Space Station Archives

March 24, 2008April 26, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

Dextre vs. HAL

As Endeavour departs from the International Space Station on Monday, the space shuttle crew leaves behind a two-armed robot, the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), which the astronauts affectionately refer to as Dextre. Any reference to robots in space brings to mind other famous, albeit fictitious, machines that have interacted with humans on board a spacecraft. And, with the recent passing of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, one famous machine named HAL particularly comes to mind, especially when you factor in that Dextre is what’s called a “telemanipulator.” Any chance the space station crew needs to worry about the robot lurking right outside their hatch?

Endeavour crewmember Rick Linnehan said, don’t worry, there is no comparison between Dextre and HAL, the famous malfunctioning computer who killed astronauts in the 1968 movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

“I’m a big Arthur C. Clarke fan and I have to tell you Dextre just isn’t as smart as HAL,” said Linnehan in new conference from the ISS on Sunday. “He’s built to be brawn not brains and he’s going to serve a big purpose up here in terms of moving a lot of hardware around.”

Dextre, the two-armed, $200-million robot will reduce the amount of time astronauts must spend outside the space station, and could eliminate the need for up to a dozen spacewalks a year, said Daniel Rey, head of the Canadian technical team that prepared Dextre for his mission on board the space station.

“He will free up astronauts so they can do more science and more research rather than maintenance,” said Rey. Dextre will perform exterior construction and tasks like changing batteries and handling experiments outside the space station. Dextre also comes equipped with a tool holster which allows the robot to change equipment as needed “like any good handyman.”

Rey also concurred that 3.7-meter robot Dextre can’t be compared to HAL. “He doesn’t have an artificial intelligence. . .he can be remote controlled from the ground or from the space station.” Dextre will be able to manipulate items “from the size of a phone book to a phone booth,” Rey added.

As for HAL, in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey,” he maintains all systems on an interplanetary voyage, plays chess, and has a special penchant for lip reading. Those capabilities just aren’t in Dextre’s database. However, HAL was programmed with the objective to ensure mission success. That’s one area where HAL and Dex do have something in common.

Original News Source: NASA TV and the Canadian Press

March 21, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Astronauts Test Shuttle Tile Repair Techniques

Two astronauts tested a special applicator and â€œgooâ€ to see how well techniques developed for repairing damaged shuttle tiles work in orbit. Shuttle astronauts Mike Foreman and Bob Behnken used a T-RAD, or Tile Ablator Dispenser to squirt a pink, caulk-like substance called Shuttle Tile Ablator-54 into intentionally damaged shuttle tiles during their six and a half hour spacewalk to test how the tool and material behaves in the weightless vacuum of space. “I’m thrilled with what we saw today,” said ISS flight director Dana Weigel after the spacewalk, adding that T-RAD could also be used to mend torn shuttle insulation blankets. “It behaved very similar to what we saw on the ground, so that gives me a lot of confidence.”

The sample tiles and tools will be returned to Earth to undergo extensive testing on the ground. NASA engineers developed the shuttle tile repair tool after the 2003 Columbia disaster to fix dings in the thousands of ceramic tiles on the shuttleâ€™s underside. â€œWeâ€™ve tested this material on the ground, but have not been able to test it in weightlessness and vacuum at the same time, so we hope to characterize how it performs,â€ said astronaut Mike Foreman before the spacewalk.

â€œItâ€™s going to be really valuable to have actually have a test of this in case we ever need this in our bag of tricks for repairing a shuttle, particularly with the Hubble mission upcoming,â€ astronaut Bob Behnken said from orbit.

One of the compounds making up STA-54 causes bubbles to form. On Earth, those bubbles typically rise to the top. The spacewalkers found that with the absence of air or gravity, the bubbles tended to spread throughout the material causing it to bulge slightly in a phenomenon known as “bread loafing.”

Engineers were worried that it might bulge too much, and could cause the material to swell up over the surface layer of surrounding tiles, disrupting air flow during re-entry and causing excessive downstream heating. But during the tests in Thursdayâ€™s spacewalk, however, the STA-54 appeared not rise or bubble as much as was anticipated. While bubbles formed, the astronauts were able to use pads to tamp the material down and as the STA-54 “set up,” the swelling seemed to diminish.

“It goes down really well,” Foreman said as he tamped down the thick goop with a sponge-like tool. “It really is like a loaf of bread with a lot of little bubbles in there.”

The astronauts did the tests on the nadir or underside of the Destiny module, using a suitcase-like kit filled with tile samples. There were several different samples with both big and small holes. The spacewalkers worked on this task for several hours, which took up the majority EVAâ€™s duration.

The spacewalkers also performed a few other get-ahead tasks and replaced a failed Remote Power Control Module â€“ essentially a circuit breaker â€“ on the stationâ€™s truss. They were unable, however, to unplug a stuck electrical connector from a patch panel in the station’s Z1 truss that would have re-routed power to one of four control moment gyroscopes that helps stabilized the stations attitude. CMG-2 and CMG-3 were wired into the same circuit in the wake of an earlier failure and the cable change was needed to hook CMG-2 back up to its own power supply, restoring lost redundancy. But with the spacewalkers unable to make the change, a single failure could take out both CMGs, a situation NASA wanted to correct.

This was the 108th spacewalk for station construction and maintenance. Behnken and Foreman will begin the missionâ€™s fifth and final spacewalk Saturday at 5:23 p.m EDT.

Original News Sources: NASA TV and CBS Space Place

March 19, 2008December 26, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

ATV Jules Verne Reaches “Parking Orbit” 2000km from ISS

Peering across 2000 km of space, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), “Jules Verne”, leads the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS will now be a speck on the ATV’s horizon, but only hours earlier, it completed a fly-by 30 km underneath, giving the station and space shuttle Endeavour crew a look of the precious cargo shipment. Jules Verne will now sit and wait in “parking orbit” until the coast is clear for the ATV to dock early next month…

In an ultimate fly-by, the Jules Verne shot past the ISS 30 km below its orbit. A few thruster blasts later and the robotic vehicle had reached its parking orbit, 2000 km in front of the ISS. A photo was apparently taken by the ISS’s robotic arm, but the zoom wasn’t powerful enough to get any detail of the craft as it passed.

The ATV must now wait for Endeavour to finish its mission before it can approach the station. Jules Verne has passed all mission requirements so far, but it still has a few “practice runs” to carry out before it will be cleared for docking. On the 29th and 31st of March the vehicle will carry out two mock docking procedures in preparation for the real event on April 3rd.

The ATV successfully completed the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre on March 16th, so a fail-safe docking procedure is known to be working correctly.

The ATV’s second propulsion chain was used to complete today’s manoeuvres into parking orbit and all propulsion systems seem to be fully operational. Alberto Novelli, ESA’s Mission Director at the ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France, added:

“In doing the boosts we have tested all the pressure regulators and that worked perfectly fine. So as of today we have the proof that the propulsion system as a whole, including all the redundancies, is working fine.” – Novelli.

So the excitement continues to build for Europe’s first fully automated ISS 20 tonne supply vehicle as it patiently awaits its turn to dock with the station.

Source: ESA

March 19, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Great Images From the STS-123 Mission

There have been some outstanding images coming in from the current space shuttle mission at the International Space Station. The crews of Endeavour and the ISS continue their near-frantic pace of spacewalks and outfitting of the station during the STS-123 mission. During the 3rd spacewalk, astronauts Rick Linnehan (right) and Bob Behnken work on the new Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM). This image highlights how big the station is getting, as the astronauts are almost dwarfed by this one area of the truss section.

Bob Behnken continues his work on Dextre during his EVA. During the 6-hour, 53-minute spacewalk, Linnehan and Behnken installed a spare-parts platform and tool-handling assembly for Dextre. They also checked out and calibrated Dextre’s end effector and attached critical spare parts to an external stowage platform. The new robotic system is scheduled to be activated on a power and data grapple fixture located on the Destiny laboratory today.

