1 00:00:01,276 --> 00:00:02,366 >> Rob Navias: And welcome back 2 00:00:02,366 --> 00:00:04,566 with us inside the International Space Station Flight 3 00:00:04,566 --> 00:00:05,356 Control Room. 4 00:00:05,706 --> 00:00:08,096 As you've been watching, Karen Nyberg 5 00:00:08,096 --> 00:00:09,656 and Chris Cassidy have been working 6 00:00:09,966 --> 00:00:13,226 with the SPHERES satellites on a dry run for competition 7 00:00:13,226 --> 00:00:14,996 with students at MIT next week. 8 00:00:15,386 --> 00:00:17,566 A different sort of satellite is closing 9 00:00:17,566 --> 00:00:20,026 in on the International Space Station in the form 10 00:00:20,026 --> 00:00:23,306 of a Japanese cargo ship called the H-II Transfer Vehicle 11 00:00:23,596 --> 00:00:28,406 or the HTV-4, a big cargo ship due to arrive on Friday morning. 12 00:00:28,406 --> 00:00:31,156 And with us today here in the ISS Flight Control Room 13 00:00:31,396 --> 00:00:34,696 to talk a little bit about HTV, its operation 14 00:00:34,696 --> 00:00:37,566 and upcoming activities, is the NASA Lead Flight Director 15 00:00:37,566 --> 00:00:39,316 for HTV-4, Ed Van Cise. 16 00:00:39,316 --> 00:00:40,456 Ed, thanks for joining us. 17 00:00:40,526 --> 00:00:42,346 >> Ed Van Cise: Good morning and very excited to be here 18 00:00:42,466 --> 00:00:47,246 and we've been working on HTV-4 since HTV-3 departed just 19 00:00:47,246 --> 00:00:49,796 about a year ago so it's very exciting to be this close 20 00:00:49,796 --> 00:00:52,126 to being able to reach out and grab it on Friday. 21 00:00:52,996 --> 00:00:55,976 >> Rob Navias: Ed, launch on Saturday was flawless. 22 00:00:55,976 --> 00:00:58,016 Can you give us sort of a synopsis 23 00:00:58,016 --> 00:01:00,946 of the last several days of activities and preparations 24 00:01:00,946 --> 00:01:04,066 by the crew on board between now and Friday 25 00:01:04,516 --> 00:01:06,186 for the capture of the spacecraft? 26 00:01:06,416 --> 00:01:07,416 >> Ed Van Cise: Absolutely. 27 00:01:07,416 --> 00:01:08,846 Like you said, it was a flawless launch 28 00:01:08,846 --> 00:01:10,576 and the vehicle is performing very well. 29 00:01:11,056 --> 00:01:13,956 It is a longer rendezvous profile 30 00:01:13,956 --> 00:01:15,156 than some folks might be used 31 00:01:15,156 --> 00:01:18,886 to when they've recently been watching things like progresses 32 00:01:18,886 --> 00:01:22,006 that are arriving and only four orbits and then Dragon shows 33 00:01:22,006 --> 00:01:24,246 up just a day or two after launch. 34 00:01:24,246 --> 00:01:27,436 So it might seem a little out of place that HTV takes six 35 00:01:27,436 --> 00:01:28,566 or seven days to arrive. 36 00:01:29,046 --> 00:01:31,976 Of course, we take advantage of that timeframe. 37 00:01:31,976 --> 00:01:35,016 We do a lot of the crew training either the week before launch 38 00:01:35,016 --> 00:01:37,386 or even while HTV is on its way 39 00:01:37,386 --> 00:01:39,726 so it's still fresh in the crews' mind. 40 00:01:39,726 --> 00:01:42,436 Just this week, we put them through their paces 41 00:01:42,436 --> 00:01:46,096 in flying the Canadarm2 to get them ready for capture. 42 00:01:46,516 --> 00:01:49,806 But as far as HTV itself, there have been a couple 43 00:01:49,806 --> 00:01:52,436 of very minor things that the team has been working through. 