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Cygnus Orb-1 Cargo Manifest
Mission Updates
Credit: Orbital Sciences
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Credit: Orbital Sciences
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CubeSats & Support System
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The Orb-1 flight delivers the NanoRacks CubeSat hardware to ISS in order to build and infrastructure for CubeSat Deployment using the Japanese Robotic Arm. Being delivered are a NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers and a total of 33 CubeSats. The Deployers will be used to deploy the small satellites from the Station into an independent orbit to begin their individual missions.
Deploying CubeSats from ISS has a number of benefits. Launching the vehicles aboard the logistics carrier of ISS visiting vehicle's reduces the vibration and loads they have to encounter during launch.In addition, they can be packed in protective materials so that the probability of CubeSat damage during launch is reduced significantly. Also, once arriving at the Space Station, the satellites can be checked pre-deployment, making sure any damage is detected before committing them to flight. Flock-1Flock-1 represents 28 three-unit CubeSats operated by Planet Labs to build an Earth-observation constellation based on CubeSats. The technology and infrastructure for this program was demonstrated by four Dove satellites that were launched in 2013 and collected images of Earth to test the capabilities of the system and prepare for the operation of a large constellation of satellites.
The spacecraft are based on the three-unit CubeSat specification having a launch mass of about 5 Kilograms and being 100mm × 100mm × 340mm in size featuring body mounted solar panels and two deployable solar arrays with three panels each. The solar arrays are spring-loaded and deployed by burn-wires. Flock spacecraft contain batteries that provide power to the various systems. The load bearing satellite structure consists of three skeleton plates, with L rails along each corner edge. |
Photo: NanoRacks
NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer
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Attitude data is provided by three-axis magnetometers to accomplish three-axis stabilization via magnetic torquers.
The main payload of each satellite is an optical telescope of unknown specifications to acquire high-resolution images of Earth. The telescope is protected by an aperture cover that is deployed via springs. The optical axis is down the central axis of the satellite to achieve a maximum focal length.
The satellites use and X-Band system for the downlink of acquired images and systems telemetry at data rates of up to 120Mbit/s. Primary command uplink is done via S-Band, although a low-speed Telemetry and Command System operating in the UHF band is also available and in use for early commissioning operations and as a backup.
The main payload of each satellite is an optical telescope of unknown specifications to acquire high-resolution images of Earth. The telescope is protected by an aperture cover that is deployed via springs. The optical axis is down the central axis of the satellite to achieve a maximum focal length.
The satellites use and X-Band system for the downlink of acquired images and systems telemetry at data rates of up to 120Mbit/s. Primary command uplink is done via S-Band, although a low-speed Telemetry and Command System operating in the UHF band is also available and in use for early commissioning operations and as a backup.
Photo: Planet Labs
Lituanica Sat-1LituanicaSat-1 was developed at Kaunas University of Technology. It is a one-unit CubeSat and one of Lithuania's first satellites, together with LitSat-1, also launched aboard Orb-1. The satellite is equipped with a low-resolution VGA camera, GPS receiver, 9k6 AX25 FSK telemetry beacon, UHF CW beacon, and a 150 mW V/U FM mode voice repeater. The satellite will transmit payload & sensor data, images and three Lithuanian words.
LitSat-1LitSat-1 is also a Lithuanian satellite. It is a one-unit CubeSat developed by the Lithuanian Space Federation to use low-cost open-source hardware and software for its flight computers that will control the satellite payload. The spacecraft carries a VGA camera, a GPS receiver, a linear transponder and an AX-25 packet radio transponder.
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Photo: LitSat Facebook
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Photo: Southern Stars Group LLC
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SkySatThe SkyCube satellite is a project of Southern Stars Group LLC. Crowd-funding was used for the mission and investors get a chance to transmit a message from space or take pictures of locations of their selection. SkyCube is a 2-Kilogram one-unit satellite that features deployable solar panels, four cameras and communication antennas that are used to receive messages from Earth that are then transmitted at pre-determined times.
Investors are able to send 120-character messages or request images of chosen locations using the satellite's low-resolution cameras. The satellites uses the 915MHz band for imagery downlink using a 57.6kbps modem. Towards the end of its mission, the satellite will deploy a 3-meter inflatable balloon to speed-up re-entry and make it visible to observers on Earth. The balloon consists of low-density polyethylene coated with highly reflective titanium dioxide to make it visible. The balloon is inflated using a 4-gram carbon dioxide cartridge. |
UAPSat-1UAPSat-1 is a one-unit CubeSat built in Peru at Universidad Alas Peruanas. The satellite uses body-mounted solar panels for power-generation. It is equipped with a minicomputer, radio transmitters/receivers, a power control module and a basic attitude control system consisting of magnets to align the vehicle with Earth's magnetic field. The satellite will transmit telemetry data and temperature sensor readings from inside and outside the spacecraft. Also part of the data packages are voltage and current readings that are downlinked via amateur radio.
ArduSat-2ArduSat-2 is a two-unit CubeSat based on the one-unit ArduSat-1 that was deployed from ISS in November 2013. The satellite is built and operated by NanoSatisfi, USA. The small satellite will provide a platform which may be used by students or space enthusiasts to run their own space-based Arduino experiments. Previous satellites carried a bank of Arduino processors on which student/DIY code may run. These processors can sample data from the vehicle's imaging payloads, 1.3-megapixel cameras, or from any of the various sensors installed in the spacecraft including a photolux sensor, IR temperature sensors, printed circuit board temperature sensors, a 3-axis magnetometer, a Geiger counter, a 6-Degree of Freedom Inertial Measurement Unit IMU, and Microelectromechanical gyroscopes.
