The station’s robotic arm attaches the unpiloted Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node. Credit: NASA TV
In a true display of international cooperation, American flight engineer Nicole Stott, using Canada’s Canadarm2, captured the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), with help from Belgium’s Frank DeWinne and Canada’s Robert Thirsk, under the direction of Russian ISS commander Gennady Padalka. The unpiloted HTV arrived at the International Space Station Thursday and later was attached to the Harmony node at 6:26 p.m. EDT. The HTV launched on Sept. 10, and took seven days to reach the ISS so controllers could run various tests and demonstrations on its maiden voyage.
“We had an amazing time doing this,” said Stott, “and we’re so happy to have this beautiful vehicle here. We look very much forward to going in tomorrow and finding all the supplies that I’m sure you’ve stored there for us.” The crew then offered a toast to the new vehicle with their recycled water drink bags.
Stott only had 99 seconds to latch onto the cargo ship before it moved past the station and into another orbit. It came to with nine meters (30 feet) away from the lab before going into free drift so it could be grabbed by the arm.
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The crew will open up the HTV on Friday afternoon.
The HTV can bring up to six tons of supplies to the ISS, and will be used to dispose of spent equipment, used clothing, and other waste material when it later undocks and burns up the Earth’s atmosphere during re-entry.
The success of the HTV is crucial for station re-supply, especially when the space shuttle is retired.
“After the space shuttle starts to fade away, we will take over responsibility to bring stuff up to the space station. We’re really looking forward to the success of this mission,” Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who is scheduled to launch to the ISS in December, said before HTV-1’s arrival.
Artist's impression of HTV approaching ISS. Credit: JAXA
Japan successfully launched its first re-supply spacecraft to the International Space Station today. After liftoff at 17:01 GMT (12:01 CDT) from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, flight controllers confirmed the HTV-1 spacecraft separated from the H-2B rocket and now is in its preliminary orbit. The flight profile has the HTV taking seven days to reach the ISS so controllers can run various tests and demonstrations on its maiden voyage before rendezvousing with the space station. Unlike previous re-supply ships that dock directly to the station, the HTV will fly to within 10 meters from the ISS on September 17, and then astronaut Nicole Stott will reach out and grapple the spacecraft with the space station’s robotic arm, Canadarm 2, and connect it to the Harmony module on the ISS.
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The new HTV spacecraft is the latest in an international fleet of cargo ships to support the space station. While capable of carrying 6.5 tons of cargo, on this first flight it is bringing up 5 tons of food, experiments and other supplies for the ISS. Unlike previous supply ships, it can haul large unpressurized experiments and equipment to remain outside the station, as well as supplies for inside the station, too. For its flight debut, the HTV-1’s external cargo drawer is filled with two experiments – one for JAXA and one for NASA – to be attached to the Kibo lab’s external porch.
The HTV weighs about 16 tons, is 9 meters (30 feet) long and 4.2 meters (14.5 feet) in diameter. Artists impression of the HTV-1 in orbit. Credit: JAXA
Another difference is that craft doesn’t have solar array wings, but has 57 solar arrays molded around the spacecraft to gather power from sunlight.
“HTV-1 is opening up new horizons for JAXA’s undertaking of human spaceflight,” said Masazumi Miyake, deputy director of JAXA’s Houston office. “I like to say that JAXA is now entering a new era.”
The success of both the HTV and the H-2B rocket will likely prove to be an important stepping stone for JAXA, as the country has ambitions of heading to the moon and Mars.
The ISS and Discovery on Sept. 1, 2009. Credit: Paolo Beltrame
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Paolo Beltrame from Italy sent us this amazing montage of images he took of space shuttle Discovery docked to the ISS on September 1, 2009. See the incredible details visible of the space station and docked shuttle! Paolo is with the Circolo AStrofili Talmassons (Amateur Astronomers Club in Talmassons, or CAST) who have an impressive observatory (take a look at Paolo’s website). He took these selected images from a 2-minute movie taken with a TourcamPro webcam. As impressive as Paolo’s astrophotos are, however, he says his real passion is viewing the night sky with the naked eye. His motto is “Lasciate che i fotoni vengano a me!” (Let the photons come to me!) See a close up of Paolo’s best shot of the ISS/shuttle below, as well as images from other astrophotographers of Tuesday evening’s pass of the shuttle and ISS as they flew in tandem after Discovery undocked from the station on Tuesday afternoon. There’s also video from the shuttle’s flyaround.