44 00:01:52,436 --> 00:01:55,886 One of them has to do with the latching valves, 45 00:01:55,976 --> 00:02:00,006 the propulsion system on one of the strings 46 00:02:00,006 --> 00:02:04,916 of its propulsion system and well, basically what 47 00:02:04,916 --> 00:02:09,406 that is a sensor issue that they've seen very, 48 00:02:09,406 --> 00:02:12,226 very sporadically and not very often 49 00:02:12,226 --> 00:02:14,296 where it will indicate one position 50 00:02:14,296 --> 00:02:15,456 where the valve is physically 51 00:02:15,486 --> 00:02:17,746 in a different position, open versus closed. 52 00:02:17,746 --> 00:02:22,666 So it's actually been a good test of the integrated training 53 00:02:22,666 --> 00:02:24,596 that we've done to get ready for this mission. 54 00:02:24,596 --> 00:02:28,556 We go through a lot of different simulated cases on being ready 55 00:02:28,556 --> 00:02:30,116 to handle situations like this. 56 00:02:30,116 --> 00:02:32,956 The Japanese team has done a very good job investigating what 57 00:02:32,956 --> 00:02:36,046 might be wrong and coming up with workarounds and, in fact, 58 00:02:36,136 --> 00:02:37,096 right before this interview, 59 00:02:37,096 --> 00:02:38,746 we just finished meeting this morning 60 00:02:38,746 --> 00:02:41,916 to make sure we had a good plan in place for rendezvous day 61 00:02:41,916 --> 00:02:45,726 so if you hear us on rendezvous and approach talking 62 00:02:45,726 --> 00:02:47,236 about the prop system a little bit more 63 00:02:47,236 --> 00:02:49,046 than what you might otherwise have expected, 64 00:02:49,046 --> 00:02:49,926 that's just because we want 65 00:02:49,926 --> 00:02:53,616 to make sure we have all the right checks and things in place 66 00:02:53,696 --> 00:02:55,636 in case the next failure happens. 67 00:02:55,636 --> 00:02:58,306 And that's what we always worry about and we focus our training 68 00:02:58,306 --> 00:03:01,686 on is, okay, the system is designed to handle one problem 69 00:03:01,686 --> 00:03:04,056 such as this and we want to make sure we're ready 70 00:03:04,056 --> 00:03:06,146 for the second problem. 71 00:03:06,326 --> 00:03:08,506 All that to say, though, that the vehicle is very robust 72 00:03:08,506 --> 00:03:10,506 and it's very, very -- 73 00:03:11,326 --> 00:03:13,816 performing very well in its flight. 74 00:03:13,816 --> 00:03:16,896 It's been doing a whole bunch of rendezvous burns to get us 75 00:03:16,896 --> 00:03:21,226 to this point to show up on Friday for the ISS. 76 00:03:21,746 --> 00:03:23,676 >> Rob Navias: I think our viewers would be interested 77 00:03:23,676 --> 00:03:27,386 in finding out why the six days and it could be two. 78 00:03:27,386 --> 00:03:28,286 It could be seven. 79 00:03:28,286 --> 00:03:29,056 It could be longer. 80 00:03:29,226 --> 00:03:31,326 Why was six days for this rendezvous chosen? 81 00:03:32,106 --> 00:03:32,406 >> Ed Van Cise: Right. 82 00:03:32,406 --> 00:03:35,326 So the unique thing about HTV and some 83 00:03:35,326 --> 00:03:39,246 of our other vehicles is that the vehicle has the capability 84 00:03:39,246 --> 00:03:41,196 to launch pretty much at any time as long 85 00:03:41,196 --> 00:03:44,556 as the orbit path is flying overhead of the launch site. 86 00:03:44,976 --> 00:03:48,536 So, the -- instead of, let's say for example, the Progress 87 00:03:48,536 --> 00:03:50,356 or the Soyuz four orbit rendezvous, the -- 88 00:03:50,486 --> 00:03:53,766 not only does the orbit path have to be over the launch site, 89 00:03:53,766 --> 00:03:56,196 but the ISS has to be in a very specific place so that 90 00:03:56,256 --> 00:03:57,806 that shortened rendezvous can occur 91 00:03:58,206 --> 00:03:59,806 and that all the timing works out. 92 00:04:00,296 --> 00:04:04,196 With HTV, it has the capability to do a wide variety 93 00:04:04,196 --> 00:04:08,216 of maneuvers on orbit, both changing its orbital plane 94 00:04:08,516 --> 00:04:10,516 and then also changing its altitude of course. 