NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 11 December 2011

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Sunday - Crew off day. Ahead: Week 4 of Increment 30 (three-person crew).

After wakeup, FE-1 Shkaplerov performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.

CDR Burbank completed the visual T+2 Days (44 +/- 4h) microbial (bacterial & fungal) analysis of PWD (Potable Water Dispenser) water samples collected by him on 12/9, using the WMK MCD (Water Microbiology Kit / Microbial Capture Devices) for microbial traces, and the CDB (Coliform Detection Bag) for inflight coliform indications (Magenta for Positive, Yellow for Negative).

FE-2 Ivanishin conducted the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. This included the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP-Moscow, as well as the weekly checkup on the Russian POTOK-150MK (150 micron) air filter unit of the SM's & FGB's SOGS air revitalization subsystem, gathering weekly data on total operating time & "On" durations for calldown. [SOZh servicing includes 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].

At ~7:15am EST, Anton Shkaplerov & Anatoly Ivanishin engaged in a PAO phone interview via S-band with Ekaterina Beloglazova, Editor of Rossiyskiy Kosmos (Russian Space) Magazine and an old friend of ISS cosmonauts. ["Hello, Anton and Anatoly, first of all, could you share with us your first impressions of the Soyuz flight and station docking?- What kind of welcome did you get from the crew? Did they wine and dine you and let you go to sleep? How did your first day go?- What or who did you dream about on your first night at the new place?- Tell us how you were feeling initially and now. How does it feel to be at zero gravity?- I'm sure you've looked up all modules. Tell us about them and about the station in general, what does it look like in reality?- You had a very short handover but you've learned certain things on the ground. Was it easy and practical? What was Sergei Volkov able to accomplish in the way of introducing you to the ISS?- Did you hit the ground running or you needed some time for adaptation? What experiments do you like the most and what have you been able to do over (almost) a month?- What does the Earth look like from orbit, do you recognize some places now, and what impressed you the most?-Tell us about your next month's activities.- Thank you and see you soon! Ekaterina."]

At ~3:40pm, Dan Burbank is scheduled for his weekly PFC (Private Family Conference), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop).

At ~4:15pm, Dan also has a CDE (Crew Discretionary Event) on his schedule.

The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (CDR), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-2), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (CDR), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-1, FE-2).

Tasks listed for Shkaplerov & Ivanishin on the Russian discretionary "time permitting" job for today were -
* A ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 "Uragan" (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens, aiming for Hudson Volcano, Chile, the glaciers of Patagonia and Volcano Cordon-Kaul,
* A 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 "Seiner" ocean observation program, obtaining HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-Eastern Pacific, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop,
* A video recording of New Year Greetings to be used in a joint project of Roskosmos TV Studio with Carousel TV Channel for children ages 8 to 12 years, the "It's Time to go to space!" program, which has a segment where Russian cosmonauts are discussing their work &, answer viewers' questions (currently they are working on a New Year episode). The footage was then to be downlinked to TsUP-Moscow.
* Taking documentary photographs through SM windows of the removable cassettes S #9-S and SKK #2-DC1, installed on the cylindrical portion of the SM propulsion compartment between planes I and IV, and on the DC1 Docking Compartment, and
* Another ~30-min. session for Russia's EKON Environmental Safety Agency, making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on Earth using the NIKON D3X camera with the RSK-1 laptop.

WRM Update: A new WRM (Water Recovery Management) "cue card" was uplinked to the crew for their reference, updated with their latest CWC (Contingency Water Container) water audit. [The new card (29-0008B) lists 32 CWCs (490.7 L total) for the five types of water identified on board: 1. Silver technical water (6 CWCs with 199.5 L, for Elektron electrolysis, all containing Wautersia bacteria; 2. Condensate water (3 CWCs with 19.1 L), 7 empty bags; 3. Iodinated water (11 CWCs with 186.4 L; also 3 expired bags with 59.1 L); 4. Waste water (1 bag with 6.4 L EMU waste water); and 5. Special fluid (1 CWC with 20.2 L, hose/pump flush). Other CWCs are stowed behind racks and are currently not being tracked due to unchanging contents. Wautersia bacteria are typical water-borne microorganisms that have been seen previously in ISS water sources. These isolates pose no threat to human health.]

GHF Checkout: On 12/1, JAXA ground controllers continued the extensive checkout of the GHF (Gradient Heating Furnace) payload on the Kobairo Rack in the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) which began on 12/1 and is continuing for about 14 days.

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