Columbus (ISS module)

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Computer generated model of Columbus on the station

Columbus at Kennedy Space Center

Columbus is a science laboratory designed to be a part of the International Space Station (ISS). It is the biggest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA). Columbus was constructed in Europe and then flown to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on a large cargo plane. Launch is set for 2007 on Space Shuttle flight STS-122. Columbus is designed for ten years of operation.

1 Construction
2 Description
3 Launch Status and Next Steps
4 Research activities and payloads
5 History
6 Specifications
7 External links

[edit] Construction

ESA chose EADS Astrium Space Transportation as prime contractor for Columbus. The lab was integrated at its facilities in Bremen, Germany. 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 built by Alcatel Alenia Space in Turin, Italy.

[edit] Description

The laboratory is a cylindrical module with two end cones. It is approximately 4.5 meters in diameter and almost 7 meters long. 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. The starboard end cone contains most of the laboratory's on-board computers. The port end cone contains the hatch.

[edit] Launch Status and Next Steps

Columbus is scheduled to launch on ISS assembly flight 1E. It is currently at the KSC Space Station Processing Facility. Sometime in March or April of 2007, about 6 months before launch, Columbus will undergo a final health check, after which NASA will begin integration of the module into the cargo bay of the Discovery orbiter.^[1]

Once at the station, the SSRMS will remove Columbus from the docked shuttle's cargo bay and attach it to the starboard hatch of Harmony (formerly known as Node 2), with the cylinder pointing outwards.^[2]

[edit] Research activities and payloads

Once Columbus is operational, activities in the lab will be coordinated on the ground by the Columbus Control Centre (at DLR Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany) and by the associated User Support Operations Centres throughout Europe.

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.^[3] 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 227 kg.^[4]

The following ISPRs will be initially installed inside Columbus:

The first external payloads mounted on Columbus on-orbit are:

European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF)
Solar Monitoring Observatory (SMO)
Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES)
SPOrt (Sky Polarisation Observatory)

[edit] 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 3 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). 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.

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.

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. As compromise the PICA - Principle was invented meaning that Alenia as a Co-prime is responsible for the overall Columbus configuration and the mechanical and thermal/life support systems whereas EADS Astrium Space Transportation is responsible for the overall Columbus and all Avionics systems and software (Note: the company 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).

The structure used is based on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, a module built for NASA by Alcatel Alenia Space. 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.

Loading of Columbus at the Bremen airport

On May 27, 2006 Columbus was flown from Bremen to Kennedy Space Center on board an Airbus Beluga.

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 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.

[edit] Specifications

Length: 6.871 m
Diameter: 4.487 m
Launch mass (with 2500 kg payload): 12800 kg
Total on-orbit mass (incl 10500 kg payload): 19300 kg

[edit] External links

^ Thirkettle, Alan; Bernardo Patti (August 2006). Columbus Begins its Voyage of Discovery. esa bulletin 127. ESA.
^ See "Node 2, Columbus, Japanese Experiment Module and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) installation animation" available at [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_msb_012607.html Expedition 14 Mission Status Briefing Materials], dated 01.26.07.
^ Giuseppe Reibaldi et al. (May 2005). The ESA Payloads for Columbus – A bridge between the ISS and exploration. ESA.
^ Steve Feltham & Giacinto Gianfiglio (March 2002). ESA’s ISS External Payloads. ESA.