![]() Other experiments aboard STP-H7 will use signals from Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation satellites to help study ocean surface vector winds and sea states and test techniques for producing images with the sun in field-of-view. PIANO, or the Phenomenology Imager and Nighttime Observer, is a 4K by 4K infrared imager that will observe weather and cloud cover at night and study airglow in the upper atmosphere. STP-H7 carries six experiments these include Configurable Autonomous Sensor Processing Research (CASPR) which will autonomously process images from an iSIM-90 camera system – consisting of a pair of imagers in a binocular arrangement. The two STP experiment packages carry suites of instruments and technology demonstration payloads coordinated by the STP’s Human Spaceflight Payloads Office. It is expected to remain there for at least a year. With ASIM relocated, 11 January saw the STP-H7 package extracted from Dragon and installed successfully on Columbus. The operation was completed successfully despite some initial difficulties getting connectors to mate at the new location. This new vantage point will allow ASIM to observe the Earth from a different angle, while also making space on the starboard deck platform for the STP-H7 experiment package. On 10 January, after being powered down, the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) climate experiment was uninstalled from the x-axis starboard deck of the Columbus module and relocated to the nadir side of the platform. This was isolated and the experiment was activated using initially only a single line of power while teams from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) conducted troubleshooting on the backup power supply. ![]() Shortly after installation, STP-H8 was activated however, its redundant power supply tripped a controller in the module’s power distribution unit. The STP Houston 8 (STP-H8) package was removed from Dragon on 7 January and handed off to the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEM RMS) which installed it on Exposed Facility Unit 2 (EFU2) of the Kibo module. ![]() STP-H8 is handed-off to the JEM robotic arm for installation (credit: NASA) An inspection of the trunk to verify cargo placement and lighting conditions took place on 4 January. Preparations for these operations began before Dragon’s arrival.Įarly January saw the SSRMS mobile transporter moved to worksite five, stowing of Dextre tools, and the rotation of an Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) temporary platform to support the work. The unpressurized cargo in Dragon’s trunk, consisting of a pair of experiments for the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program (STP), was removed via the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) - the Canadarm-2 robotic arm - with the aid of its Dextre manipulator attachment. Throughout its stay at the International Space Station, CRS-24 was docked to the nadir, or Earth-facing, port of the Harmony module. Flying an uncrewed mission under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, CRS-24 had arrived at the station in late December carrying pressurized and unpressurized cargo for the outpost. January was a quiet month for visiting vehicle movements, with no new crew or cargo craft arriving and the only departure being that of the CRS-24 Dragon spacecraft. Visiting Vehicles and Exposed Facility Changes Expedition 66 began in October, although Dubrov and Vande Hei have been aboard the station for much longer, having arrived in April. The seventh crew member is Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency. ![]() The International Space Station (ISS) crew currently consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov – the mission commander for Expedition 66 – and Pyotr Dubrov, with four NASA astronauts: Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, and Kayla Barron. January saw the installation of new external experiments, a spacewalk by the two Russian crewmembers, the departure of a Cargo Dragon spacecraft, and the deployment of five small satellites. The start of 2022 saw no let-up for the Expedition 66 crew aboard the International Space Station, who are continuing their busy schedule of maintenance, science, and operations aboard their outpost in low Earth orbit.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |