PROGRESS M-49

Progress M-49 lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 09: 34, May 25, 2004, carrying 2,566 kg of food, water, propellant, and equipment for the two men on the station. The spacecraft completed an automatic docking to Zvezda’s wake at 09: 55, May 27. Following pressure and leak checks the crew spent the next few days unloading the new vehicle, beginning on May 28.

RUSSIA CALLS FOR 12-MONTH EXPEDITION FLIGHTS

In Moscow, Russia was pressing for the Expedition-10 crew to spend 12-months in orbit. While NASA was not prepared to consider such a mission all the time the ISS programme was flying with two-man caretaker crews and relying on the Soyuz TMA for return to Earth, the Russians were adamant that the time had come to advance the Expedition crews’ stay time, and increase the amount of science performed by each crew. Yuri Semenov, director of Energia stated:

“Our position is rigid—the next crew [Expedition-10] must make a long flight. I would urge our American colleagues not to drag their feet on solving this issue. We are ready for long flights. Our equipment is ready and our partners [the Americans] must listen to their Russian colleagues… Russia is keeping the station running while the USA and Japan are cutting down their budgets. This cannot last for long because Russia has had to freeze the construction of later ISS hardware and stop selling trips to rich tourists in order to mobilise its resources to keep the ISS afloat.’’

The Russians were careful not to mention that 12-month Expedition crews would leave two seats available for sale to paying passengers on intervening Soyuz TMA “taxi’’ flights.

NASA replied to Russia’s request that “The time is not right.’’ They explained that the Expedition-10 crew would not stay in space for 12 months, but that the Expedition-11 crew might do so in 2005; but only if the Shuttle was flying again by then. In July, ESA managers also began to call for a six-person Expedition crew. They suggested that this could be achieved by using two Soyuz CRVs and having the three extra astronauts finding sleeping accommodation wherever they could. They did not address the question of who would pay for the extra Soyuz spacecraft, but did criticise America for cancelling the American Habitation Module and the X-38 CRV. Meanwhile, NASA had also failed to act on the Young Committee recommendation that two Expedition crews could work side by side on the station for one month, rather than just one week during hand-over periods.

On June 3, Padalka and Fincke began preparation for the EVA that had been rescheduled after the May 19 EMU checks. The EVA was tentatively planned for no earlier than June 15. During the first week of June, their sixth week on ISS, they also performed experiments and routine housekeeping. On June 10, programme managers scheduled the EVA for June 24. The move placed the EVA at a better time in the crew’s workday, optimised Russian communications coverage, and offered additional time for preparation. The crew carried out training with the tools that they would use and prepared their Orlan suits; they also performed cardiovascular evaluation sessions on the fixed bicycle in Zvezda. Much of the rest of the first half of the month was spent unloading Progress M-49 and performing their experiment programmes in Destiny and Zvezda.

Fincke’s wife, Renita, gave birth to their second child on June 18. The astronaut took the opportunity to remind the world that many men and women in the service of their country were also forced to miss similar important family occasions. Mean­while, EVA preparations, including fitting American EMU helmet lights on to the helmets of their Russian Orlan suits, continued alongside mass measurement checks and software replacement in three racks of experiments in Destiny.

In his pre-launch interview, Fincke had described how he felt about the two planned Stage EVAs during his occupation of ISS:

“[O]nly recently did I actually start to think how really exciting that is, to be alone in the cosmos without a spacecraft around me except for this suit that was put together by human hands. It’s made out of material and a little bit of metal and a lot of plastic, and yet we’ll be able to look out there on our planet below and the stars in the sky and really experience a true spaceflight. [I]t’s an honour as a rookie to get a chance to perform two spacewalks, and it’s an honour to be able to fly on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and to work in a Russian spacesuit. My instructors spent a lot of time with me, and I’m glad I’ve earned their confidence in the U. S. and Russia to get a chance to do that.’’

The EVA to repair the RPCM finally began at 17: 56, June 24, 2004. Following depressurisation of the Pirs airlock they opened the hatch and made their way outside. Almost immediately, Russian flight controllers noticed that the primary oxygen bottle in Fincke’s PLSS was losing pressure much faster than expected. The two men were ordered to return to the airlock and terminate the EVA. The hatch was closed and the EVA ended at 18: 10, after just 14 minutes 22 seconds. NASA announced, “The overall pressure in Fincke’s suit remained stable at all times and he was not in danger.’’

Following immediate troubleshooting, the astronauts were instructed to remove their pressure suits, return to the station, and reconfigure it for normal use. Although the Russian controllers were not able to immediately identify the cause of the prob­lem, Fincke thanked both control teams for being alert and noticing the problem so quickly. He informed Korolev that the two of them would sleep late the following morning and then resume their normal work/sleep routine until it was time to prepare for a second attempt at the EVA. Programme managers rescheduled the EVA for no earlier than June 29, as dictated by Russian communication coverage. The problem with Fincke’s suit was identified as an injector switch that controlled the flow of oxygen.

