The International Space Station (ISS) is a modular space station in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which scientific research is conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields. The ISS is suited for testing the spacecraft systems and equipment required for possible future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics.
A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint.
STS-121 was a 2006 NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space ShuttleDiscovery. The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the Columbia disaster of February 2003 as well as to deliver supplies, equipment and German European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter to the ISS.
The Quest Joint Airlock, previously known as the Joint Airlock Module, is the primary airlock for the International Space Station. Quest was designed to host spacewalks with both Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits and Orlan space suits. The airlock was launched on STS-104 on July 14, 2001.
Hydronics is the use of liquid water or gaseous water (steam) or a water solution as heat-transfer medium in heating and cooling systems. The name differentiates such systems from oil and steam systems. Historically, in large-scale commercial buildings such as high-rise and campus facilities, a hydronic system may include both a chilled and a heated water loop, to provide for both heating and air conditioning. Chillers and cooling towers are used either separately or together as means to provide water cooling, while boilers heat water. A recent innovation is the chiller boiler system, which provides an efficient form of HVAC for homes and smaller commercial spaces.
External stowage platforms (ESPs) are key components of the International Space Station (ISS). Each platform is made from steel and serves as an external pallet that can hold spare parts, also known as orbital replacement units (ORUs), for the space station. As a platform it is not pressurized, but does require electricity to power the heaters of some of the stored equipment. ORUs are attached to the ESP via Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanisms (FRAMs), matching witness plates that mate the ORU to the platform.
STS-133 was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. It was Discovery's 39th and final mission. The mission launched on 24 February 2011, and landed on 9 March 2011. The crew consisted of six American astronauts, all of whom had been on prior spaceflights, headed by Commander Steven Lindsey. The crew joined the long-duration six person crew of Expedition 26, who were already aboard the space station. About a month before lift-off, one of the original crew members, Tim Kopra, was injured in a bicycle accident. He was replaced by Stephen Bowen.
The Suzuki RE5 is a motorcycle with a liquid-cooled single-rotor Wankel engine, manufactured by Suzuki from 1974 to 1976. Apart from its unusual engine, the RE5 is mostly a conventional roadster, albeit with some peculiar styling details thanks to Italian industrial designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.
STS-128 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that launched on 28 August 2009. Space ShuttleDiscovery carried the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo as its primary payload. Leonardo contained a collection of experiments for studying the physics and chemistry of microgravity. Three spacewalks were carried out during the mission, which removed and replaced a materials processing experiment outside ESA's Columbus module, and returned an empty ammonia tank assembly.
STS-131 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Space ShuttleDiscovery launched on 5 April 2010 at 6:21 am from LC-39A, and landed at 9:08 am on 20 April 2010 on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The mission marked the longest flight for Space Shuttle Discovery.
The Integrated Truss Structure (ITS) of the International Space Station (ISS) consists of a linear arranged sequence of connected trusses on which various unpressurized components are mounted such as logistics carriers, radiators, solar arrays, and other equipment. It supplies the ISS with a bus architecture. It is approximately 110 meters long and is made from aluminum and stainless steel.
An EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (ExPRESS) Logistics Carrier (ELC) is an unpressurized attached payload platform for the International Space Station (ISS) that provides mechanical mounting surfaces, electrical power, and command and data handling services for Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) as well as science experiments on the ISS. The ELCs were developed primarily at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with support from JSC, KSC, and MSFC. ELC was formerly called "Express Pallet" and is the unpressurized counterpart to the pressurized ExPRESS Rack. An ELC provides scientists with a platform and infrastructure to deploy experiments in the vacuum of space without requiring a separate dedicated Earth-orbiting satellite.
STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of Space ShuttleEndeavour. This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander. STS-134 was expected to be the final space shuttle mission if STS-135 did not receive funding from Congress. However, in February 2011, NASA stated that STS-135 would fly "regardless" of the funding situation. STS-135, flown by Atlantis, took advantage of the processing for STS-335, the Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if the STS-134 crew became stranded in orbit.
Since construction started, the International Space Station programme has had to deal with several maintenance issues, unexpected problems and failures. These incidents have affected the assembly timeline, led to periods of reduced capabilities of the station and in some cases could have forced the crew to abandon the space station for safety reasons, had these problems not been resolved.
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 currently consists of eleven pressurized components and various external elements, all of which were delivered by the Space Shuttle.
The International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is a life support system that provides or controls atmospheric pressure, fire detection and suppression, oxygen levels, waste management and water supply. The highest priority for the ECLSS is the ISS atmosphere, but the system also collects, processes, and stores waste and water produced and used by the crew—a process that recycles fluid from the sink, shower, toilet, and condensation from the air.
Orbital replacement units (ORUs) are key elements of the International Space Station that can be readily replaced when the unit either passes its design life or fails. ORUs are parts of the main systems and subsystems of the external elements of the ISS, none are intended to be installed inside the pressurised modules. Examples of ORUs are: pumps, storage tanks, controller boxes, antennas, and battery units. Such units are replaced either by astronauts during EVA or by the Dextre (SPDM) robotic arm. All are stored on the three external stowage platforms (ESPs) or the four ExPRESS Logistics Carriers (ELCs) mounted on the Integrated Truss Structure (ITS).
In spacecraft design, the function of the thermal control system (TCS) is to keep all the spacecraft's component systems within acceptable temperature ranges during all mission phases. It must cope with the external environment, which can vary in a wide range as the spacecraft is exposed to deep space or to solar or planetary flux, and with ejecting to space the internal heat generated by the operation of the spacecraft itself.
Advanced Research for passive Thermal Exchange (ARTE) is a project intended to create "Thermal Exchange", an experiment for the International Space Station (ISS). It is a heat pipe technology demonstrator in which the heat pipes contain low toxicity fluid. Thermal Exchange has been designed by Argotec in collaboration the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Polytechnic University of Turin participated in the project with the development of a prototype of the electronics and software. On April 4, 2016, the experiment was conducted nominally on board the International Space Station by the American astronaut Timothy Kopra.
Pump Module (PM)
PM drawing
Nitrogen Tank Assembly (NTA)
NTA drawing (cover removed)
Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA)
ATA drawing (cover removed)
Flex Hose Rotary Coupler (FHRC)
FHRC without MLI cover and in situ on the TRRJ
Heat Rejection System Radiator (HRSR)
HRSR drawing