95 00:04:10,546 --> 00:04:15,196 And that capability allows it to launch pretty much at any point 96 00:04:15,196 --> 00:04:15,976 and we call it phasing 97 00:04:16,736 --> 00:04:20,136 with respect to ISS, so we don't require the Space Station to be 98 00:04:20,136 --> 00:04:21,236 at a certain point in the orbit. 99 00:04:21,906 --> 00:04:24,606 But when you set something up like that, 100 00:04:24,876 --> 00:04:28,806 you go from a trajectory that has just a small number 101 00:04:28,806 --> 00:04:32,286 of very large burns to get you to that final destination 102 00:04:32,286 --> 00:04:37,046 to a trajectory that has a lot more smaller magnitude burns 103 00:04:37,346 --> 00:04:39,396 and so that's why you're seeing a six-day rendezvous 104 00:04:39,396 --> 00:04:39,916 in this case. 105 00:04:40,346 --> 00:04:43,606 And before we locked in the final launch time 106 00:04:43,656 --> 00:04:48,476 for last Saturday's launch, we could have actually launched 107 00:04:48,476 --> 00:04:50,286 on Saturday or Sunday and still rendezvoused 108 00:04:50,286 --> 00:04:51,476 for a Friday capture. 109 00:04:51,476 --> 00:04:53,986 But once we picked the exact launch time, then it was set 110 00:04:53,986 --> 00:04:56,336 up to be a very specific Friday capture. 111 00:04:56,336 --> 00:04:59,806 So, yes, it's a longer profile, but it actually provides a lot 112 00:04:59,806 --> 00:05:03,176 of flexibility for the Space Station Program to be able 113 00:05:03,176 --> 00:05:05,426 to do the launch and the capture operations. 114 00:05:05,896 --> 00:05:08,086 >> Rob Navias: And one of our social media questions 115 00:05:08,186 --> 00:05:11,296 that we received from, atirisspace blog, 116 00:05:11,596 --> 00:05:15,836 actually asks why did the HTV actually lap the International 117 00:05:15,836 --> 00:05:16,736 Space Station? 118 00:05:17,236 --> 00:05:18,926 It's all about Johannes Kepler, I guess. 119 00:05:19,356 --> 00:05:19,516 >> Ed Van Cise: Yeah. 120 00:05:19,516 --> 00:05:20,316 Exactly right. 121 00:05:20,506 --> 00:05:23,506 It all has to come back to the phasing and because 122 00:05:23,506 --> 00:05:28,676 of when we launched and the altitude of HTV relative to ISS, 123 00:05:28,736 --> 00:05:34,116 the lower you are, the faster you go and thus, HTV went around 124 00:05:34,116 --> 00:05:35,796 and did a lap around us. 125 00:05:35,796 --> 00:05:38,416 And that all is being set up so that on, 126 00:05:38,526 --> 00:05:42,246 actually it will be late Thursday night here in Huston, 127 00:05:42,246 --> 00:05:46,446 HTV will show up on the same velocity vector, same altitude 128 00:05:46,446 --> 00:05:49,066 as the Space Station, just a few kilometers behind us 129 00:05:49,256 --> 00:05:51,736 and then we'll go into what we call integrated operations 130 00:05:51,736 --> 00:05:54,616 where it will make its big maneuvers to come 131 00:05:54,736 --> 00:05:57,416 up underneath us on the R-bar, if you will. 132 00:05:57,716 --> 00:06:00,106 And it will look very similar to what the shuttle did 133 00:06:00,106 --> 00:06:03,976 when it did its rendezvous profile except HTV will stop 134 00:06:04,126 --> 00:06:06,826 underneath ISS instead of doing the -- 135 00:06:06,826 --> 00:06:08,416 going out in front like Space Station, 136 00:06:08,416 --> 00:06:09,426 or like the Space Shuttle did. 137 00:06:10,256 --> 00:06:12,856 >> Rob Navias: And on Friday morning, it will come 138 00:06:12,856 --> 00:06:14,856 