The ISS and shuttle on Sept. 1, 2009 at 3:03 UT. Credit: Paolo Beltrame
Below is Kevin Jung’s image of the ISS and shuttle as they flew in tandem over Grand Rapids, Michigan: Formation Flyover. Credit: Kevin Jung
Kevin made it home just in time to take this image, and he said the pair of spacecraft went just below Lyra, and you can make out some of the other things in the field, as well. Click the image to see more of Kevin’s handiwork.
And here’s my feeble attempt to image the tandem flyover from my yard in Illinois: ISS, shuttle and a star. Credit: N. Atkinson
Can anyone guess what the star in the picture might be?
Finally, enjoy some video of the shuttle’s fly-around of the ISS following undocking. This video just shows the the shuttle due to the lack of Ku band downlink availability. Video of the station from the orbiter was not available, but we’ll post it here later if it becomes available.
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If you catch this post on Monday night, you might have a chance to see the International Space Station and Discovery while the space shuttle is still docked to the ISS. Flying as one, the station/shuttle complex is very bright and very easy to spot. But Tuesday evening you’ll be able to see double. The shuttle is scheduled to undock from the station Tuesday at 2:26 pm CDT(19:26 GMT), and if you have clear skies, you should be able to see Discovery slightly trailing the ISS. It will be a great sight — highly recommended!
How do you find out when the duo will be flying over your backyard?
NASA has a Quick and Easy Sightings by City site, where you just search for your country and city which provides local times and the location in the sky where the station will be visible.
The Heaven’s Above website is also an excellent site to find out when the ISS, as well as all sorts of other satellites and other heavenly sights will be visible. At Heaven’s Above, you can plug in your exact latitude and longitude, so if you live in a remote area, you’ll be able to have exact times and locations to look for satellites instead of relying on information for the nearest city.
Christer Fugelsang during the third EVA of STS-128. Credit: NASA
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As the crew of the STS-128 mission pack up and prepare to get ready to undock from the International Space Station on Tuesday, it’s time to look back at the very successful mission that worked on space station construction. Here’s some of the best images of the mission.
Above, ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang works (and waves) during the third and final EVA of the mission. Fuglesang and NASA astronaut John “Danny” Olivas installed several items and did work to prepare for the installation of Node 3, which will take place next year.
Heavy lifting in space. Credit: NASA
Here’s Fuglesang again, doing a little heavy lifting during the first EVA of the mission while anchored to the Canadarm2’s foot restraint. He’s carrying a new Ammonia Tank Assembly which was installed on the P-1 Truss. The old empty tank, attached to the arm, will be brought back home in the space shuttle’s payload bay, and refurbished and reused. New ammonia tank installed. Credit: NASA
Here’s where the new Ammonia Tank Assembly was installed on the P-1 Truss. Danny Olivas is shown here putting the final touches on the first spacewalk activities. New freezer installed in the ISS. Credit: NASAMeanwhile, inside the ISS astronauts installed a new Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) rack in the Destiny laboratory. Will the ISS residents now be feasting on astronaut ice cream? This freezer can maintain a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius to preserve biological and medical specimens until they can be brought back to Earth. Shown here are Fuglesang (top foreground) and Tim Kopra (background), Kevin Ford (left foreground).
