Module statistics | |
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COSPAR ID | 1998-069F [1] |
Launch date | 4 December 1998, 08:35:34 UTC |
Launch vehicle | Space Shuttle Endeavour |
Docked | 6 December 1998 |
Mass | 11,612 kg (25,600 lb) |
Length | 5.47 m (17.9 ft) |
Diameter | 4.57 m (15.0 ft) |
Configuration | |
This image of the International Space Station (ISS) was taken when Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-106) approached the ISS. At the bottom is the Russian Progress supply ship that is linked with Zvezda module. The Zvezda is connected with the Zarya module. The U.S. built Unity module is seen at the top. |
The Unity connecting module, also known as Node 1, is the first U.S.-built component of the International Space Station (ISS). It connects the Russian and United States segments of the station, and is where crew eat meals together.
The module is cylindrical in shape, with six berthing locations (forward, aft, port, starboard, zenith, and nadir) facilitating connections to other modules. Unity measures 4.57 m (15.0 ft) in diameter, is 5.47 m (17.9 ft) long, made of steel, and was built for NASA by Boeing in a manufacturing facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Unity is the first of the three connecting modules; the other two are Harmony and Tranquility .
Unity (with its two attached PMAs) was carried into orbit as the primary cargo of the Space Shuttle Endeavour (OV 105) on STS-88, the first Space Shuttle mission dedicated to assembly of the station. On 6 December 1998, the STS-88 crew mated the docking port of the PMA on the aft berthing port of Unity with the forward hatch of the already orbiting Zarya module. (Zarya was a mixed Russian-U.S. funded and Russian-built component launched a few days before aboard a Russian Proton launch vehicle from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.) This was the first connection made between two station modules.
Unity has two axial and four radial Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) ports. In addition to connecting to the Zarya module, Unity connects to the U.S. Destiny Laboratory Module (added on STS-98), the Z1 truss (an early exterior framework for the station added on STS-92), the PMA-3 (also added on STS-92), and the Quest Joint Airlock (added on STS-104). During STS-120 the Harmony module was temporarily berthed to the port-side hatch of Unity. Tranquility , with its multi-windowed cupola, was attached to Unity's port side during the STS-130 mission, and Leonardo was added to the nadir hatch during STS-133.
In addition, the Leonardo and Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules were each berthed to Unity on multiple missions.
Patch | Spacecraft | Docking | Undocking |
STS-97 | 2 December 2000 19:59 UTC | 9 December 2000 19:13 UTC | |
STS-98 | 9 February 2001 16:51 UTC | 16 February 2001 14:05 UTC | |
Leonardo PMM, 2011-2015 | |||
Cygnus CRS OA-4 | 9 December 2015 14:26 UTC | 19 February 2016 10:38 UTC | |
Cygnus CRS OA-6 | 26 March 2016 10:51 UTC | 14 June 2016 11:43 UTC | |
Cygnus CRS OA-5 | 17 October 2016 23:45 UTC | 27 November 2016 23:36 UTC | |
Cygnus CRS OA-7 | 22 April 2017 12:39 UTC | 4 June 2017 11:05 UTC | |
Cygnus CRS OA-8E | 14 November 2017 12:15 UTC | 5 December 2017 17:52 UTC | |
Cygnus CRS OA-9E | 24 May 2018 12:13 UTC | 15 July 2018 10:20 UTC | |
Cygnus NG-10 | 19 November 2018 12:31 UTC | 8 February 2019 14:37 UTC | |
Cygnus NG-11 | 19 April 2019 11:31 UTC | 6 August 2019 13:30 UTC | |
Cygnus NG-12 | 4 November 2019 11:21 UTC | 31 January 2020 13:10 UTC | |
Cygnus NG-13 | 18 February 2020 11:16 UTC | 11 May 2020 13:00 UTC | |
Cygnus NG-14 | 5 October 2020 12:01 UTC | 26 January 2020 20:23 UTC | |
Cygnus NG-15 | 20 February 2021 17:36 UTC | 29 June 2021 16:32 UTC | |
Cygnus NG-16 | 12 August 2021 13:42 UTC | 15 December 2021 06:25 UTC | |
Via PMA-2
Patch | Spacecraft | Docking | Undocking |
STS-96 | 27 May 1999 10:49:42 UTC | 6 June 1999 02:02:43 UTC | |
STS-101 | 20 May 2000 04:30 UTC | 26 May 2000 23:03 UTC | |
STS-106 | 8 September 2000 12:45:47 UTC | 19 September 2000 07:56 UTC | |
STS-92 | 11 October 2000 23:17:00 UTC | 24 October 2000 20:59:47 UTC |
Not via PMA-2 (Relocated to front of Destiny during STS-98 and again to the front of Harmony during STS-120. [2] )
Essential space station resources such as fluids, environmental control and life support systems, electrical and data systems are routed through Unity to supply work and living areas of the station. More than 50,000 mechanical items, 216 lines to carry fluids and gases, and 121 internal and external electrical cables using six miles of wire were installed in the Unity node. [3] The primary structure of Unity is constructed of aluminium. [4]
