[sarex] ISS Status Report: SS07-08

[Arthur Rowe]

> SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
>> Feb. 12, 2007
>>
>> Allard Beutel
>> Headquarters, Washington
>> 202-358-4769
>>
>> Kyle Herring
>> Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 STATUS REPORT: SS07-08
>>
>> INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS07-08
>>
>> HOUSTON - An unexpected circuit breaker trip early Sunday caused a 
>> power outage on the International Space Station. All systems were 
>> back up by Monday morning with no impact to operations on board. The 
>> safety of the Expedition 14 crew and the complex was never an issue.
>> The first indications of a problem came with the loss of 
>> communications between the station and mission control just after 
>> 12:00 a.m. CST Sunday when an electrical switching unit experienced a 
>> brief malfunction that appropriately caused a breaker to trip, 
>> protecting 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.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>> For more about the crew's activities and station sighting 
>> opportunities, visit:
>> http://www.nasa.gov/station
>>     
>> -end-
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