14 DAY TRIAL // Engineers in Japan were able to repair the Tsukuba Space Center (TSC), the country's primary control room for segments of the International Space Station, unmanned space capsules and astronaut training.
The facility was restored to normal operations just 11 days after the massive, magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck on March 11. According to damage reports, the buildings at the TSC only suffered damage from the tremor, and not the ensuing tsunamis that devastated the northeastern parts of the country.
Located on Tsukuba Island, Japan, the Center was brought back online on March 22, and has been operating at nearly full capabilities ever since. Experts say things will improve gradually from now on.
While it was offline, its duties were performed by NASA flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), in Houston, Texas, and the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), in Huntsville, Alabama.
The American space agency says that it can handle such operations remotely. Its primary concern was dealing with the Kibo module on the ISS, which was built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
JAXA also operates the TSC. Through a partnership it signed with NASA, the two agencies provide each other with logistical support when natural disasters strike. The JSC itself had to be shut down on a few occasions, as hurricanes battered Texas.
The Japanese control room is in charge of operating the H-II Transfer Vehicles as well. HTV-2 is currently docked at the ISS, having transferred tons of supplies, fuel and experiments to low-Earth orbit earlier this year.
“After a gigantic earthquake in Tohoku and Kanto region, these operations at TKSC were temporarily shut down and handed over to NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston (H-MCC) due to damage and security issues caused by the earthquake,” a statement by JAXA officials reads.
“This week, safety of the ground facilities was confirmed, the ground systems were activated, and the network communications are online again,” the announcement reveals.
The repair work was finished just in time, seeing how HTV-2 needs to be undocked from the orbital facility next week. In order for the maneuver to take place according to safety norms, the TSC needs to be in full control of the procedure.
The unmanned space capsule is currently being loaded up with trash and other spent items that were used on the ISS. It will be deorbited in Earth's atmosphere, where it will burn up, destroying itself and its cargo.
HTV-2 will meet its fiery end on March 29, Space reports.