Updates to the ISS Status

Blast-off of Soyuz MS-02 from Baikonur.

Since the last post in September, there have been more comings and goings to and from the ISS. As usual. We last had seen the departure of Expedition 48 on Soyuz TMA-20M, leaving Expedition 49 in charge. Commanding the expedition, and the ISS, was Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, supported by Flight Engineers Kate Rubins (NASA) and Takuya Onishi (JAXA).

Posing in front of the Soyuz MS-02 capsule are Shane Kimbrough (NASA), Soyuz Commander Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos) and Andrei Norisenko (Roscosmos).

The next to arrive at the station were the crew of Soyuz MS-02 on October 21. They brought the crew total back to six. Astronaut Kimbrough was making his second spaceflight, having flown before on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Borisenko is also on his second trip to the ISS, having served before in 2011 on expedition 27/28 and as commander of the ISS for three months. Ryzhikov is making his first flight.

View through the station cupola. Cygnus can be seen docking to the station in the upper left.

 

On October 23, the Orbital AK supply ship Cygnus made a visit to the station, bringing supplies and experiments. Cygnus lifted up from the Virginia Wallops-Island launch site on the newly-redesigned Antares rocket.

Cygnus parked near the station awaiting grappling by the robotic arm.

 

This Cygnus vessel was named SS Alan Poindexter, after the NASA astronaut of Shuttle Atlantis STS-122 mission that brought the Columbia module to the station. The Cygnus was docked to the Node-1 hatch. It will stay at the station until November 18.

Astronaut Kate Rubin inside the Soyuz MS-01 capsule during a routine spacesuit checkout procedure. This picture shows well the cramped nature of the capsule interior.

 

 On October 29 it was time for the next crew transfer to begin. Expedition 49 ended when MS-01 undocked from the station, and returned astronaut Kate Rubins, cosmonaut Ivanishin, and astronaut Takuya to Kazakhstan. With their departure, Expedition 50 began with Astronaut Shane Kimbrough assuming command duties.

Retrorockets fire to safely land MS-01 on the flat steppes of Kazakhstan.

 

Now ISS awaits the next crew of Expedition 50/51, scheduled to launch on November 17. Below, you can see their ship, the Soyuz MS-03 awaiting them on the launch pad in Baikonur. Behind the ship is a telephoto-effect view of the recent Supermoon lunar event.

 

 

ISS Summer Summary

ISS robotic arm just prior to releasing the Cygnus resupply ship. The dotted-line object is the side view of the Cygnus' solar panels, seen exactly edge-on.

It may not be the calendar end to summer, but students all over the USA know good and well that their summer vacation is over and they are heading back to school. And I am finished this year with company business travel, so it's time to get back to commenting on the rubble in space seen from my Space Bunker in Utah. Since my last post at the end of July, what's up with mankind's outpost in Earth Orbit?

Just hours ago, the Cygnus robotic cargo spacecraft burned up in re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. It's been a busy 6 weeks of comings and goings for Expedition 40 up on the International Space Station. Back in June, both the SpaceX and Orbital launches had been postponed. ANd the new Russian Angara rocket had suffered a launch glitch on the 27th. On July 1st  a launch of a NASA Delta 2 was scrubbed when a problem developed with a sound-suppression system. At least India had success with the launch of a Polar-orbit rocket carrying 5 satellites.

The next day NASA's Delta 2 took off and launched a carbon-dioxide research rocket into space. And the rockets kept on flying. The Russians were next.

The Rokot lifts off from Plesetsk with 3 communications satellites. RIA Novosti.

The Russians had a series of launches starting with the launch of a light-carrier class Rokot from the Plesestk space center on July 4th. Then on the 9th, a Soyuz rocket lifted off from Baikonur with a weather satellite and a couple other payloads. Finally, the new Angara rocket had a successful launch.

Angara on the pad at Plesetsk. RIA Novosti.

The first flight of the Angara on July 9th from Plesetsk lifted a dummy payload into space to test the rocket systems. The Angara is meant to supplement the Soyuz rocket type launches and relieve the burden of launches only a Soyuz can perform, though it is not man-rated. To show off the demand for the Soyuz rocket, another one was launched on the 10th from the French space Center in French Guiana placing 4 communications satellites into orbit. 

Antares lifts off.

On July 13, Orbital Sciences launched its Antares rocket from its facility on Wallops Island, Virginia to place the Cygnus cargo craft on a path to the ISS. Close behind, SpaceX launched a Falcon rocket placing 6 ORBCOMM satellites into orbit on the 14th. On Wednesday, the Cygnus cargo craft docked with the ISS.

Docking for the Cygnus with help from the CanadArm robotic arm.

