The Interim Control Module (ICM) is a
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, succeeding t ...
-constructed module designed to serve as a temporary "tug" for 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 ...
in case the
Zvezda service module was destroyed or not launched for an extended period of time.
It was derived from a formerly-classified Titan Launch Dispenser used to distribute reconnaissance satellites to different orbits. It would have been able to prolong the lifespan of the
Zarya module by providing equivalent propulsion capabilities to the Service Module, although not any of the other life support capabilities.
After the successful launch of Zvezda, ICM was placed in a caretaker status at NRL's Payload Processing Facility in Washington, D.C. Should it become necessary to complete and launch ICM, it was estimated that it would take between two and two-and-a-half years to do so.
Since the ICM was mothballed, a variety of new uses for it have been proposed. Most seriously, it was proposed for use as part of a robotic servicing mission for the
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...
, before the final Shuttle
servicing mission was approved. The ICM has also been suggested as an integral part of a new telescope based on
unused spy satellite hardware, and even for use in its original role in the event of removal 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. ...
of the ISS.
References
{{ISS modules
Components of the International Space Station