This is mission control in Houston,
the Expedition 29 voyage aboard the International Space Station continued throughout
this week with the crew enjoying a five day at a program that gets them
to their 136th day in space aboard the complex.
The team is been watched over by three teams of flight controllers
that support activities aboard the International Space Station around-the-clock.
The crew had a very busy week aboard the International Space Station.
Beginning back on Monday, Mike Fossum oversaw some maintenance activities
with the electrical systems aboard the station reconfiguring some of the electrical systems
and replacing two of the switching boxes Remote Power Control Modules in the Destiny laboratory.
Both of those have been successfully replaced.
They are small boxes that required shutting down some of the power tripping some breaker boxes
on board, just as you would in your home
to remove electrical power while you're doing some electrical work,
and that's exactly what he did.
So he had performed that task and brought the systems back up to working order with the help
of the flight controllers here on the ground earlier in the week.
Crew members also wrapped up work
with the Capillary Channel Flow experiment aboard the station,
and that experiment completed its runs in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox.
The runs of the wedge shaped channel of this experiment consisted
of 270 different test points while it was installed in that MSG.
Also the crew members watched along with flight control teams on the ground
as the Russian flight control team on Wednesday completed a partial reboost
of the stations altitude.
The station's altitude was raised from about 239 to 241 statute miles.
That rebost of the station is part one of two, the second part upcoming this coming Wednesday,
where the station's altitude will be boosted once again another about three to four miles.
All of that sets the stage for the undocking
of a Progress supply vehicle that's at the station right now.
That 42 Progress vehicle will leave the station on Saturday, October 29th
and a new Progress vehicle, the 45th Progress vehicle, will launch on the 30th of October,
arriving at the station on November 2nd.
The phasing of the station is required to put it in the proper position for the launch pad
and also for the landing site for the three crew members that are aboard the station now
as they return home with their scheduled return home on November 21.
Also the phasing and the reboost sets the stage for the launch an arrival
of the next three crew members to head toward the International Space Station,
the Expedition 29 and Expedition 30 crew members.
Crew commander of Mike Fossum also Wednesday, throughout his day of works, set aside some time
to talk about his mission with two news organizations.
He visited with Denise Chow with space.com, the space based website,
and also with ABC Radio's Vic Ratner,
talking about his mission aboard the International Space Station
and his plan to return home.
Thursday was focus of attention with Mike Fossum in one module, the laboratory module,
working with the Combustion Integrated Rack, reconfiguring that rack
for future flame type experiments.
The Fluids and Combustion Facility accommodates different challenges of working with fluids
and combustion processes in microgravity.
The SEF actually occupies two power drags on the ISS, one being the Combustion Integrated Rack,
the other the Fluids Integrated Rack.
So he spent a great deal of time working with that with choreographed work
from the Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
His colleague Satoshi Furukawa worked on the Kibo laboratory Gradient Heating Furnace
in the Kobairo rack of that module.
A vacuum furnace that contains three heating blocks that need periodic maintenance.
Today, Friday, the crew wrapped up its week, conducting additional inspections of that GHF,
or that Gradient Heating Furnace.
The crew also worked with some other experiments around the laboratory as stowage continued
for the departure of that 42 Progress vehicle.
Mike Fossum also worked with the Water Recovery System aboard the station and completed
that activity, and the crew will then spend the weekend with some light duty,
before starting another full week of activities on Monday.
So a busy week for the Expedition 29 crew.
They'll start up again on Monday with some light work over the weekend
and the flight control team will continue to watch over station systems
as the station operates in excellent health.
Have a good weekend everyone, we will be back again on that Monday with another hour
of coverage of Expedition 29's voyage aboard the International Space Station.
This is mission control Houston.