{"id":39739,"date":"2013-10-10T21:47:45","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T13:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/cygnus-performing-well-at-the-iss-ahead-of-unberthing\/"},"modified":"2013-10-10T21:47:45","modified_gmt":"2013-10-10T13:47:45","slug":"cygnus-performing-well-at-the-iss-ahead-of-unberthing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/cygnus-performing-well-at-the-iss-ahead-of-unberthing\/","title":{"rendered":"Cygnus performing well at the ISS ahead of unberthing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Orbital\u2019s ORB-D Cygnus is into the final leg of its debut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), ready to pave the way the ORB-1 Cygnus \u2013 set to launch on December 15. The new kid on the block has enjoyed a trouble-free stay on the ISS, with the only issue relating to a cabin fan problem.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Cygnus at the ISS:<\/p>\n<p>Cygnus arrived at the orbital outpost on September 28, a week later than planned, due to a discrepancy in the GPS data between the ISS and Orbital\u2019s spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>However, the flawless rendezvous and berthing more than made up for the delay, as Cygnus was put through a challenging set of manuevers aimed at proving its ability to safely arrive within the Keep Out Sphere (KOS) and then be in a stance to abort from the $100 billion Station in the event of a system failure.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-31109\" alt=\"Z3\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Z35.jpg\" width=\"347\" height=\"242\">With ISS crewmembers Luca Parmitano and Karen Nyberg inside the Cupola, Cygnus eased its way towards the Station.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe spacecraft\u2019s performance (was) impeccable (230 meters away). Karen runs a test that the spacecraft needs to complete for its maiden flight: she commands a retreat and the Cygnus slows down, stops, and backs up to a distance of 250 meters,\u201d recalled Parmitano.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Houston tells us that Cygnus has resumed its approach, Karen prepares a second test, again at 230 meters. She sends the command to hold. The spacecraft obediently stops and waits for new commands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-31110\" alt=\"Z4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Z46.jpg\" width=\"350\" height=\"229\">The \u201cTally Ho\u201d of Cygnus had extra meaning to the Italian native, not least because the Orbital vehicle\u2019s Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space in Turin and is a relative of the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIts navigation lights are clearly visible, two white strobes in the centre with a red and green light on either side, the colours of the Italian flag floating in space. Cygnus\u2019 pressurised module is built in Italy and I smile at the thought of this unintentional tribute to my country,\u201d Parmitano added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a few minutes everything is ready for the approach that will bring Cygnus to thirty metres and then to ten meters. At that point the spacecraft\u2019s interface will be only five metres away from the robotic Canadarm2. My job is to bridge that distance and then catch Cygnus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-31111\" alt=\"Z5\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Z54.jpg\" width=\"349\" height=\"246\">With the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) touching Cygnus, Parmitano sends the command to activate the Latching End Effector on the end of the arm to close the snares to confirm the capture of the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI press the trigger that starts capture. We were less than a minute into the procedure. But our smiles form a memory that will last a lifetime,\u201d the ESA astronaut continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a few hours, Karen and I perform robotics to position Cygnus and attach it to Node 2. We then move the spacecraft and integrate it with the station.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-31112\" alt=\"Z6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Z63.jpg\" width=\"349\" height=\"247\">With the hatch opening occurring the following day, the crew began to unload the 1,100 kgs of cargo contained within the vehicle\u2019s PCM. Although ORB-D is a demo mission, Cygnus\u2019 successful arrival provided the Station with some much needed supplies.<\/p>\n<p>With the payloads removed, the crew began to fill Cygnus back up with trash items \u2013 an important operation to ensure the Station does not become overloaded with unwanted items in what is limited space on the outpost.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Orbital Forum Section<\/li>\n<li>L2 Antares\/Cygnus Special<\/li>\n<li>L2&nbsp;ISS Section<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Cygnus has behaved well during these operations, with only one minor listed on the ISS Status Reports in L2.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCygnus Cabin Fan Status: The Cygnus Cabin fan was unpowered by MCC-Dulles due to erratic delta pressure readings. In an effort to gather additional trend data, the fan is being activated daily during crew wake periods then deactivated prior to crew sleep. Results from this trending data will help ground teams decide whether to activate the fan permanently or not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Expedition 37 crew are expected to load the third and final layer of trash by next week, followed by PCM close out. Unberthing from the station is expected on October 22, with re-entry into Earth\u2019s atmosphere on October 24.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-31113\" alt=\"Z7\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Z73.jpg\" width=\"350\" height=\"256\">Pending a review by Orbital and NASA teams, Cygnus will change call signs from being a spacecraft under the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program into the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.<\/p>\n<p>The next Cygnus \u2013 along with its Antares launch vehicle \u2013 is already being processed at Orbital\u2019s Wallops facility, with a target launch date of December 15, with an available launch window through to December 21 \u2013 per L2 information.<\/p>\n<p>This mission will involve a standard three day flight profile to berthing with the ISS, with its launch aided by the Castor 30B second stage upper stage engine \u2013 ATK\u2019s upgraded variant of the Castor 30A that rode with the ORB-D Cygnus.<\/p>\n<p>For the ORB-1 mission, approximately 1,350 kilograms of cargo are currently manifested to be taken up to the Station, including the first powered payload in Cygnus.<\/p>\n<p>(Images: via L2\u2019s Antares\/Cygnus Section \u2013 Containing presentations, videos, images \u2013 including 100s of mbs of unreleased ORB-D hi-res photos \u2013 interactive high level updates and more,&nbsp;with additional images via Orbital and Neptec).<\/p>\n<p>(Click here: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/l2\/&nbsp;\u2013 to view how you can support NSF and access the best space flight content on the entire internet).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orbital\u2019s ORB-D Cygnus is into the final leg of its debut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), ready to pave the way the ORB-1 Cygnus \u2013 set to launch on December 15. The new kid on the block has enjoyed a trouble-free stay on the ISS, with the only issue relating to a cabin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9091,639,233,7577],"class_list":["post-39739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cots","tag-cygnus","tag-iss","tag-orbital"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}