The Science Power Platform (SPP; russian: Научно-Энергетическая Платформа, ''Sci-Energy Platform'', also known by Russian initialism NEP) was a planned

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n element of the

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

(ISS) that was intended to be delivered to the ISS by a Russian

Proton rocket Proton (Russian: Протон) (formal designation: UR-500) is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965. Modern versions of the launch system are sti ...

Zenit rocket Zenit ( uk, Зеніт, russian: Зени́т; meaning ''Zenith'') is a family of space launch vehicles designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipro, Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Zenit was originally built in the 1980s ...

(it was originally designed to be part of

Mir-2 ''Mir''-2 was a Soviet space station project which began in February 1976. Some of the modules built for ''Mir''-2 have been incorporated into the International Space Station (ISS). The project underwent many changes, but was always based o ...

) but was shifted to launch by

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

as part as a tradeoff agreement on other parts of the ISS.

History

It would have provided additional power for the ISS as well as roll axis control capability for the orbital facility. If the Science Power Platform had been delivered to the ISS, it would have been attached to the zenith port of ''Zvezda'', a position currently occupied by ''Poisk''. The SPP would have had eight solar arrays and a robotic arm provided 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 (1205 ...

(ESA) dedicated to maintaining the SPP. The SPP's robotic arm (

European Robotic Arm The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is a robotic arm that is attached the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) of the International Space Station. Launched to the ISS in July 2021; it is the first robotic arm that is able to work on the Russian Segment of ...

) was still added and is currently a part of the station, and launched together with the Russian ''Nauka'' Multipurpose Laboratory Module on 21 July 2021, after many delays. An agreement was reached in March 2006 by the Russians and NASA in order to provide part of the power the Russian segments need from the four American solar arrays. Originally the SPP should have made the power supply of the four Russian modules independent from the power supply of the rest of the station. The already-made pressurised hull of a static test article for this component is now being used for the Russian Mini Research Module 1, which launched on

STS-132 STS-132 ( ISS assembly flight ULF4) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' docked with the International Space Station on 16 May 2010. STS-132 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 14 May 2010. The prima ...

in 2010. ''Rassvet'' is docked to the ''Zarya'' nadir port. RKK Energia, the manufacturer of the

Russian Orbital Segment The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed in Russia and operated by the Russian Roscosmos. The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the entire Station. ...

components, has proposed something similar to the original ISS plan with the addition of a nodal module (with six docking ports) and two additional science/energy modules called Science Power Module 1 and 2 to the segment around 2013-2015. The Science Power Modules would perform similar functions and would have

solar array A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and ...

s similar to the SPP, but unlike it the truss structure would be much smaller. As of 2021, the Science Power Module(s) (unknown whether one or two modules) is still being considered, but nothing has been launched. The nodal module, named ''Prichal'', docked to the ISS on November 26, 2021.

References

{{ISS modules Russian components of the International Space Station Cancelled spacecraft