Location
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/ Enterprise Rooms
Start Date
25-4-1991 1:00 PM
End Date
25-4-1991 4:00 PM
Description
Typical of past space projects following preliminary design review, most of the major Space Station critical subsystems will be required to reduce costs, weight, and power consumption prior to flight article hardware production. One such subsystem consists of the pressurized modules which provide the environment in which the crew members live and work. The current baseline station has two types of U.S. pressurized vessels: four resource nodes, and two modules 44 feet in length which must be transported to orbit nearly empty due to structural weight alone. Thus, user and system racks must be outfitted on-orbit rather than integrated on the ground.
In this feasibility study, a shorter common pressurized module concept is assessed. The size, transportation, location, and accommodation of system racks and user experiments are considered and compared to baseline. It is shown that the total number of flights required for station assembly can be reduced, assuming both nominal Space Shuttle capacity, as well as Advanced Solid Rocket Motor capability. Baseline module requirements regarding crew size and rack accommodation are preserved. Considering the criteria listed above and current weight estimates, a six module option appears optimal. The resulting common module is 28 feet in length, and, in addition to two end cones, contains three radial ports near one end, which allows for a "racetrack" configuration pattern. This pattern exhibits several desirable attributes, including dual egress capability from any U.S. module, logical functional allocation distribution, no adverse impact to international partner accommodation, and favorable air lock, cupola, Assured Crew Return Vehicle, and logistics module accommodation.
Paper Session III-B - Utilization of Common Pressurized Modules of Space Station Freedom
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/ Enterprise Rooms
Typical of past space projects following preliminary design review, most of the major Space Station critical subsystems will be required to reduce costs, weight, and power consumption prior to flight article hardware production. One such subsystem consists of the pressurized modules which provide the environment in which the crew members live and work. The current baseline station has two types of U.S. pressurized vessels: four resource nodes, and two modules 44 feet in length which must be transported to orbit nearly empty due to structural weight alone. Thus, user and system racks must be outfitted on-orbit rather than integrated on the ground.
In this feasibility study, a shorter common pressurized module concept is assessed. The size, transportation, location, and accommodation of system racks and user experiments are considered and compared to baseline. It is shown that the total number of flights required for station assembly can be reduced, assuming both nominal Space Shuttle capacity, as well as Advanced Solid Rocket Motor capability. Baseline module requirements regarding crew size and rack accommodation are preserved. Considering the criteria listed above and current weight estimates, a six module option appears optimal. The resulting common module is 28 feet in length, and, in addition to two end cones, contains three radial ports near one end, which allows for a "racetrack" configuration pattern. This pattern exhibits several desirable attributes, including dual egress capability from any U.S. module, logical functional allocation distribution, no adverse impact to international partner accommodation, and favorable air lock, cupola, Assured Crew Return Vehicle, and logistics module accommodation.
Comments
Space Station
Session Chairman: John Cox, Acting Deputy Director for Operations, Space Station Freedom Program and Operations Office, NASA, Space Station, Freedom Program, Reston, VA
Session Organizer: Ann Delo, NASA, Space Station Freedom Project, Reston, VA