

EO-17 doublure :
Sergueï KRIKALIOV
Maksim SOURAÏEV
Nicole SCOTT

EO-18 :
Mickael FINCKE
Salizhan CHARIPOV
Koichi WAKATA / Gregory CHAMITOFF

EO-18 doublure :
Michael BARRATT
Youri LONTCHAKOV
Soichi NOGUCHI / Timothy CREAMER

[doublemexpress]

Futurs équipages :

EO-16 :
Peggy WHITSON
Youri MALENTCHENKO
Léopold EYHARTS / Garrett REISMAN

EO-16 doublure :
Mickael FINCKE
Salizhan CHARIPOV
Frank de WINNE (!) / Timothy KOPRA

EYHARTS était doublure de REITER si je ne m'abuse !

Voilà une bonne nouvelle :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Astro-notes]

N° 07-2007- Paris, le 13 février 2007

L'astronaute de l'ESA Léopold Eyharts désigné pour accompagner le
laboratoire européen Columbus vers l'ISS

L'astronaute français de l'ESA Léopold Eyharts a été désigné ce jour pour
assurer la livraison et la mise en marche du laboratoire européen Columbus à
bord de la Station spatiale internationale (ISS). Cette mission est
actuellement prévue pour l'automne.

Léopold Eyharts fera partie de l'équipage Expedition 16 à destination de
l'ISS et accompagnera donc Columbus à bord de la Navette spatiale Discovery
lors de la mission STS-122. Au terme d’un séjour en orbite d’environ deux
mois, il regagnera la Terre avec l’équipage de la mission STS-123
(Endeavour).

En vol vers l'ISS, Léopold Eyharts sera accompagné de cinq astronautes de la
NASA et d'un autre astronaute de l'ESA, l’Allemand Hans Schlegel, qui a déjà
été affecté à la mission STS-122 en juillet dernier.

Pendant son séjour d’une soixantaine de jours à bord de l’ISS, Léopold
Eyharts surveillera la mise en marche du laboratoire Columbus et en
vérifiera le bon fonctionnement. Quant à Hans Schegel, il restera 14 jours à
bord et regagnera la Terre lors d’une autre mission de la Navette.

Léopold Eyharts fait partie du Corps des astronautes européens depuis 1998
et a effectué sa première mission spatiale à bord de la station russe Mir du
29 janvier au 19 février 1998 en tant qu’astronaute du CNES.

Au cours de la nouvelle mission à laquelle il est affecté, Léopold Eyharts
tiendra un rôle clé puisqu'il sera responsable de l'installation, de la mise
en route et de la recette du laboratoire Columbus de l'ESA. Columbus est la
pierre angulaire de la contribution de l'Europe à la Station spatiale
internationale ; c'est le premier laboratoire européen consacré à la
recherche à long terme dans l'espace. Léopold Eyharts sera le premier
astronaute européen à tester et faire fonctionner en orbite les systèmes du
module Columbus. Il sera également chargé de procéder à des expériences
scientifiques européennes embarquées dans ce laboratoire. Au cours de sa
mission ISS, il exercera les fonctions d'ingénieur de vol et participera
aussi aux activités de robotique.

Le laboratoire Columbus sera transporté dans la soute de la Navette, en même
temps que cinq installations de bâtis internes (Biolab, le laboratoire
européen de science des fluides, le laboratoire modulaire européen de
physiologie, le bâti à tiroirs européen et le module de transport européen).
Les deux installations destinées à des expériences à l'extérieur de Columbus
(EuTEF et SOLAR) voyageront elles aussi dans la soute de la Navette et
seront fixées à l'extérieur de la structure du module Columbus pendant la
mission STS-122.

Note aux rédactions

Après le lancement de la mission depuis le Centre spatial Kennedy à Cap
Canaveral, en Floride, deux jours seront nécessaires avant que la Navette
effectue son rendez-vous et son amarrage avec l'ISS. Le laboratoire Columbus
sera extrait de la soute de la Navette par le bras télémanipulateur canadien
de la Station spatiale (Canadarm 2) et sera positionné sur le dispositif
d'amarrage tribord de l'élément de jonction n° 2 développé par l'Europe.
Après le raccordement du module à l'ISS et sa mise sous tension, les
installations des bâtis de charge utile de Columbus, jusque là en
configuration de lancement, seront transférées sur leurs emplacements
opérationnels à l'intérieur du module.

Quatre sorties dans l'espace (activités extra-véhiculaires) sont prévues au
cours de cette mission. La première servira à installer et à mettre sous
tension le laboratoire Columbus. La deuxième aura pour but l'installation
des charges utiles extérieures. La troisième et la quatrième seront
consacrées à diverses tâches de maintenance de l'ISS. La recette finale du
laboratoire ainsi que l’activation et la vérification des bâtis destinés aux
expériences scientifiques auront lieu au cours des semaines suivantes et
seront effectuées par Léopold Eyharts en sa qualité de membre de l’équipage
permanent de l'ISS.

