→ Logbook

A couple of successful evaluation simulations today for Sasha and myself at the European Astronaut Centre, dealing with all kinds of malfunctions during rendez-vous and docking, as well as undocking and departure of ATV. Some more training is coming up early next year and then we’ll have our final ATV rendez-vous exam in Star City, just before Sasha will leave for Baikonour as backup crewmember of Expedition 39. In the picture, courtesy of Exp 36, you can see the final approach of ATV4 “Albert Einstein” last summer. You can probably make out the illuminated target: that’s what we use to visually monitor distance, corridor and relative attitude to Station, to make sure the vehicle is properly aligned when it makes contact. Some more info on the ATV blog! https://blogs.esa.int/atv/2013/11/29/astro-samantha-cosmo-sasha-complete-atv-5-docking-training/ #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha

How does it look when you open the hatch of the Service Module hatch after ATV docking? Take a look at this picture from ISS Expedition 30: you have a front-seat view of the ATV docking system! Sasha and I have had to do this operation several times during our simulations this past week. When you release service module the hatch and move it out of the way, the cone that is normally exposed to outer space becomes visible. That cone is the passive part of the docking mechanism: when the docking probe makes contact with the conic surface, the wall guides it in until it’s captured by the latches. If you missed it, you can take a look at L-363 logbook for more info about the docking system. In this picture, of course, the docking sequence is completed and the docking probe is fully retracted. Also, before opening the cone-shaped hatch of the Service Module, the crew would have leak-checked the vestibule, which is the little volume between the two hatches that is formed at docking. And finally, it would be time to actually open the ATV hatch and ingress. You can find more info about ingress operations in this older logbook! #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha

Another day of ATV training for Sasha and myself at the European Astronaut Centre. In the morning we had more practice with rendez-vous and docking malfunction. In the afternoon we’ll have a long simulation of attached phase operations: that’s all that occurs when ATV is docked to the International Space Station. ATV is a resupply ship and it can bring, among many other things, water (from Torino, Italy, by the way). All ATVs so far have brought “Russian” water, which is supplemented with silver ions to prevent microbial growth. “American” water uses iodine instead and the two should not be mixed. “Russian” water can be transfered into the big tanks in the service module, or into portable water tanks, like the one you can see in the picture. One of these tanks is also always installed in the toilets to collect urine, although the US toilet is now nominally connected to the Urine Processing Assembly and the portable urine tank is a backup option. Managing water and waste fluids on board is a complex tasks that is the responsibility of dedicated specialists on the ground. If it is decided that some urine must be disposed of as waste, we can transfer it into the ATV tanks once we have offloaded the fresh water to Station. The portable tanks have a soft bladder inside that actually contains the fluid: by applying pressure in the volume outside of the bladder, we can “squeeze” the fluid out and into the ATV tanks. This is what the setup you see in the picture is for: once we have established the connection to the water control panel and opened the valves, we can transfer the water by pressurizing the bladder via a compressor or, as in the case of the picture, with a manual pump – in the unlikely event that all compressors onboard failed. As you can imagine, once we have transferred some urine, we really don’t want any confusion about what kind of fluid is in the ATV tanks. Just to be sure, we swap the blue water label for the orange one you see in the picture! #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha

Sasha and I had another full day of ATV training today, starting with a lesson on docking system malfunctions. ATV uses a slightly modified version of the Russian docking system, the one of the Soyuz and of the Progress. It’s a very robust system that has proven itself time and again. However, we do have a few contingency plans in case something goes wrong. The main thing that needs to work is the retraction of the docking probe. As you can see in the picture, once ATV is on orbit the docking probe is extended. It’s the head of the docking probe that makes the first mechanical connection to Station. Then the probe is slowly retracted, pulling in ATV until the full docking interfaces can be mated and the hooks can be closed. If the probe can not be retracted for whatever reason, we have a problem. The probe head is captured, but we have no rigid mechanical connection between ATV and Station. With ATV attached only via the probe, we can not apply control torques to the Station to keep it in a desired attitude. Until we solve the problem, we have to stay in free drift. That’s why, if we really could not retract the probe, neither automatically nor via manual commands, pretty soon we would have to send ATV away. For a really bad day, we even have to option to pyrotechnically separate the docking mechanism. That would be really the last resort option, though, because if would end ATV’s mission for good and make the docking port unavailable. Photo credit: NASA #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha

Back into the ATV* world with Sasha at the European Astronaut Centre here in Cologne. As the backup of Expedition 40, who will be on ISS for the most part of ATV5 mission, Sasha and I are receiving full training on ATV rendez-vous and docking monitoring and all attached phase operations, like water and gas transfer. However, unless we really need to fly six months earlier – which is very unlikely! – or the launch of ATV5 slips significantly, my fellow Shenanigan Alex and his crewmates will take care of all those operations. However, it is well possible that Sasha and I will be the ones closing the hatch and sending the very last ATV on its destructive ride through the atmosphere and into the ocean. So, today we had our introduction into departure operations. Much simpler than rendez-vous ops, as you can imagine: after all, when the general trajectory is “away” from you, as opposed to “towards” you, things are inevitably less complex. Can you recognize ATV in the picture? That’s ATV2 Johannes Kepler after undocking, courtesy of Exp 28 (credit: NASA). *In case you’re not familiar with ATV, this older Logbook has some general words. #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha

It’s a big day! According to the current plan, the launch of our Soyuz TMA-15M will be on November 24th, 2014. Yes, if you noticed that I adjusted the math of the countdown, you’re right: when I started the Logbook last summer the launch was scheduled for December 1st. And the new launch date is not carved in stone either: adjustments of the launch manifest are still likely to occur. But for now, celebrate with me: it’s L-1 year! Photo: launch of Exp 38 on Nov 7th, 2013. Credit: NASA #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha

Nice to be back home in Europe after an intense six-week training trip to Johnson Space Center. Although I certainly didn’t mind at all the mild Texas temperatures this time of the year! I have a non-training week coming up – a couple of free days and then several briefings, meetings and administrative work at the European Astronaut Centre. I’ll pick up training again on Nov 25th with my second ATV week, together with crewmate Sasha. Schedule is not final yet, but I might well be on ISS when our final ATV,  Georges Lemaître, will depart. In the picture you can see the recent departure of ATV4 Albert Einstein. Until I resume training, this Logbook will be LOS*. See you on the other side! * If LOS doesn’t ring a bell, see here. Picture credit: NASA/ESA #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha

Two long simulations today. In the morning it was Cygnus rendez-vous and capture day with Terry and Butch at the robotic workstation, mainly working through different malfunction scenarios related to the robotic arm or the visiting vehicle. In the afternoon I was solo in the ISS mockups practicing procedures related to water: collection of water samples, on-board microbiology testing and Total Carbon Analyzer operations and iodine testing with the spectrophotometer. We put iodine in the potable water lines to prevent bacterial growth, but we also remove that iodine before the water is dispensed for consumption. That’s why we periodically test for iodine to make sure the removal process is working well. Today I’m also starting my very first Baseline Data Collection as a human subject. This morning I had an introduction to the instrumentation and in a couple of hours I will start a 36-hour monitoring period in which I will wear temperature sensors on my forehead and sternum. The aim is to record daily fluctuations as part of the ESA experiment “Circadian Rhythms”. As you can see in the picture, tomorrow will be a bandana day. The investigators kindly provided one with the experiment kit! #SamLogbook (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://anne.cpamoa.free.fr/blog/index.php/category/logbook-samantha