All the astronauts have had to juggle lots of different activities during the current mission. Here, Dominic Gorie, STS-123 commander, reaches for a procedures checklist floating freely on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Can you imagine looking out a window and seeing one of your best friends floating by? Visible through a window on Endeavour’s aft flight deck is astronaut Rick Linnehan during spacewalk #3 for the mission.

For Wednesday, the astronauts are scheduled to take a half-day off to rest up for two more spacewalks. They also are continuing their work to outfit the Japanese module that was attched to the Harmony node earlier in the mission. They’ll do a round of media interviews this evening, and get ready for another spacewalk on Thursday.

Link here for more STS-123 images.

March 16, 2008December 26, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Heavy ATV Must Learn to Apply the Brakes Before Docking with the ISS

Although ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will be approaching the International Space Station (ISS) at a rate slower than tortoise-pace, what would happen if the 20 tonne space truck didn’t slow down as it docks with the station? It wouldn’t be pretty. In all likelihood, the large mass of supplies and metal would cause significant structural damage to the ISS and could be life-threatening to the astronauts on board. To avoid a very big dent in the manned outpost, the ESA’s partners insist that the ATV carry out some practice runs of the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre (a.k.a. the “emergency brake”)…

The ATV “Jules Verne”, still sitting in an orbital holding pattern awaiting the departure of Space Shuttle Endeavour from the ISS, still must prove its robotic worth. The unmanned supply vehicle is the most advanced spaceship theÂ ESA has ever launched into space and it appears to be performing well. Recent engine problems were quickly and neatly solved and the re-supply mission of the ISS appears to be progressing nicely.

Worked into the schedule of the ATV’s orbit of Earth are some practice manoeuvres – after all, the robot has a lot of time on its hands, a bit of activity should be welcomed.

First up is the spaceship equivalent of an emergency brake. The ATV project will have never been allowed near the space station without an emergency procedure should there be a problem during docking. Although the relative speed between the station and approaching ATV will be exceedingly slow, the orbital velocity of both will be approximately 27,000 km/h, so any unforeseen collision or misalignment could be highly dangerous.

So, the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre will be carried out on Friday, before the ATV is anywhere close to the station to make sure the operation is successful at preventing a mock collision.

The ATV carries countless failsafe measures; critically the robot runs three parallel flight-control computers with an independent computer overseeing them. If something should go wrong, the flight-control computers can be overridden and an avoidance manoeuvre enacted. Also, mission control in Toulouse, France can manually initiate the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre and so can the ISS astronauts inside the docking module watching events as they unfold. A big red button has even been installed in the Russian Zvezda module to raise the alarm and force the ATV to stop and reverse at 5 km/h.

Source: BBC

The astronauts do it by hitting a big red button on a panel positioned in the Russian Zvezda module.

March 12, 2008December 26, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Relief as Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Propulsion System is Fixed

Problems struck the brand new ESA Automatic Transfer Vehicle (A T V) at 260km above the Earth shortly after it was launched into orbit on Sunday. Seven of the 28 attitude control jets and a main engine shut down unexpectedly, forcing the craft to switch to backup systems. The panic has now subsided as commands sent from mission control fixed the glitch and the thrusters switched back online…

Although the ATV has to wait around for NASA’s STS-123 mission to complete after it un-docks with the International Space Station (ISS) in a few days time, “Jules Verne” still has some manouvering to do. After its launch on board an Ariane-5 rocket from South America on March 9th, all systems appeared to be functioning normally. However, problems struck as the ATV began to thrust its way from its original 260km orbit to the ISS orbit of 340km.

ATV project manager John Ellwood gave a statement in Kourou as the troubles surfaced, but appeared undaunted by the problem:

“We’re sitting and thinking about this; we’re not in a rush to do manoeuvres […] We have the 10-day margin before we need to start going into [demonstration manoeuvre] days at the end of the month.”

