| Columbus |
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ESA's Columbus module is a multi-functional pressurised laboratory.
It is an integral part of the ISS and Europe’s main contribution,
giving Europe access to Station utilisation.
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| Launch Date |
TBD |
| Launch Site |
Kennedy Space Center |
| Launcher |
Space Shuttle Flight 1E |
| Launch Mass |
12,800 kg with 2500 kg payload |
| Dimension |
6.8 metres length with a diameter of 4.5 metres |
| Supported crew |
3 |
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ATV Characteristics
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Automatic, unmanned space transport vehicle which carries cargo and resupply goods
from the Earth to the International Space Station.
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| Launch Date |
October 2005 |
| Launch Site |
Kourou, French-Guyana |
| Launcher |
Ariane V Evolution |
| Vehicle Mass |
5320 kg |
| Dimension |
9,8 x 4,5 m |
| Payload capability
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5.5 t of dry cargo
840 kg of water/gas
860 kg of propellant for refueling ISS
4 t of propellant for 'reboost' manoeuvre
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Columbus Laboratory
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The science module Columbus is ESA's biggest single contribution to the International Space Station (ISS).
The 4.5-metre cylindrical module will give an enormous boost to the station's research capabilities.
During its 10-year projected lifespan, Earth-based researchers - sometimes with a little help from the ISS crew -
will be able to conduct thousands of experiments in life sciences, materials science, fluid physics and a whole host
of other disciplines, all in the weightlessness of orbit. The 75 cubic metres of space inside Columbus contains an entire
suite of science laboratories. The module has room for 10 International Standard Payload Racks, each hosting an entire laboratory
in miniature - complete with power and cooling systems, and video and data links to researchers back on Earth.
 During its operational life, the laboratory will be permanently attached to Node 2 of the ISS. It will
be used mainly for experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biomedicine, as well as for numerous technological applications.
Once functioning and permanently docked to the ISS for complete "manned" operability, Columbus will accommodate two astronaut-researchers
working in close collaboration with the principal scientific investigators following their experiments from Earth.
Outside its comfortable, pressurized hull, Columbus has four mounting points for external payloads.
Exposed to the vacuum of space, science packages can investigate anything from the ability of bacteria to survive on an
artificial meteorite to volcanic activity 400 km below on the Earth.
Columbus in orbit is only the most obvious and impressive part of the whole research programme. Columbus on the ground
will involve researchers all over Europe, who will be able to control their own experiments directly from several User Centres
or even directly from their workplaces. Their efforts will be channelled through the Columbus Control Centre (Col-CC) in Germany,
which will interface with the module itself and also ESA's NASA partners in the United States.
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ATV Automated Transport Vehicle
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The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is a supply ship lifted into orbit by the Ariane-5 launcher. The ATV will carry up to nine tonnes
of cargo including provisions, scientific payloads and rocket propellant. Once docked to the Russian segment of ISS, the craft can also use its
own thrusters to boost the station higher in its orbit, thus counteracting the faint drag from the Earth's atmosphere.
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