all ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. * At Baikonur/Kazakhstan, the new cargo ship Progress M-09M/41P (#409) was launched last night on time at 8:31:39pm EST on a Soyuz-U rocket when ISS led by a phase angle of 187 deg. Ascent was nominal, and all spacecraft systems were without issues. first stage (four strap-on boosters) separation was at 1m 53s at ~49 km altitude (velocity ~1.76 km/s); second stage (core) sep took place at 4m 45s at ~167 km (velocity ~3.88 km/s); third stage sep & orbit insertion was at 8m 49s, at ~202 km and 7.50 km/s velocity. Docking to the ISS at the DC1 (Docking Compartment) nadir port is planned for tomorrow (1/29) at ~9:39pm. all arrays and antennas deployed nominally (2 solar arrays, 5 KURS antennas, 1 Rassvet-M antenna for TORU, 1 SBI/M-BITS onboard measurement / telemetry system antenna). After the successful capture & berthing of JAXA’s HTV2 (H-IIB Transfer Vehicle 2) “Kounotori” (Stork) last evening at 6:39am EST and HTV2 was transitioned from internal batteries to ISS power to prevent further drain on its non-rechargeable batteries, the crew got ahead on the timeline. FE-6 Coleman & FE-5 Nespoli successfully performed the vestibule outfitting, includiung removal of the CDC (Center Disk Cover), mating of a power jumper and a MIL-STD-1553 data jumper from Node-2 to HTV, etc. the crew ingressed the HTV at 3:47pm EST (instead of today). FE-2 Skripochka sampled the air in the HTV using a Russian AK-1M absorber. CDR Kelly reported that the interior of the HTV was bright, clean and had a good atmosphere. upon wakeup this morning, FE-4 Dmitri Kondratyev conducted the regular daily early-morning check of the aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which Maxim Suraev had installed on 10/19/09 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). [Dmitri will inspect the filters again before bedtime tonight, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.] CDR Scott Kelly continued another week-long activity with the post-wakeup experiment SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight), Scott’s 7th session, transferring data from his Actiwatch to the HRF-1 (Human Research Facility 1) laptop. [To monitor their sleep/wake patterns and light exposure during a SLEEP session, US crewmembers wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him/her as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition, using the payload software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop. the log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.] FE-1 Kaleri completed his 5th session with the Russian behavioral assessment TIPOLOGIA (MBI-20), setting up the workstation, connecting equipment, suiting up and launching the program on the RSK1 laptop. [Oleg Skripochka assisted in donning the electrode cap, preparing the head for the electrodes, applying electrode gel from the Neurolab-RM2 kit and taking documentary photography. Data were recorded on a PCMCIA memory card and downlinked via OCA comm. MBI-20 studies typological features of operator activity of the ISS crews in long-term space flight phases, with the subject using a cap with EEG (electroencephalogram) electrodes. the experiment, which records EEGs, consists of the Luescher test, "adaptive biological control" training, and the games Minesweeper and Tetris. the Luescher color diagnostic is a psychological test which measures a person's psychophysical state, his/her ability to withstand stress, to perform and to communicate. it is believed to help uncover the cause of psychological stress, which can lead to physical symptoms. An EEG measures and records the electrical activity of the brain.] Kondratyev took the periodic Russian PZE-MO-3 test for physical fitness evaluation, spending ~90 min on the TVIS treadmill in unmotorized (manual control) mode and wearing the Kardiokassette KK-2000 belt with three chest electrodes. [The fitness test, controlled from the RSE-Med laptop, yields ECG (electrocardiogram) readings to the KK-2000 data storage device, later downlinked via the Regul (BSR-TM) payload telemetry channel. before the run, the KK-2000 was synchronized with the computer date/time readings. For the ECG, the crewmember rests for 5 min., then works out on the treadmill, first walking 3 min. up to 3.5 km/h, then running at a slow pace of 5-6 km/h for 2 min, at moderate pace of 6.5 km/h for 2 min, followed by the maximum pace not exceeding 10 km/h for 1 min, then walking again at gradually decreasing pace to 3.5 km/h]. Coleman initiated another sampling run with the EHS GC/DMS (Environmental Health Systems Gas Chromatograph / Differential Mobility Spectrometer); deactivating the system ~5 hrs later. [This was the 12th session with the newly replaced GC/DMS unit #1004, after the previous instrument (#1002) was used for approximately 7 runs. Also known as AQM (Air Quality Monitor), the system is controlled with "Sionex" expert software from the SSC (Station Support Computer)-12 laptop (due to a software glitch, the software needs to be opened, closed, and then reopened in order to ensure good communication between GC/DMS and SSC-12). the AQM demonstrates COTS (Commercial Off-the-Shelf) technology for identifying volatile organic compounds, similar to the VOA (Volatile Organics Analyzer). this evaluation will continue over the course of several months as it helps to eventually certify the GC/DMS as nominal CHeCS (Crew Health Care Systems) hardware.] In preparation for Progress M-09M/41P docking tomorrow, FE-1 Kaleri & FE-2 Skripochka tagged up with ground instructors at TsUP/Moscow via S-band/audio for a one-hour refresher discussion of the TORU teleoperator system operations during rendezvous & docking. TORU provides a manual backup mode to the Progress’ KURS automated rendezvous radar system. A tagup with a TORU instructor supported the training. [The TORU teleoperator control system lets a SM-based crewmember perform the approach and docking of automated Progress vehicles in case of KURS failure. during spacecraft approach, TORU is in "hot standby" mode. Receiving a video image of the approaching ISS, as seen from a Progress-mounted docking television camera ("Klest"), on a color monitor ("Simvol-Ts", i.e. "symbol