Nanoracks airlock is open for business on the International Space Station – Houston Chronicle

The Bishop Airlock is officially open for business.

It was a design on paper five years ago. An empty shell in need of electronics in 2019. Then tucked inside the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon capsule and launched toward the International Space Station on Dec. 6.

Another two months of waiting, testing and checking for leaks. Then, finally, the team completed all its tasks and celebrated the airlocks commissioning Thursday morning.

The launch: Airlock aloft as NASA uses Nanoracks technology for the Space Station

We did it, finally, said Brock Howe, the airlocks project manager at Nanoracks. Now we get into full-fledged operations.

The Bishop Airlock designed, owned and operated by Webster-based Nanoracks is the International Space Stations first commercial airlock. In fact, it is the stations first permanent, complex element to be owned and operated by a commercial company.

The dome-shaped Bishop Airlock has a circular opening that is attached to the space station. When attached, the airlock is pressurized and astronauts can fill it with satellites (ranging from the size of a loaf of bread to a refrigerator) to be deployed. They can also secure projects and experiments to the airlock to give them exposure to the vacuum and radiation of space.

Once astronauts leave the Nanoracks device, air is sucked out and the space stations robotic arm disconnects the airlock from the station. The arm positions the airlock away from the station to deploy satellites, or the airlock can be attached to a different part of the stations exterior to expose those strapped-in experiments to space for prolonged periods.

On Monday, Kate Rubins became the first astronaut to float inside. She helped with final installation, and Howe said she spoke fondly of the airlock. She mentioned that it was clean and well-made.

All the folks who put their hands on building the airlock, that really meant a lot to all of them, Howe said, to get recognition from somebody who was actually working with it.

Hardware to be placed inside the airlock is still being built and launched into space. Howe expects it will be opened for the first time this summer, likely to dump space station trash that will burn up in Earths atmosphere.

Howe, who has been working on the project since its beginning, said he will continue monitoring the airlock for another year.

Ill watch her for a good full year, Howe said. Shes kind of born now, if you will. Ill let her get through her first year.

The journey to Florida for liftoff: How do you ship a brand-new airlock destined for the Space Station? Very carefully.

Then he expects to transition to the next big item on Nanoracks checklist: commercial space stations.

Today, the company is attaching an airlock to the government-run International Space Station. Tomorrow, it wants to repurpose the upper stages of rockets discarded in space to create free-flying, privately owned stations.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

twitter.com/a_leinfelder

View post:
Nanoracks airlock is open for business on the International Space Station - Houston Chronicle