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  Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module

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Author Topic:   Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Delta7
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Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007

posted 03-21-2011 12:23 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Delta7   Click Here to Email Delta7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was wondering why the Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) was never used. I seem to remember it was manifested for STS-131 at one point. Where is it now?

Skylon
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Posts: 274
From:
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 03-21-2011 03:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Skylon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I don't think it was ever completed. I read somewhere parts of it were used to beef up the micrometeorite shielding on Leonardo for its conversion into the PMM.

Spacefest
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Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009

posted 03-21-2011 06:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Spacefest   Click Here to Email Spacefest     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Are these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

mjanovec
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Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 03-21-2011 06:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Spacefest:
Are these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Yes, they are!

While the MPLMs are technically named after famous Italians (Donatello, Raffaello, and Leonardo), it's no accident they chose the names also shared by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I don't know if NASA publicly states the connection between the MPLMs and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the connection is implied.

Fezman92
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Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 03-21-2011 06:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Fezman92   Click Here to Email Fezman92     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think one of the logos for the MPLM has a Ninja Turtle on it.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-21-2011 08:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-21-2011 08:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Delta7:
Where is it now?
Getting back to the original topic, Donatello (MPLM FM-3) is in the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

As mentioned earlier, Donatello's installation blankets were removed to be upgraded and then installed on Leonardo to become the Permanent Multi-Purpose Module.

ilbasso
Member

Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 03-21-2011 09:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ilbasso   Click Here to Email ilbasso     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It will be interesting to see what happens when Raffaello is mated to the ISS on STS-135. The Station software was designed to deal with only one attached Logistics Module at a time. Even though Leonardo is now a permanent part of the Station, there's a chance that the operations software could get confused when a second Logistics Module makes electrical contact with the Station.

Jay Chladek
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Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007

posted 03-24-2011 01:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jay Chladek   Click Here to Email Jay Chladek     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That is assuming the original Logistics Module hardware that interfaces with the station is being used. More than likely, they have altered the software to call it something else to keep them from having such an issue and they have likely already tested the interfaces (there are mockups used at KSC to test the module interfaces and how they mate with other systems before the modules fly). But of course, if something does happen, they will probably have a work around fix/patch for it until a better software update gets uploaded.

ilbasso
Member

Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 03-24-2011 06:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ilbasso   Click Here to Email ilbasso     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The issue is being discussed and prepared for by people working on the mission. The "worst case scenario," is some sort of unknown software error instigating a computer crash the instant Rafaello makes electrical contact, causing the robotics systems to go down, and making it impossible to either completely dock or undock the module.

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