A legacy of European-built and operated space modules that started in Earth orbit and is now headed to the moon began 40 years ago this week.
From the first launch of Spacelab, a pressurized laboratory that rode in the cargo bay of a NASA space shuttle, on November 28, 1983, to Columbus, one of the main modules of the International Space Station, to I-Hab, an element of the Artemis Gateway stations that will be deployed to lunar orbit in the coming years all have a common heritage: hardware built and assembled in Europe.
"Spacelab's industrial legacy is clear," the European Space Agency (ESA) said in an editorial published on its website on Tuesday (Nov 28). "The companies involved have changed names several times since the 1970s, but pressure grenades are still manufactured from space-grade aluminum-copper alloy 2219 in Turin, Italy, in buildings today operated by Thales Alenia Space."
Further integration work is being done today at an Airbus Defense and Space facility in Bremen, Germany, the same halls used to bring Spacelab together four decades ago.
Related: Spacelab: Space Shuttle flew 30 years ago with Europe's first space module
Airtight assemblies
The first Spacelab mission launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia supported 72 science experiments, which were conducted during the 10-day STS-9 mission. That 22-foot-long and 13.5-foot-wide (6.7 by 4.1 meters) module, like the ones that followed for the shuttle and later programs, was designed to keep the external vacuum of space at bay.
Like Spacelab, the Columbus module and other large "rooms" built for the International Space Station in Europe were limited in size by the dimensions of the shuttle's cargo bay, while I-Hab will be only 26 by 10 feet (8 by 3 meters). to measure. as powered by the capabilities of its launch vehicle.
"Gateway elements may be smaller than previous European modules, but should also be stronger," says Joao Gandra, a materials and process engineer at ESA. "The big difference is that - as with the latest Axiom and Cygnus pressure shells in Europe - they are now welded using 'friction stir welding', which softens rather than melts metals, applying friction to bond them together. to connect. While traditional welding can cause stresses in joints, this technique results in stronger welds with improved performance."
The I-Hab will serve as living quarters aboard the multi-module Gateway for crews of four for up to 30 days. Its launch is scheduled for 2028.
Developed for all directions
Compared to Spacelab, I-Hab's designers had the challenge of fitting all the necessary systems into a smaller habitable volume, including scientific equipment, cooking facilities and four sleeping stations.
"Previous ISS modules - like Spacelab before it - were designed with an up and down orientation, just because astronauts find that easier to work with. With I-Hab we don't really have that luxury, because we have to use all available space as efficiently as possible, while meeting all human factors and crew performance requirements," said Mark Wagner, ESA's lead for the Lunar Gateway Baseline, Verification and Assembly, Integration and Testing Team.
Like Spacelab, which was only used when the space shuttle was in orbit, Gateway will be operated only by humans. It will not be a continuous crew like on board the International Space Station.
I-Hab will therefore not be equipped with a toilet; the crew will use NASA's Orion spacecraft for this purpose. And early expeditions will need to be equipped with their own water, food and other consumables, which is one reason missions will be limited to 30 days, in addition to limiting the astronauts' exposure to radiation in deep space.
ESA plans to give I-Hab the same 'shirt-sleeve' working environment originally designed for Spacelab and the ISS modules, with a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) and 50 percent humidity, although the atmospheric pressure will be 0.7 percent. atmosphere compared to the sea level pressure prevailing at the station, reducing the overall mass of I-Hab.
"Although I-Hab is smaller, it will be more inclusive in that we are designing for 99 percent space for astronauts, meaning that almost all the smallest female astronauts to the largest male astronauts can operate equipment with ease and comfort - such as opening hatches or quick-disconnect liquid lines - compared to an equivalent 95 percentile figure for the ISS," Wagner said.
The return of Spacelab?
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The development of I-Hab has passed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and is currently in the detailed design phase. This latest example of a European manned module has a design life of 15 years, but using the ISS modules as an example, it is likely that I-Hab will continue to function for much longer.
Based on current plans for Gateway, more than half of the lunar orbiting outpost will ultimately be of European origin.
Europe's original Spacelab module template could also be making a comeback. A recently signed contract between the Italian space agency ASI and Thales Alenia Space involves designing Spacelab-sized modules that could be deployed on the lunar surface and become part of a future lunar base.
