General ISS Q&A thread

[Space Pete]

I believe they're getting the new intercom keysets.

Yes, I've seen posts about this on Twitter - the old DVIS keysets are being replaced with DVICE ones.

[Jorge]

I believe they're getting the new intercom keysets.

Yes, I've seen posts about this on Twitter - the old DVIS keysets are being replaced with DVICE ones.

Pic that a friend posted, with comparison to the Gemini/Apollo era VIS.

[erioladastra]

the FGB panels produce up to about 500W of power.  The Russians use this power and reduce what the pull from the USOS based on how much they are getting.

Really?

Do you have a good source for this?

Yep, i was just looking at a plot of the power output.

[Danderman]

the FGB panels produce up to about 500W of power.  The Russians use this power and reduce what the pull from the USOS based on how much they are getting.

Really?

Do you have a good source for this?

Yep, i was just looking at a plot of the power output.

If the aging FGB panels are still producing power in their folded state, then it is reasonable to assume that new panels in a different form factor that would allow full deployment within the available area would produce a lot more power.  We know that solar panels on earlier TKS vehicles can be moved around.

 This might be a topic for the Advanced Concepts section.

[Jim]

If the aging FGB panels are still producing power in their folded state, then it is reasonable to assume that new panels in a different form factor

Not really.  The same area is exposed for the same given length  and so the power output would not change

[Danderman]

If the aging FGB panels are still producing power in their folded state, then it is reasonable to assume that new panels in a different form factor

Not really.  The same area is exposed for the same given length  and so the power output would not change

I believe that solar energy striking a panel that is at an angle, as are the folded FGB panels, will always produce less power than a panel that is perpendicular to the incoming solar rays. Therefore, a flat panel would produce more power than a folded panel.

More to the point, a new solar panel for FGB could be made wider and shorter to provide for more area for energy production.

Lastly, new panels could use new technology for the panels to provide for greater efficiency.

[Nicolas PILLET]

If the aging FGB panels are still producing power in their folded state, then it is reasonable to assume that new panels in a different form factor

Not really.  The same area is exposed for the same given length  and so the power output would not change

No, because in this position, FGB's panels are unable to track the Sun.

[Jim]

I believe that solar energy striking a panel that is at an angle, as are the folded FGB panels, will always produce less power than a panel that is perpendicular to the incoming solar rays. Therefore, a flat panel would produce more power than a folded panel.

Not true, the panels at an angle still provide the same projected area as a flat panel

[Ronsmytheiii]

Does it really matter, as the US SAW's are producing more than enough power for both the USOS and RS.....

[peter-b]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but could someone make a sketch or something that illustrates exactly what a "beta" angle is and how it affects the ISS? I had great difficulty visualising it from the descriptions I've read. Thanks in advance.

[AnalogMan]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but could someone make a sketch or something that illustrates exactly what a "beta" angle is and how it affects the ISS? I had great difficulty visualising it from the descriptions I've read. Thanks in advance.

This Flash presentation may be of help - click on the "Beta Angle" button to see an explanation and animations of ISS in high and low beta angle conditions.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/flash/start.swf

[peter-b]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but could someone make a sketch or something that illustrates exactly what a "beta" angle is and how it affects the ISS? I had great difficulty visualising it from the descriptions I've read. Thanks in advance.

This Flash presentation may be of help - click on the "Beta Angle" button to see an explanation and animations of ISS in high and low beta angle conditions.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/flash/start.swf

That was awesome, thanks!

[Solon]

I was trying to find out how many portholes there are on the ISS, and where they are located, but no luck, so thought I'd try here. I found info for the Russian components, but nothing for the US. I read James Oberg saying there were quite a few, of good optical properties, but where are they? What direction do they face? Any help appreciated!

[Sparky]

There is a window in Destiny, facing the Earth, and two in Kibo, facing port. And of course, Cuploa. Other than that, there are CBMs with small windows in the hatches, but I'm not sure if all of them do.

[Space Pete]

I was trying to find out how many portholes there are on the ISS, and where they are located, but no luck, so thought I'd try here. I found info for the Russian components, but nothing for the US. I read James Oberg saying there were quite a few, of good optical properties, but where are they? What direction do they face? Any help appreciated!

On the Russian Segment, there are six nadir-facing portholes in the Service Module (SM), as well as one porthole on each of the two EVA hatches of both the Docking Compartment-1 (DC-1) and Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2). All four of these portholes are "clocked" at plus/minus 45 degrees to the positive/negative velocity vector - so DC-1 has portholes facing port-forward and starboard-aft, while MRM-2 has portholes facing starboard-forward and port-aft.

In addition, Soyuzes offer three portholes when docked - via two side-looking portholes in the Descent Module, and one forward-looking porthole in the Orbital Module. Due to their specific clocking when docked, a Soyuz docked to MRM-2 has portholes facing port, starboard, and nadir, while a Soyuz docked to MRM-1 has portholes facing starboard-forward, port-aft, and zenith.

On the US Segment, in addition to the obvious Cupola, there is one large nadir-facing optical-quality porthole on the US lab (which is used exclusively for Earth observation payloads via the WORF rack), and two port-facing portholes on the JPM.

In addition, every USOS CBM hatch has a porthole, however the portholes on unused ports/hatches are covered with an external flap (called a CBCS flap), which can only be uncovered via EVA if the port is unused. The only portholes on unused CBM ports that are currently NOT covered with a CBCS flap are the Node 2 nadir and zenith ports - so these are the only CBM hatch portholes that the crew can "see" out of (and there isn't really much to see out of the Node 2 zenith porthole - except the blackness of space).