Carrying food, oxygen, and supplies from Earth, the Cygnus also delivered 32 micro-satellites which will be released over time by the crew of Expedition 40. The Cygnus was docked by engineers on Earth this time using the robotic arm after astronaut Commander Steve Swanson captured the craft, and secured to the Harmony module of the station. The craft is named SS Janet Voss in commemoration of the astronaut who passed away in 2012.

The launches continued. A Soyuz carried a biological research satellite into space on July 20. On the 22nd, a Russian Progress Robot cargo ship was undocked from the ISS to make a place for an upcoming resupply mission. The Progress ship was then directed to deorbit and crash into the Pacific.

A Progress cargo craft approaches the ISS. 

On Wednesday the 23rd, a new Progress craft was launched from Baikonur and arrived at the ISS six hours later. The M-24M carried supplies for the station. Once unloaded, it will eventually be filled with trash and undocked later.

Delta 4 does the job, launching into a clear blue sky. SpaceFlight Now.

On Monday the 28th, a Delta 4 carried the GSSAP classified secret satellite into orbit. The satellite, though developed in secret, will be used to do research on possible collisions in space and any potential enemy military weapons developments in space.

European control room engineers monitor the docking of the ATV to the ISS. ESA.

On Tuesday the 29th, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the 5th and last of the ATV robot cargo ships to the ISS. It was lifted on the Ariane 5 rocket from the French space center in French Guiana, South America. It was the 60th successful launch of the Ariane 5, a remarkable achievement.

And the rockets kept flying. On August 1st an Atlas 5 blasted off from Cape Canaveral, carrying a GPS navigational satellite. On August 5th SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the AsiaSat 8. On the same day, the ESA announced a remarkable success: the Rosetta space probe rendezvoused with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Instead of just passing close by, the probe has matched its speed and direction and will travel with the comet, studying it from close up.

Radar imaging of the comet nucleus. ESA.

The ATV finally docked with the ISS on Tuesday the 12th. It was berthed at the Russian Zvesda module, and astronauts began unloading the cargo ship. Although it is the last of the ATV series of cargo craft, the technology from this version will be used to design and build the service module for NASA's future Orion spaceship.

Long March rocket action. Xinhua news.

China got back into the space scene on August 9th, launching a Long March 4C rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province. It carried a remote-sensing satellite. A few days later on the 12th, another Atlas 5 took off, this time from Vandenberg AFB in California, carrying its own remote-sensing satellite, the WorldView 3.

View from the ISS, Cygnus released from the station, seen just right of center.

And that brings us to the last couple of days. Orbital's CRS-2 mission was over, and the Cygnus craft undocked on Friday. The ground engineers gave the craft remote directions to de-orbit and burn up this morning as it re-entered the atmosphere.

A previous Cygnus craft disintegrates and burns up over the Pacific.

Orbital has 6 more cargo missions under the current contract, and will no doubt receive further contracts in this successful series. And with the morning's fireworks provided by Cygnus, we get back to the business of watching the business of working in space.

2014 Starts with Space Success

Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX

The space business is booming literally and figuratively as a volley of rocket launches started off the new year. SpaceX continues its onward march of successful launches on Jan.6, lifting the Thaicom 6 communications satellite into orbit. The mission took off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on behalf of Thailand, placing the craft in a geosynchronous orbit to provide communications coverage overThailand, parts of Africa, and a part of Arabia. This mission is a success also because previous Thaicom missions had been launched by Ariannespace on the French-built Arianne rocket. This is SpaceX's second successful launch of a craft into a geosynchronous orbit.

Overhead view of LC-40 in Florida.

History note: Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral station was originally home to launches of the Titan rocket series. Previous famous missions launched from there include the Mars Observer mission (which failed when its spacecraft failed to enter orbit of Mars), and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moon Titan. The original launch tower was scrapped when SpaceX leased the site from the government. LEarn more about the SpaceX launch at NASA SPaceFlight.com:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/01/spacex-falcon-9-v1-1-launch-thaicom-6/

Cygnus Cargo ship approaches the ISS.

NASA Spaceflight.com also provided great reporting on the launch of Orbital Science's latest cargo mission to the International Space Station. The OS Antares rocket original suffered a launch delay until January 9, due to extreme radiation concerns from a solar wind blast that hit the Earth's magnetic field. Once that had passed, the Antares was launched from the Wallop Island launch facility in Virginia. The Cygnus robotic craft was carefully guided in orbit to the ISS by ground engineers until its arrival on Saturday the 11th, followed by a grappling by the station's robotic arm just after midnight on Sunday morning. Now berthed at the station's Harmony Docking Node, the crew has begun the process of unloading the supplies.

India's GSLV-D5 rocket on launch pad. (Times of India).

