Russian Orbital Segment
Encyclopedia
The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station
(ISS) constructed in Russia
and operated by the Russian Federal Space Agency
(Roskosmos). The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation & Control for the entire Station.
The segment currently consists of five modules, which together essentially comprise the base configuration of the cancelled Russian space station Mir-2
. The segment is controlled directly from Roskosmos's Mission Control Center in Moscow
.
The first module, Zarya
, otherwise known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB, was the first component of the ISS to be launched, and provided the early station configuration with electrical power, storage, propulsion, and navigation guidance, until a short time after the Russian service module Zvezda docked and was transferred control. Zvezda contains the ESA
built DMS-R Data Management System. Now primarily used for storage, Zarya provides ports for Soyuz spacecraft
, Progress spacecraft
and the European ATV to dock to the station. Ships boosting the stations orbit dock to the aft port (the rear port according to the stations normal orientation and direction of travel). The FGB is a descendant of the TKS spacecraft designed for the Russian Salyut program. 5.4 tons of propellant fuel can be stored and transferred automatically to and from ships docked. Zarya was originally intended as a module for the Russian Mir space station, but was not flown as of the end of the Mir-1 program. Development costs for Zarya were paid for by Russia (and the former Soviet Union), spread across previous space station programs, and construction costs were partly paid for by the United States.
The second module, Zvezda, is the station's Service Module - it provides a living environment for the crew, contains the ISS's main engine system, and provides a docking port for Soyuz, Progress and Automated Transfer Vehicle
spacecraft.
The third module, Pirs, functions as the ROS's airlock, storing EVA spacesuits and providing the equipment necessary for cosmonauts to exit the space station. It also serves as a docking compartment for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. The fourth module, Poisk, is similar to Pirs. Redundancy in airlocks allows one airlock to be repaired internally and externally whilst crew use the other airlock to exit and re-enter the station.
The fifth module, Rassvet
, is primarily used for cargo storage and as a docking port for visiting spacecraft.
Nauka , also known as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) or FGB-2, (Russian
: Многофункциональный лабораторный модуль, or МЛМ), is the major Russian laboratory module. This module will be separated from the ISS before de-orbit with support modules and become the OPSEK
space station, it contains an additional set of life support systems and orientation control, and power provided by its solar arrays will mean the ROS no longer relies on power from the USOS main arrays. Nauka's mission has changed over time, during the mid 1990's it was intended as a backup for the FGB, and later as a universal docking module (UDM), its docking ports will be able to support automatic docking of both space craft, additional modules and fuel transfer. Prior to the arrival of the MLM, a progress robot spacecraft will dock with PIRS, depart with that module, and both will be discarded. Nauka will then use its own engines to attach itself to the ROS in May 2012.
FGB to facilitate docking of Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, the module's forward-facing port will be unusable. As of January 2010, neither Roskosmos nor NASA have provided further details of these modules or verification that they have been officially funded by the Russian government or added to the ISS launch manifest schedule.
Node Module
(UM)/(NM) This 4-ton ball shaped module will support the docking of two scientific and power modules during the final stage of the station assembly and provide the Russian segment additional docking ports to receive Soyuz TMA and Progress M spacecraft. NM is to be incorporated into the ISS in 2012. It will be integrated with a special version of the Progress cargo ship and launched by a standard Soyuz rocket. The Progress would use its own propulsion and flight control system to deliver and dock the Node Module to the nadir (Earth-facing) docking port of the Nauka MLM/FGB-2 module. One port will be equipped with an active hybrid docking port, which enables docking with the MLM module. The remaining five ports would be passive hybrids, enabling docking of Soyuz and Progress vehicles, as well as heavier modules and future spacecraft with modified docking systems. However more importantly, the node module was conceived to serve as the only permanent element of the future Russian successor to the ISS, OPSEK. Equipped with six docking ports, the Node Module would serve as a single permanent core of the future station with all other modules coming and going as their life span and mission required. This would be a progression beyond the ISS and Russia's modular MIR space station, which are in turn more advanced than early monolithic first generation stations such as Skylab, and early Salyut and Almaz stations.
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) constructed in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and operated by the Russian Federal Space Agency
Russian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...
(Roskosmos). The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation & Control for the entire Station.
The segment currently consists of five modules, which together essentially comprise the base configuration of the cancelled Russian space station Mir-2
Mir-2
Mir-2 was a space station project begun in February 1976. Some of the modules built for Mir-2 have been incorporated into the International Space Station . The project underwent many changes, but was always based on the DOS-8 base block space station core module, built as a back-up to the DOS-7...
. The segment is controlled directly from Roskosmos's Mission Control Center in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
The first module, Zarya
Zarya
Zarya , also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB , was the first module of the International Space Station to be launched. The FGB provided electrical power, storage, propulsion, and guidance to the ISS during the initial stage of assembly...
, otherwise known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB, was the first component of the ISS to be launched, and provided the early station configuration with electrical power, storage, propulsion, and navigation guidance, until a short time after the Russian service module Zvezda docked and was transferred control. Zvezda contains the ESA
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
built DMS-R Data Management System. Now primarily used for storage, Zarya provides ports for Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
, Progress spacecraft
Progress spacecraft
The Progress is a Russian expendable freighter spacecraft. The spacecraft is an unmanned resupply spacecraft during its flight but upon docking with a space station, it allows astronauts inside, hence it is classified manned by the manufacturer. It was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is...
and the European ATV to dock to the station. Ships boosting the stations orbit dock to the aft port (the rear port according to the stations normal orientation and direction of travel). The FGB is a descendant of the TKS spacecraft designed for the Russian Salyut program. 5.4 tons of propellant fuel can be stored and transferred automatically to and from ships docked. Zarya was originally intended as a module for the Russian Mir space station, but was not flown as of the end of the Mir-1 program. Development costs for Zarya were paid for by Russia (and the former Soviet Union), spread across previous space station programs, and construction costs were partly paid for by the United States.
