Japanese quake disrupts space station operations [Spaceflight Now]
Photos of the Tsukuba Space Center's control center show debris littering the floor and filing cabinets tipped over. Other reports indicated part of a roof may have collapsed at the space center, which is about 30 miles northeast of central Tokyo.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency did not post any updates on its website after the tremor, other than saying public tours of its facilities in affected areas were terminated until further notice.
NASA says the mission control center in Houston took over monitoring telemetry from the space station's Kibo laboratory and the H-2 Transfer Vehicle, a robotic cargo ship that delivered supplies to the outpost in January.
"JAXA did a nominal shutdown of all of its payloads on the station before the team evacuated (Tsukuba)," said Kelly Humphries, a NASA spokesperson. "NASA and other (international partner) research going on in the Kibo laboratory is continuing unfettered."
筑波宇宙センターでも屋内で屋根の崩落などの被害が出ており、一時閉鎖してNASAに監視業務を引き継いだようです。写真がありますが、通れないですよこれは…。
■Earthquake Forces Closure of Japan's Space Station Control Center [Space.com]
Yesterday (March 10), the station's crew moved the HTV-2 cargo ship from a rooftop docking port to an Earth-facing port on the bottom of the station. The astronauts were scheduled to open the hatch and enter the cargo ship soon after, but mission managers have now delayed that chore until next week when the Tsukuba space center is expected to be back online.
どうやら週明けから職員が戻り復旧作業にかかるようです。「こうのとり」離脱は3月29日を予定しておりまだしばらく時間がありますので、何とかその間に運用復旧できればいいのですが。
ご無事で何より。
