Updates ISS UPDATES

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ESA: André Kuipers takes Earth Hour into orbit:

14 March 2012

For the first time, Earth Hour will extend to the International Space Station, where ESA astronaut and WWF ambassador André Kuipers will keep watch over our planet as the lights switch off on 31 March, sharing photos and live commentary of his experience.

Since inception in the city of Sydney, Australia, in 2007, Earth Hour has become the world's largest voluntary action highlighting climate change and the need for sustainability.

In 2011, 5251 cities took part, reaching 1.8 billion people in 135 countries across all seven continents.

This year, Earth Hour will take place at 20:30–21:30, at participants' local time, on Saturday, 31 March, and the event will be observed from space by André on the Space Station.

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Universe Today: See the Latest Jaw-Dropping Aurora Views from the ISS

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Forgot this from Friday:

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 16/03/2012.

CDR Dan Burbank had most of his workday (~7 hrs) dedicated to one part of major ISS outfitting: upgrading the ISS Ku-band system by routing & installing cabling for the HRCS (High Rate Communication System). Today’s work focused on the routing of four cables in the US Lab Forward Endcone. [For the necessary rotations of the Lab D1 rack, FE-6 Don Pettit lent assistance; also required was temporarily clearing out stowage at location P1 (Robonaut & CWCs), removing a smoke detector and disconnecting some JSL (Joint Station LAN) cables. Four cables had to be installed today: one Ethernet cable from the Ku-CU (Ku-band Comm Unit) to the JSL, one AV-3 power jumper for the Ku-CU2, and two MDM (Multiplexer/Demultiplexer) 1553 data cable bundles. Cable routing in the Lab Aft Endcone has already been completed (2/1/12). Three more installation & cabling tasks will be scheduled at future dates. When fully installed and operational, HRCS will provide substantially faster uplink & downlink speeds, improved bandwidth, two extra S/G (Space/Ground) voice loops, two extra video downlink channels, and contingency Ku Commanding capability. It will also allow additional data to be downlinked from the P/L (Payload) and C&C (Command & Control) MDMs through Ku-band using the MDM Ethernet cables routed by the crew during the EPIC (Enhanced Processor & Integrated Communications) work completed earlier in the Increment. This new functionality will be achieved through three major upgrades: Improved APS (Automated Payload Switch) installations (already completed during Increment 28), improved PEHG (Payload Ethernet Hub Gateway) installations, and the Ku-CU installations. The PEHG and Ku-CU installations are not scheduled until at least October 2012. To prepare for their arrival, a number of cable routing and other tasks are required and are being done early, today’s one being one of them.]

PCS Reboots:
Starting today, MCC-Houston will perform weekly PCS laptops every Friday for the next 8 weeks, in order to gather further data on PCS lockups. The crew will be informed when reboots begin, which will take about an hour.

 

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Parabolic Arc:

• CSA’s Dextre Sets Record for Precision During Robotic Refueling Mission
  
  
• Ecliptic RocketCams Provide Video During Robot Refueling Mission

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 20/03/2012.

After last week’s routing & installing of cabling for the HRCS (High Rate Communication System) in the Lab forward endcone, CDR Dan Burbank today had ~2 hrs set aside to install a HRCS AV-2 connector panel at location D1. [The panel carries 16 connector plugs, to which Dan mated 9 JSL (Joint Station LAN) Ethernet cables (W9690) of the Ku-CU (Ku-band Comm Unit) and 6 PEHG 1/APS (Payload Ethernet Hub Gateway 1/Automated Payload Switch) data cables (W9679).

In Node 3, Dan Burbank worked several hours troubleshooting the WHC (Waste & Hygiene Compartment), looking for an air leak in the flush water lines and water valve block. If the air bubble source was found, the affected part was to be replaced. [Background: On 3/17 (Saturday), a “Pre-Treat Bad Qual” light came on in the WHC, indicating that the pretreat-water solution concentration was out of the acceptable range. The crew, which used the Russian ASU overnight, also observed air bubbles, as well as darker than normal color in the diluted pretreat line, which is consistent with excessive air bubbles coming from the WHC flush tank. After removing & replacing the WHC flush tank on Sunday, the “Bad Qual” light and air bubble issues reappeared. Today’s activity was part of the ongoing troubleshooting.]

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

An interesting document (posted by AnalogMan @ NSF) that shows the damage to 11F732 s/n 704 , which was slated to flown as Soyuz TMA-04M before being damaged in a pressurizing test. Apparently the damage is in the area housing the hydrogen peroxide container that provides the fuel for the landing thrusters in the descent module. Luckily it doesn't looks like the small cracks cannot be fixed, although I think care must be taken in re-welding the shell.... (BTW how much damage was done to the original descent module of Soyuz TMA-20, which was repaired and used on TMA-21?)