The second module, Zvezda, is the station's Service Module - it provides a living environment for the crew, contains the ISS's main engine system, and provides a docking port for Soyuz, Progress and Automated Transfer Vehicle
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...
spacecraft.
The third module, Pirs, functions as the ROS's airlock, storing EVA spacesuits and providing the equipment necessary for cosmonauts to exit the space station. It also serves as a docking compartment for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. The fourth module, Poisk, is similar to Pirs. Redundancy in airlocks allows one airlock to be repaired internally and externally whilst crew use the other airlock to exit and re-enter the station.
The fifth module, Rassvet
Rassvet (ISS module)
Rassvet , also known as the Mini-Research Module 1 and formerly known as the Docking Cargo Module , is a component of the International Space Station . The module's design is similar to the Mir Docking Module launched on STS-74 in 1995. Rassvet is primarily used for cargo storage and as a docking...
, is primarily used for cargo storage and as a docking port for visiting spacecraft.
Nauka , also known as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) or FGB-2, (Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Многофункциональный лабораторный модуль, or МЛМ), is the major Russian laboratory module. This module will be separated from the ISS before de-orbit with support modules and become the OPSEK
Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex
The Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex ' is the planned Russian successor to the International Space Station, with the main goal of supporting deep space exploration.-Overview:...
space station, it contains an additional set of life support systems and orientation control, and power provided by its solar arrays will mean the ROS no longer relies on power from the USOS main arrays. Nauka's mission has changed over time, during the mid 1990's it was intended as a backup for the FGB, and later as a universal docking module (UDM), its docking ports will be able to support automatic docking of both space craft, additional modules and fuel transfer. Prior to the arrival of the MLM, a progress robot spacecraft will dock with PIRS, depart with that module, and both will be discarded. Nauka will then use its own engines to attach itself to the ROS in May 2012.
Proposed modules
On June 17, 2009, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) presented to NASA and the other ISS partners a proposal to add additional modules to the Russian segment to ensure its viability past 2016 or even 2020. To this end, a Nodal Module that would be attached to the nadir docking port of the MLM Nauka would facilitate the attachment of two additional, larger modules that would be capable of providing an independent power source to the Russian segment should current plans to deorbit the US segment of the ISS after 2016 move forward. As proposed, the Nodal Module would be launched during 2013 by a Soyuz launcher in a similar fashion to how the Pirs and Poisk MRM-2 modules were lifted to orbit. The two larger modules, nominally referred to as Scientific and Power Producing Modules 1 and 2, would be lifted to orbit via Proton launchers in 2014 and 2015, respectively. These two modules would be attached to the port and starboard sides of the Nodal Module, leaving its aft docking port accessible for possible future expandability and its nadir port accessible for docking by Soyuz or Progress spacecraft. Because of the proximity of the Nodal Module to the planned attachment point of MRM-1 on the nadir docking port of ZaryaZarya
Zarya , also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB , was the first module of the International Space Station to be launched. The FGB provided electrical power, storage, propulsion, and guidance to the ISS during the initial stage of assembly...
FGB to facilitate docking of Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, the module's forward-facing port will be unusable. As of January 2010, neither Roskosmos nor NASA have provided further details of these modules or verification that they have been officially funded by the Russian government or added to the ISS launch manifest schedule.
Node Module
Node Module
The Node Module is a pressurized module of the Russian Segment of the International Space Station and will be used in the OPSEK space station...
(UM)/(NM) This 4-ton ball shaped module will support the docking of two scientific and power modules during the final stage of the station assembly and provide the Russian segment additional docking ports to receive Soyuz TMA and Progress M spacecraft. NM is to be incorporated into the ISS in 2012. It will be integrated with a special version of the Progress cargo ship and launched by a standard Soyuz rocket. The Progress would use its own propulsion and flight control system to deliver and dock the Node Module to the nadir (Earth-facing) docking port of the Nauka MLM/FGB-2 module. One port will be equipped with an active hybrid docking port, which enables docking with the MLM module. The remaining five ports would be passive hybrids, enabling docking of Soyuz and Progress vehicles, as well as heavier modules and future spacecraft with modified docking systems. However more importantly, the node module was conceived to serve as the only permanent element of the future Russian successor to the ISS, OPSEK. Equipped with six docking ports, the Node Module would serve as a single permanent core of the future station with all other modules coming and going as their life span and mission required. This would be a progression beyond the ISS and Russia's modular MIR space station, which are in turn more advanced than early monolithic first generation stations such as Skylab, and early Salyut and Almaz stations.
See also
- Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment ComplexOrbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment ComplexThe Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex ' is the planned Russian successor to the International Space Station, with the main goal of supporting deep space exploration.-Overview:...
- proposed separation of parts of ROS - Scientific research on the ISSScientific research on the ISSScientific Research on the International Space Station is a collection of experiments that require one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit. The primary fields of research include human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology...
External links
- Science Research on ISS Russian Segment - S.P. Korolev RSC Energia