Post by The Eshva on Jan 7, 2022 17:38:36 GMT
(16 June - 9 November, 2022)
White Crane: Part Seven — Expedition One
UHS-04, the third flight of Tenryū, launched on the 16th of June, 2022 from Launch Complex 17-C, carrying a crew of eight, with half of the crew remaining aboard the station. This crew, made up entirely of Daitōjin uchūnauts, was set to inhabit the station for around 145 days, during which time outfitting of the station's habitation module would be performed and the first three additional components of the station, those being Node 1, the Tansa module, alongside truss segments S0 and P0, as well as a number of resupply missions to bring up further equipment and supplies. The first crew would be made up of uchūnauts Eiji Hasegawa, Goro Saionji, Hinako Yagishita, and Toshinari Yamanishi, with two of the crew, Eiji Hasegawa and Hinako Yagishita, having flown aboard Kyūden IV in 2013 and 2017, respectively. In spite of the Karasu ACRV having the capacity for the full crew (due to its purpose solely for returning crew, comfort was deemed less important than safety and ensuring an entire crew could land) and the orbiter having autonomous flight capabilities, the first expedition was limited due to the station's present crew capacity, both in space and supplies. The launch went without a hitch, with booster BV-101 Nissaka gliding safely back to the runway, marking the first time the system had been reused.
Flight Day 02 for the crew of UHS-04 would see the crew rendezvous and dock with Shirotsuru, where the crew would begin work to outfit the station's LOX tank. In the meantime, however, the crew of EO-1 would reside in the station's core module, as would be seen aboard a standard shuttle mid-flight. Outfitting the LOX tank had been considered a priority for the crew, to be performed upon its pressurization, as it would open up a space with a volume of 559 square meters, itself larger than the core module of any of the Kyūden series of stations. However, outfitting it was a problem which had to be wrestled with prior to the station's launch, with several "floor plans" being drawn up.
As early as 2014, considerations were made for two "floor plans" were drawn up, each of which featured two separate designs. The first of these, the transverse option, would feature a layout similar to that of the Kyūden core modules, albeit on a larger scale. The transverse model had two options, featuring a set of three to four floors. The first of these options, the three-floor option, would see the module's top and bottom levels not be considered "full floors", but with the others, going from top to bottom, featuring ones with 56.7m2 floors and the bottom having one with an area of 50.2m2. The four-floor option was similar, albeit with the top and bottom levels considered full floors and having more equipment. This design, while tempting due to the DNSA's experience with similar layouts in the past, was decided against due to the sheer size of said floors being deemed of limited utility for the module. Thusly, the second option, the longitudinal design, would be picked, with the three-floors design being selected for it.
Starting on Flight Day 3, the crew would begin unloading the remaining supplies for outfitting and begin working on the process. Outfitting would take up most of the crew's time, with much of the work done while the UHS orbiter was docked making any efforts afterwards seem almost laughably slow. This was in part, however, due to the crews being able to split their time more efficiently between outfitting and running experiments. Once Tenryū had undocked two weeks later, however, the crew of four settled into a slow but steady pace with regards to construction, with the floors themselves largely coming together within a month of undocking. With that done, while most of the work was completed, it was rather bare-bones, unfurnished as the resupply ship that was to bring in much of said furnishings could not be launched until after Node 1.
Sōsei shortly after departure of Tenryū, 2 July, 2022
In late July, UHS-05 launched from MFS Artsiv, carrying aboard the station's first node, Tansa (Exploration). This launch also featured the addition of a second pressurized mating adapter, similar in function to the one mounted to the station to allow the UHS to dock, albeit of a different, smaller design. While the mission itself was shorter than previous ones, it was perhaps among the most significant, as it opened the door to proper resupply by a Konōtori II CRV (Cargo Resupply Vehicle) such as the one set to launch in August with the remaining supplies for the LOX tank's outfitting. Upon arrival at the station, the module would be plucked from the orbiter's cargo bay before being docked to the station via the nadir docking port. When this was completed, the station's RMS would undock the module and docking adapter from itself before, in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a complex Towers of Mueang[nb]IRL Towers of Hanoi puzzle. Name was based on one of the cities in Lan Na as a placeholder.[/nb] puzzle and returning it to the station, with the module now directly docked to the station with the docking adapter facing outwards. Once this was completed, the orbiter, Inari, would dock with Shirotsuru and the PMA would be attached to the module's Port 3.
Over the course of a week, the crew of Inari would take part in various scientific and operational activities aboard the station, including taking part in an EVA to inspect the station's attachment points on its former EFT in preparation for the arrival of the P0 and S0 truss segments in two months aboard a Tenjin IC-launched orbital tug. The crew of UHS-05 would return to Mundus on the 5th of August, having spent eleven days in orbit.
On the 21st of August, the first Kōnotori II CRV docked with the station, making use of Tansa's Port 2, a common berthing adapter set to eventually host the Kagaku laboratory module in 2023. This spacecraft carried both provisions and the final pieces necessary to outfit the Sōsei module. And so, over the course of September, culminating in the 26th, the crew would once more turn their attention to outfitting the module. The results spoke themselves, not to mention they didn't have to sleep in the crowded lower deck of the core module... or worse. At long last, Shirotsuru was open for business. In September, a spaceplane (placeholder) would dock with the station, marking the (option one: first foreign spacecraft to dock with a Daitōjin space station/option two: ninth spacecraft to dock with the station).
In October, the S0 and P0 truss segments arrived aboard a Konōtori II-derived orbital tug, being attached over the course of several hours to the station via its remote manipulator system. Following this, it would be mostly smooth sailing until the launch of UHS-06/7 and the beginning of Expedition 2, the first to have a crew of eight and a personal record for the agency, which had never had more than eight crew in orbit up until that point.
White Crane: Part Seven — Expedition One
UHS-04, the third flight of Tenryū, launched on the 16th of June, 2022 from Launch Complex 17-C, carrying a crew of eight, with half of the crew remaining aboard the station. This crew, made up entirely of Daitōjin uchūnauts, was set to inhabit the station for around 145 days, during which time outfitting of the station's habitation module would be performed and the first three additional components of the station, those being Node 1, the Tansa module, alongside truss segments S0 and P0, as well as a number of resupply missions to bring up further equipment and supplies. The first crew would be made up of uchūnauts Eiji Hasegawa, Goro Saionji, Hinako Yagishita, and Toshinari Yamanishi, with two of the crew, Eiji Hasegawa and Hinako Yagishita, having flown aboard Kyūden IV in 2013 and 2017, respectively. In spite of the Karasu ACRV having the capacity for the full crew (due to its purpose solely for returning crew, comfort was deemed less important than safety and ensuring an entire crew could land) and the orbiter having autonomous flight capabilities, the first expedition was limited due to the station's present crew capacity, both in space and supplies. The launch went without a hitch, with booster BV-101 Nissaka gliding safely back to the runway, marking the first time the system had been reused.
Flight Day 02 for the crew of UHS-04 would see the crew rendezvous and dock with Shirotsuru, where the crew would begin work to outfit the station's LOX tank. In the meantime, however, the crew of EO-1 would reside in the station's core module, as would be seen aboard a standard shuttle mid-flight. Outfitting the LOX tank had been considered a priority for the crew, to be performed upon its pressurization, as it would open up a space with a volume of 559 square meters, itself larger than the core module of any of the Kyūden series of stations. However, outfitting it was a problem which had to be wrestled with prior to the station's launch, with several "floor plans" being drawn up.
As early as 2014, considerations were made for two "floor plans" were drawn up, each of which featured two separate designs. The first of these, the transverse option, would feature a layout similar to that of the Kyūden core modules, albeit on a larger scale. The transverse model had two options, featuring a set of three to four floors. The first of these options, the three-floor option, would see the module's top and bottom levels not be considered "full floors", but with the others, going from top to bottom, featuring ones with 56.7m2 floors and the bottom having one with an area of 50.2m2. The four-floor option was similar, albeit with the top and bottom levels considered full floors and having more equipment. This design, while tempting due to the DNSA's experience with similar layouts in the past, was decided against due to the sheer size of said floors being deemed of limited utility for the module. Thusly, the second option, the longitudinal design, would be picked, with the three-floors design being selected for it.
Starting on Flight Day 3, the crew would begin unloading the remaining supplies for outfitting and begin working on the process. Outfitting would take up most of the crew's time, with much of the work done while the UHS orbiter was docked making any efforts afterwards seem almost laughably slow. This was in part, however, due to the crews being able to split their time more efficiently between outfitting and running experiments. Once Tenryū had undocked two weeks later, however, the crew of four settled into a slow but steady pace with regards to construction, with the floors themselves largely coming together within a month of undocking. With that done, while most of the work was completed, it was rather bare-bones, unfurnished as the resupply ship that was to bring in much of said furnishings could not be launched until after Node 1.
Sōsei shortly after departure of Tenryū, 2 July, 2022
In late July, UHS-05 launched from MFS Artsiv, carrying aboard the station's first node, Tansa (Exploration). This launch also featured the addition of a second pressurized mating adapter, similar in function to the one mounted to the station to allow the UHS to dock, albeit of a different, smaller design. While the mission itself was shorter than previous ones, it was perhaps among the most significant, as it opened the door to proper resupply by a Konōtori II CRV (Cargo Resupply Vehicle) such as the one set to launch in August with the remaining supplies for the LOX tank's outfitting. Upon arrival at the station, the module would be plucked from the orbiter's cargo bay before being docked to the station via the nadir docking port. When this was completed, the station's RMS would undock the module and docking adapter from itself before, in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a complex Towers of Mueang[nb]IRL Towers of Hanoi puzzle. Name was based on one of the cities in Lan Na as a placeholder.[/nb] puzzle and returning it to the station, with the module now directly docked to the station with the docking adapter facing outwards. Once this was completed, the orbiter, Inari, would dock with Shirotsuru and the PMA would be attached to the module's Port 3.
Over the course of a week, the crew of Inari would take part in various scientific and operational activities aboard the station, including taking part in an EVA to inspect the station's attachment points on its former EFT in preparation for the arrival of the P0 and S0 truss segments in two months aboard a Tenjin IC-launched orbital tug. The crew of UHS-05 would return to Mundus on the 5th of August, having spent eleven days in orbit.
On the 21st of August, the first Kōnotori II CRV docked with the station, making use of Tansa's Port 2, a common berthing adapter set to eventually host the Kagaku laboratory module in 2023. This spacecraft carried both provisions and the final pieces necessary to outfit the Sōsei module. And so, over the course of September, culminating in the 26th, the crew would once more turn their attention to outfitting the module. The results spoke themselves, not to mention they didn't have to sleep in the crowded lower deck of the core module... or worse. At long last, Shirotsuru was open for business. In September, a spaceplane (placeholder) would dock with the station, marking the (option one: first foreign spacecraft to dock with a Daitōjin space station/option two: ninth spacecraft to dock with the station).
In October, the S0 and P0 truss segments arrived aboard a Konōtori II-derived orbital tug, being attached over the course of several hours to the station via its remote manipulator system. Following this, it would be mostly smooth sailing until the launch of UHS-06/7 and the beginning of Expedition 2, the first to have a crew of eight and a personal record for the agency, which had never had more than eight crew in orbit up until that point.