 

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Florida Today: CASIS announces review of space station science research

Parabolic Arc: CASIS Reviews ISS Experiments for Commercial Potential


SPACE.com: Space Station Faces Cosmic Traffic Jam:

It's shaping up to be a busy spring and summer on the International Space Station, where a slew of spacecraft, both government-owned and private, are due to visit the outpost.

The space agency of Japan announced Wednesday (March 21) that it would launch its third robotic cargo freighter to the station July 21. The vehicle, called the H-II Transfer Vehicle Kounotori 3 (HTV3), is due to lift off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center, bearing food, supplies and scientific experiments to the orbiting laboratory.

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JAXA Press Release:

Launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle "KOUNOTORI3" (HTV3)
Aboard the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 3​

March 21, 2012 (JST)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.​

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. would like to announce that the launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 3 (H-IIB F3) with the H-II Transfer Vehicle "KOUNOTORI3" (HTV3, a cargo transporter to the International Space Station) onboard was reported to the Space Activities Commission (SAC) as follows.

Scheduled date of launch: July 21 (Saturday), 2012 (Japan Standard Time, JST)
Launch time : Around 11:18 a.m. (JST)*1
Launch windows : July 22 (Sunday) through August 31 (Friday), 2012 (JST)*2
Launch Site : Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center


(*1) Time will be determined by the updated orbit of the International Space Station (ISS.)
(*2) The launch day and time during the launch windows shall be decided by the international coordination for ISS operations.​

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 22/03/2012.

Conjunction Alert:
New tracking has been received on Object 30595 (Fengyun 1C debris) with TCA (Time of Closest Approach) tomorrow, at 3/23, at 8:21 AM GMT, ~4 hours after ATV-3 launch. Miss distances have moved out from earlier measurements, and the PC (Probability of Collision) is below action thresholds at 2.1E-10. If required, A DAM (Debris Avoidance Maneuver) would be conducted at 3/23, 5:49 AM GMT 0.3 m/s delta-V.

 

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Florida Today: NASA asks ISS science managers for assurance

 

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NASA:
Beaming Success for Station Fans

Mar. 23, 2012

Did you ever use a flashlight to send a Morse code message to your neighbor at night as a kid? People like to say hello using lights and it's no different for space aficionados who want to twinkle a greeting from the Earth to the International Space Station during a sighting as it passes overhead -- except that it is a whole lot more complicated.

Although the space station has been in orbit for more than a decade, the first successful flashing of a beam of light to the laboratory happened only recently. On March 3, 2012, the San Antonio Astronomical Association met to attempt to shine a signal to the station. Aboard the orbiting lab, astronaut Don Pettit was watching and waiting.

"It sounds deceptively easy," said Pettit in a related blog entry. "But like so many other tasks, it becomes much more involved in the execution than in the planning."

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Click on images to enlarge​

| Blue laser light (top center) flashed from the Lozano Observatory, about 40 miles north of San Antonio, as seen from the orbiting International Space Station.

(NASA)​

| Astronaut Don Pettit takes photographs of the Earth as part of the Crew Earth Observations investigation from aboard the International Space Station.

(NASA)​

The ground group used a one-watt blue laser and a white spotlight to track the station as it flew overhead. Pettit worked via e-mail with the association members to run complicated engineering calculations to ensure they were accurately tracking the station. Considerations included the diameter of the light beam, the intensity of the laser, and the fact that the station is a moving target, as Pettit pointed out in another blog post on the difficulty of Earth photography from space.

"From my orbital perspective, I am sitting still and Earth is moving," said Pettit. "I sit above the grandest of all globes spinning below my feet, and watch the world speed by at an amazing eight kilometers per second [approximately 17,880 miles per hour]."

Pettit had additional complications to address to capture an image of the beam of light from the Texas fans of the space station. Even with a shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second, the camera he used on station was not fast enough to photograph the Earth below, which also is moving. To compensate for this, Pettit used precise manual tracking -- a technique of moving the camera along the same path as the object being photographed -- a skill perfected on orbit while working on Crew Earth Observations research.

While photographing the Earth may provide an entertaining pastime for the crew, there also are important research goals and benefits for those of us on the ground. It can take up to a month, according to Pettit, for astronauts to become proficient at taking this kind of planned image. The crew's photographic efforts can provide orbital perspectives of natural disasters and man-made alterations of the planet, which aid in relief and environmental efforts.