up from underneath the Space Station 139 00:06:14,856 --> 00:06:18,256 and the Cupola will be a very busy venue with Cassidy 140 00:06:18,256 --> 00:06:21,806 and Nyberg, along with Luca Parmitano monitoring systems 141 00:06:21,806 --> 00:06:22,936 and operating the robot arm. 142 00:06:23,156 --> 00:06:24,826 How cramped will all of that be 143 00:06:24,826 --> 00:06:27,926 and how carefully choreographed does all of that activity 144 00:06:28,076 --> 00:06:30,756 to reach out and actually grapple the spacecraft 145 00:06:30,756 --> 00:06:33,456 and then carefully install it onto the Harmony node? 146 00:06:33,456 --> 00:06:35,556 >> Ed Van Cise: Yeah, the cupola, 147 00:06:35,556 --> 00:06:38,576 everybody's favorite place to be on the Space Station, 148 00:06:38,576 --> 00:06:40,666 and then I know everybody has seen pictures of what it's 149 00:06:40,666 --> 00:06:43,106 like inside and, like you said, it's a small place. 150 00:06:43,836 --> 00:06:47,646 They do train, of course, here in Huston to do these operations 151 00:06:47,646 --> 00:06:49,256 in mock-ups of the cupola, 152 00:06:49,256 --> 00:06:51,006 but nothing beats doing it in the real thing. 153 00:06:51,106 --> 00:06:54,166 So these last couple weeks we have been doing training 154 00:06:54,166 --> 00:06:55,846 in the cupola to make sure they understood 155 00:06:56,726 --> 00:06:59,736 where their body placement will be for best having access 156 00:06:59,816 --> 00:07:02,686 to the different pieces, parts of this orchestra. 157 00:07:03,276 --> 00:07:05,526 Really, there are three separate roles 158 00:07:05,526 --> 00:07:07,946 that all these crewmembers are playing and so you've got Karen 159 00:07:07,946 --> 00:07:10,076 who has got to fly the robot arm and so she needs 160 00:07:10,076 --> 00:07:11,046 to be in a certain place. 161 00:07:11,046 --> 00:07:13,496 You've got Chris who is helping her, 162 00:07:13,496 --> 00:07:17,086 monitoring the robotic system so he needs to be able to see 163 00:07:17,086 --> 00:07:20,696 that information and then Luca will also be monitoring the HTV 164 00:07:20,696 --> 00:07:24,186 systems and there's a separate command panel to send commands 165 00:07:24,186 --> 00:07:25,446 to the HTV so he needs to be positioned 166 00:07:25,446 --> 00:07:27,116 to be able to take care of that. 167 00:07:27,116 --> 00:07:30,496 So, having that all laid out in the cupola 168 00:07:30,616 --> 00:07:31,676 and doing real training 169 00:07:31,676 --> 00:07:34,926 in the real vehicle this week has been really influential 170 00:07:34,926 --> 00:07:36,386 in making sure everybody knows 171 00:07:36,386 --> 00:07:38,256 where to be and get the job done. 172 00:07:39,066 --> 00:07:41,356 >> Rob Navias: Well, Ed, appreciate your insight 173 00:07:41,356 --> 00:07:42,496 and we'll look forward to working 174 00:07:42,496 --> 00:07:43,876 with you on Friday morning. 175 00:07:44,106 --> 00:07:47,196 We'll have live coverage twice on Friday morning, 176 00:07:47,286 --> 00:07:49,986 starting at 5:00 a.m. Central time, 6:00 Eastern, 177 00:07:50,206 --> 00:07:52,846 of the rendezvous and grapple of the HTV-4. 178 00:07:53,116 --> 00:07:55,986 We'll come back on the air at 8:00 a.m. Central time, 179 00:07:55,986 --> 00:07:58,586 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, for the actual installation work 180 00:07:58,906 --> 00:08:01,056 that will take almost two hours to complete 181 00:08:01,056 --> 00:08:03,136 and we're looking forward to that and the arrival 182 00:08:03,136 --> 00:08:05,716 of a new ship at the International Space Station.