One hour left (give or take)...
Oct. 19th, 2001 03:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpIn preparation for the arrival of a new Soyuz vehicle (the ship that would serve as a lifeboat for the ISS crew in case the Unthinkable happens), the crew is currently in the process of moving the Soyuz that's currently there (and which is nearing the end of its rated lifetime on orbit) from one port to another on the station.
All three crew members must be inside the Soyuz during the redocking operation, in case it turns out that the Soyuz cannot actually dock with the station again after it undocks. Were that to happen, not only would you want to have the entire crew in the Soyuz, you also wouldn't want to have all of the ISS systems running (e.g., water supply system, air conditioners, etc.). So, before the crew members get in the Soyuz, they spend a lot of time deactivating those systems.
Then they get in the Soyuz, close the hatches, spend about three hours doing various tests (leak checks, spacesuit checks, etc.), and then they're finally ready for the main event.
Right now, we're about 5 minutes away from the start of the redocking operation proper. Mark's and my shift is in its last hour. Afterward, I shall try to call in to the radio show co-hosted by fellow LJer![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gardengnome out of Kansas City, if for no other reason but that I'll probably not have an opportunity to do so again for quite some time. (But there is another reason, of course. Hosts gardengnome and richbrilliant have a manner that just makes it easy to talk with them.)
Then home to bed. It's been a l-o-n-g day.
Cheers...
All three crew members must be inside the Soyuz during the redocking operation, in case it turns out that the Soyuz cannot actually dock with the station again after it undocks. Were that to happen, not only would you want to have the entire crew in the Soyuz, you also wouldn't want to have all of the ISS systems running (e.g., water supply system, air conditioners, etc.). So, before the crew members get in the Soyuz, they spend a lot of time deactivating those systems.
Then they get in the Soyuz, close the hatches, spend about three hours doing various tests (leak checks, spacesuit checks, etc.), and then they're finally ready for the main event.
Right now, we're about 5 minutes away from the start of the redocking operation proper. Mark's and my shift is in its last hour. Afterward, I shall try to call in to the radio show co-hosted by fellow LJer
gardengnome out of Kansas City, if for no other reason but that I'll probably not have an opportunity to do so again for quite some time. (But there is another reason, of course. Hosts gardengnome and richbrilliant have a manner that just makes it easy to talk with them.)Then home to bed. It's been a l-o-n-g day.
Cheers...
