Feature

Cupola provides a pressurised observation and work area for the Space Station crew giving visibility to support, the control of the space station remote manipulator system and general external viewing of the Earth, celestial objects and visiting vehicles.
 

Specifications   Dimensions   Overall height 1500 mm Maximum diameter 2955 mm   Including Micrometeoroid and orbital Debris Protection System (MDPS) with shutters closed   Including Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture Mass budget   Launch Mass 1805 kg On-orbit mass 1880 kg

 
 

The Cupola Observation Module

Communications and data infrastructure     Via Audio Terminal Unit that is connected to Node 3 and the rest of the station   1553B buses via Utility Outlet Panel   Dedicated discrete lines for Robotic Work Station

 
 

Environmental control     Environmental Control and Life Support air from Node Inter Module Ventilation   With manual temperature adjustment

 
 

Electrical power   Direct from the Node 120 V interface Window heaters Via the Utility Outlet Panel, 120 V interface Robotic Workstation   Portable Computer System   Portable light system

 
 

Main construction material   Dome Forged Al 2219-T851 Skirt Al 2219-T851 Thermal control Goldised Kapton Multi-Layer Insulation blanket Windows Fused Silica and borosilicate glass MDPS shutters Al-6061-T6, AL 7075-T7352 and Kevlar/Nextel sheets

 
 

Ownership and development authority     The Cupola is provided by ESA to NASA in exchange for the transport of 5 external payloads Prime contractor     Alenia Spazio (Turin, Italy), leading a consortium of European sub-contractors

 
 

Configuration   On launch     Launched inside the Orbiter cargo bay, mounted on a Spacelab pallet via a Manual Berthing Mechanism Launch vehicle Space Shuttle (Flight 20A/STS-130) Launch site Kennedy Space Center Launch date December 2009 (tbc) On orbit     Transferred from Orbiter cargo bay to the Node location by the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System   and Station Remote Manipulator System interfacing with the Cupola   Initially berthed to Node 1 Port-port, later relocated to Node 3 Forward-port.   (Node 3 Aft-port for contingency)

 
 

Outfitting on-orbit   Permanently 1 Audio Terminal Unit and 2 Utility Outlet Panels Periodically Robotic Work Station   Portable Computer System   Portable light system   Foot restraint device to support crew operations

 
 

Flight hardware   Primary Forged/Machined Aluminium dome welded to skirt   Window Assy, (6 side and 1 top), glass panes and window heaters and thermistors.   Passive Common Berthing Mechanism bolted to the skirt.   Micro-meteoroid and orbital Debris Protection   System Aluminum bumper on the cylindrical portion   2 Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture interfaceplates Secondary Internal closure panels equipment & harness support brackets   Crew System Kit; seat tracks, handrails, handholds, tethers.   Manually operated shutters for each window (also serves as MDPS).   2 Window Change Out Covers to support on orbit window assy replacement.   Thermal Control System; water supplied from Node High Temperature loop.   Passive thermal control utilizes Multi-Layer Insulation and thermo optical properties.   Environmental Control and Life Support air from Node Inter Module Ventilation.   MIL-1553 Bus, Discrete I/O, Audio, Video

 
 
Last update: 1 February 2010