Although investigations would continue for the next few days, the crew were informed that they had followed the correct procedures when preparing for the EVA and could expect to wear the same Orlan suits when they completed the rescheduled EVA. On June 29, the EVA was rescheduled again, for the following day. On the same date, Russian engineers confirmed that the selector switch in Fincke’s suit had not seated properly when it was set. Energia told the media, “This valve has a particular design feature—whilst it is being closed, one must make sure not only that the signal light goes out, but also that the handle has been locked.’’ New procedures were put in place to confirm the switch’s seating when preparing for future EVAs.

The second attempt to repair the RPCM began at 17: 19, June 30, 20 minutes ahead of schedule, when the two men left Pirs. Padalka described the scene outside as “Dark, but very beautiful.’’ They moved over to the Strela crane, Padalka turned the hand crank to extend it to its full 15m length, and Fincke made his way along to the end of it. Padalka manoeuvred Finke to a position where he secured the crane to the handrails on Zarya’s wake. Padalka then made his way along the Strela to Fincke’s position before they both transferred to the handrails on the exterior of Unity, at 18: 09. At that time, control of the EVA passed from Korolev to Houston and the two men stopped speaking Russian and began speaking English. Controllers in Houston guided them to their work position on the S-0 ITS, where, by 18: 52, they had completed their tasks to replace the RPCM. Fifteen minutes later, word was passed to the astronauts that power was flowing to CMG-2 once more and that it was spinning at 30rpm. The two men collected their tools and made their way back to the Strela crane, where control of the EVA was handed back to Korolev, at 21 : 11, and they began speaking Russian once more. Having traversed the Strela crane, Padalka cranked the telescopic crane back to its stowed position, bringing Fincke back to the exterior of Pirs. They also completed get-ahead tasks in preparation for later EVAs, when they installed two flexible handrails, mounted a contamination monitor to measure station thruster exhaust, and added end caps to two handrails on the exterior of Pirs. Having entered the airlock they closed the hatch at 22: 59, after an EVA lasting 5 hours 40 minutes. CMG-2 was powered up to verify its full 6,600 rpm, at 14: 30, July 1. After performing tests overnight, the CMG was returned to its role of helping the two working CMGs to control the ISS’s attitude, at 07: 20, July 2. The fourth CMG remained off-line. The two astronauts spent July 2 tidying up after the EVA, after which they had a three-day weekend off, to celebrate July 4, American Independence Day. Meanwhile, controllers in Korolev pumped air from the tanks in Progress M-49 into the station’s atmosphere.

Back at work the crew concentrated their efforts on their experiments and general maintenance of the station. Padalka used the new ultrasound experiment to examine Fincke, and thereby demonstrated a capability to transmit medical data to a flight surgeon on the ground in real time. Meanwhile, Fincke continued to troubleshoot the cooling systems in the two American EMUs. The problems experienced prior to the last EVA were traced to pumps in the cooling system. New pumps would be sent up to the station on the next Progress, due for launch in August. Throughout the third week of July the crew performed more experiments, studying their cardiovascular systems and fluid motion in microgravity. They also spent the week loading rubbish in to Progress M-49 and removing the KURS automatic docking system. Both men donned their Sokol launch and re-entry suits and made their way into Soyuz TMA-4 for fit-checks in their couches, on July 7. A full fire drill at the end of the week was followed by a round of taking air and swab samples around the station. Two false activations of the station’s fire alarms led to the crew cleaning the fire alarms. During his weekend off Padalka completed sessions with the Russian Pulse medical experiment and the ESA Eye Tracking Device experiment. The following week saw him beginning a new round of Russian biomedical experiments. Fincke worked on American experiments in Destiny.

On July 16, Russian controllers at Korolev made an unsuccessful attempt to upload software into computers in Zvezda. The software was designed to support the rendezvous and docking of the ESA-developed Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to Zvezda’s wake. The ATV would be launched by Ariane-V from the ESA launch site in French Guiana. It would carry 2.5 times the payload that a Progress could carry, including propellants, water, oxygen, and nitrogen. It would also be able to re­boost the station’s orbit. At that time the ATV was due to make its maiden flight in 2005 and then operate alongside Progress. During the day, Padalka replaced a pump in Zvezda’s cooling system, which had failed two days earlier. The back-up cooling system had continued to work properly throughout the malfunction and its repair.

Padalka and Fincke passed the halfway point of their mission on July 19. Fincke spent the day removing the water pump from one of the failed EMUs. Two spare water pumps would be launched on Progress M-50. The following day, a computer failed on the station’s starboard thermal radiator, but had no impact on operations, as the radiator was not active. On July 21, they both participated in celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo-11 Moon landing. The crew spent the week loading rubbish into Progress M-49. On July 23, they began preparations for their second EVA, before they manoeuvred the SSRMS to a position where it could video the EVA planned for August 3.

