Expedition 30 thread (November 22, 2011 - April 27, 2012)

[Space Pete]

Progress M-13M/45P has just undocked from DC-1.

Is this the first time that ISS has had two Soyuzes docked without any other Visiting Vehicles?

[Jorge]

Progress M-13M/45P has just undocked from DC-1.

Is this the first time that ISS has had two Soyuzes docked without any other Visiting Vehicles?

No, back in the very early days when ISS only had two docking ports (prior to DC-1 launch in September 2001), there were two Soyuzes and no other vehicles during the first Soyuz handover between Soyuz TM-31 and 32 in April 2001. Progress M1-3 had to be undocked before TM-32 could dock to the second port.

[stockman]

close-up of the peeled back radiator...

[AnalogMan]

Couple of robotics ground support activities currently planned:

25 Jan 1610Z-2100Z                 SSRMS GROUND CONTROL
10 Feb 2200Z - 11 Feb 0700Z    SPDM SEAMLESS TRANS CHECK OUT

Maybe the latter is to checkout recent/upcoming software updates?

[Fuji]

I have learned that RRM operations with the SPDM will begin March 6th-8th.

More details are here.
http://ssco.gsfc.nasa.gov/robotic_refueling_mission.html

March 6, then June 2012
+ Gas Fittings Removal
July 2012 - end of 2013
+ Refueling
+ Thermal Blanket Manipulation
+ Bolt (Fastener) Removal
+ Electrical Cap Removal

NASA’s Robotic Satellite Servicing Demonstration Delayed until March
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/120123-nasa-robotic-satellite-servicing-demonstration-delayed-until-march.html

Looking forward, project engineers at Goddard are now working on a second test plate, which is scheduled to be delivered to the international space station in about 18 months. The hardware, similar to the dummy satellite already at the station, will ride to space aboard either Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle or Japan’s H-2A Transfer Vehicle, Cepollina said.

[robertross]

I have learned that RRM operations with the SPDM will begin March 6th-8th.

More details are here.
http://ssco.gsfc.nasa.gov/robotic_refueling_mission.html

March 6, then June 2012
+ Gas Fittings Removal
July 2012 - end of 2013
+ Refueling
+ Thermal Blanket Manipulation
+ Bolt (Fastener) Removal
+ Electrical Cap Removal

NASA’s Robotic Satellite Servicing Demonstration Delayed until March
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/120123-nasa-robotic-satellite-servicing-demonstration-delayed-until-march.html

Looking forward, project engineers at Goddard are now working on a second test plate, which is scheduled to be delivered to the international space station in about 18 months. The hardware, similar to the dummy satellite already at the station, will ride to space aboard either Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle or Japan’s H-2A Transfer Vehicle, Cepollina said.

Good times ahead! 

[brahmanknight]

I didn't realize that the follow up robotic refueling demo will be small enough to fit through a Russian hatch

[anik]

Chibis-M satellite was launched from Progress M-13M yesterday at 23:18:30 UTC. The satellite is functioning well. The cargo ship was deorbited today at 02:25:00 UTC.

[bolun]

Robot competition in zero-gravity
 
25 January 2012

School teams from Europe and America have been commanding robots competing in the Spheres ZeroRobotics tournament in space. The arena: 400 km above Earth on the International Space Station.
 
Student teams could send a single piece of instruction software to control the small robotic ‘Spheres’. The goal of the tournament was to earn points through masterful operation via guidance and navigation control algorithms as well as choosing the best tactics to win the game.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/PromISSe/SEMN6SH8RXG_0.html

[jacqmans]

http://www.livestream.com/esa_de/video?clipId=pla_1862b0d8-e2a7-4a42-b081-574f075a959a

Inflight Call André Kuipers, 25.01.2012

[Space Pete]

I didn't realize that the follow up robotic refueling demo will be small enough to fit through a Russian hatch

Not a follow-up refuelling demo per se, just a new task board for the existing demo.

[Fuji]

Progress M-13M undocking photo.
You can see the Chibis-M satellite in the hatch area.
 
http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-30/html/iss030e047156.html

[John44]

Expedition 29 - Launch Progress M-14M - 46
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7285

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-014

TEXAS STUDENTS TO SPEAK LIVE WITH SPACE STATION CREW

WASHINGTON -- Fifth- through eighth-grade students at Asa Low
Intermediate School in Mansfield, Texas, will speak with NASA's
Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank and Flight Engineer Don Pettit
aboard the International Space Station at 11:50 a.m. EST on Tuesday,
Jan. 31. Media representatives are invited to attend. The event will
be broadcast live on NASA Television.

On Jan. 27, the students will take part in a series of activities
focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The school also will host a space night to share lessons about space
with students. Administrators temporarily have renamed the school
"N"Asa Low in honor of the event.

To attend, media representatives must contact Richie Escovedo at
[email protected] or 817-299-6349. Asa Low Intermediate
School is located at 1526 N. Walnut Creek Drive.

Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin
arrived at the station Nov. 15. Pettit, European Space Agency
astronaut Andre Kuipers and cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko joined them Dec.
23.

This in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational
organizations in the United States and abroad to improve STEM
teaching and learning. It is an integral component of NASA's Teaching
From Space education program, which promotes learning opportunities
and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique
environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program.

The exact time of the downlink could change. For NASA TV downlink,
schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

To follow Twitter updates from Burbank and Pettit, visit:

http://twitter.com/AstroCoastie

and

http://twitter.com/Astro_Pettit

       
-end-

[Hungry4info3]

Progress M-13M undocking photo.
You can see the Chibis-M satellite in the hatch area.

Interesting. Where did they put the Progress docking probe?

[Space Pete]

Progress M-13M undocking photo.
You can see the Chibis-M satellite in the hatch area.

Interesting. Where did they put the Progress docking probe?

They either disposed of it inside the Progress, or left it inside the ISS for disposal on a future vehicle.

[ChrisC]

From Fox News:

Worrisome cracks in its spacecraft have forced Russia to postpone two manned launches to the International Space Station (ISS), the Interfax news agency reported Friday -- echoing a 2011 situation that left the country's space transport vehicles grounded and led to speculation that scientists may be forced to abandon the orbiting space base.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/27/russia-to-postpone-two-manned-launches-to-international-space-station/

EDIT:  reported by anik in the Soyuz TMA-04M thread 11 hours ago, being discussed there:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27678.0

[stockman]

current shot from ISS - is this where they send crew members who did something wrong?  kind of like a penalty bag

looks like a glove box being outfitted.

[Space Pete]

current shot from ISS - is this where they send crew members who did something wrong?  kind of like a penalty bag

looks like a glove box being outfitted.

That's the Maintenance Work Area (MWA) Containment System.

[Space Pete]

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 27/01/2012.

After setting up the MWA (Maintenance Work Area) Containment System with a vacuum pass-through in the Lab and readying a soldering iron, FE-6 Don Pettit installed a SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage & Reorient Experimental Satellites) expansion port on each of the three satellites. [The soldering iron was not used to solder but as a heat source for the port installation.]

Don Pettit yesterday completed ARED (Advanced Resistive Exercise Device) main arm rope R&R (Removal & Replacement) with no issues. [During changeout, Don noticed that the exercise rope was significantly frayed; it was replaced as well. Ground engineers have requested photo of the rope damage to determine whether it is the old rope design or the new rope design. The new rope design should not fray.]

SSRMS LEE A Snare Photo Review:
Ground review of the SSRMS LEE A (Space Station Remote Manipulator System | Latching End Effector A) snare photos taken on 01/21 is complete. The quality was sufficient to determine that a single strand is broken and sticking out. The snare is still considered operational. However, for the wires that did not stick out, the image quality was insufficient to assess any additional damage. Ground engineers will revisit the request to remove the Cupola Window Scratch Pane for future LEE Snare photos. The LEE A Snare photos from 01/21 do not need to be repeated.

Conjunction Alert:
Flight Controllers are tracking a series of conjunctions with Object 30502 (Fengyun 1C Debris) with TCAs (Times of Closest Approach) ranging from 01/29, 2:07 AM GMT through 11:21 AM GMT. The first TCA occurs about 32 hours after the docking of Progress M-14M/46P. These conjunctions are still classified as a medium concern at this time due to: 1. the repeating nature of this object (due to the object having an orbital period that differs from that of the ISS by only a few seconds), 2. the continued active space weather which could cause large variations in predicted miss distances of this object, 3. the potential for docking perturbations to alter the miss distances slightly (however, this should be small since docking is being performed in TEA (Torque Equilibrium Attitude) and therefore there no large attitude maneuvers. During the undocking of Progress M-13M/45P this week, ISS only lost a few tens of meters of altitude, and 4. all of the above could cause some TCAs to come inside the notification that were previously outside the notification box and vice versa. Currently, there is an ISS reboost planned for 02/01. If the PC (Probability of Collision) exceeds the Flight Rule thresholds for performing a DAM (Debris Avoidance Maneuver), a DAM on 01/29 would replace the 02/01 reboost and therefore be cancelled. NASA and Russian Ballistics are recommending the possibility to perform the ISS reboost on 01/29 regardless of whether or not the PC exceeds the Flight Rule thresholds. This is due to the fact that the date for a possible DAM is very close to 02/02 and that this object has been notoriously difficult to track and predict well. During the conjunctions with this object earlier this week, the PC was still below the Flight Rule threshold at the time a Go/No-Go decision had to be made. Since the threshold had not been exceeded, a DAM was not pursued. Later, the PC exceeded the Red PC threshold and the possibility of placing the ISS crew in their Soyuz spacecraft was discussed. Eventually, the PC dropped below the Flight Rule threshold and this possibility was dropped.