CHAPTER 14 DAY IN THE LIFE: VITAL VISITING VEHICLES—KEEPING THE REMOTE OUTPOST CREWED AND OPERATING 242 Figure 6. (Left) Expedition 41 crew member Alexander Gerst (ESA) as an operator controlling the SSRMS from the Cupola Workstation during the 4th SpaceX mission on September 23, 2014. The Dragon vehicle can be seen in the far right monitor in the image as it approaches the ISS. Astronaut Reid Wiseman floats behind Gerst and performs camera operations. (Right) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata (top) and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, both Expedition 38 flight engineers and both wearing sunglasses, pose for a photo in the Cupola module while waiting for the Orbital-1 Cygnus arrival (in background) on January 12, 2014. The visiting vehicles, which have built-in hold points during their approach, will inch slowly toward the ISS while the flight control teams on the ground assess the performance of each spacecraft and its readiness to proceed closer. Photo was taken during Expedition 38. At a range of approximately 1000 m (3281 ft), the crew on board the ISS starts looking for the incoming visiting vehicle. Two crew members are situated in the Cupola module, looking down toward Earth. This is where they will conduct the monitoring and the capture operations, as shown in Figure 6. A backup work location is set up and ready in the US Laboratory Module in the event of a failure with the equipment setup inside the Cupola (see Chapter 15). As the crew monitors the approach of the visiting vehicle, the flight control teams on the ground review the performance data, assess the “go/no go” flight rules, and configure the systems both on the incoming spacecraft and on the ISS to faciliate a safe approach. The Joint Operations become more time critical and riskier as the vehicle gets closer to the ISS. The criteria for proceeding are tighter. When the vehicle successfully arrives at the capture point, SSRMS operations commence (Figure 7). Figure 7. (Left) The robotic arm moves toward the unpiloted Japanese Kounotori HTV-4 as it approaches the ISS on August 9, 2013. The HTV-4 is delivering 3,600 kg (7936 lbs) of science experiments, equipment, and supplies to the orbiting complex. (Middle) Using the ISS robotic arm, seen at the right of the picture, NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren prepares to capture the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle on December 9, 2015. The space station crew and the robotics officer in MCC-H will position Cygnus for installation to the orbiting laboratory’s Earth-facing port of the Node-1 module. (Right) The SpaceX Dragon Commercial Resupply Services-3 spacecraft approaches the ISS for rendezvous and grapple during Expedition 39 on April 20, 2014. To perform this complicated task of monitoring an approaching vehicle, capturing it, and then berthing, the astronauts rely heavily on the robotic systems of the station—especially the Robotic Workstation. External cameras provide critical views with additional graphics overlaid on the image. Those graphics, or overlays, are essentially a heads-up display for