center") which also displays an overlay of rendezvous data from the onboard digital computer, the CDR would steer the Progress to mechanical contact by means of two hand controllers, one for rotation (RUO), the other for translation (RUD), on adjustable armrests. the controller-generated commands are transmitted from the SM's TORU control panel to the Progress via VHF radio. In addition to the Simvol-Ts color monitor, range, range rate (approach velocity) and relative angular position data are displayed on the "Klest-M" video monitor (VKU) which starts picking up signals from Progress when it is still approximately 8 km away. TORU is monitored in real time from TsUP over Russian ground sites (RGS) and via Ku-band from Houston, but its control cannot be taken over from the ground. on 10/30 tomorrow), Progress KURS-A (active) will be activated at 11:06am EDT on Daily Orbit 1 (DO1), SM KURS-P (passive) two minutes later. Progress floodlight will be switched on at a range of ~8 km. Flyaround to the DC1 nadir port (~400 m range, in sunlight) starts at 12:17:28pm, followed by station keeping at 170m at ~12:24:40pm. Start of final approach: ~12:28:30pm (DO2) in sunlight, contact: ~12:39:30pm after local sunset (12:29pm). SM Kurs-P deactivation on mechanical capture.] Preparatory to the arrival of Progress 41P . rrow, Kelly & Kaleri set up the Ku-band video “scheme” for a communications test of converting the RS (Russian Segment) video signal from the SONY HDV camera to U.S. NTSC format and Ku-band from FGB & SM, for downlinking “streaming video” packets via U.S. OpsLAN and Ku-band. [For the test, Scott configured the SSC-1 (Station Support Computer 1) A31p laptop in the FGB and activated the VWS (Video Streaming Workstation) laptop for both the conversion and the "streaming" MPEG2 (Moving Pictures Expert Group 2) encoding, with Sasha running the video test from the RS.] Scott filled out his weekly FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). [On the FFQs, NASA astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MEC software. Recorded are the amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. the FFQ is performed once a week to estimate nutrient intake from the previous week and to give recommendations to ground specialists that help maintain optimal crew health. Weekly estimation has been verified to be reliable enough that nutrients do not need to be tracked daily.] At ~3:20 EST, the crew held the regular (nominally weekly) tagup with the Russian Flight Control Team (GOGU), including Shift Flight Director (SRP), at TsUP via S-band/audio, phone-patched from Houston and Moscow. Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change): ————–Six-crew operations————- 01/27/11 — Progress M-09M/41P (#409) launch (8:31pm) 01/29/11 — Progress M-09M/41P (#409) docking (DC1) (~9:39pm) 02/15/11 — ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” launch (5:09pm) 02/19/11 — Progress M-07M/39P undock 02/21/11 — Russian EVA-28 (2/16??) 02/23/11 — ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” docking (SM aft) 02/24/11 — STS-133/Discovery launch 02/24/11 — HTV2 unberthing (Node-2 nadir) 03/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-01M/24S undock/landing (End of Increment 26) ————–Three-crew operations————- 04/27/11 — Progress M-10M/42P launch 05/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/27S launch – M. Fossum (CDR-29)/S. Furukawa/S. Volkov 06/01/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/27S docking (MRM1) ————–Six-crew operations————- 06/04/11 — ATV-2 “Johannes Kepler” undock (SM aft) 06/21/11 — Progress M-11M/43P launch 06/23/11 — Progress M-11M/43P docking (SM aft) 08/29/11 — Progress M-11M/43P undocking 08/30/11 — Progress M-12M/44P launch 09/01/11 — Progress M-12M/44P docking (SM aft) 09/16/11 – Soyuz TMA-21/26S undock/landing (End of Increment 28) ————–Three-crew operations————- 09/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-23/28S launch – D.Burbank (CDR-30)/A.Shkaplerov/A.Ivanishin 10/02/11 – Soyuz TMA-23/28S docking (MRM2) ————–Six-crew operations————- 10/25/11 — Progress M-10M/42P undocking 10/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P launch 10/28/11 — Progress M-13M/45P docking (DC-1) 11/16/11 — Soyuz TMA-22/27S undock/landing (End of Increment 29) ————–Three-crew operations————- 11/30/11 — Soyuz TMA-24/29S launch – O.Kononenko (CDR-31)/A.Kuipers/D.Pettit 12/02/11 — Soyuz TMA-24/29S docking (MRM1) ————–Six-crew operations—————- 12/??/11 — 3R Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) w/ERA – on Proton. 12/26/11 — Progress M-13M/45P undock 12/27/11 — Progress M-14M/46P launch 12/29/11 — Progress M-14M/46P docking (DC-1) 03/05/12 — Progress M-12M/44P undock 03/16/12 — Soyuz TMA-23/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30) ————–Three-crew operations————- 03/30/12 — Soyuz TMA-25/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/K.Valkov 04/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-25/30S docking (MRM2) ————–Six-crew operations—————- 05/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-24/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31) ————–Three-crew operations————- 05/29/12 – Soyuz TMA-26/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide 05/31/12 – Soyuz TMA-26/31S docking ————–Six-crew operations—————- 09/09/12 — Soyuz TMA-25/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32) ————–Three-crew operations————- 09/23/12 — Soyuz TMA-27/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O. Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin 09/25/12 – Soyuz TMA-27/32S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 10/07/12 — Soyuz TMA-26/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33) ————–Three-crew operations————- 11/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-28/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko 11/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-28/33S docking ————–Six-crew operations————- 03/xx/12 — Soyuz TMA-27/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34) ————–Three-crew operations————- 03/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-29/34S launch. 03/xx/12 – Soyuz TMA-29/34S docking ————–Six-crew operations————-