![]() The work required the development of special tools to cut into the AMS instrument, install new hardware, and re-seal tiny coolant lines. Three of the four coolant pumps on AMS’s silicon tracker, which measures the trajectory and energy of the cosmic rays captured by the instrument, have failed, prompting NASA engineers to develop a plan to repair the coolant system. Mounted on the space station’s truss on the final mission of the space shuttle Endeavour in 2011, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is effectively a powerful magnet that attracts cosmic rays, subatomic particles traveling through space at nearly the speed of light. The complicated repairs are expected to require four or five spacewalks to complete, beginning in mid-November. The equipment inside the Cygnus cargo freighter’s Italian-made pressurized compartment include tools and replacement hardware for an upcoming repair of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.Įuropean Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA flight engineer Andrew Morgan will perform the spacewalks to repair the AMS instrument, which was not designed to be serviced in space. 24 pounds (11 kilograms) of Russian hardware.37 pounds (17 kilograms) of computer resources.77 pounds (35 kilograms) of Northrop Grumman hardware.229 pounds (104 kilograms) of spacewalk equipment.262 pounds (119 kilograms) of unpressurized cargo (NanoRacks CubeSat deployer).1,499 pounds (680 kilograms) of crew supplies.1,667 pounds (756 kilograms) of vehicle hardware.4,372 pounds (1,983 kilograms) of science investigations.Here’s a breakdown of the cargo manifest provided by NASA: The Cygnus spacecraft launched Saturday atop an Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, with approximately 8,168 pounds (3,705 kilograms) of food, experiments, hardware, and small satellites set for deployment in orbit in the coming months. EST (0910 GMT) Monday.Įngineers in mission control were expected to take over commanding of the robot arm to berth the Cygnus spacecraft to the station’s Unity module a few hours later, setting the stage for astronauts to open hatches leading to the pressurized cargo carrier to begin unpacking the supplies inside. The Cygnus spacecraft held its position less than 40 feet, or about 12 meters, below the station for Meir to command the robotic arm to capture the supply ship at 4:10 a.m. The automated cargo freighter arrived at the space station Monday, using GPS and laser-guided navigation to fine-tune its rendezvous along an approach corridor below the research complex. military, and an oven to bake the first cookies in space. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir took control of the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robot arm Monday to capture a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship carrying crew provisions, spacewalking gear to repair an aging particle physics experiment, tech demo satellites for the U.S. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus supply ship was captured by the space station’s robotic arm at 4:10 a.m.
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