Columbus is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station (ISS) and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA). The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member
Like the Harmony Module, the Columbus laboratory was constructed in Turin, Italy by Rome based Alcatel Alenia Space with respect to structures and thermal control. Harmony, known prior as Node 2, is the "utility hub" of the International Space Station. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Thales Alenia Space is the company born after Thales had bought the participation of Alcatel in the two Joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica The functional architecture (including software) of the lab was designed by EADS in Germany where it was also integrated before being flown to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida in an Airbus Beluga. The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV ( EADS) is a large European aerospace corporation formed by the merger on July 10, Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The John F Kennedy Space Center ( KSC) is the NASA Space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center ( Spaceport) on Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The Airbus A300-600ST ( S uper T ransporter or Beluga is a version of the standard A300-600 wide-body Airliner It was launched aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on February 7, 2008 on flight STS-122. NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104 is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common STS-122 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS flown by the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. It is designed for ten years of operation. The module is controlled by the Columbus Control Centre, located at the German Space Operations Centre, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany. The Columbus Control Centre is the Mission Control Center which is used to control the European ''Columbus'' research laboratory which is part of the The German Aerospace Centre (DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the Municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
The European Space Agency has spent €1. 4 billion (about $2 billion) on building Columbus, including the experiments that will fly in it and the ground control infrastructure necessary to operate them. [1]
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Description
The laboratory is a cylindrical module with two end cones. It is 4,477 mm (15 ft) in external diameter and 6,871 mm (23 ft) in overall length, excluding the projecting external experiment racks. Its shape is very similar to that of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, since both were designed to fit in the cargo bay of a Space Shuttle orbiter. A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM is a large pressurized container used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station The starboard end cone contains most of the laboratory's on-board computers. The port end cone contains the Common Berthing Mechanism. The Common Berthing Mechanism (or CBM is used to connect all non-Russian pressurized modules of the International Space Station.
Construction
ESA chose EADS Astrium Space Transportation as prime contractor for Columbus. EADS Astrium Space Transportation was formed in June 2003 from the Space Infrastructure division of Astrium (whose core was originally ERNO) and the The Columbus flight structure, the micro-meteorite protection system, the active and passive thermal control, the environmental control, the harness and all the related ground support equipment were designed and qualified by Alcatel Alenia Space in Turin, Italy as defined by the PICA - Principle (for definition see History below); the related hardware was pre-integrated and sent as PICA in September 2001 to Bremen. Thales Alenia Space is the company born after Thales had bought the participation of Alcatel in the two Joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The lab was then fully integrated and qualified on system level at the EADS Astrium Space Transportation facilities in Bremen, Germany. EADS Astrium Space Transportation was formed in June 2003 from the Space Infrastructure division of Astrium (whose core was originally ERNO) and the Bremen (ˈbʁeːmən is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany (official name Stadtgemeinde Bremen / City Municipality of Bremen Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
Launch, berthing and outfitting
In November 2007, Columbus was moved out of the KSC Space Station Processing Facility, and installed into the payload bay of the Atlantis orbiter for launch on ISS assembly flight 1E. The Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF is a three-story 42500 m2 (457000 square foot buildinglocated in the Kennedy Space Center industrial area just east STS-122 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS flown by the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. [2][3] During cryo-filling of the space shuttle External Tank (ET) with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen prior to the first launch attempt on December 6, 2007, two of four LH2 ECO sensors failed a test. A Space Shuttle External Tank ( ET) is the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contains the Liquid hydrogen fuel and Liquid oxygen Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2 is the Liquid state of the element Hydrogen. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Mission rules called for at least three of the four sensors to be in working order for a launch attempt to proceed. As a result of the failure, the Launch Director Doug Lyons postponed the launch, initially for 24 hours. This was later revised into a 72 hour delay, resulting in a next launch attempt set for Sunday December 9, 2007. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. This launch attempt was scrubbed when one of the ECO sensors again failed during fuelling.
The ECO sensors external connector was changed on the space shuttle external tank, causing a two month delay in the launch. Columbus was finally launched successfully on the third attempt at 2:45pm EST, February 7, 2008. Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Once at the station, Canadarm2 removed Columbus from the docked shuttle's cargo bay and attached it to the starboard hatch of Harmony (also known as Node 2), with the cylinder pointing outwards on February 11, 2008. The Mobile Servicing System (MSS better known by its primary component Canadarm2, is a Robotic system and associated equipment on the International Space Station Harmony, known prior as Node 2, is the "utility hub" of the International Space Station. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [4]
Research activities and payloads
Activities in the lab are on the ground by the Columbus Control Centre (at DLR Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany) and by the associated User Support Operations Centres throughout Europe. The Columbus Control Centre is the Mission Control Center which is used to control the European ''Columbus'' research laboratory which is part of the The German Aerospace Centre (DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the Municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany.
The laboratory can accommodate ten active International Standard Payload Racks (ISPRs) for science payloads. Agreements with NASA allocate to ESA 51% usage of the Columbus Laboratory. [5] ESA is thus allocated five active rack locations, with the other five being allocated to NASA. Four active rack locations are on the forward side of the deck, four on the aft side, and two are in overhead locations. Three of the deck racks are filled with life support and cooling systems. The remaining deck rack and the two remaining overhead racks are storage racks.
