International Space Station Status Report: SS07-15

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March 29, 2007

John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-4934 

STATUS REPORT: SS07-15

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS07-15

HOUSTON - The Expedition 14 crew of the International Space Station 
continued preparations for the April arrival of a new station crew by 
boarding their Soyuz TMA-9 craft and taking a 24-minute flight from 
one station docking port to another.

Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin guided the Soyuz away from the 
Earth-facing port of the station's Zarya module and docked it to the 
aft port of the Zvezda module. The move frees the Zarya port for the 
arrival of the Expedition 15 crew aboard the Soyuz TMA-10, scheduled 
to dock to the station on April 9.

Tyurin undocked the Soyuz from Zarya at 5:30 p.m. CDT and redocked to 
the Zvezda port at 5:54 p.m. CDT as the station and the Soyuz flew 
210 miles above the east coast of South America. Minutes later, hooks 
and latches engaged between the Soyuz' docking probe and Zvezda's 
docking port to attach the craft firmly to the station. During the 
time from undocking to redocking, the crew traveled about a third of 
the way around the world.

To prepare for Thursday's undocking and relocation, Commander Michael 
Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Tyurin and Sunita Williams shut 
down key station systems and configured the complex for autonomous 
operations in the unlikely event they would not be able to redock.

Prior to undocking, Tyurin activated the Soyuz' backup battery as a 
precaution when the prime spacecraft battery indicated a slightly 
lower voltage reading. It was quickly determined that the voltage 
drop was due to the activation of some Soyuz systems, and the prime 
battery soon returned to its normal voltage output.

Late Thursday into early Friday, the crew will open the hatch to the 
Soyuz, re-enter the station and reactivate systems for regular 
activity. Friday will be an off-duty day for the crew as they 
readjust their sleep cycles, which were changed to accommodate the 
Soyuz move.

Further preparation for the Soyuz relocation included the undocking 
and discarding of the ISS Progress 23 cargo craft from the aft Zvezda 
port on Tuesday, March 27, making room for the Soyuz to redock. That 
activity went smoothly; the ISS Progress undocked at 1:11 p.m. CDT 
and re-entered Earth's atmosphere at 5:44 p.m.

Additional work for the crew this week included a first for the 
Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites 
(SPHERES) experiment. The experiment uses 8-inch diameter spherical 
satellites that fly within the station cabin. The satellites test the 
basics of formation flight and autonomous docking that could be used 
in future spacecraft. The battery-powered satellites use carbon 
dioxide to fuel 12 thrusters as they fly in the cabin. 

During a weekend "Saturday Science" session, Williams conducted a 
SPHERES experiment run. This was the first time three satellites flew 
together in tests. Investigators for the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, Cambridge, deemed the experiment highly successful.

Back on Earth, Expedition 15 cosmonauts Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin 
and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, along with spaceflight participant 
Charles Simonyi, a U.S. businessman, prepared for their April 7 
launch at the Baikonur Cosomodrome, Kazakhstan.

For more about the crew's activities and station sighting 
opportunities, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/station

	
-end-



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