>> Hi, welcome to the space station flight control room
where we have Melanie Miller
who is the robotics officer who's going
to be overseeing the birthing of the Cygnus cargo craft tomorrow.
Thanks so much for joining us, Melanie.
>> Thank you.
>> Well, so I guess the crew gets a lot of the glory
with the arrival of a cargo vehicle.
But you all actually do a lot of the work here on the ground.
Can you kind of go over the division
of labor there and what your job is?
>> I'm a robotics officer so I sit here in FCR-1,
and I do the set up for the crew.
We do training for the crew before the operation.
And then after they have done the capture, we go ahead
and move Cygnus into an install configuration.
And get it set up for the crew to do the bolting,
to bolt it to station.
>> Okay, so why is it divided like that?
Why not have the crew do all of it?
>> We try to do as much as we can from the ground
so that the crew has time to do experiments and science.
We want to maximize that as much as we can.
So while we are doing the install tomorrow,
the crew is going to be doing some preparation on Robonaut
to give Robonaut some legs and refurb [phonetic] Robonaut.
>> That's exciting.
So a good use of their time.
>> That's right.
>> Well, they've been training on and off for this for days.
Do you all do something similar here on the ground?
Do you have training to do as well?
>> Yes, we do.
Actually there's a long process to get certified
to be a robotics flight controller.
It takes, you know, about a year to get certified
to do the first position in our backroom.
And it takes about three to five years before you get certified
to do the front room position.
So there's a long training process.
And that's generic training.
And then we also have specific training where we do simulations
with the rest of the team here.
And we fly through the procedures in our simulators
as well -- both to make sure the procedures are good and also
to refresh our memory of exactly what all the maneuvers are going
to look like.
And what cameras provide the best views of what we're doing.
So that's all part of prep.
>> How long have you been doing this job?
>> Wow, since 2001 so [inaudible comment] 13 years.
>> You've probably done a few of these by now.
>> Yes, I have.
>> Does it get routine at all or is it something new every time?
>> There is some routine to it.
But when I first started
in robotics we were assembling space station.
So it has definitely evolved the tasks that we've been doing.
You know, when we first started we were taking modules
out of shuttle and installing them.
And now we are capturing visiting vehicles,
which we didn't do too many captures during shuttle
[inaudible] docked on its own.
The other big change is we're doing a lot more maintenance
with SPDM robot that we have.
>> That's the Dextre Robotic manipulator, I think on the --
use on the end of the robotic arm normally, right?
>> That's correct.
So everything has evolved now
that the station's assembly complete
into different operations.
And it is pretty different every week as far as what we're doing
that week whether we're changing out a failed RPCM
or we're capturing a visiting vehicle
or unloading new payloads.
So it's always something different.
>> I guess you probably usually have something new
to train for every week then?
Is there much left to do for you now before the Cygnus arrives?
>> I personally am about finished.
I have one task to do before I can leave today.
And then I come in at about two a.m.
to get ready for our capture.
But there is a shift overnight at the [inaudible].
And they have quite a bit of work to do.
We have a to do list for them.
They are going to be surveying the port that we're going
to stick Cygnus to to make sure that there's no debris there.
And then they're going
to maneuver the arm to a hover position.
That hover position is -- should be a line to Cygnus.
When it arrives we've predesigned
that so the crew should be able
to just fly right in and capture.
>> I think we're seeing some animation of that now.
>> And the other thing
that they're doing is they're setting everything
up for the crew so that, like I said, we want the crew
to have the most time to do science.
So we're going to go ahead and set up all the video
for them -- the cameras.
And do all the prep to have the work station set up so
that all they have to do is come on and do a few steps
to make sure they like what they see.
And then they can be ready for capture.
>> Okay, sounds like a lot goes into the actual capture.
Can you tell me is it fun?
What does it feel like to fly a robot in space basically?
>> When we're actually flying the robot,
we're pretty focused just like you would be
if you were flying a plane or driving a car
to make sure we're doing everything right.
And we're responding correctly to everything we're seeing.
So it can be kind of intense from that perspective.
It's more after you're done with accomplishing something
that you can kind of celebrate and think, wow,
I flew a robot in space.
And accomplish that mission so --
>> Very cool.
Is there anything you can compare it
to for the people here on the ground?
Is it similar to a video game?
Or is it something completely different?
>> It's a little bit like a video game.
But I would describe it more like driving a car
in close proximity to other things
where you're using your mirrors.
And in our case, we have cameras.
So it would be like driving a car with a bunch of cameras
and trying to figure out how to parallel park it or park it
into a garage full of other items
that you don't hit anything.
So that's the most similar event on the ground I think.
>> Fair enough.
I guess it doesn't actually end the birthing for you though.
You all have steps and work to do
after that takes place as well, right?
>> Yes. After we're done installing Cygnus,
we'll go ahead and we have a power down sequence we do
to put the arm in a safe configuration --
make sure that it's safe from a thermal perspective.
And then we'll wait until the crew has got some jumpers
connected to Cygnus so we can power Cygnus through station.
And then we'll turn off the power
that the arm is providing to Cygnus.
>> Okay, well, good luck.
We appreciate you coming and telling us all about this.
And we'll definitely be watching tomorrow at the birthing
and the capture as well.
So we'll hope that everything goes as planned.
>> We hope so too.
>> Thanks again.
This was Melanie Miller, the robotics officer,
who's going to be overseeing the arrival of the Cygnus tomorrow. ------------------------------0ca6b7760088--