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Author
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Topic: UK's ISS Habitat Extension Module
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-16-2008 09:12 AM
   
SPACE.com: Space Station Modules Proposed by UK Scientists Two habitation modules emblazoned with the United Kingdom's Union Jack could launch to the International Space Station (ISS) by 2011 under a new plan devised by British scientists and engineers.The proposal — not yet official with the ISS partnership — would not only improve living conditions on board the space station, but would also allow the United Kingdom to join other nations that have a foothold in space. "I don't think there's an excuse for us not to be engaged in manned launches," said Mark Hempsell, aeronautical engineer at the University of Bristol and lead author on the proposal published in Spaceflight magazine. The proposed Habitat Extension Module (HEM) would consist of two modules attached to the ISS Node 3 segment, a hub-like connecting module slated for a 2010 launch. The British addition would provide additional room and equipment for a permanent space station crew of six, as opposed to the current crew of three. The station is scheduled to shift to six-person crews in 2009, NASA officials have said. Because NASA plans to retire the space shuttle by 2010, the HEM modules would launch on a Russian-built Soyuz-Fregat rocket in 2011 at the earliest. Once in orbit, the modules would use their own propulsion system to reach ISS. |
MB
Member Posts: 155
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio U.S.A.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 01-16-2008 03:03 PM
Instead of building the HEMs from scratch, I wonder if they could upgrade the multi-purpose logistics modules. This would at least reduce their estimated price ($1 billion U.S. dollars) to build the HEMs. I had heard that NASA and ESA/ISA were looking into the idea of upgrading one of MPLMs to leave at ISS to serve as storage space for the space station. Would a MPLM fit in the payload shroud of a Russian-built Soyuz-Fregat? |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 02-02-2008 10:25 PM
That would be equivalent of converting a moving van into an RV. It is expensive enough to do it on Earth, but there are so many other factors to consider in space that it wouldn't be worth it. For starters, the habitat modules would have to be hooked up to the station's power, water, cooling and life support systems. Then you would have to put up additional shielding on the design to make it capable of operation for many years. All this work would add weight to the design and might also require some additional engineering changes as the MLPMs were optimized as cargo carriers. All that adds additional costs as well.By that point, it is better to start with a blank slate, designing something you can set up and design from day one as opposed to having to modify something from one thing into another. A cargo storage module is one thing with provisions for people to enter it to remove supplies and such. One potentially doesn't need to set it up with much in the way of additional equipment (theoretically). But I wouldn't want to live in it for my down periods if I were in orbit on the ISS. Even when NASA was considering sending up an S-IVB as a fuelled rocket stage and draining it after the fuel was spent to turn it into a space station (the so-called "wet lab" concept), there were some changes they intended to make to the rocket stage so it could be configured into a station potentially more easily. But in the end, they went with the dry lab concept anyway and that became Skylab. |
Delta7
Member Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 02-03-2008 09:49 AM
I'm just wondering how much space the Tea dispenser would take up, and whether it would have to be launched separately! |
eurospace
Member Posts: 2610
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 02-06-2008 07:05 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Delta7:
I'm just wondering how much space the Tea dispenser would take up, and whether it would have to be launched separately!
The issue more complicated. As the MPLM's are Italian built, they would have to swap the espresso machine for the tea dispenser, which would require major modifications. It adds to the problem that only Italy has a number of ISS seats available while Britain has no astronauts at all. Can the Italians be converted into tea drinkers? That is an interesting question.
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Jürgen P Esders
Berlin, Germany International Director (Europe), Space Unit
Vice President, Weltraum Philatelie e. V. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Astroaddies | |
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