During the space station construction, a crew member placed two speed limit signs on the hatch (leading into the FGB) in 2003, noting the orbital velocity in mph and km/h. [5]
Prior to its launch aboard Endeavour, conical Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMAs) were attached to the aft and forward berthing mechanisms of Unity. Unity and the two mating adapters together weighed about 11,600 kg (25,600 lb). The adapters allow the docking systems used by the Space Shuttle and by Russian modules to attach to the node's hatches and berthing mechanisms. [3] PMA-1 now permanently attaches Unity to Zarya, while PMA-2 provided a Shuttle docking port. Attached to the exterior of PMA-1 are computers, or multiplexer-demultiplexers (MDMs), which provided early command and control of Unity. Unity also is outfitted with an early communications system that allows data, voice and low data rate video with Mission Control Houston, to supplement Russian communications systems during the early station assembly activities. PMA-3 was attached to Unity's nadir berthing mechanism by the crew of STS-92.
The two remaining station connecting modules, or nodes, were manufactured in Italy by Alenia Aerospazio, as part of an agreement between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Harmony (also known as Node 2) and Tranquility (also known as Node 3) are slightly longer than Unity, measuring almost 6.4 m (21 ft) long in total. In addition to their six berthing ports, each can hold eight International Standard Payload Racks (ISPRs). Unity, in comparison, holds just four ISPRs. ESA built Nodes 2 and 3 as partial payment for the launch aboard the Shuttle of the Columbus laboratory module, and other ESA equipment.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station assembled and maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), CSA (Canada), and their contractors. ISS is the largest space station ever built. Its primary purpose is performing microgravity and space environment experiments.
Columbus is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station (ISS) and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko is a retired Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles (390 km) over New Zealand, on the International Space Station. As of December 2023, Malenchenko ranks third for career time in space due to his time on both Mir and the International Space Station (ISS). He is a former commander of the International Space Station.
STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, and took the first American module, the Unity node, to the station.
STS-98 was a 2001 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the first human spaceflight launch of the 21st century. STS-98 delivered to the station the Destiny Laboratory Module. All mission objectives were completed and the shuttle reentered and landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base on 20 February 2001, after twelve days in space, six of which were spent docked to the ISS.
Zvezda, Salyut DOS-8, also known as the Zvezda Service Module, is a module of the International Space Station (ISS). It was the third module launched to the station, and provided all of the station's life support systems, some of which are supplemented in the US Orbital Segment (USOS), as well as living quarters for two crew members. It is the structural and functional center of the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS), which is the Russian part of the ISS. Crew assemble here to deal with emergencies on the station.
Zarya, also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB, is the first module of the International Space Station to have been launched. The FGB provided electrical power, storage, propulsion, and guidance to the ISS during the initial stage of assembly. With the launch and assembly in orbit of other modules with more specialized functionality, as of August 2021 it is primarily used for storage, both inside the pressurized section and in the externally mounted fuel tanks. The Zarya is a descendant of the TKS spacecraft designed for the Soviet Salyut program. The name Zarya ("Dawn") was given to the FGB because it signified the dawn of a new era of international cooperation in space. Although it was built by a Russian company, it is owned by the United States.