Preparing to capture the laser flash provided practice for Pettit in planning and tracking a specific Earth target. With the station circling the Earth every 90 minutes, you might think there is ample opportunity, but the circumstances of the pass had to align. Pettit and the team in San Antonio had to choose their timing carefully, selecting a "dark pass" when the station could see the ground, but those on the ground could not see the station.

"Ironically, when earthlings can see us, we cannot see them," said Pettit. "The glare from the full sun effectively turns our windows into mirrors that return our own ghostly reflection. This often plays out when friends want to flash space station from the ground as it travels overhead."

Planning took weeks for this particular event, between calculations and timing. That morning Pettit was excitedly waiting, camera in hand, for the precise moment. When the instant came, he was able to see not only the flash of light from San Antonio, but to capture a digital image showing the beam of light from his Texas fans.

"I was ready with cameras for the early morning San Antonio pass," said Pettit. "And [I] can report that it was a flashing success."

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Florida Today: NASA keeps eye on space junk near International Space Station

NASA has warned six International Space Station residents that they may need to take shelter in lifeboats in preparation for a potential collision by space junk early Saturday.

NASA says that step appears “unlikely” based on current tracking of the debris from a spent Russian spacecraft, but the Mission Control Center informed station commander Dan Burbank of the issue as a precaution around noon today.

“We’re not too concerned about it,” a mission controller told Burbank.

The debris is expected to make its closest approach at 2:38 a.m. EDT Saturday.

It’s too late for the station to dodge out of the way with a “Debris Avoidance Maneuver,” or DAM.

If NASA thinks the debris will pass close enough to the station, the crew members could be asked later today to shelter in the Soyuz spacecraft they rode to the outpost, which could ferry them home if the station were damaged and needed to be evacuated.

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CBS News Space: Space debris forces station crew to take shelter in Soyuz capsules

Aviation Week: Space Station Astronauts Take Shelter as Debris Threat Passes

Florida Today: Space station dodges orbital debris

SPACE.com: Space Junk Forces Station Astronauts to Take Shelter in Lifeboats

RIA Novosti: Space Junk Misses ISS


Universe Today: Robotics Refueling Research Scores Huge Leap at Space Station

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 24/03/2012.

Conjunction Update:
Early this morning, the six-member crew took precautionary shelter in their respective Soyuz vehicles, about 30 min before TCA (Time of Closest Approach) of a small piece of Russian Cosmos 2251 satellite debris which passed by the ISS at 6:38:33 AM GMT. [At TCA, the debris was moving from left to right in front of the station at an estimated overall miss distance of between 11 & 14 km and a radial miss distance of 120 m. The piece of debris was a remnant of a 2/10/2009 collision between the dormant Cosmos 2251 satellite and an operational Iridium 33 communications satellite. The collision added about 2,000 trackable items to the orbital debris catalog. CDR Dan Burbank, FE-1 Anton Shkaplerov & FE-2 Anatoly Ivanishin sheltered in the Soyuz TMA-22/28S spacecraft attached to the MRM-2 "Poisk" module while FE-4 Oleg Kononenko, FE-5 Andre Kuipers and FE-6 Don Pettit took to the Soyuz TMA-03M/29S on MRM-1 "Rassvet". The debris initially was tracked Friday morning, but the late notification to the flight control team of a possible conjunction between the debris and the station precluded planning for a DAM (Debris Avoidance Maneuver). This is the third time that a crew had to seek shelter in the Soyuz vehicles; the other times were 3/12/2009 and 6/28/2011.]

 

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NASA: Robotic Refueling Mission: Fueling up in Space

From: The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth​

 

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Oleg Kononenko and Andre Kuipers training for ATV-3 docking with the ISS
Source: Roscosmos​

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 28/03/2012.

Conjunction Alert:
Flight controllers are monitoring a conjunction between the ISS and the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite (Object 25063), an active spacecraft, controlled and monitored by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. GSFC TRMM & Conjunction assessment team are also aware of and monitoring the conjunction which has a TCA (Time of Closest Approach) on 3/30 at 6:12 AM GMT and a current predicted radial miss distance of 28.7 km. Preliminary PC (Probability of Collision) calculations indicate zero collision risk, but tonight’s ATV docking occurs about 31.5 hours before TCA, and will perturb the ISS orbit. [Historical data for ISS dockings: Our 2 previous ATV dockings have imparted very small disturbances on the ISS, on the order of -20 meters of mean altitude change. Other similar, recent, Russian vehicle dockings to the Aft ISS port also have an average change of -20 meters of mean altitude (3 events). Should the perturbations from the ATV docking somehow increase the concern level of the conjunction, NASA will decide whether it makes more sense to maneuver ISS or the TRMM satellite.]

