|
''Tranquility'', also known as Node 3, is a module of the International Space Station (ISS). ESA and the Italian Space Agency had Tranquility built by Thales Alenia Space. A ceremony on November 20, 2009 transferred ownership of the module to NASA. On February 8, 2010, NASA launched the module on the Space Shuttle's STS-130 mission. The module provides six berthing locations, but three of those locations are disabled, as modules originally planned to be attached to ''Tranquility'' were canceled. STS-130 also brought the Cupola, a large window module and robotics work station to the ISS, which was then attached to the nadir-side of ''Tranquility''. The module also includes various ISS systems, including additional life support systems. == Design == ''Tranquility'' was built within the ESA-NASA ISS bartering system. ESA committed to build and fund both ''Harmony'' and ''Tranquility'' as well as the ATV in order to use NASA ISS facitilies, fly astronauts on the Shuttle and for other ISS services. ESA teamed up with the Italian Space Agency ASI to build both ''Harmony'' and ''Tranquility'' at Thales Alenia Space in Turin. ''Tranquility'' provides six berthing locations with power, data and commanding, thermal and environmental control, and crew access for more attached habitable volumes or for crew transportation vehicles or stowage, or an appropriate combination of all of these. One of the berthing locations is used by ''Cupola'', which houses a Robotic Work Station inside it to assist in the assembly/maintenance of the ISS, and offers a window for Earth observations. ''Tranquility'' was launched with the ''Cupola'' attached to its port facing Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM). After mating ''Tranquility'' with the port CBM of ''Unity'', the ''Cupola'' was transferred to the nadir facing port of ''Tranquility'' where it will stay. The module has three redundant berthing ports that were not scheduled to be used prior to the end of the Space Shuttle program, although there is a Power Data Grapple Fixture reserved for the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (Dextre), which is located on the zenith berthing location. The current ISS configuration requires ''Tranquility'' to be docked to the port berthing location of ''Unity''. As such, the three unused berthing locations of ''Tranquility'' were disabled as the node's close proximity to other segments would prohibit the port's direct use for cargo spacecraft or using the docking module PMA-3, which was relocated from ''Harmony'' to the port berthing location of ''Tranquility'' for storage. At the time, the move of PMA-3 to the port location of ''Tranquility'' was required because NASA decided to leave the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo permanently attached to the ISS, which will be located at the nadir side of ''Unity''. In 2001, NASA considered changing the design of the module. This idea for an extended or "stretched" module,〔()〕 was a result of the deferral/deletion of the Habitation Module. The stretched module would have held 16 racks, compared with the baseline capacity of eight racks. This modification was not funded and the plans were abandoned. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tranquility (ISS module)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|