Author Topic: LIVE: ATV-3 "Edoardo Amaldi" undocking and de-orbit - Sep 28-Oct 3, 2012 (Read 56648 times)

paycom · « **on:** 09/24/2012 05:35 pm »

The hatch of the ATV and the aft hatch of Swesda have just been closed by Yuri Malenchenko, leak checks are under way.

Launch article:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/03/europes-atv-3-spacecraft-deliver-large-cargo-load-iss/

Docking article:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/03/europes-atv-3-dock-iss-antenna-deployment-issue-resolved/

In mission articles:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/atv-3-electrical-power-issue-successfully-resolved-first-reboost-performed/

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/atv-3-raises-iss-400km-reboost-power-loss-latest/

Large L2 section:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=tags&tags=ATV

bolun · « **Reply #1 on:** 09/24/2012 07:39 pm »

http://blogs.esa.int/atv/2012/09/24/atv-3-hatch-closed/

Quote

The ATV hatch was closed at 18:59 CEST, followed by the ISS hatch at 19:14 CEST. Now crew is performing the hatch leak check.

Before closure, the crew removed the gas masks and fire extinguisher, two smoke detectors, the cabin fan assembly, the Air Exchange Duct (AED - the big white hose thing - Ed.), lamp housing units and handrails. Some of these items are being stowed within Columbus to be used with the next ATV during ingress (fire extinguisher, gas masks, AED, handrails); others are spare parts for future ATVs (and also if the ISS needs, for example, the lamp housing unit).

In particular for this mission: the cabin fan was retrieved, which will serve as a spare fan for ATV 4.

bolun · « **Reply #2 on:** 09/25/2012 10:52 am »

ISS Update: ATV-3 ReEntry Breakup Recorder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUmheCYT4HlbFi943lpH009Q&feature=player_embedded&v=AHaDrVvokNo

jacqmans · « **Reply #3 on:** 09/25/2012 02:01 pm »

ATV-3 Mission Manager update

Posted on 25 Sep 2012 by julien

http://blogs.esa.int/atv/2012/09/25/atv-3-mission-manager-update/

ATV-3 Mission Manager Massimo Cislaghi sent an update from ATV-CC yesterday evening:

While writing this message I am following the final crew operations inside Edoardo Amaldi’s Pressurised Module from ATV-CC in Toulouse (mostly dismounting and retrieving items that should not be destroyed with the vehicle reentry). After which the two hatches of ATV and ISS were closed just a couple of minutes ago. As some of you may have read somewhere, the undocking is planned in a bit more than 24 hours (at about 0:35 CEST on Wed morning) and the deorbitation and consequent splash in the Southern Pacific again a bit more than 24 hours later.

Both events are planned (tough luck) overnight. This quite intensive stretch of operations once again requires some particular adaptation to the working rhythm of the 150-200 ESA, CNES, Astrium, TAS-I, RSC-E staff (my apologies if I am forgetting any organisation) located in this nice South-Western French town, which has been the focal point for the Edoardo Amaldi very successful (let me be not be modest for once) mission conducted over the last 6 months, since its launch 23 March and its docking 28 March to the Russian Segment of the ISS.

I wish to give you the final (really !) summary of the ATV-3 servicing tasks performed during this half year of attached operations:
■all 2200 kg of dry cargo have been transferred to the ISS
■nearly 900 kg of trash cargo and more than 400 kg of liquid waste have been loaded for destruction during reentry
■one tank of air and two tanks of oxygen, for a total of 100 kg of gas, have been emptied into the ISS atmosphere, to replenish natural leaks as well as unavoidable losses linked to EVA operations
■all the potable water that we carried, i.e. about 260 litres, has been transferred into the ISS (Russian Segment) tanks
■we performed nine ISS reboosts (raising the mean ISS orbit altitude by about 26 km since the beginning of the mission) and several ISS attitude control manoeuvres, burning about 3400 kg of propellant
■we transferred about 820 kg of Russian propellant into the FGB "Zarya" tanks
■In total about 6.8 tonnes of cargo credited in favour of ESA in the frame of the ISS compensation scheme agreed among the Partners.

As regards the anomalies encountered during the first half of the Edoardo Amaldi in-orbit life, none of them has fortunately had any impact on the continuation of the mission, thanks to the robustness of the vehicle design on one hand, and to the skills of the operations and engineering teams on the other hand, further enhanced by the learning effect generated by the repetitive character of the ATV missions. In some cases, like for instance the RECS one, after analysis the anomaly has been classified as a "one-off", with virtually no further action for the last two ATV's…

...Last week has been quite a hectic one because of some worries related to the vehicle mass balancing, which shall comply with quite strict rules in order to allow the GNC of Edoardo Amaldi to control the departure and deorbitation of the 12-ton vehicle in a way that ensures the safest possible reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Fortunately in agreement with our Partners some modifications of the initially foreseen liquid waste loading plan allowed us to load the 66 kg of condensed urine (sorry ...) inside the right tank so that eventually this last criterion was fulfilled as well.