Nicole Stott during an EVA. Credit: NASA
Here, Nicole Stott works during the first EVA. In addition to adding the new Ammonia Tank Assembly, Stott and Olivas retrieved the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) and Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) from outside the Columbus laboratory module and installed them on Discovery’s payload bay for return to Earth. Stott will stay on board the ISS for Expedition 20 and 21. Part of the ISS backdropped by the limb of Earth. Credit: NASA
Beautiful! Part of the ISS is shown against the blackness of space and Earth’s horizon in this image photographed by one of the astronauts during the second EVA. View on Danny Olivas' helmet. Credit: NASA
I love these visor-reflection images, and this one is especially good. Danny Olivas used his digital still camera to take a picture of his own helmet visor during the second EVA. Visible in the reflections are various components of the station, along with Christer Fuglesang anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint. Preparing tools for EVA. Credit: NASA
Every handyman loves tools, and NASA’s EVA tools top them all. Danny Olivas checks out a pistol grip power tool, getting it ready for use during the third EVA of the mission. Olivas participated in all three spacewalks. Earth and Moon from space. Credit: NASA
How much clearer is the view of the Moon without having to look through the atmosphere? Here, a gibbous moon is visible above Earth’s atmosphere, photographed by one of the STS-128 crew during flight day three. Olivas flexes his muscles. Credit: NASA
More great images from the EVAs. Above, Danny Olivas shows his strength during the second EVA and below, Nicole Stott is framed by parts of the ISS, with the solar arrays lit by the sun behind her. Stott and the ISS. Credit: NASA The astronauts from both crews on the ISS. Credit: NASA
The STS-128 and Expedition 20 crewmembers found a few moments on a day between two spacewalk days to pose for some portraits on the International Space Station. The red-clad crewmembers are with STS-128. They include, front row, from the left, astronauts Rick Sturckow, Jose Hernandez and Patrick Forrester; behind them in red, are astronauts Kevin Ford, John “Danny” Olivas, with European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang. At bottom left is Tim Kopra, who joined the station crew in July but now is scheduled to return to Earth in less than a week with the Discovery astronauts. Surrounding the Discovery crew, in clockwise fashion, are the members of Expedition 20 crew, astronaut Nicole Stott, Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk, with cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and astronaut Michael Barratt. Nighttime launch of STS-128. Credit: NASA
The mission began on August 28 with the nighttime launch of space shuttle Discovery. Liftoff was at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).
The Raffaello module attached to the ISS during the STS-114 mission in 2005. Credit: NASA
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Apparently the International Space Station is going to get bigger. According to an article on Flight Global, NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) are preparing to sign an agreement to add another laboratory to the ISS by using a modified multipurpose logistics module (Raffaello) during the final Space Shuttle mission. It will be attached in September 2010 during Endeavour’s STS-133 mission. The idea had originally been rejected, but earlier this year ISS program manager Michael Suffredini said using an MPLM for an additional module was being reconsidered.
The Italian-designed and built – but NASA owned – logistics module will be able to bring up extra spare parts and science and equipment racks. The module has 16 equipment racks for its 9,400kg (20,600lb) of cargo that could be used for experiments.
The Italian Space Agency (ASI) will pay €22 million ($31.3 million) to upgrade the module, such as micrometeroid protection. In return the agency is guaranteed a seat on NASA’s next crew transport system and six ISS mission opportunities for its Italian astronauts. These are three short-duration missions and three six-month expeditions.
Flight Global reported that “ASI says it can ‘confirm that we are going to sign an agreement. One module will became a permanent element of the ISS. It will be an ASI activity with national funds co-ordinated with ESA as the main European partner of the ISS programme.'”
The crew for the final mission may have to be cut from seven to five in order to accommodate the added weight of the module.
Discovery lift off. Credit: flyingjenny on Twitpic. Click image for more of flyingjenny's images
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The third launch attempt was a charm for space shuttle Discovery and her crew. The STS-128 mission is now underway with a successful liftoff one minute before midnight, local time, from Kennedy Space Center. Discovery is carrying the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station, and tucked away inside is the COLBERT treadmill, along with several refrigerator-sized racks of science equipment, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment, an air purification system, and other supplies, plus another unusual object packed in Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang’s belongings: a theoretical particle called a neutralino.
The plush particle with the CERN logo. Source: CERN
As you may have guessed, Fugelsang didn’t bring a real neutralino, but a soft toy version (see the whole collection of particles at Particle Zoo.) Fugelsang is a former CERN physicist and he wanted to take something representing CERN up to space on his mission. He chose the neutralino because it links together astrophysics and particle physics. In particle physics, the neutralino is a hypothetical particle, one of many predicted by supersymmetric theories.
The countdown and launch were textbook, without any hitches or delays. The valve that scrubbed a launch attempt earlier this week behaved normally, and while weather (which forced the first launch scrub) was a concern early during the countdown, the Florida skies eventually cleared allowing for a gorgeous nighttime liftoff. The stunning lead image is courtesy of flyingjenny on Twitter. Click the image for more of her images. Several comments from Twitterers attending the launch said night was turned into day as the shuttle ascended!
