Final U.S. module attached to space station (UPDATED)
Editor's note...
CBS News
A final U.S. module was attached to the International Space Station Tuesday, an upgraded supply transfer compartment that will serve as a permanent storage closet to give station crews more room.
A few minutes after the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, was attached to the central Unity module, the shuttle-station complex sailed over Italy where the new module was built by Thales Alenia Space.
"Leonardo's looking very, very happy to be in his, or her, new home," station flight engineer Catherine Coleman radioed.
"I think we should say kudos to both programs, getting the last scheduled U.S. contribution to the ... station," said Discovery astronaut Michael Barratt, a station veteran. "It's a big day for us."
The Permanent Multipurpose Module was pulled from shuttle Discovery's cargo bay starting at 8:46 a.m. EST (GMT-5). Barratt and Nicole Stott, operating the space station's robot arm, then maneuvered the module into position for attachment to Unity's Earth-facing port.
After a careful alignment, four latches pulled the 27,160-pound module snugly into place and 16 motorized bolts then were driven to firmly lock it to the station. The process was completed at 10:05 a.m.
Overnight, flight controllers tested the common berthing mechanism to make sure the big bolts would be ready for operation.
"They're each connected to a motor and they're rated to 19,000 pounds of force for each one of those," said space station Flight Director Chris Edelen. "So they're really strong. The module won't go anywhere."
Installing the PMM and preparing it for hatch opening will take most of the crew's day.
"It's a rather laborious process to get any kind of a module installed with the common berthing mechanism," Edelen said. "In addition to the task of robotically removing it from the shuttle's payload bay and installing it on the station, there's also the work to drive all those 16 bolts to get them to the right loaded force so that they securely hold the module in place, have a nice airtight seal, and then the crew has to open the hatches, perform the vestibule outfitting, the data, power and airflow connectors.
"And then finally, they have to remove some of the controllers that drive those bolts, they have to get those out of the way so there's a clear pathway. So it's quite a bit of work."
If all goes well, the PMM's hatch will be opened late today for a quick look inside.
The PMM originally was built to carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle and then to return to Earth with trash and no-longer-needed equipment. With the shuttle fleet scheduled for retirement after just two more missions, NASA upgraded the Leonardo MPLM for permanent attachment to the station.
The module measures 21 feet long and 15 feet wide, providing an additional 2,472 cubic feet of useable pressurized volume. While it will have power, it is intended for storage only and does not feature any crew amenities.
"This is a great example of getting your money's worth out of a product," Edelen said. "The Italians built Leonardo and the other multi-purpose logistics modules and this one has flown seven times before. ... In this case, it's going to stay up permanently.
"Obviously, with the shuttle's retirement we won't be needing logistics modules any more. Where PMM will come in handy, it'll be storage space. Right now, it's chock full of supplies, food, science gear, spare parts and Robonaut. It will be used to store all those things as well as a lot of other equipment that's... coming up on other vehicles. It'll give us extra storage space."
NASA managers decided Monday to extend Discovery's stay at the station by one day to give the crew more time to unload the PMM and configure it for orbital operations. The combined crews will remove packing materials and other launch-related components and move them to the Japanese HTV cargo ship before it undocks late this month and burns up in the atmosphere.
"A lot of the equipment in the (PMM) was packed in foam as you would expect," Edelen said. "So a lot of the foam, they're going to take that out. Now is a great time to get rid of that foam, we don't want to store that on station, it'll just contribute to our lack of stowage space that we're already battling. So that foam is going to be moved over to the Japanese HTV transfer vehicle.
"We want to get rid of any trash or foam, anything that's no longer needed in the PMM. So they'll spend a good day unpacking everything, shipping the foam over to the HTV and just tidying up the PMM."
While the PMM attachment work is going on, astronauts Alvin Drew and Stephen Bowen will check their equipment and review their plans for a second spacewalk Wednesday. They will spend the night in the Quest airlock module at a reduced pressure to help purge nitrogen form their bloodstreams, a standard protocol to help prevent the bends.
Russian crew members plan to work on the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system, which has been operating intermittently in recent days. Overnight, U.S. flight controllers ran into problems with NASA's CO2 removal system when an internal heater shut down. A backup was activated and the system currently is operating at near-normal capacity.
A mission status briefing is planned for 11:30 a.m. and round-robin media interviews will begin at 4:23 p.m.
Here is an updated timeline of today's activities (in EST and mission elapsed time; includes revision E of the NASA television schedule):
- Posted at 07:47 AM, 03/01/11: Attachment of final U.S. module on tap
- Updated at 10:20 AM, 03/01/11: New module attached to space station
CBS News
A final U.S. module was attached to the International Space Station Tuesday, an upgraded supply transfer compartment that will serve as a permanent storage closet to give station crews more room.
A few minutes after the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, was attached to the central Unity module, the shuttle-station complex sailed over Italy where the new module was built by Thales Alenia Space.
"Leonardo's looking very, very happy to be in his, or her, new home," station flight engineer Catherine Coleman radioed.
"I think we should say kudos to both programs, getting the last scheduled U.S. contribution to the ... station," said Discovery astronaut Michael Barratt, a station veteran. "It's a big day for us."
 |
| The Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, is attached to the International Space Station as the shuttle-station complex approached the northwest coast of Africa. (Photos: NASA TV) |
After a careful alignment, four latches pulled the 27,160-pound module snugly into place and 16 motorized bolts then were driven to firmly lock it to the station. The process was completed at 10:05 a.m.
Overnight, flight controllers tested the common berthing mechanism to make sure the big bolts would be ready for operation.
"They're each connected to a motor and they're rated to 19,000 pounds of force for each one of those," said space station Flight Director Chris Edelen. "So they're really strong. The module won't go anywhere."
Installing the PMM and preparing it for hatch opening will take most of the crew's day.
"It's a rather laborious process to get any kind of a module installed with the common berthing mechanism," Edelen said. "In addition to the task of robotically removing it from the shuttle's payload bay and installing it on the station, there's also the work to drive all those 16 bolts to get them to the right loaded force so that they securely hold the module in place, have a nice airtight seal, and then the crew has to open the hatches, perform the vestibule outfitting, the data, power and airflow connectors.
"And then finally, they have to remove some of the controllers that drive those bolts, they have to get those out of the way so there's a clear pathway. So it's quite a bit of work."
If all goes well, the PMM's hatch will be opened late today for a quick look inside.
 |
| The Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, moments before it was attached to the International Space Station's Unity module. (Photos: NASA TV) |
The module measures 21 feet long and 15 feet wide, providing an additional 2,472 cubic feet of useable pressurized volume. While it will have power, it is intended for storage only and does not feature any crew amenities.
"This is a great example of getting your money's worth out of a product," Edelen said. "The Italians built Leonardo and the other multi-purpose logistics modules and this one has flown seven times before. ... In this case, it's going to stay up permanently.
"Obviously, with the shuttle's retirement we won't be needing logistics modules any more. Where PMM will come in handy, it'll be storage space. Right now, it's chock full of supplies, food, science gear, spare parts and Robonaut. It will be used to store all those things as well as a lot of other equipment that's... coming up on other vehicles. It'll give us extra storage space."
NASA managers decided Monday to extend Discovery's stay at the station by one day to give the crew more time to unload the PMM and configure it for orbital operations. The combined crews will remove packing materials and other launch-related components and move them to the Japanese HTV cargo ship before it undocks late this month and burns up in the atmosphere.
"A lot of the equipment in the (PMM) was packed in foam as you would expect," Edelen said. "So a lot of the foam, they're going to take that out. Now is a great time to get rid of that foam, we don't want to store that on station, it'll just contribute to our lack of stowage space that we're already battling. So that foam is going to be moved over to the Japanese HTV transfer vehicle.
"We want to get rid of any trash or foam, anything that's no longer needed in the PMM. So they'll spend a good day unpacking everything, shipping the foam over to the HTV and just tidying up the PMM."
While the PMM attachment work is going on, astronauts Alvin Drew and Stephen Bowen will check their equipment and review their plans for a second spacewalk Wednesday. They will spend the night in the Quest airlock module at a reduced pressure to help purge nitrogen form their bloodstreams, a standard protocol to help prevent the bends.
Russian crew members plan to work on the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system, which has been operating intermittently in recent days. Overnight, U.S. flight controllers ran into problems with NASA's CO2 removal system when an internal heater shut down. A backup was activated and the system currently is operating at near-normal capacity.
A mission status briefing is planned for 11:30 a.m. and round-robin media interviews will begin at 4:23 p.m.
Here is an updated timeline of today's activities (in EST and mission elapsed time; includes revision E of the NASA television schedule):
DATE/EST...DD...HH...MM...SS...EVENT
03/01
05:53 AM...04...13...00...00...Crew wakeup
07:23 AM...04...14...30...00...ISS daily planning conference
08:08 AM...04...15...15...00...Station arm (SSRMS) grapples Permanent Multipurpose Module
08:43 AM...04...15...50...00...SSRMS unberths PMM
09:48 AM...04...16...55...00...SSRMS intalls PMM on Unity nadir
10:18 AM...04...17...25...00...First stage bolts
10:38 AM...04...17...45...00...Second stage bolts
11:30 AM...04...18...37...00...Mission status briefing on NTV
11:38 AM...04...18...45...00...Crew meals begin
11:38 AM...04...18...45...00...SSRMS ungrapples PMM
12:38 PM...04...19...45...00...APFR heat shield removal
12:38 PM...04...19...45...00...PMM vestibule pressurization
01:53 PM...04...21...00...00...PMM vestibule ingress configured
02:33 PM...04...21...40...00...EVA-2: Equipment lock preps
02:53 PM...04...22...00...00...SSRMS positioned for EVA-2
03:18 PM...04...22...25...00...EVA-2: Tools configured
03:38 PM...04...22...45...00...Vestibule CPA removal
04:23 PM...04...23...30...00...PAO event (KING-TV/KTRK-TV/KOMO-TV)
05:08 PM...05...00...15...00...PMM IMV install
05:18 PM...05...00...25...00...EVA-2: Procedures review
06:33 PM...05...01...40...00...Vestibule CLS install
06:38 PM...05...01...45...00...ISS evening planning conference
06:58 PM...05...02...05...00...PMM ingress
07:48 PM...05...02...55...00...EVA-2: Mask pre-breathe
08:33 PM...05...03...40...00...EVA-2: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
08:53 PM...05...04...00...00...ISS crew sleep begins
09:23 PM...05...04...30...00...STS crew sleep begins
10:00 PM...05...05...07...00...Daily highlights reel (repeated hourly)