''Columbus'' is a science laboratory that is part 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 ( ...
(ISS) and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
(ESA).
Like the ''
Harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howeve ...
'' and ''
Tranquility
Tranquillity (also spelled tranquility) is the quality or state of being tranquil; that is, calm, serene, and worry-free. The word tranquillity appears in numerous texts ranging from the religious writings of Buddhism, where the term ''passaddhi'' ...
'' modules, the ''Columbus'' laboratory was constructed in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
by
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufactur ...
. The functional equipment and software of the lab was designed by
EADS
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
in
Bremen
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. It was also integrated in Bremen before being flown to the
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 196 ...
(KSC) in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
in an
Airbus Beluga. It was launched aboard on February 7, 2008, on flight
STS-122. It is designed for ten years of operation. The module is controlled by the
Columbus Control Centre, located at the
German Space Operations Center
The German Space Operations Center (GSOC; german: Deutsches Raumfahrt-Kontrollzentrum) is the mission control center of German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany.
Tasks
The GSOC performs the following tasks ...
, part of the
German Aerospace Center in
Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen is a village that is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is located about from the city center of Munich.
Village
The village is home to the Oberpfaffenhofen Airport and ...
near
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
, Germany.
The European Space Agency has spent
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
1.4 billion (about
US$2 billion) on building ''Columbus'', including the experiments it carries and the ground control infrastructure necessary to operate them.
History
The structure used for ''Columbus'' is based on the
MPLM module built for
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 ...
by Thales 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.
On May 27, 2006 ''Columbus'' was flown from
Bremen
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...
, Germany to
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 196 ...
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.
Construction
ESA chose
EADS Astrium Space Transportation as prime contractor for ''Columbus'' overall design, verification and integration. The ''Columbus'' 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 designed and qualified by
Alcatel Alenia Space in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
as defined by the PICA – Principle (for definition see History below); the related hardware was pre-integrated and sent as PICA in September 2001 to Bremen. The lab was built and qualified on system level at the EADS Astrium Space Transportation facilities in
Bremen
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...
, Germany, from where it was sent to NASA.
Launch, berthing and outfitting
In November 2007, ''Columbus'' was moved out of the KSC
Space Station Processing Facility, and installed into the payload bay of the ''Atlantis'' orbiter for launch on ISS assembly flight 1E (
STS-122).
STS-122 launch delays
During cryo-filling of the
Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) with
liquid hydrogen
Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form.
To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point of 33 K. However, for it to be in a fully l ...
and
liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an app ...
prior to the first launch attempt on December 6, 2007, two of four LH2 ECO sensors failed a test. Mission rules called for at least three of the four sensors to be in working order for a launch attempt to proceed. As a result of the failure, the Launch Director Doug Lyons postponed the launch, initially for 24 hours. This was later revised into a 72-hour delay, resulting in a next launch attempt set for Sunday December 9, 2007. This launch attempt was scrubbed when one of the ECO sensors again failed during fuelling.
The ECO sensors' external connector was changed on the Space Shuttle external tank, causing a two-month delay in the launch. ''Columbus'' was finally launched successfully on the third attempt at 2:45pm EST, February 7, 2008.
Berthing
Once at the station,
Canadarm2
The Mobile Servicing System (MSS), is a robotic system on board the International Space Station (ISS). Launched to the ISS in 2001, it plays a key role in station assembly and maintenance; it moves equipment and supplies around the station, su ...
removed ''Columbus'' from the docked shuttle's cargo bay
and attached it to the starboard hatch of ''
Harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howeve ...
'' (also known as Node 2),
with the cylinder pointing outwards on February 11, 2008.
Description
The laboratory is a cylindrical module, made from stainless steel, kevlar and hardened aluminum, with two end cones. It is in external diameter and in overall length, excluding the projecting external experiment racks. Its shape is very similar to that of the
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) is a large pressurized container that was used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Two MPLMs made a dozen trips in the Shuttle cargo bay and init ...
s (MPLMs),
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
Common Berthing Mechanism.
Specifications
* Length:
* Diameter:
* Total mass:
* Total payload mass
* Total on-orbit mass
* Construction details:
** Wall thickness 4mm
** welded end cones
[
** materials : Stainless steel, kevlar, aluminium
]
Research activities and payloads
Activities in the lab are controlled on the ground by the Columbus Control Center
The Columbus Control Centre also known by its radio callsign, Mission Control Munich, is the mission control centre which is used to control the ''Columbus'' research laboratory, which is part of the International Space Station (ISS). The contr ...
(at DLR Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen is a village that is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is located about from the city center of Munich.
Village
The village is home to the Oberpfaffenhofen Airport and ...
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.
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 un-pressurized payload platforms can be attached outside the starboard cone, on the ''Columbus'' External Payload Facility (CEPF). Each external payload is mounted on an adaptor able to accommodate small instruments and experiments totalling up to .
The following European ISPRs have been initially installed inside ''Columbus'':
* Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL)
* European Physiology Modules (EPM)
* Biolab
* European Drawer Rack (EDR)
* European Stowage Rack
The first external payloads were mounted on ''Columbus'' by crew members of the mission STS-122 mission. The three payloads mounted are:
* European Technology Exposure Facility
The European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) was a payload mounted on the exterior of the European ''Columbus'' laboratory, one of the modules of the International Space Station. The facility, mounted onto the exterior of ''Columbus'', provid ...
(EuTEF) platform, which accommodates nine instruments: TRIBOLAB, PLEGPAY, MEDET, EUFIDE, DEBIE-2, FIPEX, EUTEMP, EXPOSE, DOSTEL, and the Earth Viewing Camera.
* Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR)
* MISSE-6 (NASA payload)
Planned additional external payloads:
* Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space
''Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space'' (ACES) is a project led by the European Space Agency which will place ultra-stable atomic clocks on the International Space Station. Operation in the microgravity environment of the ISS will provide a stable and a ...
(ACES)
* EXPORT
An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...
* Atmosphere-Space Interaction Monitor
Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) is a project led by the European Space Agency to place cameras and X-ray/ γ-ray detectors on the International Space Station to observe the upper atmosphere in order to study sprites, jets and elves a ...
(ASIM)
* European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS) Communications Terminal, Ka-band
In 2014 the ISS-RapidScat instrument was installed, which was operated until late 2016. ISS-RapidScat was transported to ISS by the SpaceX CRS-4
SpaceX CRS-4, also known as SpX-4, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS), contracted to NASA, which was launched on 21 September 2014 and arrived at the space station on 23 September 2014. It was t ...
spaceflight.
See also
* European Transportation Carrier (ISS Facility) (ETC)
* Columbus – External Payload Facility (Columbus-EPF)
* Bartolomeo facility
References
External links
ESA: ''Columbus'' Laboratory
ESA: Technical specifications of the ''Columbus'' Laboratory
ESA: ''Columbus'' structure completed
*
{{Use British English, date=January 2014
Components of the International Space Station
Spacecraft launched in 2008
Laboratories
Spacecraft launched by the Space Shuttle