"6_10_7_4_11.TXT" (10982 bytes) was created on 08-11-89 INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS Canada At the "Shamrock Summit" in March 1986, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Reagan agreed to meaningful, visible Canadian participation in the space station program. Canada intends to commit $1.2 billion on the program through the year 2000. Canada will provide the Mobile Servicing Center (MSC) for Space Station Freedom. Together with a U.S. provided, rail-mounted, mobile transporter, which will move along the truss, the MSC and the transporter comprise the Mobile Servicing System (MSS). The MSS will play the main role in Space Station Freedom's assembly and maintenance, moving equipment and supplies around the station, releasing and capturing satellites, supporting EVA activities, and servicing instruments and other payloads attached to the station. It will also be used for docking the Shuttle Orbiter to the station and then loading and unloading materials from its cargo bay. NASA considers the MSC as part of the station's critical path; an indespensible component in the assembly, performance and operation of Space Station Freedom. The Mobile Servicing Center will be the next generation of Canadarm, currently being used on the Shuttle Orbiter. The MSC will be about the same size but will be about three times as strong. The arm will be 17.6m (58 feet) long with a payload capacity of 100,000kg (110 tons). It will be voice controlled and utilize artificial intelligence. On-board cameras will provide the system with the visual data needed to recognize, automatically track, and handle a variety of objects. A separate smaller robot, called the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), will have two arms, each two meters long, for more delicate jobs such as working on electrical circuits, fuel lines, and cooling systems. The SPDM will have exceptional mechanical dexterity and will be able to work alone or as a companion to the MSC. It will contain tactile sensors for "feeling" surfaces and carry a set of tools to enable it to perform many functions. The MSC itself will consist of a remote manipulator system with special purpose dextrous manipulators, end-effectors, and servicing tools. This base structure will handle assembly, servicing, payloads, orbital replacement units, utilities, and thermal control. Crew-members can operate the MSC from internal and external control stations. In space, Canada will supply the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, the MSS Maintenance Depot (MMD), the special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), MSS work and control stations, a power management and distribution system and a data management system. On the ground, Canada will build a Manipulator Development and Simulation Facility (MDSF) and a mission operations facility and equipment. Besides the creation and operation of hardware systems for the MSC, involving advanced technology, Canadian industry--especially the non-aerospace companies-- plans to make use of the weightless environment of space for the development of commercial products. The user development program will enable Canada to capture its share of the large anticipated market for products developed on Space Station Freedom. Project management is handled by the Canadian Space Agency. INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS European Space Agency (ESA) Columbus is the name of ESA's program to develop the three elements representing Europe's contribution to the space station. The Columbus philosophy aims at providing an in orbit and ground infrastructure compatible with European and international user needs from the mid-1990's onwards. The program also provides Europe, through international cooperation, with expertise in manned, man-assisted and fully automatic space operations, as a basis for future autonomous missions. The program also aims to ensure the establishment within Europe of the key technologies required for these various types of space flights. In this respect, the development of the Columbus space elements and associated ground infrastructure is closely linked to that of other ESA programs such as Ariane 5, Hermes and the European Data Relay Satellite. The concept of Columbus was studied in the early 1980s as a followup to the successful Spacelab. The design, definition, and technology preparation phase was completed at the end of 1987. The development phase is planned over a duration of ten years (1988-1998) and will be completed by the initial launch of the following three elements: Columbus Attached Laboratory This laboratory which will be permanently attached to the station's manned base. It has a diameter of about 4m (13 feet), and will be used primarily for Materials Sciences, Fluid Physics and compatible Life Sciences missions. The internal architecture of the laboratory provides a "shirt sleeve" environment for the crew. The subsystems required to sustain the laboratory functions and to provide the necessary payload services and crew life support are accommodated under the floor and in standard equipment racks. All subfloor subsystem equipment and the standard racks can be exchanged on-orbit. Two viewports for external viewing and a scientific airlock for small experiments requiring exposure to the vacuum of space are provided. The Columbus Attached Laboratory will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on a dedicated Shuttle flight, removed from the Shuttle Orbiter payload bay and berthed at Space Station