The mission is commanded by veteran astronaut Rick “C.J.” Sturckow. With him are pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John “Danny” Olivas, and Fugelsang, along with a new crew member for the station, Nicole Stott.
Of course, the treadmill is named after comedian Stephen Colbert, (if you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard about this, read about it here) and otherwise is called the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill.
Discovery is scheduled to dock with the ISS on Sunday August 30.
Posted for your enjoyment: Just hours before the scheduled launch of the STS-128 mission, NASA TV played a message from comedian Stephen Colbert, namesake of the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT). The treadmill is on board space shuttle Discovery, which will launch at 5:36 GMT (1:36 EDT) Tuesday morning, heading to the International Space Station for a 16 day mission. As of this writing, Discovery’s external tank has been loaded with about 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in preparation for the launch. This will be Discovery’s 37th mission to space and the 30th mission of a space shuttle dedicated to the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station.
UPDATE: The launch was scrubbed because of stormy weather. NASA will try again at 5:10 GMT (1:10 a.m. EDT) Wednesday. The most recent forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions at that time.
Spaceflightnow.com will also be hosting a live webcast with Miles O’Brien, David Waters and former astronaut Leroy Chiao starting at 9 p.m. EDT Monday evening.
The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, South Korea's first space rocket, sits on its launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. Space officials aborted South Korea's first rocket launch just minutes before liftoff Wednesday. AP Photo/Yonhap. Lim Hun-jung
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The launch of South Korea’s first domestic rocket launch was aborted on Wednesday just minutes before scheduled liftoff because of a technical problem, delaying South Korea’s mini space race with North Korea. The two-stage rocket, called the Naro will be South Korea’s first launch from its own territory. Officials expect another liftoff will be attempted in a few days. Another launch attempt on July 30 was also aborted. The satellite was domestically built, with help from Russia and will observe the atmosphere and ocean. The launch attempt came about four months after North Korea was widely criticized for firing its own rocket in defiance of United Nations sanctions.
Meanwhile, NASA officials have cleared space shuttle Discovery to launch on August 25 for the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. As of now, weather is the only issue that might delay the mission.
Discovery will carry the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station during STS-128, along with a new crew member for the station, Nicole Stott.
Launch is set for 1:36 am EDT (yes, that’s EXTREME am!) on the 25th. The good news about that hour is that launch should come well before any typical afternoon storms can brew up in the Florida skies. But then, it is hurricane season, and NASA is keeping an eye on a few tropical storms on the horizon.
Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick “C.J.” Sturckow, the STS-128 mission crew will deliver refrigerator-sized racks full of equipment, including the COLBERT treadmill, an exercise device named after comedian Stephen Colbert.
Stott will take the place of Tim Kopra, who moved into the station during STS-127. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John “Danny” Olivas and Sweden’s Christer Fuglesang round out the crew.
[/caption] Listen my children and you shall hear
Tweets coming from up above our Earthly sphere.
The newest International Space Station astronaut has started Tweeting from space. Tim Kopra is the first ISS crew member to use the social media tool Twitter to discuss living and working in orbit. Kopra (@Astro_Tim) recently joined the Expedition 20 crew after arriving July 17 aboard space shuttle Endeavour. But the coolest thing is that his first Tweets’ origin was “from Mobile Web.” Yep, from the ISS, that’s really mobile.
But of course, there isn’t really “the web” up on the space station. But Kopra will sent down his Tweets messages to mission control in Houston, and they will post them on Twitter.
NASA says Kopra will provide followers with a unique perspective as an Expedition 20 flight engineer and member of the Army. He is an Army aviator and West Point graduate. He periodically will answer questions submitted on the Army’s Web site. To submit questions and view Kopra’s answers, visit the US Army’s website
This is Kopra’s first spaceflight. He completed his first spacewalk July 18 during the STS-127 mission. Kopra is in orbit with station Commander Gennady Padalka and Roman Romanenko — both Russian cosmonauts — and NASA astronaut Mike Barratt, European Space Agency astronaut Frank DeWinne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk.
As of this writing, Astro_Tim has close to 5,000 followers.
