SpaceX\u2019s CRS-2 (SpX-2) Dragon achieved another milestone on Wednesday, as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) carefully removed a pair of grapple bars from the spacecraft\u2019s trunk. The robotic operation marked another first \u2013 the delivery of unpressurized cargo from a commercial spacecraft to the ISS.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
CRS-2 Dragon:<\/p>\n
The SpaceX spacecraft is now enjoying an issue-free mission, following the swift resolution of problems relating to its propulsion system, an issue that occurred just minutes into its mission.<\/p>\n
![\"CRS-2](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Z57.jpg\" "\\"CRS-2")
All four of Dragon\u2019s \u201cQuads\u201d \u2013 each of which consist of a set of manuevering thrusters \u2013 were returned to full working order before the end of Flight Day 1, allowing for the spacecraft\u2019s arrival at the ISS last Sunday, just a day later than originally planned. (Image left via L2\u2019s stock of hundreds of unreleased hi res CRS-2 photos).<\/p>\n
Rendezvous and berthing \u2013 operations that require at least three of the Quads to be in a nominal condition \u2013 were conducted without issue, as Dragon took up residency on Node 2.<\/p>\n
Evaluations into a root cause of the Quads issue \u2013 likely related to either a blockage or a stuck valve in the helium pressurization line \u2013 are continuing, with a focus on ensuring a smooth departure and deorbit for Dragon at the end of its ISS stay.<\/p>\n
It is understood that NASA and SpaceX teams will conduct a meeting to evaluate contingency plans in the event the problem reoccurs when the Quads are required again during departure and deorbit operations, per standard procedure. Unberthing, re-entry and splashdown are all scheduled to take place on March 25.<\/p>\n
NASA educational resources (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n With Dragon\u2019s pressurized cargo already offloaded by the ISS crew, preparations moved towards the use of the Station\u2019s \u201cbig arm\u201d for a debut operation involving the Dragon \u2013 the removal of the unpressurized cargo, located in the \u201ctrunk\u201d of the spacecraft.<\/p>\n \u201cMT (Mobile Transporter) was translated from WS2 (Worksite) to WS5. Then the SSRMS walked-off from Node 2 PDGF (Power Data Grapple Fixture) to MBS PDGF 4 to Lab PDGF and back to Node 2 PDGF,\u201d noted L2\u2019s Rolling ISS Updates. \u201cAt the end of the shift, the SSRMS was positioned at the start position of the Dragon trunk survey.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tip elbow and LEE (Latching End Effector) cameras were configured to provide initial views of the Dragon trunk. All operations were nominal. the Dragon Trunk survey was successfully performed. The survey confirmed that the trunk was in the expected configuration.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s Dextre actually paid a visit to the C2+ Dragon during the spacecraft\u2019s debut mission to the Station, testing out clearances and camera views ahead of the future payload removal role.<\/p>\n These \u201cgrapple bars\u201d will be used to aid in the handling of a stowed ISS radiator in a potential future replacement scenario, by adding grapple fixtures to the radiator for the station\u2019s arm to interface with.<\/p>\n The HRSGFs were successfully removed from Dragon\u2019s Trunk robotically by the SSRMS, whereupon they were installed onto the Payload ORU Accommodation (POA) on the Mobile Base System (MBS) on the ISS Truss, where they will each await respective installation onto the S1 and P1 Truss radiators during a US spacewalk in July.<\/p>\n For more Dragon articles, click here: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/dragon\/<\/p>\n Later this year, Dragon\u2019s CRS-3 (SpX-3) mission will carry two external payloads in its trunk \u2013 the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) and Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS). The previously planned Nitrous Oxide Fuel Blend eXperiment (NOFBX) payload has been removed from the SpX-3 flight and has yet to be re-manifested.<\/p>\n The CRS-4 (SpX-4) mission \u2013 which will fly in early 2014 \u2013 is manifested with the recently announced RapidScat payload in its trunk.<\/p>\n (Images: via NASA TV and L2\u2019s SpaceX Dragon Mission Special Section \u2013 Containing presentations, videos, images (Over 3,100MB in size and exclusive), space industry member discussion and more).<\/p>\n (Click here: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/l2\/ \u2013 to view how you can support NSF and access the best space flight content on the entire internet).<\/p>\n (Share this article \u2013 and spread the word of space flight \u2013 by using the social media options below).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SpaceX\u2019s CRS-2 (SpX-2) Dragon achieved another milestone on Wednesday, as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) carefully removed a pair of grapple bars from the spacecraft\u2019s trunk. The robotic operation marked another first \u2013 the delivery of unpressurized cargo from a commercial spacecraft to the ISS. CRS-2 Dragon: The SpaceX spacecraft is now enjoying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30313,"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":[1395,233,316,8957],"class_list":["post-39896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-dragon","tag-iss","tag-spacex","tag-ssrms"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39896"}],"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=39896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Unique](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Z33.jpg\" "\\"Unique")
The opening requirement called for a visual survey of the Dragon\u2019s aft via cameras on the end of the SSRMS, mainly to ensure the trunk and payload were in an undamaged state, following their journey to the orbital outpost.<\/p>\n![\"Dextre](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Z563.jpg\" "\\"Dextre")
Dragon\u2019s trunk is designed to carry additional cargo outside of its pressurized cabin \u2013 such as Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs). These payloads will be \u2013 for the most part \u2013 removed by the Dextre (SPDM) robot over the course of the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, prior to being translated to staging points on the ISS, such as the External Platforms, ahead of installation via a Stage EVA.<\/p>\n![\"Grapple](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Z45.jpg\" "\\"Grapple")
For Wednesday\u2019s operation, only the SSRMS was required, tasked with the removal of two Heat Rejection Subsystem Grapple Fixtures (HRSGFs) \u2013 which are essentially bars each featuring two Flight Releasable Grapple Fixtures (FRGFs) \u2013 from Dragon\u2019s trunk.<\/p>\n