ISS node 3
Encyclopedia
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
(ISS). ESA and the Italian Space Agency
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy...
had Tranquility built by Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
. A ceremony on November 20, 2009 transferred ownership of the module to NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. On February 8, 2010, NASA launched the module on the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
's STS-130
STS-130
STS-130 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station . 's primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center, providing a 360-degree view around the station...
mission.
The module provides six berthing locations, however 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 will be attached to the nadir
Nadir
The nadir is the direction pointing directly below a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface there. Since the concept of being below is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the nadir in more rigorous...
-side of Tranquility. The module also includes various ISS systems, including additional life support systems.
Design
Automated Transfer Vehicle
The Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments...
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
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
Tranquility provides six berthing locations
Common Berthing Mechanism
The common berthing mechanism is a berthing mechanism used to connect all non-Russian pressurized modules of the International Space Station....
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 as well as offer a window for earth observations. Tranquility was launched with the Cupola attached to mating adapter earthward facing port. After mating Tranquility with the port Common Berthing Mechanism
Common Berthing Mechanism
The common berthing mechanism is a berthing mechanism used to connect all non-Russian pressurized modules of the International Space Station....
of Unity, the Cupola was transferred to the nadir facing port of Tranquility where it will stay. The module has three redundant ports that are currently not scheduled to be used, although there is a Power Data Grapple Fixture
Power Data Grapple Fixture
A Power Data Grapple Fixture is a connection fixture used on the International Space Station . PDGFs can be "grappled" by the Canadarm2 robotic arm, in order to allow Canadarm2 to manipulate a grappled object, or be controlled by operators based inside the ISS.The Canadarm2 is self-relocatable and...
reserved for the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator
Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator
Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator , is a two armed robot, or telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station , and extends the function of this system to replace some activities otherwise requiring spacewalks...
, which is located on the zenith berthing location. Because the current ISS configuration requires Tranquility to be docked to the port berthing location of Unity, the three unused berthing locations of Tranquility have been disabled and would mostly be blocked by the station's other segments in any event. The docking module PMA-3 has been relocated to the port berthing location of Tranquility. The move of PMA-3 to the port location of Tranquility was required because NASA decided to leave the 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
Habitation Module
thumb|right|250px|ISS Habitation moduleThe Habitation Module for the International Space Station was intended to be the Station's main living quarters designed with galley, toilet, shower, sleep stations and medical facilities. About the size of a bus, the module was canceled after its pressurized...
. 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.
Purpose
The module will contain the most advanced life support systems ever flown in space. These systems will recycle waste water for crew use and generate oxygenOxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
for the crew to breathe. In addition, Tranquility will contain an atmosphere revitalization system to remove contaminants from the atmosphere and monitor/control the atmosphere constituents of the ISS. Tranquility will also contain a Waste and Hygiene Compartment
Space toilet
A space toilet, or zero gravity toilet, is a toilet that can be used in a weightless environment. In the absence of weight the collection and retention of liquid and solid waste is directed by use of air flow. Since the air used to direct the waste is returned to the cabin, it is filtered...
(toilet) for supporting the on-board crew.
Tranquility will primarily be used for exercise, storage, and robotics work in connection with Cupola.
Status
Tranquility was located in the clean room at the Thales Alenia SpaceThales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
Turin site until 2009. It was shipped to Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
(KSC) on May 17 and arrived in Florida on May 20, 2009. It was officially welcomed to KSC on June 8, 2009.
Tranquility was launched on February 8, 2010 onboard the STS-130
STS-130
STS-130 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station . 's primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center, providing a 360-degree view around the station...
mission flown by Endeavour. It was berthed
Common Berthing Mechanism
The common berthing mechanism is a berthing mechanism used to connect all non-Russian pressurized modules of the International Space Station....
to the port side of Unity on February 12, 2010.
Naming contest
NASA held an online poll to name Node 3. Users were allowed to choose from among four provided names (Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, and Venture), or to suggest their own. In early voting, fans of the science fiction TV series FireflyFirefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
boosted "Serenity", also the name of the show's film
Serenity (film)
Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...
and eponymous spacecraft
Serenity (Firefly vessel)
Serenity is a fictional Firefly class spaceship appearing in Joss Whedon's Firefly television series and related works. Set in the 26th century, the series revolves around nine characters, which form the crew of the small transport ship, as they try to make a living through various legal and...
, to the top with 86%. On the March 3, 2009, episode of The Colbert Report, host Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert (character)
The Reverend / Sir / Dr. / Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., brain-child of Google, is the persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot", the character is a self-obsessed right-wing...
instructed his viewers to suggest "Colbert" as the name for Node 3 in the online poll.
Following Colbert's call to have the node named after him, several other groups attempted to influence the vote. For example, a number of different environmental groups promoted the name "Amazonia", after the Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. They argued that the name was more appropriate given that Node 3 will include the station's environmental control systems. Humorist Dave Barry
Dave Barry
David "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...
urged readers of his blog to name the node "Buddy", which finished as the sixth most popular user-suggested name. Gaia Online
Gaia Online
Gaia Online is an English-language, anime-themed social networking and forums-based website. Gaiaonline was founded in 2003. but the name was changed to GaiaOnline.com in 2003 from go-gaia by its owner, Gaia Interactive...
asked its users to "Send Gaia to Space" by naming the node "Gaia", referring to the Greek goddess of the planet Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, and "Gaia" finished third among the user-suggested names. Other popular user suggestions included "myYearbook
MyYearbook
-History:myYearbook was initially created by two high school students, David and Catherine Cook, and their older brother Geoff, during Spring Break of 2005. Catherine persuaded Geoff, who founded EssayEdge.com and ResumeEdge.com from a dorm in 1997, to invest in their project...
", "SocialVibe
SocialVibe
SocialVibe is a social networking advertising company whose website has over 1,750,000 members which rewards publishers of social media content through mechanisms such as donations to their charity of choice. After joining SocialVibe, in addition to creating a personal profile, users are asked to...
", "Ubuntu", and the name of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
's galactic overlord: "Xenu
Xenu
Xenu ,also spelled Xemu, was, according to the founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs...
".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Congressman Chaka Fattah
Chaka Fattah
Chaka Fattah is the U.S. representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
stated that he believes that paying attention to democracy and voting results should not be limited to earthbound organizations so he planned to use congressional power to force NASA to honor the winning Colbert write-in votes.
On April 14, 2009, astronaut Suni Williams
Sunita Williams
Sunita Williams is a United States Naval officer and a NASA astronaut. She was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and then joined Expedition 15...
appeared on The Colbert Report, and announced the name of the node would be Tranquility. The name was chosen in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the first lunar landing of Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
on the Sea of Tranquility. However, the treadmill
Treadmill
A treadmill is an exercise machine for running or walking while staying in one place. The word treadmill traditionally refers to a type of mill which was operated by a person or animal treading steps of a wheel to grind grain...
the astronauts use for exercise will be named "C.O.L.B.E.R.T." for "Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill" and will be located in Tranquility. Colbert was thrilled and happily accepted this offer. The treadmill traveled to space aboard Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
mission STS-128
STS-128
-Crew notes:Nicole Stott was originally scheduled to return aboard Soyuz TMA-15, but a change in the flight plan was made due to the possible flight delays in future shuttle missions, which may extend Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk's mission beyond the six-month duration preferred for station...
on August 28, 2009, for eventual installation in the Tranquility node during STS-130
STS-130
STS-130 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station . 's primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center, providing a 360-degree view around the station...
.