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File:Unity module.svg|Node 1
File:Unity module.svg|Node 1
File:Harmony module with PMA-2.svg|Node 2
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File:Cupola module.svg|Cupola
File:Columbus module.svg|Columbus
File:Columbus module.svg|Columbus
File:Pirs diagram.svg|Pirs
File:Pirs diagram.svg|Pirs

Revision as of 09:08, 22 April 2019

The Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center - the prime factory for final fabrication and processing of station components for launch

The project to create the International Space Station required the utilization and/or construction of new and existing manufacturing facilities around the world, mostly in the United States and Europe. The agencies overseeing the manufacturing involved NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency. Hundreds of contractors[1] working for the five space agencies were assigned the task of fabricating the modules, trusses, experiments and other hardware elements for the station, and launching them individually in modular segments for the in-orbit assembly.

The fact that the project involved the co-operation of fifteen countries working together created engineering challenges that had to be overcome: most notably the differences in language, culture and politics, but also engineering processes, management, measuring standards and communication; to ensure that all elements connect together and function according to plan. The ISS agreement program also called for the station components to be made highly durable and versatile - as it is intended to be used by astronauts indefinitely. A series of new engineering and manufacturing processes and equipment were developed, and shipments of steel, aluminum and other materials were needed for the construction of the space station components.[2]

History and planning

The project, which began as an American effort, was long delayed by funding and technical problems. Originally called Space Station Freedom in the 1980s by Ronald Reagan, who authorized the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to build it within 10 years, it was redesigned in the 1990s to reduce costs and expand international involvement, at which time it was renamed. In 1993 the United States and Russia agreed to merge their separate space station plans into a single facility integrating their respective modules and incorporating contributions from the European Space Agency and Japan.[3] In later months, an international agreement board recruited several more space agencies and companies to collaborate to the project. The International Organization for Standardization played a crutial role in unifying and overcoming different engineering methods, languages, standards and teqniques to ensure quality, engineering communication and logistical management across all manufacturing activities of the station components.

Engineering designs

Technical blueprints

Manufacturing Information and Processes

List of factories and manufacturing processes used in the construction and fabrication of the International Space Station modular components:

Space Station element Overseeing agency and contractor Manufacturing
facility
Materials
used
Manufacturing date Mass
(kg)
Manufacturing Processes Isolated View
Zarya (FGB)[4] Roscosmos Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center 1994 19,323
Unity (Node 1),[5] PMA-1 & PMA-2 NASA Marshall Space Flight Center June 6, 1997 11,612
Zvezda (Service Module)[6] Roscosmos Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center 1985 19,051
Z1 Truss & PMA-3 NASA Michoud Assembly Facility 1999 8,755 (Z1)
P6 Truss & Solar Arrays NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

Truss

Solar Arrays

1999/2000 15,824

Destiny (US Laboratory)[7] NASA Marshall Space Flight Center December 12, 1997 14,515
External Stowage Platform-1 NASA
  • Airbus DS Space Systems
Goddard Space Flight Center[8] Steel 2000 5,760
Canadarm2 (SSRMS) Canadian Space Agency MDA Space Missions, Brampton Ontario Titanium 2000/01 4,899
  • Seamless rolling
  • Milling
  • Robotic assembly

Quest (Joint Airlock)[9] NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 2000 6,064
Pirs (Docking Compartment & Airlock) RKK Energia Korolyov, Moscow Oblast 1998 3,580
S0 Truss[10] NASA Michoud Assembly Facility 13.4 13,970
Mobile Base System NASA Northrop Grumman factory in Carpinteria, CA 2001 1,450
S1 Truss and Radiators NASA Michoud Assembly Facility November 21, 2006 14,120
P1 Truss and Radiators NASA Michoud Assembly Facility 2005/06 13.748 same as S1 Truss
ESP-2 NASA
  • Airbus DS Space Systems
Goddard Space Flight Center October 2005 2,676
P3/P4 Truss & Solar Arrays[11] NASA Michoud Assembly Facility

Truss

Solar Arrays

2005/06 15,900

File:ISS Solar Array manufacturing 2.jpg

P5 Truss[12] NASA Operations and Checkout Building Anodized steel February 2007 1,818
S3/S4 Truss & Solar Arrays NASA Michoud Assembly Facility Same as P3/P4 trusses May 12, 2005 15,900 Same as P3/P4 trusses
S5 Truss and ESP-3 NASA Operations and Checkout Building Steel (some anodized) 2007 13.795 Same as P5 and ESP-1 and 2