The leaders of the international space agencies involved in ISS met at Noordwijk, Holland, on July 23. They reviewed the status of ISS operations, and the final configuration of ISS at the end of the decade. The group reaffirmed their commitment to international co-operation and to the completion of the station’s construction and operation. They also committed their agencies to continually review launch schedules and opportunities to accelerate that schedule. American and Russian representatives renewed their commitment to continued occupation of ISS throughout its construc­tion phase. The representatives recognised America’s efforts to return the Shuttle to flight status and Russia’s commitment to maintaining access to the station and to its re-supply. They also discussed access to the station after Energia’s contract to supply Soyuz and Progress spacecraft came to an end. At the beginning of the ISS

programme Russia had agreed to supply 11 Soyuz spacecraft free of charge. The last of those spacecraft was due to be launched in October 2005, and recovered in April 2006. The Russians made it clear that they would require payment for their Soyuz spacecraft when a new contract was negotiated. This presented a major problem, in that the Iran Non-proliferation Act banned NASA from paying money directly to Russia. Congress put the Act in place, in fear that President Clinton’s relationship with Russia’s President Putin was allowing him to overlook Russia’s part in the Iranian nuclear programme. Although the Clinton White House fought the new Act, it was voted into law and forced the President to operate sanctions against any country that helped Iran’s programme. Following the loss of STS-107 a Democratic Party proposal to change the Act, to allow additional Soyuz spacecraft to be purchased from Russia, had received only 3 signatures in 17 months. Mean­while, the prospect arose that, after April 2006, America might only be able to fly short-duration Shuttle flights to ISS because they were unable to pay for American astronauts’ places on the Soyuz CRV docked to the station for return to Earth in the event of an emergency. In such an event all American astronauts would have to be launched to and returned from ISS by Shuttle. A further problem also arose if the Constellation spacecraft were not ready to start crewed orbital flight before the Shuttle was retired in 2010.

Progress M-49 undocked from ISS at 02: 05, July 30. Fincke filmed the spacecraft as it departed. The station’s cameras also recorded the Progress re-entry. The Expedi­tion-10 crew spent the remainder of the week preparing for their third EVA. Fincke also spent part of the week completing soldering experiments in microgravity.

Padalka and Fincke wore Orlan suits when they exited Pirs, at 02: 58, August 3, and made their way to Zvezda’s wake. The EVA was intended to last up to 6 hours. Their first task was to replace the SKK material exposure experiment with a new container full of fresh samples. They also replaced the Kromka experiment, which measured the contamination from the thrusters on Zvezda. Next, the two men made their way onto the wake face of Zvezda, where they installed two antennae and replaced three laser reflectors with more advanced models. The three old reflectors were replaced with a single three-dimentional reflector. All of these items would be used to support the rendezvous and docking of ESA’s ATVs. While they worked at the rear of Zvezda the three CMGs that controlled the station’s orientation approached saturation level. This condition was anticipated, and the station was placed into free drift. As a result, S-band communication was lost as the antennae drifted. At 05: 15, the astronauts were 40 minutes ahead of their flight plan, and were instructed to leave the area. The CMG resumed attitude control at 06: 00, and the two men were allowed to return to the area at the rear of Zvezda. Finally, they disconnected a cable on a malfunctioning camera that would be collected on a later EVA, before removing the Platan-M materials exposure experiment. The crew returned to Pirs and closed the hatch at 07 : 28, after an EVA lasting 4 hours 30 minutes.

The following day NASA pumped additional nitrogen from one of the two high – pressure tanks on the exterior of Quest into the station’s atmosphere. The week ended with the crew performing their experiment programmes.

PROGRESS M-50

The Expedition-9 crew was asleep and passing southwest of Baikonur when Progress M-50 lifted off at 01:03, August 11, 2004. The cargo ship, carrying pumps for the two malfunctioning EMUs, clothes for the Expedition-10 crew, and propellant, air, and water; a total of 2,542 kg of cargo. After a standard two-day rendezvous, Progress M50 docked to Zvezda’s wake docking port at 01: 01, August 14. The crew began unloading the cargo the following day.

Using items delivered on the new Progress, Fincke took 4 hours to replace the water pump in the cooling system of one of the malfunctioning Extravehicular Mobility Unit, before turning his hand to repairing an exercise machine. The follow­ing day, the EMU was subjected to several more hours of testing, during which it performed perfectly. Two of three American EMUs on the station were now func­tioning correctly. The third suit, which sufferred a similar problem in its cooling system was left to later. The crew spent most of the remainder of the week preparing for their fourth EVA. On August 25 the thrusters on Progress M-50 were fired to raise the station’s orbit, in preparation for the arrival of Soyuz TMA-5, due for launch in October. Throughout the period the Elektron unit in Zvezda failed, on average, once every three days. NASA referred to the Elektron as “a major source of trouble’’.