On the International front, India launched a GSL-D5 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Center.  The rocket placed a GSAT-14 satellite into geosynchronous orbit. The rocket has had some difficulties including a couple of recent failures, so this launch has definitely boosted the confidence of the Indian space program.

When things go Wrong in Space

Illustration of Cygnus near ISS.

Space Exploration is a risky business. Just talk to Orbital Sciences! It was just last Tuesday, Sep. 18, when the Antares rocket blasted off from the Virginia Wallops Island launch facility on the Atlantic coast, lifting the new Cygnus cargo pod into space. Only the second company to launch a private-industry spacecraft to the station, Orbital Sciences hoped to make docking with the space station after several days of flight testing navigational and maneuvering systems before making a final approach. 

Antares rocket lifts into a perfect sky.

The Antares rocket flew beautifully, placing the capsule into its planned orbit after a great show on NASA TV. Viewers were able to watch the company's mission control screen graphics show the departing stages and protective fairing, followed by the last stage placing the cargo ship on its correct trajectory.

MIssion Control operations screen. Antares second stage firing maneuvering thrusters.

Once in orbit, tests began on the various spacecraft systems to ensure a safe approach and docking with the station. It was on its last step of maneuvering for docking this morning when the engineers noted a flaw in the GPS programming. The GPS system ensures a fully-controlled robotic ground-controlled docking without significant risk to bumping the station, such as happened to the Russian MIR station last century when a Progress capsule smacked into a station module.

Wallops Island mission control. I need to find out if this is the launch control or Orbital Sciences' mission control.

Just recently the word came down, a delay of 48 hours while engineers work to correct the glitch before they try another docking attempt. OS is pretty confident the software problem will be repaired and the next attempt will occur on Tuesday. Our hopes go with the Cygnus team. NASA Spaceflight has a great article on the procedures used to approach and dock with the sttation here:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/09/cygnus-cots-graduation-iss-berthing/

Meanwhile, WAY OUT in space, it appears that the Deep Impact space probe is beyond repair from the ground, and NASA has declared the mission ended. It was a valuable mission exploring comets and asteroids and managed to go beyond its planned mission parameters. Truly a successful space mission.

Tempel 1 moments after being hit by a probe from Deep Impact spacecraft.

Antares Rocket Success!

NASA TV view of Antares leaving Wallops Island, VA.

Orbital Science has done it again. Creators of the Pegasus air-launched satellite rocket, the Minotaur rocket which re-uses former nuclear missiles, OS has now added the Antares satellite booster to their company's stable of privately-owned space systems. Yesterday at 3:00 pm MDT, the Antares lifted off from launch pad 0A to begin a 20-minute mission to reach orbit with a dummy payload (also known as a mass simulator).

Computer art of the Antares rocket.

NASA TV's coverage of the event was well done, including voice and video communications from the facility at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) and mission control, computer graphics of spacecraft orientation when out of camera range, and great on-board video of the liftoff and separation of booster components. The only glitch occurred as they forgot to get a wide-view of the liftoff itself, focusing completely on the upper stage of the rocket. Thankfully, NASA photographers managed to get the missing shot:

Liftoff from pad 0A at MARS.

The Antares becomes the second privately-owned rocket to meet a successful launch in NASA's COTS program (Commercial Orbited Transportation Services program) designed to contract out resupply services to the International Space Station. Until SpaceX and it's Dragon supply craft delivered supplies recently, the effort was done by expensive government rocket programs from the US (Space Shuttle), the Russians (Progress rockets), the Europeans (ATV), and the Japanese (HTV). 

Antares before launch on pad 0A at MARS.

The Antares lifted off perfectly on time. The mission had been plagued lately with a few glitches and weather-related delays during the last week, but Sunday's launch went off without a problem. On board cameras gave great views of the main engine cut-off, the stage separations, and the release of the fairings protecting the simulated payload. Once the payload was released after reaching orbit, the payload service module used thrusters to maneuver itself out of the way, thus completed the mission's test objectives.

Rocket view during launch. Great view of the Atlantic coastline.

Rocket view of stage separation.

Camera view inside the payload fairing before fairing release.

The moment of fairing release. Great camera footage during the flight.

Second stage firing.

Tactical view of payload separation.

The next test mission for OS and the Antares rocket later this summer will replace the dummy payload with the first test version of the Cygnus supply craft. Similar to SpaceX's Dragon and other international cargo ships, the Cygnus is designed to approach the ISS and be grappled by the station's robotic arm, then directed to a space hatch at one of the docking nodes.

Celebrations in mission control.

2013 will be a year that witnesses TWO companies using private commercial services to resupply the ISS. We'll also be looking forward to more testing of the Boeing CST-100 space capsule, which will eventually take astronauts to the ISS. With the addition of Virgin Galactic's suborbital tourism program, this will be a year long remembered for the privatization of space transportation systems.