The Cupola is an ESA-built observatory module of the International Space Station (ISS). Its name derives from the Italian word cupola, which means "dome". Its seven windows are used to conduct experiments, dockings and observations of Earth. It was launched aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour's mission STS-130 on 8 February 2010, and attached to the Tranquility module. With the Cupola attached, ISS assembly reached 85 percent completion. The Cupola's central window has a diameter of 80 cm (31 in).
The Destiny module, also known as the U.S. Lab, is the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It was berthed to the Unity module and activated over a period of five days in February, 2001. Destiny is NASA's first permanent operating orbital research station since Skylab was vacated in February 1974.
Harmony, also known as Node 2, is the "utility hub" of the International Space Station. It connects the laboratory modules of the United States, Europe and Japan, as well as providing electrical power and electronic data. Sleeping cabins for four of the crew are housed here.
Tranquility, also known as Node 3, is a module of the International Space Station (ISS). It contains environmental control systems, life support systems, a toilet, exercise equipment, and an observation cupola.
STS-130 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Space ShuttleEndeavour's primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center, providing a 360-degree view around the station. Endeavour launched at 04:14 EST on February 8, 2010 and landed at 22:22 EST on February 21, 2010, on runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.
A Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA) is a spacecraft adapter used on the International Space Station (ISS) to convert a Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) interface to an APAS-95 docking port. Three PMAs are connected to the US Orbital Segment of ISS. PMA-1 and PMA-2 were launched with the Unity module in 1998 aboard STS-88; PMA-3 was launched in 2000 aboard STS-92. PMA-1 permanently connects the Unity and Zarya modules. IDA adapters have been installed on PMA-2 and PMA-3 which convert them to IDSS docking ports.
Rassvet, also known as the Mini-Research Module 1 and formerly known as the Docking Cargo Module (DCM), is a component of the International Space Station (ISS). The module's design is similar to the Mir Docking Module launched on STS-74 in 1995. Rassvet is primarily used for cargo storage and as a docking port for visiting spacecraft. It was flown to the ISS aboard Space ShuttleAtlantis on the STS-132 mission on 14 May 2010, and was connected to the ISS on 18 May 2010. The hatch connecting Rassvet with the ISS was first opened on 20 May 2010. On 28 June 2010, the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft performed the first docking with the module.
The process of assembling the International Space Station (ISS) has been under way since the 1990s. Zarya, the first ISS module, was launched by a Proton rocket on 20 November 1998. The STS-88 Space Shuttle mission followed two weeks after Zarya was launched, bringing Unity, the first of three node modules, and connecting it to Zarya. This bare 2-module core of the ISS remained uncrewed for the next one and a half years, until in July 2000 the Russian module Zvezda was launched by a Proton rocket, allowing a maximum crew of three astronauts or cosmonauts to be on the ISS permanently.
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.
The Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) is a module of the International Space Station. It was flown into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-133 on 24 February 2011 and installed on 1 March. Leonardo is primarily used for storage of spares, supplies and waste on the ISS, which was until then stored in many different places within the space station. It is also the personal hygiene area for the astronauts who live in the US Orbital Segment. The Leonardo PMM was a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) before 2011, then was modified into its current configuration. It was formerly one of two MPLM used for bringing cargo to and from the ISS with the Space Shuttle. The module was named for Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci.
The US Orbital Segment (USOS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed and operated by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The segment consists of eleven pressurized components and various external elements, almost all of which were delivered by the Space Shuttle.
Docking and berthing of spacecraft is the joining of two space vehicles. This connection can be temporary, or partially permanent such as for space station modules.
Sistema Stykovki i Vnutrennego Perekhoda, SSVP is a docking standard used by Soviet and Russian spacecraft, sometimes called RDS for Russian Docking System. It has been used on all variants of Soyuz other than the Soyuz 7K-L3 and early flights of the Soyuz 7K-OK, as well as Progress, TKS, ATV, and on all Soviet and Russian space stations.