The Centrifuge Accommodations Module (CAM) is a cancelled element of the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

. Although the module was planned to contain several parts, the

centrifuge A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or ...

still was considered the most important capability of the module.

History

The centrifuge would have provided controlled acceleration rates ( artificial gravity) for experiments and the capability to: *Expose a variety of biological specimens that are less than tall to artificial gravity levels between 0.01g and 2g. *Simultaneously provide two different artificial gravity levels. *Provide partial g and hyper g environment for specimens to investigate altered gravity effects and g-thresholds. *Provide short duration and partial g and hyper g environment for specimens to investigate temporal effects of gravity exposure. *Provide

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

simulation environment on ISS to isolate

microgravity The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms '' weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the ...

effects on specimens. *Provide Earth simulation environment on ISS to allow specimens to recover from microgravity effects. *Provide

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

1g controls for specimens in micro-gravity. Centrifuge (ISS) in TKSC-01

It was built by

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

's predecessor,

NASDA The , or NASDA, was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture, ...

, but owned by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

, who obtained ownership of the CAM by trading in a free launch of the

Japanese Experiment Module Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Kibo to the Station. The CAM flight model along with the engineering model of the centrifuge rotor were manufactured. The CAM would have been attached to the zenith port on the Harmony module of the ISS. It was cancelled in 2005 alongside the Habitation Module and the

Crew Return Vehicle The Crew Return Vehicle (CRV), sometimes referred to as the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV), was a proposed dedicated lifeboat or escape module for the International Space Station (ISS). A number of different vehicles and designs were consider ...

, because of ISS cost overruns and scheduling problems in Shuttle assembly flights. It is now on display in an outdoor exhibit at the Tsukuba Space Center in Japan.CAM Location
Japan Map's satellite image, Yahoo!

References

External

Centrifuge
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) {{Use American English, date=January 2014 Centrifuges Cancelled spacecraft Components of the International Space Station

History

See also

References

External