I will not make a further update of these informal reports because I believe that you will get the main information about the very end of the Edoardo Amaldi mission through the usual ESA communication channels, first of which our blog, therefore I take this opportunity for expressing my warm appreciation to all of you for the attention, support and encouragement received during my duties as Edoardo Amaldi Mission Manager.

And last but not least, Albert Einstein is already in Kourou since some days ... "le roi est mort, vive le roi" ! (*)

Sincerely,

Massimo

(*) italian version "morto il papa se ne fa un'altro" [English: The King is dead, long live the King!]

jacqmans · « **Reply #4 on:** 09/25/2012 02:02 pm »

ATV-3 undocking On Board Training

Posted on 25 Sep 2012 by julien
http://blogs.esa.int/atv/2012/09/25/atv-3-undocking-on-board-training/

Everyone is getting ready for the undocking tonight including the astronauts on ISS. This update was sent by undocking expert Laura Winterling

Flight Engineers 4 and 6 (Aki Hoshide and Yuri Malenchenko) conducted the last ATV3 related On Board Training (OBT) on Monday morning, 09:15 GMT. The training lasted for 45 minutes including a briefing and debriefing session with ATV undocking expert Laura Winterling from Mission Control Center – Moscow (MCC-M). During the On Board Training the crew reviewed the steps necessary for today’s ATV-3 undocking including actions to take in case of off-nominal situations.

ATV OBTs are conducted in MCC-M with the help of the Glavnj Operator guiding the space-to-ground conversation and a whole planning team from Russia and Europe. Tonight’s ATV undocking will reach its climax when Yuri and Aki see Edoardo Amaldi off to fulfil his last mission objective. For this operation ESA’s ATV crew instructors Liliana Ravagnolo and Laura Winterling will be on console in ATV-CC and MCC-M respectively to support the ground-control teams by keeping track of crew performance and for OPS-related consultation.

jacqmans · « **Reply #5 on:** 09/25/2012 02:03 pm »

ATV-3 set for overnight undocking

25 September 2012

ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle Edoardo Amaldi is set to undock from the International Space Station tonight at 22:35 GMT (00:35 CEST).

Mission controllers will steer ATV-3 during 28 hours of free flight, ending with a controlled destructive reentry during the night of 26/27 September.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQOJDRI7H_index_0.html

jacqmans · « **Reply #6 on:** 09/25/2012 03:32 pm »

Sunita Williams‏@Astro_Suni

http://twitpic.com/ay1qpv ATV3 Edoardo Amaldi brought us the goods. Now packed up & ready to take out the trash when it undocks!

jacqmans · « **Reply #7 on:** 09/25/2012 06:06 pm »

Spot ATV-3 & ISS Wednesday morning

Posted on 25 Sep 2012 by Daniel
http://blogs.esa.int/atv/2012/09/25/spot-atv-3-iss-wednesday-morning/

For casual ground observers, the ISS and ATV-3 should be nicely visible around 5:14 CEST tomorrow morning from large parts of Europe (mid and northern Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, NW France). Details via heavens-above.com

jacqmans · « **Reply #8 on:** 09/25/2012 06:07 pm »

A few more details on ATV-3 undocking…

Posted on 25 Sep 2012 by Daniel

http://blogs.esa.int/atv/2012/09/25/a-few-more-details-on-atv-3-undocking/

Nice tech stuff for those who wish to channel their inner operations engineer! Thanks to ESA's Kirsten Macdonell and the ATV Ops team for these great details!
■Window for tonight's undocking: 22:34:02-22:46:12 GMT
■Actual planned time: 22:35:54 GMT (00:35:54 CEST)
■Demerge (when ATV starts to physically uncouple from the ISS): 22:27:04 GMT
■Mean ISS altitude today: 416.9 km
■Vehicle status as of 16:00 GMT today: dormant mode; hatches closed and inter-hatch area depressurised
■Total ATV-3 mass upon departure: 14,058.236 kg
■Total amount of cargo that has been transferred to ISS and waste loaded into ATV:
Transferred to the ISS
Dry Cargo: 2200 kg
Water: 284 kg
Oxygen: 66.5 kg
Air: 33 kg

Transferred to ATV as trash
Dry Cargo: 989.4 kg
Urine/waste liquid: 350 kg

jacqmans · « **Reply #9 on:** 09/25/2012 08:18 pm »

Final view of ATV docking cross

This is the view seen in ATV-CC now as ATV spends the last few hours docked. This shows the target cross on the vessel as seen by a camera mounted on the Russian module to which it is docked.