LIVE: SpaceX Dragon CRS-2 (SpX-2) FD-2, FD-3 & Berthed Operations UPDATES

[Chris Bergin]

Go for Second Stage capture.

[Artyom.]

GO for Second Stage Capture. Four sets of four bolts will be driven to tightly secure #Dragon in place on Harmony.

[Chris Bergin]

Dragon about to be officially berthed on the ISS!

[Chris Bergin]

Pause for handover due to ratty comm.

[Chris Bergin]

Good second stage capture. LOS on the KU.

[Artyom.]

Second Stage Capture! 13:56 UTC - #Dragon is now officially berthed, starting a three-week stay aboard #ISS.

[Chris Bergin]

And confirmation that 56 minutes past the hour was the point of successful berthing!

Updated article:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/03/resilient-crs-2-dragon-pursuit-iss-sunday-berthing/

[Artyom.]

[Chris Bergin]

SSRMS brakes on. Bolt loading tasks will be done on the ground, so the crew can finish up and go back to exercising.

"Good to get off that steep part of the curve and back on to the flat zone" (heh!)

[Chris Bergin]

Working on the ventilation stuff. L2 notes and I think public too noted they couldn't find a pipe for this the other day. Not sure if they have found it.

Miss the "anaconda" from Shuttle days!

[Chris Bergin]

Right, that looks like everything until hatch open. Thanks to all for the coverage and if we can keep an eye on things that will be helpful.

Not sure if there will be a presser, but if so, please cover as I'll be in and out for the rest of the day.

[InfraNut2]

Working on the ventilation stuff. L2 notes and I think public too noted they couldn't find a pipe for this the other day. Not sure if they have found it.

They found it early yesterday (ISS time) when most of you were sleeping... As I mentioned in passing in the first reply on this thread:

Tidbit: The ISS astronauts finally found the Dragon Ventilation duct they were looking for behind a panel in (IIRC) node 2. If I understood it right, They got a tip from Suni and went to the panel with a screwdriver first thing this morning, and found it along with a missing CTB of stuff.

They also mentioned that there was some extra free space in there -- a rare commodity on the ISS. And the bag might have been a half CTB or another type.

[Chris Bergin]

Working on the ventilation stuff. L2 notes and I think public too noted they couldn't find a pipe for this the other day. Not sure if they have found it.

They found it early yesterday (ISS time) when most of you were sleeping... As I mentioned in passing in the first reply on this thread:

Tidbit: The ISS astronauts finally found the Dragon Ventilation duct they were looking for behind a panel in (IIRC) node 2. If I understood it right, They got a tip from Suni and went to the panel with a screwdriver first thing this morning, and found it along with a missing CTB of stuff.

They also mentioned that there was some extra free space in there -- a rare commodity on the ISS. And the bag might have been a half CTB.

Ah, very good. Don't you just hate it when people don't read the thread properly! 

[dsmillman]

ISS crew just received a GO for Vestibule pressurization.

[Kaputnik]

I don't remember hearing a thruster inhibit command during capture and berthing. When would that normally occur?

[ugordan]

I don't remember hearing a thruster inhibit command during capture and berthing. When would that normally occur?

I would assume when MCC-X puts Dragon into free drift, when it's at the 10 m capture position and before grapple is commenced.

[Artyom.]

https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/status/308228898745892867

[InfraNut2]

The astronauts are eager to get inside the dragon. One joked that he could smell fresh fruit when the dragon was still 10 feet away... 

They offered to proceed with some of the activities planned for tomorrow, since they are ahead of the timeline, and maybe get the dragon hatch opened tonight.

The ground was thinking about it too, but no answer yet.

[Chris Bergin]

Some presser stuff (useful for the quotes):

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was berthed to the International Space Station at approximately 8:56 a.m. EST Sunday, installed onto the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module. Dragon arrived to station with over 2,300 pounds of cargo and packaging to ensure safe travel, and during the next 22 days, astronauts will unload and then load cargo, including materials to support critical science experiments. Dragon will return to Earth with over 3,000 pounds of cargo, and has a targeted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja, Calif. on March 25. Dragon is the only spacecraft in the world today capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth.

 

“SpaceX is proud to execute this important work for NASA, and we’re thrilled to bring this capability back to the United States,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX. “Today’s launch continues SpaceX’s long-term partnership with NASA to provide reliable, safe transport of cargo to and from the station, enabling beneficial research and advancements in technology and research.”