After all, the ATV has over three weeks to stay in orbit and wait for Space Shuttle Endeavor to leave on March 24th and then dock at the station on April 3rd. Mission engineers had a lot of time on their side. It appears that they only needed a few hours to iron out the problem; all systems appear to be functioning well as of March 12th after new commands were transmitted from mission control.

It appears the problem started after data was received on the ground indicating there was a large difference in pressure between the oxidiser and the fuel entering the ATV’s complex network of pipes and valves connecting the fuel tanks and thrusters. Reacting to the warning, the chains of pipes were shut down, stopping fuel from entering the thrusters. The problem was solved by slowly turning on fuel supplies to each thruster and one of the main engines. The fix appears to be a total success.

The ATV will now carry out practice manoeuvres to prepare it for the ISS docking sequence at the start of next month.

Source: BBC

March 9, 2008December 26, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle Blasts Into Space (Video); See the ATV Mission Animation

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has been successfully launched into orbit. The ATV, also known as “Jules Verne”, is Europe’s largest and most complex spaceship ever. Weighing in at 20 tons, the ATV needed a big push to get it into space, so the largest member of the Arianespace-built rocket family was called into use, the Ariane-5. The unmanned ATV is now en-route to the International Space Station, to make some deliveries…

(Including a cool little animation of the entire mission courtesy of ESA.)

Launched from French Guiana (South America) at 0403 GMT, March 9th, the Ariane-5 rocket lifted the heavy vehicle into orbit to send cargo, propellant, water and oxygen to the International Space Station (ISS). This is the largest payload ever lifted by Arianespace, and the new Ariane-5 performed excellently. After 66 minutes from blast-off, the launch was declared a success as the ATV separated from its Ariane-5 boosters to begin its mission.

The ATV is a unique spacecraft. It has been called a “barge”, “truck”, “freighter”, “tug” and its mission is pretty unglamorous. Primarily it will take about 7.5 tons of supplies to the ISS, docking (automatically) with the Russian service module. Then, it will act as a waste disposal module for six months, remaining attached to the station, being filled with rubbish from the stations crew. When full with over six tons of trash, it will separate and then kill itself by falling through the Earth’s atmosphere, insuring all the waste gets incinerated. It will be the ultimate single-use product.

The ATV now has to hang around in an orbital holding pattern to wait for Space Shuttle Endeavour to launch (on March 11th), dock and then leave the ISS on March 24th before it can approach the station. See “Traffic Jam at the Space Station” to find out how busy it’s getting up there.

Source: ESA

February 29, 2008December 26, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

First Experiment Starts in ISS Columbus Module Testing Plant Growth

The brand new ESA Columbus Module installed on the International Space Station (ISS) by the STS-122 crew last week is beginning a first run of biological experiments. This first experiment tests the reaction of root growth in different gravitational states. Of particular interest is how the roots of seeds develop in space when compared to terrestrial conditions. This has obvious applications for growing plants in space, underpinning agricultural science in some of the most extreme and challenging environments man will experience.

Today saw the first ever experiment on the ESA Columbus Module on board the ISS. European astronaut LÃ©opold Eyharts activated the Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels (WAICO) experiment, comparing two types of arabidopsis seed (one wild and one genetically modified) in gravity conditions from zero to one Earth gravity (or 1G). The arabidopsis seed is derived from the arabidopsis thaliana plant which copes very well in restricted space and thrives in hostile surroundings.

The WAICO experiment will last for 10 to 15 days and the sprouted seeds will be returned by the STS-123 Space Shuttle mission due for launch on March 11th so the results can be analysed. Throughout the experiment, using the brand new “Biolab” equipment (pictured), the advanced telemetry of the Columbus Module will relay real-time video of seed development to ESA scientists in Germany.

The development of the root growth will be scrutinized; especially the amount of “waving” and “coiling” that occurs as a reaction to different gravity conditions. These experiments will also help terrestrial farming methods, giving farmers the opportunity to optimize plant growing conditions.