In addition, four external payloads can be attached outside the starboard cone. Each external payload is mounted on an adaptor able to accommodate small instruments and experiments totalling up to 230 kilograms (507 lb). [6]
The following European ISPRs have been initially installed inside Columbus:
- Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL)
- European Physiology Modules (EPM)
- Biolab
- European Drawer Rack (EDR)
- European Stowage Rack
The first external payloads were mounted on Columbus by crew members of the mission STS-122 mission. The Fluid Science Laboratory is a European (ESA's science payload designed for use in Columbus built by Alenia Aeronautica The European Physiology Modules ( EPM) is an International Standard Payload Rack for the Columbus Laboratory on board the Biolab is a single-rack multi-user science payload designed for use in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station. The European Drawer Rack (EDR is a multi-user facility planned for the International Space Station that accommodates a variety of science experiments The three payloads mounted are:
- European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF)
- Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR)
- MISSE-6 (NASA payload)
Planned additional external payload:
History
ESA's Board of Directors approved the Columbus program in 1985. From then on, numerous studies and proposals were made.
Initially the Columbus program included three flight configurations: a Man-tended Free-Flyer (MTFF) element serviced by the Hermes shuttle and flying periodically to the station for maintenance and reconfiguration, an Attached Pressurized Module (APM), and a Polar Platform (PPF). Hermes was a proposed mini-shuttle designed by the French Centre national d'études spatiales ( CNES) in 1975, and later by the European Space Agency For development cost saving and optimization of spares provisioning during the operational phase commonality was foreseen between the flight configurations and to the space station (e. g. same computers used for all three elements, video and comms units identical to station equipment).
When the complete phase C/D proposal (Fixed Price) was delivered end 1989 by the prime contractor MBB-ERNO it turned out that the costs were much higher than expected by ESA. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member
After several budget cuts (and cancellation of the CNES-led Hermes program), all that remained in the Columbus program was the APM, renamed to Columbus Orbital Facility (Note: later it was renamed to just Columbus being the present formal name); the polar platform was contracted separately with commonality to the French satellite HELIOS. The fr '''Centre National d'Études Spatiales''' ( CNES) is the French government Space agency (administratively a "public establishment of industrial and commercial Hermes was a proposed mini-shuttle designed by the French Centre national d'études spatiales ( CNES) in 1975, and later by the European Space Agency
When only the APM was left in the program there were not enough tasks for the two main contributors Germany and Italy represented by MBB-ERNO and Alenia respectively. Thales Alenia Space is the company born after Thales had bought the participation of Alcatel in the two Joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica As compromise the PICA (Pre Integrated Columbus APM) - Principle was invented meaning a split systems engineering responsibility where Alenia as a Co-prime is responsible for the overall Columbus configuration, the mechanical and thermal/life support systems, HFE and harness design/manufacturing whereas EADS Astrium Space Transportation is responsible for the overall Columbus design and all Avionics systems including electrical harness design and software. EADS Astrium Space Transportation was formed in June 2003 from the Space Infrastructure division of Astrium (whose core was originally ERNO) and the [7] Splitting off systems engineering responsibility and harness design under separate fixed-price contracts was found not to be advantageous with respect to efficiency and fast decision making as financial reasonings were pre-dominant in the last phase of development and verification.
On May 27, 2006 Columbus was flown from Bremen, Germany to Kennedy Space Center on board an Airbus Beluga. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Bremen (ˈbʁeːmən is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany (official name Stadtgemeinde Bremen / City Municipality of Bremen Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The John F Kennedy Space Center ( KSC) is the NASA Space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center ( Spaceport) on The Airbus A300-600ST ( S uper T ransporter or Beluga is a version of the standard A300-600 wide-body Airliner
The structure used is based on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, a module built for NASA by Thales Alenia Space. A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM is a large pressurized container used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program In 2000 the pre-integrated module (structure including harness and tubing) was delivered to Bremen in Germany by the Co-prime contractor Alenia. The final integration and system testing was performed by the overall prime contractor EADS Astrium Space Transportation, after that the initial Payload was integrated and the overall complement checked-out. EADS Astrium Space Transportation was formed in June 2003 from the Space Infrastructure division of Astrium (whose core was originally ERNO) and the
The final schedule was much longer than originally planned due to development problems (several caused by the complex responsibility splitting between the Co-prime and the Overall prime contractor) and design changes introduced by ESA but being affordable due to the Shuttle problems delaying the Columbus launch for several years. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member The main design change was the addition of the External Payload Facility (EPF), which was driven by the different European Payload organizations being more interested in outer space than internal experiments. Also the addition of a terminal for direct communications to/from ground, which could have been used also as back-up for the ISS system, was studied but not implemented for cost reasons.
Specifications
- Length: 7 m (23 ft)
- Diameter: 4. 5 m (15 ft)
- Total mass: 10,300 kg (22,708 lb)
- Total payload mass 2,500 kg (5,512 lb)
- Total on-orbit mass 12,800 kg (28,219 lb)
Notes
- ^ spaceflightnow.com
- ^ Space Shuttle Mission STS-122: The Voyage of Columbus. NASA.
- ^ Shuttle Launch Now Targeted For 2nd January (December 2007).
- ^ Node 2, Columbus, Japanese Experiment Module and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) installation animation. NASA (01. 26. 07).
- ^ Giuseppe Reibaldi et al. (May 2005). The ESA Payloads for Columbus – A bridge between the ISS and exploration. ESA. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member
- ^ Steve Feltham & Giacinto Gianfiglio (March 2002). ESA’s ISS External Payloads. ESA. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member
- ^ MBB-ERNO was renamed to Deutsche Aerospace then Daimler-Benz Aerospace then DaimlerChrysler Aerospace then Astrium then EADS SPACE Transportation and finally EADS Astrium Space Transportation
External links
- ESA: Columbus Laboratory
- ESA: Technical specifications of the Columbus Laboratory
- ESA: Columbus structure completed
- ESA's Columbus blog
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