FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2012The crew aboard the International Space Station has opened hatches leading to a newly-arrived European cargo craft, but engineers on the ground are drafting contingency plans to end the resupply mission early if they are unable to fix an electrical system glitch.
Engineers at the cargo ship's control center in Toulouse, France, reported the failure of one of two redundant Russian Equipment Control System channels that route station power to the Automated Transfer Vehicle, according to a NASA update issued Friday.
A backup power channel passed in initial test Friday, but it has not yet been connected to the space station electrical system, the update said.
If engineers are unable to route the space station's power supply to the ATV, the freighter's own solar panels are unable to generate sufficient electricity due to unfavorable sun angles, according to European Space Agency controllers.
The Automated Transfer Vehicle, christened Edoardo Amaldi after an Italian physicist and space pioneer, needs access to the space station's power supply to stay at the complex.
The bus-sized spacecraft, which docked to the space station Wednesday, may have to depart the complex early if the lab's power cannot be extended to the ATV. Current schedules call for the freighter to remain at the space station until at least late August.
"While it is highly unlikely, the situation could lead to an earlier than planned undocking of ATV 3," the NASA update said. "NASA, ESA and Russian space agency experts are working together on contingency plans to try to extend power to the ATV 3. The multinational team is drafting a plan for the unloading of critical cargo if a worst-case scenario should lead to an expedited undocking."
Controllers plan to fire the ATV's thrusters Saturday to reboost the space station's orbit by about two miles.
But the reboost will be cancelled if the power issue is not resolved by Saturday morning.
{...}