Back to the News Index

Defintions/Terms

Copyright © 2001 International Space Station Guide

ISS News & Mission: STS-105 (ISS-7A.1 MPLM) & ISS-3 Crew Development Events of the MPLM

Mission Overview

The Crew: Commander: Scott J. Horowitz Pilot: Frederick (Rick) W. Sturckow Mission Specialist: Patrick G. Forrester Mission Specialist: Daniel T. Barry Delivering ISS-3 Crew - ISS-3 Commander: Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. ISS-3 Flight Engineer: Mikhail Tyurin ISS-3 Flight Engineer: Vladimir N. Dezhurov Returning ISS-2 Crew - ISS-2 Commander: Yury V. Usachev ISS-2 Flight Engineer: James S. Voss ISS-2 Flight Engineer: Susan J. Helms

Major Mission Goals: Deliver ISS-3 crew Return ISS-2 crew MPLM delivers last racks to fully outfit the US Lab module EVA's preparing for next assembly mission, early Ammonia servicer, MISSE exposure cases, power cables Orbital reboost Delivery of parts & supplies including a replacement SM treadmill motor

ISS-2, 3, and STS-105 crews in the US Lab

STS-105 Brief Mission Plan The STS-105/7A.1 mission was to deliver the ISS-3 crew and return the ISS-2 and perform resupply of the station using the MPLM module. Two EVA's will be carried out to install an external experiment and install equipment to prepare for th next assembly mission. The 7A.1 mission also carries the final equipment racks to fully equip the US Lab module for research. Launch of Discovery was in doubt the week of the launch when cracks were discovered on a gas injector on a SRB Hydraulic Power Unit used in 1997. A quick inspected of 37 other HPU gas injectors showed no problems and Discovery was cleared for launch. Unfortunately weather prevented the first launch attempt, but Discovery launched on its second attempt. This is MPLM Leonardo's second flight and the first re-flight of an MPLM. Day 1 - Launch Day 2 - Rendezvous preparations Day 3 - Docking & hatch opening, crews meet Day 4 - ISS-2 & 3 exchange, MPLM docking Day 5 - Cargo transfers and continued ISS-2 & 3 crew exchange Day 6 - EVA preparation and space suit assembly, Cargo transfers Day 7 - EVA #1 from shuttle airlock, Cargo transfers Day 8 - Orbital reboost, Cargo transfers Day 9 - EVA #2, Cargo transfers Day 10 - MPLM undocking Day 11 - Shuttle undocking, Simplesat deploy Day 12 - Landing Preparations Day 13 - Landing The MPLM For a detailed development events list for the MPLM, see MPLM Development. For a general description of the MPLM see MPLM component. The MPLM, a reusable logistics carrier, will be the primary delivery system used to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. It is one of Italy's major contributions to the International Space Station Program. The cylindrical module is approximately 21 feet long and 15 feet in diameter, weighting almost 4.5 tons excluding its capability to hold up to 20,000 pounds of contents. Launched in the Space Shuttle's payload bay, it will be docked to the International Space Station once on orbit. It will transport supplies, science experiments, spare parts and other logistical components to the International Space Station. The MPLM was an element planned in the Space Station Freedom design and carried through the Alpha and ISS designs. The MPLM is required deliver the standard sized racks of equipment to the US, European and Japanese modules of the space station. The shuttle's hatchways are too small for the standard rack design, and after the addition of Russia to the ISS and use of the APAS-89 docking system also is too small to allow racks to pass between the shuttle and ISS. This also means that standard racks can't be moved to the Russian segment of the ISS because they would have to pass into the FGB which also uses the APAS-89 docking system. So MPLM's are attached to the ISS modules directly to transfer racks in and out of the ISS. Since the mission of the MPLM's is short, they are equipped with minimal life support systems with no back up systems since its considered a low probability that the systems will fail within several days in such a way to make the MPLM completely uninhabitable, perhaps uncomfortable at most. Three MPLM's have been constructed to service the ISS. The MPLM design was also reused in the ESA's Columbus Orbital Facility lab module to be added to the ISS in the future. The MPLM design also was adopted for US Nodes-2 and 3 which are being contributed by the ESA to the US station as payment for the launch of the COF lab module on the shuttle. The MPLM design is generally considered to be superior to the US Boeing designed modules like Node-1 and the US Lab. The MPLM should not be confused with the future Japanese provided Experiment Logistics Module which will be docked to the Japanese Kibo lab module. The MPLM for STS-105 contains: 4 Resupply Storage Rack's 6 Resupply Storage Platform's 2 Express Racks $ & 5 (for shuttle mid-deck locker size payloads) 1 Temporary Crew Quarters One Express rack is fully equipped with experiment apparatus, and the other has some support equipment but no experiments. Another rack position will be turned into a temporary crew quarters is intended to provide the third ISS crew member with reasonable living accommodations with adequate ventilation, radiation shielding and privacy similar to that which the Service Module provides with its 2 permanent crew quarters. Susan Helms on the ISS-2 crew built a makeshift crew quarters in the US Lab out of cargo bags and other odds and ends. The temporary crew quarters is only intended for use until a US habitation module is built and attached to the ISS. Currently its design is still undefined. Express Rack 4 weighs 1,175 pounds and Express Rack 5 weighs 1,200 pounds. The empty weight of each Express rack is about 785 pounds. Express Racks 1 and 2A were delivered aboard the Raffaello cargo module during STS-100/6A in April 2001. Express Rack 3 is scheduled to be brought to the station during STS-111/UF-2 in 2002. The Resuppy Stowage Racks and Resupply Stowage Platforms are filled with Cargo Transfer Bags that contain equipment and supplies for the station. The six Resupply Stowage Racks contain almost 3,200 pounds of cargo and the four Resupply Stowage Platforms contain about 1,200 pounds of cargo, not including the weight of the Cargo Transfer Bags, the foam packing around the cargo or the straps and fences that hold the bags in place. The total weight of cargo, racks and packing material aboard Leonardo is just over 11,000 pounds. Total cargo weight is about 6,775 pounds. Leonardo's cargo includes equipment required for activation of the two new science racks, a variety of spare parts for station systems, and food and other supplies to support the Expedition Three crew. After the cargo is removed, the Resupply Stowage Racks and Resupply Stowage Platforms, which remain aboard Leonardo, will be filled with any unneeded station equipment and trash. Empty Cargo Transfer Bags and packing foam also will be loaded. Once filled, Leonardo will be detached from the station and put back into the shuttle's payload bay for the trip home. The MPLM's racks contain 200 bags to be transferred to the station totaling 6400 lb. including 1000 lb of food, and 1000 lb of crew supplies like clothes and hygiene items. 10 bags of water will be transferred, about 100 lb. each. 200 lb. of cargo on the shuttle mid-deck will be transferred to the station. In total, 1500 lb of equipment will be transferred outside the station including the Servicer. EVA's The 1411 lb. Early Ammonia Servicer module carries about 600 lb of ammonia in tanks with long pipes. It is only a backup to be used if there were a leak in the P6 and US Lab cooling systems. If there were a leak astronauts would have to patch the leak, and use the Early Ammonia servicer to recharge the system with ammonia to replace that which escaped in the leak. It will be attached to the P6 truss for future use and not attached to any station cooling systems. While not very complex, the 2 EVA's were required due to the lengthy time to install the cables for S0 truss contingency keep alive power on the next assembly mission. The MISSE are very similar to the MEEP's installed on Mir's docking module by STS-76. They are suit case size boxes carrying hundreds of material samples for exposure to the station environment. They will be returned ULF-1. A failed Russian 800 Amp hour battery, 2 Kurs, dirty clothes, used experiment hardware will be returned by the shuttle.

