Topic: [ISS] Trash jettison from Nanoracks airlock
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48655 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 07-05-2022 12:54 PM
From Ground Control Officer Bill Foster (via Facebook):
You would not think taking out the trash is anything special, a common task on Earth around the globe, but in space it takes on a whole different meaning. The crew on ISS cannot simply shove trash into an airlock and blow it out into space without the real possibility of some of it hitting the station with destructive force at some point in the future or impacting other operational spacecraft. Up until this past weekend, the only safe way of disposing of trash has been to place it in an empty cargo spaceship, such as Cygnus, HTV, or Progress, to burn up when they destructively re-enter Earth's atmosphere. There are limited opportunities for this, and limited volume to shove an accumulation of trash which must otherwise be stored wherever space can be found on ISS.
Thanks to the efforts of the Nanoracks corporation combined with a tremendous amount of planning by NASA, a new method of taking out the trash was demonstrated over the weekend, and I had the privilege of being on console in the ISS Flight Control Room to witness the remarkable accomplishment. Under the guidance of NASA Flight Director TJ Creamer, the Robotics Officer used the Canadian built Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), or robotic arm, to unberth the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock, containing a large white bag stuffed full of no longer required material from ISS (i.e, trash), and carefully point the opening of the airlock in a predetermined direction away from ISS. At the precise time required, the Capcom in the FCR [flight control room] counted down for the crew on ISS the moment the large bag was deployed. The Trajectory Officer was no hand to verify the trash trajectory post release would pose no threat to ISS and would eventually take the large bag into a fiery demise in the atmosphere.
The event was captured by multiple cameras on ISS and inside the Bishop Airlock.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 48655 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 07-09-2022 12:25 PM
Nanoracks video
On July 2, 2022, Nanoracks, powered by Voyager Space, opened the Bishop Airlock to deploy waste from the International Space Station. This was the first time that the Bishop Airlock was opened and closed for a full cycle. Nanoracks deployed approx. 350 lbs of trash.