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Photo: UAPSat.info
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SPHERES - Slosh
Image Credit: Florida Institute of Technology/Dr. Daniel Kirk
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SPHERES stands for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites and involves two satellites that are used inside the space station to provide a miniature testbed to study maneuvering capabilities and spacecraft measurement systems. These two small satellites are used to study maneuvers in space in miniature inside the ISS.
The Slosh experiment investigates how liquids move around inside containers in microgravity. The physics of liquid motion in space are not well understood. A good understanding of the processes at work would improve modeling of the behavior of rocket fuel inside the tanks of satellites and other spacecraft or rockets. Computer models that exist have not been checked against actual experimental data acquired which is what this experiment will accomplish. |
To conduct the experiment, the two SPHERES are attached to the assembled experiment hardware and the system is put through a series of maneuvers via the SPHERES satellites. Collected data will be downlinked for analysis.
BASS-2
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Burning and Suppression of Solids 2 is the second generation of BASS studies that examine how the microgravity environment affects the burning process and suppression characteristics of solid fuels. These tests will provide data that will help develop strategies for extinguishing fires in microgravity and on long duration missions. Also, fire detection systems will be improved, both – on Earth and in Space. Crewmembers will document the burning process of the different fuels and several other properties connected to burning solids. The fires will be suppressed by Nitrogen Gas.
The experiment provides valuable data for combustion models. "The BASS hardware consists of a small flow duct with an igniter and a small nozzle along with exchangeable fuel samples. During BASS operations a fan produces a co-flow of air through the duct. An anemometer is used to measure the actual flow rate. The crewmember adjusts the airflow from 5 to 50 cm/s. The flame is ignited and allowed to burn for about a minute. A nitrogen suppressant is then supplied via a mass flow controller, from 0 to 500 cc/min. A radiometer measures flame output," the NASA Experiment description notes. "The science team on the ground monitors the video downlink to assist the crewmember in determining any peculiar flame behaviors and reviews the sensor data overlaid on the video image." |
Photo: NASA
Photo: NASA
BASS Flame Photos
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BCAT-KP
The Binary Colloidal Alloy Test - Kinetics Platform builds on the success of the BCAT payloads that have been active aboard ISS since 2004. BCAT-KP provides a platform for material and industrial scientists to perform colloid phase change experiments in space in order to develop new colloidal materials and formulations with improved properties including new liquid-crystals with longer shelf life and new applications. The study will particularly look at the characterization of phase kinetics for emulsions in a low gravity environment.
The BCAT-KP platform features ten sample chambers that can be turned around quickly to facilitate a number of studies over the course of a year. The experiment requires the crew to set up the hardware and camera to take photos of the samples at close range for imagery downlink for analysis. BCAT-KP is performed over a series of 7 to 14-day sessions to monitor how homogenized samples evolve over an extended period of time to see when and how crystals form.
The BCAT-KP platform features ten sample chambers that can be turned around quickly to facilitate a number of studies over the course of a year. The experiment requires the crew to set up the hardware and camera to take photos of the samples at close range for imagery downlink for analysis. BCAT-KP is performed over a series of 7 to 14-day sessions to monitor how homogenized samples evolve over an extended period of time to see when and how crystals form.
Previous NLP Payload - Photo: NASA
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NLP Vaccine-21The National Laboratory Pathfinder Vaccine payloads have been flying to the Space Station for several years, beginning on ISS Expedition 16. The studies seek to understand measures that should be taken to reduce the risk of infection and contraction of disease while in space. Earth applications of the experiment series include knowledge for the development of vaccines against life-threatening organisms.
Vaccine 21 aims to use a spaceflight antibiotic effectiveness model to address drug-resistance issues on Earth by identifying what phenotypic and transcriptomic changes permit bacterial survival under various antibiotics concentrations. The payload is operated via the Fluid Processing Apparatus (FPA) that requires the crew members to activate the experiment. The experiment is then left active for a pre-determined amount of time before the crew members terminate the experiment. Subsequently, the payload is returned to Earth for detailed analysis. |
Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert 6 - Ants in Space
The CGBA provides automated processing for biological experiments on the International Space Station. The ants experiment flies a group of ants to space to study their behavior in microgravity conditions and make comparisons to their behavior in normal gravity. The experiment will examine how the interactions among ants in a group depend on the number of ants in a given area to gain knowledge on group dynamics.
NanoRacks Module 9
NanoRacks are small experiment racks that can be placed within ISS facilities to host a number of different autonomous, self-contained experiments that can be flown quickly and inexpensively, enabling students to have payloads flown to ISS. The NanoRacks 9 experiments include studies on enzyme activity in zero-gravity, DNA mutation rates in the space environment, cell regeneration and oil bubble formation.
NanoRacks Module 38
This Experiment looks at Petri Dish growth using the NanoRacks Microscope-2 Facility.
Story Time from Space
This payload consists of children's books and materials for simple demonstrations aboard ISS. Crew members will videotape themselves reading the books and performing the experiments to demonstrate the basics of science, technology, engineering and math in an entertaining manner.
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