CSF President Michael Lopez-Alegria Statement on Successful Dragon Capture

“The Commercial Spaceflight Federation commends SpaceX and NASA for Dragon’s successful capture by the astronauts aboard the ISS this morning,” stated CSF President Michael Lopez-Alegria. “In solving the issues facing Dragon post-insertion, the team at SpaceX exhibited the ingenious engineering tenacity that has become a NASA hallmark, and further demonstrated the industry's readiness to perform the critical task of cargo delivery to low Earth orbit. Congratulations to SpaceX and NASA for the successful berthing of Dragon this morning; I look forward to seeing Dragon back on Earth.”


RELEASE: 13-067

SPACEX'S DRAGON CARRYING NASA CARGO RESUPPLIES SPACE STATION

HOUSTON -- The Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon
spacecraft was berthed to the International Space Station at 8:56
a.m. EST Sunday. The delivery flight was the second contracted
resupply mission by the company under NASA's Commercial Resupply
Services contract.

Space station Expedition 34 crew members Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn
of NASA used the station's robotic arm to successfully capture Dragon
at 5:31 a.m. The capture came one day, 19 hours and 22 minutes after
the mission's launch. The station was 253 miles above northern
Ukraine. Following its capture, the spacecraft was installed onto the
Earth-facing port of the Harmony module through ground commands
issued by mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"The newly arrived scientific experiments delivered by Dragon carry
the promise of discoveries that benefit Earth and dramatically
increase our understanding of how humans adapt to space," said
William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for the Human
Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington.
"Spaceflight will never be risk-free, but it's a critical achievement
that we once again have a U.S. capability to transport science to and
from the International Space Station. The science delivered and to be
returned from the space station has the promise of giving us a unique
insight into problems that we face on Earth. As the patch of
Expedition 34 states: 'Off the Earth...For the Earth.'"

The Dragon spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
in Florida at 10:10 a.m. Friday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Shortly after spacecraft separation from the rocket's second stage,
the Dragon lost three of its four thruster pods. Solar array
deployment was delayed while SpaceX engineers worked to purge blocked
valves and get the pods back online. Ninety minutes after launch,
Dragon's arrays were deployed. By 3 p.m., all four thruster pods were
online and attitude control was regained.

Following a series of tests to ensure the spacecraft could safely
approach the space station, Dragon was approved to approach the
orbiting laboratory Sunday morning, one day after its originally
planned arrival, which is not expected to impact any of the
scientific investigations being delivered.

Dragon is loaded with about 1,268 pounds (575 kilograms) of supplies
to support continuing space station research experiments and will
return with about 2,668 pounds (1,210 kilograms) of science samples
from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical
science investigations, and education activities.

Newly delivered investigations include studies of how molecular
biology, cells and plants grow in microgravity. One experiment,
titled Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures-3, will examine solid and
liquid mixtures made of lead and tin that contain a small amount of
tin branch-like structures called dendrites. By understanding how
temperature and time control the growth of such dendrites,
researchers hope to develop more efficient and economical means of
producing higher-quality products derived from the casting of molten
metals. New student experiments include observing how gravity changes
the growth of E. coli bacteria, studying the long-term impact of
space travel on small coin-cell-sized batteries, and producing
ammonium aluminum sulfate crystals of higher purity than is possible
on Earth.

Experiment samples coming back to Earth will help researchers continue
to assess the impact of long-duration spaceflight on the human body.
Returning plant samples will aid in food production during future
long-duration space missions and enhance crop production on Earth.
Crystals grown aboard and returning from the station could help in
the development of more efficient solar cells and semiconductor-based
electronics.

The Dragon capsule is scheduled to spend 22 days attached to the
station before returning for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off
the coast of Baja California March 25.

This flight is the second of at least 12 SpaceX cargo resupply
missions to the space station through 2016. The resupply contract
with NASA is worth $1.6 billion.

NASA's Space Network, which includes the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite System, provided space communications for SpaceX from
launch through berthing with the space station.

SpaceX built and tested new cargo spacecraft under NASA's Commercial
Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. NASA initiatives like
COTS and the agency's Commercial Crew Program are helping develop a
robust U.S. commercial space transportation industry with the goal of
achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and
from the space station and low Earth orbit. In addition to cargo
flights, NASA's commercial space partners are making progress toward
a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil within the next few years.

While NASA works with U.S. industry partners to develop and advance
these commercial spaceflight capabilities, the agency also is
developing the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS), a
crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket to provide an entirely new
capability for human exploration. Designed to be flexible for
launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will
expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit and enable new missions
of exploration in the solar system.

[dsmillman]

Vestibule leak checks are continuing.