The Worldwide Area Station (ISS) acquired a brand new module Thursday when Russia docked its 22-ton Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module at 9:29am ET – the primary time in a decade {that a} new half has been despatched to the floating house lab.
Nauka, which implies ‘science’ in Russian’ launched on July 21 atop a Russian Proton rocket. This rocket additionally carried the brand new European Robotic Arm, or ERA, a 16-foot-long two-handed robotic that may transfer freely exterior of the ISS.
After eight days in free-flight, the uncrewed 43-foot-long module linked as much as the port on the Earth-facing Russian phase of the ISS.
Nauka can be a brand new science facility, docking port and spacewalk airlock for future operations, together with offering extra crew quarters, a galley and a rest room.
The brand new module will occupy the realm vacated by the Pirs docking compartment, with the connected Progress 77 spacecraft which had referred to as the ISS dwelling for the previous 20 years till Monday – the crew launched it from the ship and despatched it into house.
For Nauka to be ready for operation, it can require an extended collection of maneuvers, together with as much as 11 spacewalks starting in early September.
Its launch, initially scheduled for 2007, had been repeatedly delayed due to technical issues.
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The Worldwide Area Station (ISS) acquired a brand new module Thursday when Russia docked its 22-ton Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module at 9:29am ET – the primary time in a decade {that a} new half has been despatched to the house ship
The brand new modular accomplished the docking course of utilizing its autonomous navigation system, together with the assistance of cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, who guided it via the ultimate strategy whereas on the ISS.
‘Congratulations, that was not a simple docking,’ Russia’s mission management radioed Novitsky, who used a distant system from on the house station.
Russian crewmembers on the ISS have performed two spacewalks to attach cables in preparation for Nauka’s arrival.
NASA commentator Rob Navias stated the brand new module ‘will present roll management for the Worldwide Area Station; it can present propellant switch between the Progress autos — the unpiloted cargo ships — that may arrive within the months and years to come back; and it’ll function a docking port for piloted Soyuz and unpiloted Progress autos.’
Nauka, which implies ‘science,’ launched on July 21 atop a Russian Proton rocket (pictured), which additionally carried the brand new European Robotic Arm, or ERA, a 16-foot-long two-handed robotic that may transfer freely exterior of the ISS
Nauka can be a brand new science facility, docking port and spacewalk airlock for future operations, together with present extra crew quarters, a galley and bathroom. Pictured is the module getting ready for launch
‘It is going to additionally function a docking port for a node module — a multi-hatched docking port — that’s to be launched by the Russians later this yr for extra autos and elements to be connected to it, because the ever-expanding Russian phase of the Worldwide Area Station continues,’ Navias added.
The Nauka module additionally serves as a base of operations for the European Robotic Arm, a 36-foot-long manipulator constructed by the European Area Company (ESA) to grow to be the primary exterior-mounted appendage designed particularly to service the Russian phase of the station.
The module may even present a further crew quarters, a brand new bathroom and home water and oxygen regeneration gear, enhancing the circumstances of cosmonauts’ stays on the station and rising the security of the complete ISS crew.
The final time the ISS was upgraded was in 2011, when house shuttle Discovery delivered a bus-size storage room, often called the Everlasting Multipurpose Module (PMM), to the orbiting lab.
PMM is 21 ft lengthy and 15 ft vast, and offered astronauts with greater than 2,470 cubic ft extra cupboard space.
After eight days in free-flight, the uncrewed 43-foot-long module linked as much as the port on the Earth-facing Russian phase of the ISS
The brand new module will occupy the house vacated by the Pirs docking compartment (pictured), with the connected Progress 77 spacecraft which had referred to as the ISS dwelling for the previous 20 years till Monday when it was launched from the ship and despatched into house
Nauka now joins 4 different pressurized modules to comprise the Russian phase of the Worldwide Area Station. Along with the Zvezda service module and Zarya FGB, the phase additionally has two mini-research modules, Poisk and Rassvet. Nauka is Russia’s largest contribution (by dimension) to the station and the nation’s first new addition since 2010, CollectSpace studies.
Along with the US working phase, the house station now has a complete of 14 pressurized modules.
The Worldwide Area Station is at present operated by NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur; Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov of Russia´s Roscosmos house company; Japan Aerospace Exploration Company astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Area Company astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
In 1998, Russia launched the station´s first module, Zarya, which was adopted in 2000 by one other huge module, Zvezda, and three smaller modules within the following years.
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