Finalization Plans Being Prepared for Space Shuttle Atlantis
NASA is meeting tomorrow, December 27, 2007, in order to finalize their repair fuel gauges on the Atlantis Space Shuttle which has been cancelled until January 10, 2007. Mission STS-122 has been cancelled twice so far in early December, postponing the delivery of the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory which was to deliver the latest high technology research module. Science capabilities of the space station will expand once this mission is able to be completed, and will be Europe’s largest contribution to the International Space Station’s construction.
The laboratory’s measurement–23 feet long and 15 feet in diameter–will involve a module that is able to contain experiments in life sciences, materials science, fluid physics, along with other disciplines. But the Columbus module is not the only one that is involved, but also the Atlantis Space Shuttle will deliver many experiments that will be performed in orbit with two ESA astronauts.
The importance of the Columbus Laboratory is that it is the first European laboratory that is dedicated to long-term research in space, offering an enormous boost to the current available European experiment facilities in weightlessness, and also to the ISS’s research capabilities once it actually is launched and becomes an integral part of the ISS. Supported by ESA’s Columbus Control Center, or the Col-CC, the laboratory will receive its support by a center which is situated at the German Aerospace Center in Oberpffaffenhofen–near Munich, Germany.
A direct link to the orbiting Columbus Laboratory once it is attached onboard the ISS, the main functions will be to command and control the laboratory systems of the Columbus Laboratory. Launch details for the payload of the ESA Columbus science laboratory is scheduled for January 10, 2008 and is scheduled as the 24th United States mission to the International Space Station. The center will then provide a safe and comfortable environment for the astronauts involved to work, and to provide payload facilities to have the necessary system support to function properly.
Safety and support involves the monitoring and configuring of the laboratory–all by remote command–which involves the life support systems which maintain adequate air quality, a power supply for experiment facilities, and a specific system for the removal of heat from the experiment facilities.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Space Agency News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
