2001
Report # 9 
 Wednesday, April 4, 2001 ñ 4 p.m. CDT 
 Expedition Two Crew 
 
 The resident crew of the International Space Station ñ Commander Yury
Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms ñ spent the last
week conducting experiments and performing routine housekeeping chores and
some maintenance work.

The activation of the stationís Ku-Band antenna remains on hold until a
software update is uplinked to the stationís computers Thursday.  This
command is designed to correct an apparent pointing error with the
dish-shaped antenna.  The Ku-Band system is used to transmit television,
voice and high-speed data to the ground.  Normal communication is being
managed through the S-Band audio system.  Any required TV images, in the
meantime, can be accommodated through the use of the laptop computer-based
digital video system.

Also, the crew changed out components of the carbon dioxide removal
assembly system in the Destiny Laboratory in an effort to recover its use.
Troubleshooting work continues as engineers evaluate what appears to be a
sluggish vent valve on the unit.  The Zvezda moduleís CO2 removal system
is working fine and providing more than adequate capability to cleanse the
cabin air in the meantime.

Oxygen for the crew currently is being provided by supply tanks in the
Progress supply vehicle, which boosted the cabin air yesterday.  Without
the Progress, the Russian Elektron in Zvezda provides oxygen generation.
Not presently needed, the Elektron is turned off.

Apart from maintenance tasks and routine housekeeping chores, the crew has
been working with experiments on board.  The Human Research Facility rack
in Destiny is managed and operated by a science and operations team from
the Telescience Support Center down the hall from the stationís flight
control room in Mission Control, Houston.  All payloads on the station are
overseen from NASAís Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama
where the Payloads Operations Center is located.  For details on the
science investigations ongoing aboard the ISS, visit the following
website:

http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/news/releases/2001/01-105.html

The Progress supply craft currently docked to the aft end of the Zvezda
module is scheduled to be undocked around April 15 in preparation for the
arrival of the next shuttle flight carrying the stationís Canadian-built
robot arm and a second Italian Space Agency supplied logistics module
called Raffaello.  The open port allows for the relocation of the Soyuz
capsule around April 17, which will provide clearance for the placement of
Raffaello during the docked phase of the shuttle mission.  The Flight
Readiness Review to evaluate the readiness of Endeavour, its crew and the
station for the shuttleís launch on the STS-100 mission will be held
Thursday to select a target launch date, which currently is around April
19.

Earlier today, a small test firing of the Progress supply shipís thrusters
was performed to verify command capability of the steering jets via the
Zvezda moduleís computers.  The brief engine burn resulted in a change in
the velocity of the Station of only one meter per second.  It was the
first time the Progress thrusters were commanded from the ground through
the Zvezda moduleís computers.

The test sets the stage for another Progress engine firing early next week
designed to refine the orbit of the station relative to the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in preparation for the arrival of a new Soyuz
capsule to replace the one presently docked to the station.  Soyuz
capsules routinely are changed about every 180 days.  A taxi crew, as itís
called, will deliver the new capsule and return to Earth in the one
launched last October carrying the stationís first Expedition Crew.

Late Tuesday, a handover of the stationís attitude control from the
electrically driven Control Moment Gyroscopes to the Zvezda moduleís
thrusters was performed as a test to verify that the automatic switchover
would occur in the event that the CMGs developed a problem.  The test
allowed the system to ëthinkí that the gyros had failed down to one
operational system and the computers automatically switched to the
thrusters.  The test verified the system is fully operational.

The International Space Station continues to orbit the Earth in good shape
at an altitude of 238 statute miles (384 km).  The next ISS Status Report
will be issued April 11, unless developments warrant.

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