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Cupola (ISS module)

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The Cupola is an ESA-built observatory module of the International Space Station (ISS). It is used to observe experiments and dockings. It was launched aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-130 on 8 February 2010 and attached to the Tranquility (Node 3) module. With the Cupola attached, ISS assembly reached 85 percent completeness. The cupola is the largest window ever used in space. [1]

Overview

External view of the Cupola with window shutters open.

The Cupola provides an observation and work area for the ISS crew giving visibility to support the control of the space station remote manipulator system and general external viewing of Earth, celestial objects and visiting vehicles. Its name derives from Italian word cupola, which means dome. The Cupola project was started by NASA and Boeing, but canceled due to budget cuts. A barter agreement between NASA and the ESA resulted in the Cupola's development being resumed in 1998 by the ESA. It is extremely important to the ISS astronauts[2] , as previously they have been confined to looking out of small portholes or at best the 20-inch (50 cm) window in the US Destiny laboratory. The Cupola is berthed onto the down-facing port of Node 3—the final of three modules, including Node 1 and Node 2.

Design and construction

Designed and built by the Italian contractor Thales Alenia Space (formerly Alenia Spazio), it is approximately 2 metres in diameter and 1.5 metres tall. It has six side windows and a top window, all of which are equipped with shutters to protect them from damage by micrometeorites and orbital debris. It features a thermal control system, audio, video and MIL-STD-1553 bus interfaces, as well as the connections needed for installing one of the two identical robotic workstations that control the Canadarm2 into it.

Installation

Astronaut Nicholas Patrick hanging on to Cupola
The Sahara desert viewed through the Cupola with its shutters open

The Cupola was launched aboard the Space Shuttle on mission STS-130, on February 8, 2010. It was berthed to the forward port of the Tranquility module for launch, and was later transferred to the nadir-facing port of Tranquility by the Canadarm2, once Tranquility had been berthed to the Unity Module of the ISS. The installation of the Cupola, along with Tranquility, marks one of the last main components to be added to the International Space Station.

Specifications

  • Overall Height: 1.5-metre (4.9 ft)
  • Maximum Diameter: 2.95-metre (9.68 ft)
  • Launch Mass: 1,805-kilogram (3,979 lb)
  • On Orbit Mass: 1,880-kilogram (4,145 lb)
  • Dome: Forged Al 2219-T851
  • Skirt: Al 2219-T851
  • Windows: Fused Silica and Borosilicate Glass
  • MDPS Shutters: Kevlar/Nextel sheets
  • Electrical Power: Node 120 V Interface
  • Top Window: 80-centimetre (31 in) Diameter
  • Thermal Control: Goldised Kapton Multi-Layer Insulation Blanket

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.thalesaleniaspace-issmodules.com/cupola
  2. ^ http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMHAL0XDYD_Life_0.html
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