Manufacturing Of The International Space Station

The project to create the International Space Station required the utilization and/or construction of new and existing manufacturing facilities around the world, mostly in the United States and Europe. The agencies overseeing the manufacturing involved NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency. Hundreds of contractors working for the five space agencies were assigned the task of fabricating the modules, trusses, experiments and other hardware elements for the station.

The fact that the project involved the co-operation of sixteen countries working together created engineering challenges that had to be overcome: most notably the differences in language, culture and politics, but also engineering processes, management, measuring standards and communication; to ensure that all elements connect together and function according to plan. The ISS agreement program also called for the station components to be made highly durable and versatile — as it is intended to be used by astronauts indefinitely. A series of new engineering and manufacturing processes and equipment were developed, and shipments of steel, aluminium alloys and other materials were needed for the construction of the space station components.

History and planning

The project began as Space Station ''Freedom'', a US only effort, but was long delayed by funding and technical problems. Following the initial 1980's authorization (with an intended ten year construction period) by Ronald Reagan, the Station ''Freedom'' concept was designed and renamed in the 1990s to reduce costs and expand international involvement. In 1993, the United States and Russia agreed to merge their separate space station plans into a single facility integrating their respective modules and incorporating contributions from the European Space Agency and Japan. In later months, an international agreement board recruited several more space agencies and companies to collaborate to the project. The International Organization for Standardization played a crucial role in unifying and overcoming different engineering methods (such as measurements and units), languages, standards and techniques to ensure quality, engineering communication and logistical management across all manufacturing activities of the station components.

Engineering designs

Engineering diagrams of various elements of the ISS, with annotations of various parts and systems on each module.

Technical blueprints

File:ISS blueprint.png, Technical blueprint of components
File:Truss breakdown.png, Exploded view of truss sections
Image:01a Z1 Truss.jpg, Z1 Truss design
Image:05 SO Truss.jpg, S0 Truss design
File:06 S1 TrrussA.jpg, P1 / S1 Truss design
Image:07 P3 4 Truss.jpg, P3/4 / S3/4 Truss design
Image:08 P5 Truss.jpg, P5 / S5 Truss design
Image:02 P6.jpg, P6 / S6 Truss design
File:HRS.png, Radiator panels
File:11 LMC STS-126.jpg, External Stowage Platform 1
File:U.S. Laboratory Module Destiny.svg, ''Destiny'' lab
File:Quest Airlock (1).svg, ''Quest'' airlock (plan view)
File:Quest Airlock (2).svg, ''Quest'' airlock (isometric view)
File:Unity module.svg, Node 1
File:Harmony module with PMA-2.svg, Node 2
File:Cupola module.svg, ''Cupola''
File:Columbus module.svg, ''Columbus''
File:Pirs diagram.svg, ''Pirs''
File:Poisk Mini-Research Module 2.svg, ''Poisk''
File:MRM1 Rassvet.png, ''Rassvet''
File:Japanese Experiment Module Kibo.svg, Japanese Experiment Module
File:International Standard Payload Rack - Lockers.svg, Typical ISS rack
File:PMA-3 art.png, Pressurized Mating Adapters
File:Zvezda Diagram.jpg, ''Zvezda'' Service Module
File:Zarya (Sunrise) module.svg, ''Zarya'' FGB

Manufacturing Information and Processes

List of factories and manufacturing processes used in the construction and fabrication of the International Space Station modular components:

Decommissioned Components are shown in gray.

Transportation

Once manufactured or fabricated sufficiently, most of the space station elements were transported by aircraft (usually the Airbus Beluga or the Antonov An-124) to the Kennedy Space Center Space Station Processing Facility for final manufacturing stages, checks and launch processing. Some elements arrived by ship at Port Canaveral.

Each module for aircraft transport was safely housed in a custom-designed shipping container with foam insulation and an outer shell of sheet metal, to protect it from damage and the elements. At their respective European, Russian and Japanese factories, the modules were transported to their nearest airport by road in their containers, loaded into the cargo aircraft and were flown to Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility for unloading and final transfers to the SSPF and or the Operations and Checkout Building in the KSC industrial area. The American and Canadian-built components such as the US lab, Node 1, ''Quest'' airlock, truss and solar array segments, and the Canadarm-2 were either flown by the Aero Spacelines Super Guppy to KSC, or transported by road and rail.

After final stages of manufacturing, systems testing and launch checkout, all ISS components are loaded into a payload transfer container in the shape of the Space Shuttle payload bay. This container safely carries the component in its launch configuration until it is hoisted vertically at the launch pad gantry for transfer to the Space Shuttle orbiter for launch and in-orbit assembly of the International Space Station.

