The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft was in the
the grips of the Canadarm2 before being released May 31, 2012 during Expedition
31.
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International Space Station Program officials and representatives of SpaceX
decided Saturday to continue preparations for the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket
and the Dragon cargo craft to the space station Monday from Launch Complex 40 at
the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., despite the failure Friday of a
backup computer component that provides redundancy for commanding the Mobile
Transporter rail car on the truss of the station. A final decision on whether to
launch Dragon Monday will not be made until another status meeting is conducted
Sunday morning.
NASA has rescheduled its SpaceX prelaunch briefing allow for operational
reviews in the morning. It now will be held at 1 p.m. EDT at the agency's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For updates on the schedule of events for
Sunday, call the Kennedy News Center recording at 321-867-2525.
The component, called a multiplexer demultiplexer (MDM) is one of more than a
dozen housed on the truss of the station that routes computer commands to
various systems on the outpost. The failure Friday to a box called EXT-2, a
backup box to a prime component in the S0 truss that measures 10.5 x 14.9 x 16.4
inches and weighs 50.8 pounds, occurred during a routine health check of the
device. The prime multiplexer continues to operate flawlessly, and there has
been no impact to station operations. The crew was informed of the problem and
is in no danger, continuing its normal complement of research work and routine
maintenance. A reboost of the station using the ISS Progress 53 thrusters was
conducted Saturday as planned and placed the laboratory at the correct altitude
for Soyuz crew landing and launch operations in May.
Station program officials, flight controllers and teams of engineers are
working to determine whether there is any risk to launching the SpaceX cargo
craft Monday. They will evaluate whether the station has enough redundancy to
permit the launch to proceed, which would result in Dragon arriving at the
station Wednesday where it will be grappled and berthed to the Earth-facing port
of the Harmony module by Expedition Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency and NASA Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio. The
station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm that would be used to capture and berth Dragon
has other redundancy capabilities not affected by the backup MDM failure.
While a final decision on the SpaceX launch is being reviewed, another team
of engineers is laying out a timeline for a contingency spacewalk that is
required to replace the failed spare MDM. No date for the spacewalk has been
scheduled. Such a spacewalk is one of the so-called “Big 12” spacewalks that
station crews train to execute for the loss of a critical component on the
complex.
For now, Dragon remains scheduled for launch Monday at 4:58 p.m. EDT
SpaceX Launch of NASA Cargo to Space Station Set for
Friday, Spacewalk Wednesday
NASA and SpaceX are targeting a 3:25 p.m. EDT launch on Friday, April 18, of
SpaceX's third cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage will begin
at 2:15 p.m.
The company's April 14 launch to the orbiting laboratory was scrubbed due to a helium leak in the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the Dragon spacecraft to the space station.
The company's April 14 launch to the orbiting laboratory was scrubbed due to a helium leak in the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the Dragon spacecraft to the space station.
Dragon is carrying to the space station almost 5,000 pounds of science and
research, crew supplies, vehicle hardware and spacewalk tools -- all to support
the crew and more than 150 scientific investigations planned for Expeditions 39
and 40. If needed, another launch attempt will take place at 3:02 p.m. Saturday,
April 19.
NASA Television coverage of Dragon’s arrival at the space station will begin
at 5:45 a.m. Sunday, April 20. Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will use the space station's robotic arm to
capture the spacecraft at approximately 7 a.m. NASA's Rick Mastracchio will
support Wakata during the rendezvous. NASA Television coverage will resume at
9:30 a.m., as the Dragon is attached to the Earth-facing port of the space
station’s Harmony module.
An April 18 launch will allow the space station program to plan for a
spacewalk on Wednesday, April 23, to replace a failed multiplexer-demultiplexer
(MDM) relay system. The prime MDM, which is operating normally, and the failed
backup computer provide commands to some space station systems, including the
external cooling system, Solar Alpha Rotary joints and Mobile Transporter rail
car.
A separate media advisory providing NASA TV coverage times for the April 23
spacewalk will be issued at a later date.
For the latest information on the SpaceX mission, visit:
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
For the latest information on the International Space Station, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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