ATV MISSION UPDATES

Scrooge McDuck said:
Shouldn't both strikes have the same length, as the orbits are nearly the same?
Click to expand...

If you took the photo as the two satellites were still 'going up' in the sky, then the trail for the ATV should be longer than the ISS. The higher altitude (not actual altitude in km, but the angle from the horizon) the satellite is, the faster it will appear to move across the sky. Think of the pass of a satellite as it goes from horizon to horizon - when it is near the horizon, it appears to be moving slowly, but the higher it gets in the sky, the faster it appears to move. As the ATV is ahead of the ISS in its orbit, if you got the photo as they were still climbing in the sky, then the ATV will have been higher by a bit, therefore appearing to travel a bit faster, and sweep out more distance. Think about the fact that they look a lot closer together when near the horizon too.

The time that it took the ISS to make the trail from the start of the ISS's trail to the start of the ATV's trail should be the same time that the ATV took to make the trail from the end of the ISS's trail to the end of the ATV's trail. Hope this makes sense.
 
agentgonzo said:
If you took the photo as the two satellites were still 'going up' in the sky, then the trail for the ATV should be longer than the ISS. The higher altitude (not actual altitude in km, but the angle from the horizon) the satellite is, the faster it will appear to move across the sky. Think of the pass of a satellite as it goes from horizon to horizon - when it is near the horizon, it appears to be moving slowly, but the higher it gets in the sky, the faster it appears to move. As the ATV is ahead of the ISS in its orbit, if you got the photo as they were still climbing in the sky, then the ATV will have been higher by a bit, therefore appearing to travel a bit faster, and sweep out more distance. Think about the fact that they look a lot closer together when near the horizon too.

The time that it took the ISS to make the trail from the start of the ISS's trail to the start of the ATV's trail should be the same time that the ATV took to make the trail from the end of the ISS's trail to the end of the ATV's trail. Hope this makes sense.
Click to expand...

Yes, that completely makes sense, because they where indeed still 'climbing' up in the sky as I took the photo. In the end the reason of this phenomena is very simple indeed, as the two satellites appear closer to each other at the horizon (as with anything), of course, why didn't I think about this!
Thanks for the explanation, agentgonzo!

Now let's hope this cloud cover that just got over here goes away before the end of the day, so I can see it again tonight and the next days.
Watching Eumetsat's meteosat images, with a little luck the sky is clear by tonight in western europe.

regards,
mcduck
 
I saw them both go over last night (UK, partly clear skies). First time seeing something on the same orbit as the ISS at the same time. Truly remarkable. The forecast is the same for this evening, so will try and get the camera out for a long exposure - two opportunities this evening, so hopefully will be able to get something!
 
It was really rainy here today, but I was right about my prediction that it would be clear by the end of the day. At arount 18.00, the sun broke through and the sky went completely clear.

So I was just getting ready to go outside with camera/tripod/timer for the pass of 22.30, but then... wham.. one big cloud cover right over here... :crazy: ( I shouldn't have skipped the earlyer pass at 20:55).
Too bad, beter luck next time tomorrow at 21.15 (better max. altitude angle too).

regards,
mcduck
 
Notebook said:
You can see the thermal blankets that came off on this picture.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/sci_nat_enl_1207091422/html/1.stm

Anyone any ideas as to why they got dislodged?
Click to expand...
This thread is all about it:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=12508&start=1

Here you can see higher resolution images:
http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-16/ndxpage46.html

and;
iss016e034177.jpg



It appears that this may be a big problem, as multiple thermal blankets from all over the pressurized section indeed came off..
I also wonder if this needs to be fixed during an EVA for the ATV's long stay at the ISS.
It's mentioned in the end of this article too: http://www.esa.int/esaMI/ATV/SEMSGE5QGEF_0.html
They say it probably won't have impact on the docking planned tomorrow.

regards,
mcduck
 
Scrooge McDuck said:
This thread is all about it:
I also wonder if this needs to be fixed during an EVA for the ATV's long stay at the ISS.
Click to expand...
EVA repair isn't possible! There's no handrails on the ATV for the EVs to grab on to.
 
DaveS said:
EVA repair isn't possible! There's no handrails on the ATV for the EVs to grab on to.
Click to expand...
But what about attaching an EVA to the robotic arm? On the other forum they say the arm and DEXTRE cannot reach the russian module where ATV will be docked, is this true?

The other forum also mentioned the possibility of having a tethered EVA (connected to Zvezda), but this probably is only for urgent emergencies?
If the tempurature could not be controlled anymore (for longer periods), it might become urgent though..

regards,
mcduck
 
Saying it is impossible is a little extreme. It would be possible, but very very difficult. The health and safety people would probably also be tutting and complaining the whole way.:rofl:
But I don't think this is actually a major issue, it'll just take a bit more work for the ATV systems. We have to remember that this is the first ever flight of the ATV, so there's always something that will go wrong. Loose thermal blankets is a little more of a problem than I am sure anyone would have hoped for, but at the end of the day it isn't mission threatning.

Btw, I've never looked at the nasaspaceflight forums before - do they always have so many people talking about things they don't understand? Looks like Jim is the only one who is even remotely switched on.

(edit) I have a bunch of NASATV pictures from Demoday 2 around here somewhere. I forgot to upload them yesterday.
 
O-kay here we are. Hope no one has problems with me posting images in this thread, there's been a few already so I assume it is okay :)

atv6.jpg
atv4.jpg
atv2.jpg
 
Scrooge McDuck said:
But what about attaching an EVA to the robotic arm? On the other forum they say the arm and DEXTRE cannot reach the russian module where ATV will be docked, is this true?
Click to expand...
Yes. In order to work, the SSRMS needs to be attached to a so called Power and Data Grapple Fixture(PDGF) which supplies the electrical power and data to and from them SSRMS.

There's no PDGFs on the Russian segment.
 
Jules Verne ATV given ‘go’ for docking.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ATV/SEMDQL5QGEF_0.html

2 April 2008
Jules Verne was today formally cleared to proceed with the first ISS docking attempt, scheduled for 3 April 2008 at 16:41 CEST (14:41 UT). The official go-ahead came from the International Space Station Mission Management Team (IMMT) after two flawless demonstration days in which Jules Verne proved its operational capabilities.


N.
 
ATV-1 has docked! Contact and capture at 16:45 CEST!
 
Docking probe is now being retracted for the hooks and latches to engage for a harddock between it and ISS.
 
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