File:Columbus on a truck.jpg, ''Columbus'' entering the SSPF loading yard for launch processing
File:Columbus beluga.jpg, Airbus Beluga loading
File:Airbus Beluga - unloading Columbus at KSC.jpg, Unloading the ''Columbus'' module in its container at the shuttle landing facility
File:Columbus laboratory will be lifted onto a truck.jpg, Transportation container
File:Antonov An-124 - Volga Dnepr RA-82045 at Kennedy Space Center.jpg, Antonov An-124 arrives at KSC with the ''Kibo'' module from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
File:Rassvet arrives at KSC 4.jpg, The ''Rassvet'' module in its container at KSC being unloaded from the Antonov 124 inbound from Khrunichev
File:Tranquility arrives at the KSC.jpg, Node 3 being hoisted by cranes before loading onto truck
File:STS-130 Payload Canister 1.jpg, ISS payload transfer container
File:STS-98 payload U.S. Lab Destiny is moved into Atlantis' payload bay (KSC-01PP-0060).jpg, The US laboratory module being moved vertically from the payload transfer container to the Space Shuttle orbiter inside its installation structure

Pre-launch processing and last stages of manufacturing

With the exception of all but one Russian-built module — ''Rassvet'', all ISS components end up here at either one or both of these buildings at Kennedy Space Center.

Space Station Processing Facility

At the SSPF, ISS modules, trusses and solar arrays are prepped and made ready for launch. In this iconic building are two large 100,000 class clean work environment areas. Workers and engineers wear full non-contaminant clothing while working. Modules receive cleaning and polishing, and some areas are temporarily disassembled for the installation of cables, electrical systems and plumbing. Steel truss parts and module panels are assembled together with screws, bolts and connectors, some with insulation. In another area, shipments of spare materials are available for installation. International Standard Payload Rack frames are assembled and welded together, allowing the installation of instruments, machines and science experiment boxes to be fitted. Once racks are fully assembled, they are hoisted by a special manually operated robotic crane and carefully maneuvered into place inside the space station modules. Each rack weighs from 700 to 1,100 kg, and connect inside the module on special mounts with screws and latches.

Cargo bags for MPLM modules were filled with their cargo such as food packages, science experiments and other miscellaneous items on-site in the SSPF, and were loaded into the module by the same robotic crane and strapped in securely.

File:SSPF factory floor view with modules.jpg, Overview of the SSPF factory floor filled with space station modules
File:STS-129 ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 11.jpg, ExPRESS logistics carrier assembly
File:STS-130 Training Kathryn Hire takes a tour of the Tranquility module.jpg, Workers in protective clothing inspect and clean the interior of Node 3
File:Coupe-module-ISS.png, ISPR rack configuration in a typical module
File:STS-131 MPLM Leonardo preparations 2.jpg, Robotic crane arm loading cargo bags in an MPLM
File:STS-135 crew inspects the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module.jpg, Workers fitting and inspecting the rack mounts
File:STS131-Leonardo preparations4.jpg, Workers loading rack covers
File:STS131-leonardo-preparation1.jpg, ''Leonardo'' MPLM in its housing jig
File:Kibo ICS in KSC-01.jpg, Checking and testing the antenna
File:ISS columbus in SSPF.jpg, Columbus being hoisted to a manufacturing weigh stand
File:First system rack for the Destiny lab module.jpg, A rack being fitted in the ''Destiny'' laboratory
File:Japanese Experiment Module and its robotic arm in gold light in the SSPF.jpg, A worker assembles parts for the Japanese Experiment Module and its robotic arm

Operations and Checkout Building

Adjacent to the Space Station Processing Facility, the Operations and Checkout Building's spacecraft workshop is used for testing of the space station modules in a vacuum chamber to check for leaks which can be repaired on-site. Additionally, systems checking on various electrical elements and machines is conducted. Similar processing operations to the SSPF are conducted in this building if the SSPF area is full, or certain stages of preparation can only be done in the O&C.NASA.gov
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File:ISS Quest Airlock Module transported by NASA Super Guppy Turbine (KSC-00PP-1345).jpg, ''Quest'' airlock arriving at KSC on its way to the O&C building
File:ISS_US_lab.jpg, US lab
File:US lab O&C container.jpg, US lab unloaded from its container
File:O&C ISS lab vacuum chamber.jpg, US lab loading into vacuum chamber for testing
File:ISS US lab overhead crane.jpg, Overhead crane hoisting the US lab
File:ISS S0 truss in O&C.jpg, S0 Truss

See also

* Assembly of the International Space Station
* Origins of the International Space Station
* Space architecture
* Aerospace engineering
* Space manufacturing
* ''Space Station 3D'' – 2002 Canadian documentary

References

External links

ISS space agency websites

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Canadian Space Agency
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European Space Agency
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Centre national d'études spatiales (National Centre for Space Studies)
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German Aerospace Center
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Italian Space Agency
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Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
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Russian Federal Space Agency
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Manufacturer websites

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Boeing - International Space Station
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Thales Alenia Group
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Thales Aerospace UK
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MDA Space Missions
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Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
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Brazilian Space Agency
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Bigelow Aerospace
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{{ISS modules

International Space Station
Manufacturing
Space manufacturing
Industry in space