AEROMEDIA
The Italian Aerospace Information Web
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ISS’ Node 3 Has Left Turin Towards Cape Canaveral

Forty years ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their LEM on the moon, in the Tranquillity Sea. On May 16, 2009, Node 3 - dubbed "Tranquillity" by NASA - left the Turin plant of Thales Alenia Space, heading towards NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, for ground processing and Shuttle integration phase, before to be launched towards the International Space Station. The following day a Beluga of Airbus Transport International landed at Turin/Caselle airport to pick up the Node 3 and transfer it to Cape Canaveral, in Florida.
Node 3 manufactured by Thales Alenia Space is an additional European-built element which will be permanently attached to the Space Station, contributing to its completion and extension. With Node 3, life in space will be more comfortable: its innovative life support system is the most sophisticated ever to be sent to space. It will allow the permanent presence of a 6 astronauts on board the ISS.
The docking of Node 3 to the orbiting Station will be carried out by "Endeavour" shuttle’s mission STS-130, Flight 20A, (planned launch February 4, 2010), a particularly important mission for the completion of the Station and for Italy. Along with Node 3, there will also be the Cupola, an impressive robotic control room, also produced by Thales Alenia Space in Turin. The Cupola, which will be locked to the active axial port of Node 3, will allow the astronauts to see outside the ISS through its seven windows and to operate with a 360 degree view around the Space Station.
During the roll out ceremony of N3 – how it is dubbed in "space jargon" – it was also displayed ATV 2, the second Automated Transfer Vehicle, undergoing integration activity inside the clean room. Compared with the picture taken in December, 2007, when ATV 2 was in structural manufacturing phase, the assembly progress is evident. The new ATV 2 is destined to ferry cargo to the ISS, together with its twin ATV 1.
The three Nodes are fundamental elements in the International Space Station’s architecture and they allow the interconnection and management of the various pressurized modules. Two in three have been designed and produced by Thales Alenia Space Italia, on behalf of the European Space Agency. Node 2 and its twin, Node 3, share a similar basic layout: a cylindrical structure 7 m length, 4.6 m diameter and a weight of over 14 tons.
They have different functions. From 2007, Node 2 "Harmony" is the connection element of three scientific laboratories: the European (made in Turin) "Columbus", the U.S. "Destiny", and the Japanese "Kibo". Furthermore, it distributes electricity and controls the ISS environment (air, temperature, ventilation, humidity, pressure, water treatment).
The new node "Tranquillity" will supply the Station with more advanced functionalities: it recycles the water and regenerates oxygen, thus purifying the atmosphere, removing toxic substances, controlling and measuring all environmental elements. It will be berthed to Node 1 Port port then outfitted on orbit with the Regenerative ECLSS racks and additional ISS hardware. Node 3 features six ports with CBMs/Hatches (2 axial and 4 radial providing further docking ports for future space vehicles or modules), meteoroids and debris protection through single and double bumper panels, grapple fixtures for robotic arms, restraints and mobility aids for EVA activity.
In the ambitious project of the International Space Station, the Italian plant of Thales Alenia Space plays a key role in the production of the orbiting structure. Drawing from its thirty-year experience in the space research field, Thales Alenia Space, on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Italian Space Agency (ASI), gives an outstanding contribution in terms of design, construction and in-service support. So much so that, approximately 50% of the pressurized and habitable elements of the Station has been manufactured in the Turin plant of the French-Italian company.

In the picture: Node 3 of the International Space Station, ready to be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center, has been rolled out by Thales Alenia Space, in Turin, on May 16, 2009. It is. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, May 2009)