Discovery aproaches from below the station

Discovery's docking port (above) approaches the station

ISS Increment 3 Mission The ISS-3 crews mission will be focused on using the station for research, and not interrupted by the assembly flights and tasks of the previous ISS 2 crews. Aug. 19 Progress Launch carrying Russian provisions, temperature sensors, HDTV camera Aug. 20 Progress M1-6 Undock Aug. 23 Progress Docking Sept. 15 ISS 4R Docking Compartment 1 Launch Oct. 10 EVA#1 - Dezhurov & Tyurin, install Strela crane and EVA aids on the Docking Compartment Oct. 16. EVA #2 - Dezhurov & Tyurin, Space exposure experiment (funded by NASDA) install on Service module Oct. 19 Soyuz TM (205) Redocking from FGB to Docking Compartment Oct. 21 Soyuz Launch with Taxi crew of Anafsayev, Kozeyev, Claudie (Andre-Deshays) Haignere Oct. 23 Soyuz Docking to FGB Nadir port Oct. 31 Soyuz TM (205) Undocking & Landing Nov. 5 EVA#3 Dezhurov & Culbertson, Kurs install, Strela checkout, photo of folded Service Module array segment Nov. 12 Progress Launch Nov. ?? Progress Undocking Nov. 14 Progress Docking

ISS-3 crew in the FGB

Looking inside the MPLM through its hatch window

Transferring cargo bags

MPLM docking to UNity (Node-1)

Looking out the US Lab window

STS-105 Shuttle Cargo Bay Payloads: Materials International Space Station Experiments (MISSE) flies materials and other types of space exposure experiments on the space station. The objective is to develop early, low-cost, non-intrusive opportunities to conduct critical space exposure tests of space materials and components planned for use on future spacecraft. Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Glenn Research Center, the Materials Laboratory at the Air Force Research Laboratory and Boeing Phantom Works are participants with Langley in the project. The MISSE experiments will be the first externally mounted experiments conducted on the ISS. The experiments are in four Passive Experiment Containers (PECs) that were initially developed and used for an experiment on Mir in 1996 during the Shuttle-Mir Program. The PECs were transported to Mir on STS-76. After an 18-month exposure in space, they were retrieved on STS-86. Similar tests have been routine on Russian space stations in the past, and were flown on NASA's LDEF spacecraft in the 1980's. PECs are suitcase-like containers for transporting experiments via the space shuttle to and from an orbiting spacecraft. Once on orbit and clamped to the host spacecraft, the PECs are opened and serve as racks to expose experiments to the space environment. The first two MISSE PECs will be launched to the ISS on STS-105. Two more will be launched to the ISS about 18 months later. Examples of tests to be performed in MISSE include: New generations of solar cells with longer expected lifetimes to power satellites; advanced optical components planned for future Earth observational satellites; new, longer-lasting coatings that better control heat absorption and emissions and thereby the temperature of satellites; new concepts for lightweight shields to protect crews from energetic cosmic rays found in interplanetary space; and the effects of micrometeoroid impacts on materials planned for use in the development of ultra-light membrane structures for solar sails, large inflatable mirrors and lenses. New affordable materials will enable the development of advanced reusable launch systems and advanced spacecraft systems.

A complete guide to the Soviet manned space program from 1960 to 1990 Details & Order information

Sample of Chapter 5

Images from NASA

All material unless otherwise indicated is Copyright © 2001 International Space Station Guide all rights reserved. Please write for permission to use material. Additional material Copyright © as shown or supplied by NASA.

email:issguide@attbi.com