Freedom's manned base. Columbus Free Flying Laboratory This laboratory, also called the Free Flyer, will be operated in a microgravity optimized orbit with 28.5o inclination, centered on the altitude of Space Station Freedom. It will accommodate automatic and remotely controlled payloads, primarily from the materials sciences and technology disciplines, together with its initial payload, and will be launched by an Ariane 5 from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana. It consists of a 2-segment pressurized module for the accommodation of payloads, and an unpressurized resource module which provides the main utilities and services required by the Free Flyer and its payloads. It is about 12m (40 ft) long and 4.4 m (14 ft) in diameter and weighs about 20,000 kg (44,000 lbs.) It will be routinely serviced in orbit by Hermes at approximately 6-month intervals. Initially this servicing will be performed at Space Station Freedom, which the Free Flyer will also visit every 3-4 years for major external maintenance events. Columbus Polar Platform The unmanned Polar Platform will be stationed in a highly inclined sun synchronous polar orbit with a morning descending node and will be used primarily for Earth observation missions. The platform is planned to operate in conjunction with one or more additional platforms provided by NASA and/or other international partners, and will accommodate European and internationally provided payloads. The platform is not serviceable and is designed to operate over a minimum of a four year lifetime. The platform will accommodate between 1700 kg (773 lbs) and 2300kg (1045 lbs) of ESA and internationally provided payloads. INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS Japan Japan initiated its space station program in 1985 in response to the United State's invitation to join the program. The Space Activities Commission's (SAC) Ad Hoc Committee on the Space Station concluded that Japan should take part in the phase B study of the program with its own experimental module. On the basis of the committee's conclusion, the Science and Technology Agency (STA) concluded the phase B memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NASA. Under the supervision of STA, the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), which is a quasigovernmental organization responsible for developing and implementing Japanese space activities, began the detailed definition and the preliminary design of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), which will be attached to the international space station. The JEM is a multipurpose laboratory and consists of a pressurized module, an exposed facility and an experiment logistics module. Pressurized Module (PM) The PM is an approximately 10 meter long tubular cylinder with an internal diameter of approximately 140 cubic meters. It has a pressurized volume of approximately 140 cubic meters. The PM can accommodate 23 equivalent standard racks. Materials processing experiments and life science experiments will be performed in the PM. The PM will also accommodate the capabilities of controlling and monitoring the experiments on the EF. Exposed Facility (EF) The EF is a box type working station composed of EF-1 and EF-2, both of which are connected by berthing mechanisms. Each part is 4 meters in length, 2.5 meters in height and 1.4 meters in width. It will be connected to the PM by a berthing mechanism, and can be mechanically disconnected on orbit. Some kinds of activities on the EF, such as an exchange of experimental equipment and materials and construction of large structures in space will require frequent crew access. However, by employing a local manipulator and an equipment airlock, both operated within the PM, this access can partially be accomplished while minimizing extravehicular activity. Scientific observation, communication experiments, scientific/engineering, and materials experiments will be conducted on the EF. Experiment Logistics Module (ELM) The ELM provides on-orbit storage volume and can transport JEM logistics supplies such as experiment specimens, gases and fluids, equipment for configuration change, and space parts for maintenance. The ELM will consist of two sections: a pressurized section and an exposed section. The pressurized section will store and transport JEM logistic supplies in a pressurized environment and have crew evacuation provisions for emergencies. It is designed to have a pressurized volume of approximately 40 cubic meters. It will provide crew survival conditions during emergency evacuation for rescue. The exposed section will store and transport JEM logistic supplies in an unpressurized environment. The JEM will be launched on two Shuttle flights. The first flight will transport the PM and EF-1. The second flight will bring up the EF-2 and ELM. Heading toward the space station era, Japan is promoting many space experiments. As to the Space Shuttle/Spacelab program, Japan is preparing the First Materials Processing Test (FMPT) project planned in 1991 and is participating in the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML) program. The Space Flyer Unit (SFU) is also being developed as a joint program among the Institute of Space and Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), STA/NASDA and Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) aiming at the launch in 1993. Many governmental agencies, universities and private companies are also promoting basic research and research support for space utilization in Japan.