Dès que Columbus sera raccordé à la Station, le Centre de contrôle Columbus
d'Oberpfaffenhofen en Allemagne, situé dans les locaux du Centre des
opérations spatiales du DLR, prendra la responsabilité du contrôle et de
l'exploitation du laboratoire européen. Il assurera également la
coordination de la conduite des expériences européennes.

Pour tout complément d'information sur Léopold Eyharts :

http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESASFUZUMOC_astronauts_0.html

ou

http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESASFUZUMOC_astronauts_2.html

Pour tout complément d'information sur les astronautes de l'ESA :

http://www.esa.int/esaHS/astronauts.html

Pour en savoir plus sur les vols spatiaux de l'ESA :

http://www.esa.int/spaceflight

Pour d'autres informations :

ESA – Bureau Relations avec les médias

Tél. : + 33 1 5369 7155

Fax : + 33 1 5369 7299


:sage:

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-9
4 p.m. CST Monday, Feb. 12, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

An unexpected circuit breaker trip early Sunday caused a power outage on the International Space Station, but the safety of the Expedition 14 crew and the complex was never an issue. All systems were back up by Monday morning with no impact to operations on board.

The first indications of a problem came with the loss of communications between the station and mission control just after midnight CST Sunday when an electrical switching unit experienced a brief malfunction that appropriately caused a breaker to trip, which protects the electrical system of the station much like a circuit breaker protects electrical systems and equipment in a home.

Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams – awake since mid evening Saturday – took immediate action and followed procedures on board to recover the communications link with mission control, Houston, at about 1:35 a.m. CST.

During the remainder of Sunday and through early Monday, restoration of systems continued. The systems affected included:

- One of two redundant communications systems - One of four gyroscopes used to maintain the station’s position, or orientation - Several scientific facilities, including the freezer containing experiment samples - The Ku Band high data rate and television system - Several smoke detectors and various heaters that maintain a thermal balance of external components, including the robotic arm and its mobile base

None of these systems was permanently affected and the equipment’s temporary shut down did not impact research work or upcoming planned activities.

In addition to the recovery from the power outage, the crew also began early preparations for the next spacewalk by Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria. During that spacewalk scheduled for Feb. 22, the two will free a stuck antenna on the ISS Progress 23 supply craft and survey navigation systems for the European Automated Transfer Vehicle’s docking capability to the Zvezda Service Module. They will try to secure or remove the antenna to preclude any interference during undocking in April. The spacewalk will be the 10th for Lopez-Alegria, which will be a U. S. astronaut record. The two will wear Russian Orlan suits for the excursion out of the Pirs docking compartment.

[vp]

Nomination des 3 prochains équipages d'ISS :
le lien NASA

[vp]

International Space Station Status Report #07-10
4 p.m. CST Friday, Feb. 16, 2007
Expedition 14 Crew

Following Sunday’s unexpected circuit breaker trip and subsequent reset and repowering of affected equipment, the International Space Station had no further incidents. The Expedition 14 crew continued to focus on preparation for its final planned spacewalk ahead of Space Shuttle Atlantis’ arrival in March.

As Atlantis was moved to the launch pad this week, station Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Mikhail Tyurin conducted leak checks of the Russian Orlan spacesuits they will wear for their venture outside Feb. 22. They also installed some additional equipment on the suits, including lights that will assist in their tasks.

Today they verified the suits are in good condition by conducting telemetry and communications checks with flight controllers in Russia at the Mission Control Center in Korolev.

The spacewalk will be the fifth by the Expedition 14 crew – a record for ISS crews. It will be the fourth spacewalk conducted from the station in the past three weeks. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 4 a.m. CST and last six hours. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television beginning at 3 a.m. CST.

The spacewalkers will attempt to free a stuck antenna on the ISS Progress 23 cargo craft docked at the aft end of the station. They also will survey docking navigation systems for the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, a cargo craft planned to make its maiden voyage this summer.

Securing or removing the antenna will ensure it will not interfere with the Progress ship’s undocking in April. The spacewalk will be the 10th for Lopez-Alegria, a record for a U.S. astronaut.

Also this week, robotics ground controllers in Houston commanded the station's mobile transporter rail car to move to the starboard side of the station's truss in preparation for the arrival of Atlantis. Atlantis will bring a new, school bus-sized truss segment with a third set of U.S. solar arrays for the complex plus batteries and other electronics. The crew will spend Monday training on the operation of the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm from a work station inside the Destiny laboratory.