{"id":11983,"date":"2020-12-04T18:01:49","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T10:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/space-station-to-receive-new-commercial-airlock-from-nanoracks\/"},"modified":"2020-12-04T18:01:49","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T10:01:49","slug":"space-station-to-receive-new-commercial-airlock-from-nanoracks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/space-station-to-receive-new-commercial-airlock-from-nanoracks\/","title":{"rendered":"Space station to receive new commercial airlock from Nanoracks"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: <\/strong>Updated Dec. 5 after launch delay.<\/p>\n

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The Bishop airlock module from Nanoracks undergoes launch preparations inside NASA\u2019s Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA\/Glenn Benson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A privately-funded airlock from Nanoracks will head for the International Space Station this weekend in the trunk of a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule, adding to the orbiting lab\u2019s capacity for scientific experiments in another milestone for commercial space development.<\/p>\n

The Bishop airlock module, owned by Houston-based Nanoracks, is secured inside the unpressurized cargo element of a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship awaiting launch from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n

Weather permitting, the automated cargo mission is scheduled to take off from pad 39A on top of a Falcon 9 rocket at 11:17 a.m. EST (1617 GMT) Sunday. SpaceX called off a launch attempt Saturday due to poor weather in the Falcon 9 booster\u2019s downrange recovery area.<\/p>\n

In addition to roughly three tons of fresh food, supplies and experiments for the space station\u2019s seven-person crew, the Dragon cargo craft will deliver the first commercial airlock module to the orbiting outpost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the going to be the first commercial module for the International Space Station, designed and built here at Nanoracks,\u201d said Brock Howe, the company\u2019s project manager for the Bishop airlock. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working on the airlock for about five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The expandable BEAM module from Bigelow Aerospace was also developed by a commercial company, but BEAM launched to the space station under NASA sponsorship.<\/p>\n

The bell-shaped module is about the size of a small closet, measuring 6.9 feet (2.1 meters) in diameter and 5.8 feet (1.8 meters) long. Its dimensions were constrained by the size of the trunk on the Dragon cargo ship, the only spacecraft capable of ferrying large external payloads to the space station.<\/p>\n

Including support hardware, the airlock weighs about 2,400 pounds (1,090 kilograms) at launch, according to NASA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the volume (of Dragon\u2019s trunk) was an inch bigger, our airlock would be, too,\u201d said Mike Lewis, chief innovation officer at Nanoracks. \u201cIt\u2019s big enough for people to climb in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nanoracks will use the airlock to move equipment into and out of the space station, expanding on a similar capability currently provided by an airlock inside the Japanese Kibo lab module.<\/p>\n

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Nanoracks technicians work on the Bishop airlock module inside NASA\u2019s Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in October. Credit: NASA\/Kim Shiflett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Assuming the Cargo Dragon takes off Sunday, the SpaceX supply ship approach the space station for docking at 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) Monday, taking aim on a docking port on the zenith, or space-facing, side of the research lab\u2019s Harmony module.<\/p>\n

The Dragon set for launch this weekend is the first in a new design of cargo capsules based on SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon astronaut ferry craft. The upgraded Dragon, or Dragon 2, can carry more equipment to the station, fly for longer periods of time, and will splash down in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Pacific, expediting the return of time-sensitive biological specimens to scientists.<\/p>\n

Within a few days after arriving at the space station, the lab\u2019s Canadian-built robotic arm will reach into the Dragon\u2019s trunk and pull out the Bishop airlock module. The Canadarm 2 will place the Bishop airlock on an unused berthing port on the end of the Tranquility module.<\/p>\n

Astronauts will equalize pressure between the space station and the new module, perform leak checks, then enter the airlock to connect cables to link the new doorway with the station\u2019s power and communications systems, according to Howe.<\/p>\n

Nanoracks officials say they expect the airlock to be ready for operations within a week after the robot arm extracts Bishop from the Dragon trunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe airlock is pretty simple in its utility,\u201d Lewis said in a recent interview with Spaceflight Now. \u201cIt\u2019s just an open cup that mounts on the space station. We use the hatch on the station, so a lot of the complex mechanisms and electronics are already there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nanoracks and other users currently rely on the Japanese equipment airlock to transfer experiments and small satellites between the station\u2019s internal cabin and the airless environment outside the complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout five years ago, Nanoracks identified a need for customer and market demand for a bigger airlock, and one that could be opened a little more frequently than the Kibo one,\u201d Howe said in a pre-launch conference call with reporters.<\/p>\n

The airlock in Japan\u2019s Kibo module works with a slide table, where astronauts can position equipment for transfer outside the space station.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kibo airlock can transfer a piece of equipment about the size of a microwave oven, whereas this new Nanoracks airlock that we\u2019ve been building will be able to handle something on the size of a about a refrigerator or freezer. So it\u2019s about five times the size of the Kibo airlock.\u201d<\/p>\n

The internal compartment of the Bishop airlock is outfitted with tracks to help astronauts position experiments and small satellites inside the module. Then the astronauts will close hatches and the air will be pumped out of the airlock, allowing the station\u2019s robotic arm to remove Bishop from its berthing location and position the module in space.<\/p>\n

The airlock will expose experiments to the harsh thermal and vacuum conditions of low Earth orbit, allowing Nanoracks customers to try out Earth-imaging cameras, space science instruments, and new technologies. Astronauts could also mount small satellites inside the Bishop for deployment on the end of the robot arm.<\/p>\n

Bishop is designed to accommodate satellites of up to 709 pounds, or 321 kilograms. The Nanoracks deployer currently at the station is sized for satellites of up to 220 pounds, or 100 kilograms.<\/p>\n

The Nanoracks animation below shows how the company plans to use the Bishop airlock, with the space station\u2019s robotic arm moving the module on and off its home on the Tranquility node. (EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: <\/strong>The animation was created in 2018 and illustrates the Bishop module arriving on an older, now-retired version of SpaceX\u2019s Dragon cargo vehicle.)<\/p>\n