FLUG REVUE July 2006: Columbus module for ISS arrives at the Cape

July 2006

COLUMBUS-MODULE HANDED OVER

By Matthias Gründer

On time and at the agreed fixed-price of 880 million euro, the European science laboratory was completed at EADS SPACE Transportation in Bremen and handed over to ESA. It has already been transported to the launchpad in Florida.

Columbus module

The laboratory module has already travelled several thousand kilometres of its journey – from Bremen to the Kennedy Space Centre in the USA, onboard an Airbus Beluga transport aircraft. At the end of 2007 it will then embark on the final leg of its long journey when it is transported on board a space shuttle for the last 400 km into altitude. When it docks on to the International Space Station, this will be the culmination of a chequered history lasting over 20 years and will signify the start of a 10-year projected lifespan of practical research work.

It was back in 1984 that the then US President Reagan invited ESA to take part in the construction of the American space station. The Europeans went on to design the Attached Pressurised Module (APM) laboratory module, the Man-tended Free Flyer (MTFF) manned laboratory and the unmanned Polar Platform (PPF), which were named, respectively, Castor, Pollux and Helena in 1988. The European space shuttle Hermes planned at that time was supposed to serve as launch vehicle, but when the Americans renamed the space station Freedom in 1989, the Europeans decided to change the name of its components to Columbus.

Meanwhile, due to steadily worsening financial and technical problems, Freedom became smaller and smaller on paper rather than assuming a concrete form. Moreover in September 1993, somewhat surprisingly, the USA and Russia signed the contract for the construction of the International Space Station, which left open the possibility of other states and/or organisations coming on board the project. Due to its own serious financial problems, ESA decided not to proceed with the MTFF/Columbus Free Flying Laboratory, transformed the PPF/Columbus Polar Platform into the Earth exploration satellite Envisat, and ESA's contribution to the ISS now became a much reduced APM which was given the name of Columbus Orbital Facility (COF).

In 1996 ESA then placed a contract with EADS SPACE Transportation for the system development and integration of the Columbus laboratory, the central European contribution to the multi-national construction site known as the International Space Station. €880 million was agreed as the fixed price. The prime contractor was to pass on over 60 percent of this sum in the form of subcontracts to partner companies and small and medium-sized enterprises throughout Europe.

Alcatel Alenia Space of Turin, Italy built the outer hull, not least on account of earlier experience in the construction of the Multi-Purpose Logistic Modules (MPLM) which had already flown to and from the ISS several times on board space shuttles. In September 2001, the multi-million “tin can” arrived in Bremen where the laboratory was fitted out and all the system tests were carried out. The power supply, the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), the video equipment, the Data Management System (DMS) computer network and the external protective hull, the Debris Protection System, have all been installed.

It has not always been plain sailing, as one would expect of such a highly complicated module. Thus, for example, one of the problems was defective wiring which had to be replaced, costing time and money which were borne entirely by the manufacturer since, due to the agreed fixed price, the spiralling costs could not be passed on to ESA. Nevertheless, in the summer of 2003, following successful completion of the Columbus Design Qualification Review, ESA and NASA declared the laboratory airworthy.

When the planned launch of Columbus was significantly delayed due to the Columbia catastrophe, the specialists in Bremen used the time gained to carry out additional tests and integration work. This included the installation of external payloads on the external platform or “balcony”, the installation and expansion of the US Human Research Facility (HRF) experiment rack and two end-to-end system validation tests. In the course of this work, the data and communication links between Columbus and the mission control centres of Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany and Houston, Texas, were successfully tested in real time.

Building on the experience accumulated by the European space industry and astronauts since the 1970s in connection with the construction and operation of the Spacelab space laboratory, the eight metre long and four and a half metre diameter Columbus laboratory was equipped with ten International Standard Payload Racks (ISPRs) accommodating a wide variety of experimental equipment. These are to be supplemented by three system racks for the water and power supplies plus three storage racks to hold materials. The free space which will then be available is sufficient for three crew members to simultaneously conduct scientific research in zero gravity.

The first experimental system to be installed was the Biolab, a facility that will be used to conduct experiments with cells, tissue cultures and micro-organisms through to small plants and invertebrates. The Biolab was followed by the European Drawer Rack experimental platform, the European Physiology Module and the Fluid Science Lab. Later, once the laboratory is in orbit, the Protein Crystallisation and Diagnostic Facility, the Advanced Protein Crystallisation Facility and the Cardiolab for medical investigations will be added.

In parallel to the integration phase, Columbus trainers have been developed and built for the purpose of training the astronauts. The first of these trainers has been in use in the European Astronauts Centre (EAC) in Cologne since September 2002, while the second was delivered to NASA's astronaut training centre in Houston at the beginning of July 2003. EADS SPACE Transportation is still responsible for system training of the astronauts on the module, including the ATV shuttle to be deployed in the future.

Columbus's “brain” is the Data Management System (DMS), a failsafe computer network that was largely developed by EADS. Such a DMS has already been successfully deployed on board the Russian Zvezda service module, another part of the space station, since July 2000. Onboard Columbus it monitors the thermal system, the communication and life support systems and the power supply amongst other things. It also contains telemetry and telecommand interfaces via which Earth-bound specialists can monitor the laboratory functions and intervene as necessary.

To operate and use the European part of the International Space Station, in March 2005 EADS SPACE Transportation and Alcatel Alenia Space founded the joint venture company EURISS, in which the two companies hold respectively 75% and 25% of the shares, to mediate between ESA and the participating national industries. All that remains now is for the module to be launched.

From page 72 of FLUG REVUE 7/2006

Last updated 8 June 2006

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