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14
removing only the debris shield from around Volume A.  It was not necessary to drop the overhead panel as suggested by the IFM checklist.  Based on our experience on flight day 2, we made it a point to inspect and clean the cabin, IMI, and DEU filters every other day.  We would continue to find pieces of hardware throughout the flight, although the lint that collected was not blue lint.  Additionally, the WCS air filter was cleaned regularly and it showed the same accumulation of gray lint.

The CFES had its own fan and filter and did as much or more to scrub the air of debris than any filter on the Orbiter.  This observation led the crew to speculate that perhaps some deployable fan with filter (perhaps disposable filter) could be employed on future Shuttle flights in an attempt to clean the air.  Generally, the crew felt that the concentration of particulates in the cabin atmosphere was irritating, and one crewmember was forced to use eyedrops on several days when eye irritation became sufficiently troublesome.  Finally, based on the 41-D crew's experience with hardware floating in the vicinity of the ARS, we recommend that the cabin fans be turned off any time the door to the cabin fan filter is opened, not just when the filter is to be cleaned.  We came close on one occasion to losing a blot down the ducting into the fan mechanism.

LiOH Changeout.  Evidently some improvement int he LiOH cannister debris has been made.  We noticed an increased level of irritation in the air when the LiOH was changed, which would induce some coughing in some crewmembers nearby.  However, it is our opinion that the contamination is not nearly as bad as it appeared to be on previous flights, and at no time did the crew feel the need for the blue filter masks during LiOH cannister changeout.

COAS Calibrations.  Both +x and -Z COAS calibrations were performed on flight day 1.  The initial delta bias was on the order of 0.5, which was as predicted.  After the depress to 10.2 psi, a second -Z COAS calibration was done, and the marks did not differ appreciably from those taken at 14/7 psi.  IT was our conclusion that the COAS alignment was not significantly affected by any cabin deformation due to the depress.

Cabin Measurement DTO.  The crew measured the distances between several fiducial marks which had been selected and measured preflight in an attempt to quantify the effect of zero-g module unloading.  Additionally, we made measurements of clearances between each middeck locker.  We repeated the series of measurements at 10.2 psi.

Several observations were noteworthy.  First, there was no quantifiable difference between cabin distortion at 14.7 psi and at 10.2 psi.  Second, it was the crew's opinion that the cabin deformation at both 14.7 psi and 10.2 psi was less than we had anticipated based on the reports from other flightcrews.  Throughout the flight we secured the middeck lockers with relative ease, and on deorbit morning there were only two lockers which proved to be particularly troublesome to close.  These lockers were located on the forward port side above the CFES control panel.

AS part of the cabin measurement DTP, the crew was asked to evaluate several middeck locker modifications, the intent of which were to make locker closure easier.  We found one particular modification to be superior: a locker equipped with sliding tabs which fit around round heads as the upper right and left-hand corners of the locker.  Not only did this design prove desirable for securing