 

[Capt_hensley]

You know, wouldn't it be better in a higher orbit with less debris? Head scratch! Thanks for the update Pete. I say move the ISS, it can be refueled. TRMM most likely will not be serviced.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

You know, wouldn't it be better in a higher orbit with less debris? Head scratch! Thanks for the update Pete. I say move the ISS, it can be refueled. TRMM most likely will not be serviced.

Well, you'd think that there would be less debris the higher you go, but since ISS was boosted up to 400km (a 30km boost) in June last year, conjunction notifications were predicted to rise by 50-100% - and so far, that figure seems to be holding true.

This is because more debris can be tracked at higher altitudes than lower altitudes - which, while it may increase the number of conjunction notifications, also makes for a safer orbit (it's the stuff you can't see that you need to worry about).

So, if ISS went even higher, conjunction notifications would likely increase, even though the orbit may be safer. However, going higher would decrease the amount of supplies that could be delivered to the station as resupply ships would need extra fuel to reach ISS at its higher altitude, and thus would have to carry less payload. So it's all tradeoffs (more cargo vs. safer orbit with more conjunction notifications). The current orbit was deemed to be a good compromise.

 

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Aviation Week: ISS Research Vulnerable To Cargo Schedule:

The future research productivity of the International Space Station (ISS) rests on the delayed startup of U.S. commercial resupply missions within the next year, experts from NASA and the agency’s oversight panels told the House Science, Space and Technology Committee March 28.

The transition from space shuttle resupply to private cargo providers that began with NASA’s six-year-old Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) initiative must be in full swing by mid-2013 if the space agency is to avoid research and possible staffing reductions aboard the six-person orbiting science laboratory, according to testimony from representatives of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and a NASA Advisory Council (NAC) task force.

The U.S.-led, 15-nation ISS partnership is committed to station operations through 2020.

Even the short-term projection assumes the success of scheduled unmanned cargo deliveries by the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle, Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle and Russia’s Progress, which experienced a launch failure last August.

“If you have delays that extend into 2013 and beyond, you will see a lot of impacts on the space station and scaling back of research,” Cristina Chaplain, GAO’s director for acquisition and sourcing management, told the House panel.

Under current scheduling, NASA anticipates up to five test and delivery missions by the agency’s two COTS partners, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp., by year’s end. They start with the April 30 launch of the SpaceX demonstration mission that includes plans for an early May station docking and a small cargo delivery.

A half-dozen additional Progress, ATV and HTV flights are slated for the remainder of 2012 as well, including Europe’s anticipated ATV-3 arrival at the station late March 28.

Much is at stake, as the U.S. space station partnership turns its focus from the station’s assembly, which drew to a close in mid-2011, to research and technology demonstrations.

“We are starting to begin serious use of the ISS,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human exploration and space operations, who told the panel he anticipates at least one or two successful commercial cargo deliveries this year.

“Ultimately if we don’t get the cargo in the time frame we need, we will need to cut back on research first and then ultimately go to the survival mode,” he said. As few as two astronauts could maintain the station.

“In the near term, NASA’s plans are adequate,” testified Thomas Stafford, the former Apollo astronaut who chairs the NAC’s ISS Operational Readiness Task Force. However, he cautioned that the COTS initiative has been plagued by chronic overoptimism and remains vulnerable to lapses in management and contractor oversight.

“Beyond the mid part of 2013, NASA becomes increasingly dependent for its projected flow of spare parts and resupply needs on the planned fleet of cargo vehicles,” Stafford said.

He credited NASA with the foresight to equip the space station with critical spare parts, food and research gear on its final shuttle missions, STS-134 and STS-135, in May and July 2011.

“Without those two shuttle missions, right now we would be in a serious situation and probably be considering how we could de-crew the space station,” Stafford told the panel.

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[Orbinaut Pete]

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 29/03/2012.

Conjunction Update:
Flight controllers are monitoring a conjunction between the ISS and the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite (Object 25063), an active spacecraft, controlled and monitored by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. GSFC TRMM & Conjunction assessment team are also aware of and monitoring the conjunction which has a TCA (Time of Closest Approach) on 3/30 at 6:12 AM GMT. The ATV docking did not perturb the ISS orbit enough to cause a change in the low risk classification of this conjunction; however, a second low concern TCA was identified on the next rev. The PC (Probability of Collision) calculation for both conjunctions is 0. Debris avoidance planning will not be required for either close approach.