NICER Range of Motion Time-lapse
- Produced by:
- Rich Melnick
- Videography:
- Rich Melnick
- View full credits
The DAPS is only capable of moving in the weightless environment on orbit, not in Earth’s gravity on the ground. DAPS therefore was tested on a platform structure with wheels and bearings.
The test includes motions responsible for tracking and slewing between neutron star targets in the sky with NICER's X-ray Timing Instrument, which is stationary during this test because it is too heavy to be moved by the DAPS motors in Earth's gravity.
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Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer
- Rich Melnick (KBRwyle) [Lead]
Videographer
- Rich Melnick (KBRwyle) [Lead]
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Related pages
NICER Mission B-roll Footage
March 9th, 2017
Read moreThe NICER payload, ready for flight, on a dolly in a clean-tent at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The payload, delivered two weeks ahead of schedule, undergoes monthly functional tests while it awaits launch on the 11th SpaceX commercial resupply mission (CRS-11) to the International Space Station.Credit: NASA Goddard/Keith Gendreau The b-roll package includes video footage taken throughout the NICER mission, including lab work, payload engineering and testing. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission was built and tested at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.In addition to NASA Goddard scientists and engineers, the mission team includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and commercial partners, who provided spaceflight hardware. For More InformationSee [https://www.nasa.gov/nicer](https://www.nasa.gov/nicer) Related pages
NICER Electromagnetic Testing Time-lapse Videos
Feb. 2nd, 2016
Read moreTime-lapse of the NICER payload's first deployment, using a gravity-mitigation system, during electromagnetic testing on Dec. 30, 2015, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Time-lapse of the NICER payload returning to its stowed configuration after electromagnetic testing on Feb. 3, 2016, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.The time-lapse video opens with NICER in its fully deployed configuration. In this configuration, the FRAM plate is on the left, the X-ray Timing Instrument (XTI) “box” on the right and the Deploy and Pointing System (DAPS) boom connects the two horizontally across the middle of the frame. While the DAPS is responsible for swinging the XTI swiftly from target to target across the sky, it can only do so in the weightless environment on orbit, not in Earth’s gravity on the ground. Stowing and deploying tests must therefore be conducted with the payload lying on its side and the weight of the moving parts supported by a structure on wheels. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) payload undergoes electromagnetic testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.Electromagnetic testing serves to verify that NICER’s electrical subsystems do not interfere with each other or with International Space Station electrical systems through, for example, conducted or transmitted emissions. This test also verifies that NICER is not susceptible to malfunction due to the electromagnetic environment of the space station.Two time-lapse videos show the NICER payload deploy during electromagnetic testing and return to its stowed configuration following the tests. For More InformationSee [https://www.nasa.gov/nicer](https://www.nasa.gov/nicer) Related pages
NICER Lift Time-lapse
Dec. 22nd, 2015
Read moreThis time-lapse video of NICER's X-ray Timing Instrument (XTI) being lifted and integrated was taken on Dec. 23, 2015, in a clean-tent at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) box-shaped X-ray Timing Instrument (XTI) is lifted and integrated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.The time-lapse shows the XTI, with attached flight electronics and the payload's pointing system, being lifted and joined to the flight Adapter Plate, NICER's connection to the International Space Station-provided hardware for installation on station. For More InformationSee [https://www.nasa.gov/nicer](https://www.nasa.gov/nicer) Related pages