Source: ESA

February 29, 2008December 26, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Shuttle Endeavour to Launch on March 11th; View the STS-123 Interactive Mission Timeline

We haven’t had time to catch our breath after STS-122 touched down on February 20th, only nine days ago, and yet the next launch date to the International Space Station (ISS) has been announced today. The date? March 11th -Â only 11 days from now. This time NASA has put together a nice little interactive gadget so you can see the 17 day mission from day to day…

STS-122 was a highly successful round trip to the ISS. The Space Shuttle Atlantis crew delivered ESA’s Columbus science module without a hitch on February 11th. The only small problem arose when one of the crew members suffered an undisclosed minor medical problem, postponing installation for a day, but the crew adapted and performed excellently.

With Atlantis’ engines still warm, Endeavour is being prepared for launch on March 11th. This time the mission is to install a part of the Japanese laboratory complex called “Kibo”. In addition, a new Canadian robotics system will be attached to complement the existing robotic arm servicing the Harmony module.

STS-123 will be a complex mission for crew members Dominic Gorie (Commander), Gregory H. Johnson (Pilot), Rick Linnehan (Mission Specialist), Robert L. Behnken (Mission Specialist), Mike Foreman (Mission Specialist), Garret Reisman (Mission Specialist) and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi. Five spacewalks (EVAs) will need to be carried out to continue the expansion of the station.

The Associate Administrator for Space Operations, Bill Gerstenmaier, stated that there were very few issues with the pre-launch stages and said that Space Shuttle Endeavour is ready to blast off.

View the interactive guide of the STS-123 mission to the ISS.

Source: NASA

February 18, 2008December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Shuttle Crew Says Goodbye, Undocks from ISS

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After a successful visit to the International Space Station, the crew of space shuttle Atlantis said farewell and undocked from the station at 4:24 am EST Monday morning. Their busy nine-day stay included three spacewalks and the installation of the European Columbus science module, as well as a switch-out in crew. European astronaut Leopold Eyharts stays on the ISS while US astronaut Dan Tani returns home after a four-month expedition on the station.

“We just wanted to thank you again for being a great host and letting us enjoy your station for about a week,” shuttle commander Steve Frick radioed to the ISS before undocking. “We had a great time over there, we learned a lot and we really, really enjoyed working with your crew, one quarter of which we have here and we’re happy to take Dan home. But just again, to you and to Yuri and to Leo, thanks very much.”

“Well thank you guys,” station commander Peggy Whitson replied. “Itâ€™s a great new room you’ve added on and we really appreciate it. Get Dan home safe, and thanks!”

In an emotional farewell ceremony on Sunday, Tani reflected on his extended mission. The delay of Atlantis’ mission due to fuel sensor problems made his stay in space almost two months longer than originally planned. During his time on the station, Tani’s mother, who he called his “inspiration” was killed in a car accident. He said he can’t wait to get back home to be with his family.

But his recent experiences have given him great hope for the future.

“Today I feel very optimistic about our space program and our society because I’m here, I’ve spent time with a man from France, from Italy and from Germany and from Russia,” he said. “Nations that have not always been friendly are now cooperating and we’re doing great things.”

With shuttle pilot Alan Poindexter at the controls, the shuttle did a one-loop fly around of the station before departing. Atlantis’ crew is inspecting the shuttle’s heat shield to get the final OK for landing, which is scheduled for shortly after 9:00 am Wednesday morning, if the weather holds in Florida. Both the Kennedy Space Center and the backup landing site in California will be ready as NASA wants the shuttle to land that day to give the military enough time to destroy a damaged spy satellite.

The next shuttle flight is coming right up. Endeavour began its crawl to the launch pad early Monday in to prepare for a March 11 liftoff.

North American residents with clear skies Monday evening should be able to see both Atlantis and the ISS flying in tandem. See NASAâ€™s orbital tracking site or Heavenâ€™s Above for sighting times for your area.