Harmony (Node 2)
Relocation of P6 Truss
European Space Agency, Italian Space Agency Thales Alenia Space factory in Cannes, France Stainless steel May 2003 14,288
Columbus (European Laboratory)[13] European Space Agency European Space Research and Technology Centre Stainless steel April 2006 12,800
Dextre Canadian Space Agency MacDonald Dettwiler (now MDA Space Missions) factory in Brampton Ontario 2004 1,734
Japanese Logistics Module (ELM-PS) JAXA Tanegashima Space Center April 2, 2007 8,386
Japanese Pressurized Module (JEM-PM)
JEM Robotic Arm (JEM-RMS)[14][15]
JAXA (formerly NASDA) Tanegashima Space Center November 2005 15,900 (JEM-PM)

S6 Truss & Solar Arrays NASA Michoud Assembly Facility same as P4/S4 truss and solar arrays 2006/07 15,900 same as P4/S4 truss and solar arrays File:ISS Solar Array manufacturing 1.jpg
Japanese Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) JAXA Tanegashima Space Center May 28, 2003 4,100
Poisk (MRM-2)[16][17] Roscosmos Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center 2008/09 3,670 same as Pirs
ExPRESS Logistics Carriers 1 & 2 NASA All three contracting facilities 2008/09 6,277

Tranquility (Node 3) NASA, European Space Agency Thales Alenia Space factory, Cannes France Stainless steel April 2005 12,247
Cupola NASA, European Space Agency Thales Alenia Space factory, Cannes France 2003/07 1,800
Rassvet (MRM-1)[18] Roscosmos, NASA Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center July 2009 5,075

Leonardo (PMM) and EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 ULF5 2011-02-24 Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-133) 6.6 9,896 (Leonardo) 31

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, OBSS and EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 3 ULF6 2011-05-16 Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134) 6,731 (AMS-02)

Bigelow Expandable Activity Module[19] 2016-04-08 Falcon 9

(SpaceX CRS-8)

4 3.2 16
NanoRacks Airlock Module 2019-10-15[20][21] Falcon 9

(SpaceX CRS-19)[22]

Nauka (MLM)
European Robotic Arm[23]
3R 2020[24] Proton-M 20,300 (Nauka) 70
Prichal 2022 (TBD)[25] Soyuz 2.1b

(Progress M-UM)

4,000
NEM-1 (SPM-1) 2022 (TBD)[25] Proton-M
Space Station element Overseeing agency and contractor Manufacturing
facility
Materials
used
Manufacturing date Mass
(kg)
Manufacturing Processes Isolated View

Transportation

Once manufactured or fabricated sufficiently, most of the space station elements were transported by aircraft (usually the Airbus Beluga or the Aero Spacelines Super Guppy) to the Kennedy Space Center Space Station Processing Facility for final manufacturing stages, checks and launch processing.

References

  1. ^ https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/International_Space_Station/Companies_involved_with_ISS
  2. ^ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/integrated-truss-structure
  3. ^ https://www.britannica.com/topic/International-Space-Station
  4. ^ Wade, Mark (15 July 2008). "ISS Zarya". Encyclopaedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Unity Connecting Module: Cornerstone for a Home in Orbit" (PDF). NASA. January 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Zvezda Service Module". NASA. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "US Destiny Laboratory". NASA. 26 March 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/images/content/402222main_Techs_working_on_ELC_1019.jpg
  9. ^ "Space Station Extravehicular Activity". NASA. 4 April 2004. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Space Station Assembly: Integrated Truss Structure". NASA. Archived from the original on 7 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "P3 and P4 to expand station capabilities, providing a third and fourth solar array" (pdf). Boeing. July 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  12. ^ "STS-118 MISSION OVERVIEW: BUILD THE STATION…BUILD THE FUTURE" (PDF). NASA PAO. July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Columbus laboratory". ESA. 10 January 2009. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "About Kibo". JAXA. 25 September 2008. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Kibo Japanese Experiment Module". NASA. 23 November 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Zak, Anatoly. "Docking Compartment-1 and 2". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Bergin, Chris (9 November 2009). "Russian module launches via Soyuz for Thursday ISS docking". NASASpaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "NASA Extends Contract With Russia's Federal Space Agency" (Press release). NASA. 9 April 2007. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "NASA to Test Bigelow Expandable Module on Space Station". NASA. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  20. ^ Frommert, Hartmut (8 December 2018). "International Space Station Flight Schedule". Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  21. ^ Pietrobon, Steven (19 January 2019). "United States Commercial ELV Launch Manifest". Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  22. ^ http://nanoracks.com/nanoracks-adds-thales-alenia-space-to-airlock/
  23. ^ "FGB-based Multipurpose Lab Module (MLM)". Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  24. ^ Pietrobon, Steven (8 February 2019). "Russian Launch Manifest". Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  25. ^ a b "Рогозин — РБК: "Формула "космос вне политики" не работает"" [Rogozin to RBC: The "cosmos out of politics" formula does not work]. RBC.ru (in Russian). 10 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.