8 November 2006 – Astrium is closely involved in the activities of the International Space Station (ISS), and more especially with its orbital research facilities, for which it built the MELFI freezer (Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer) and the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) on behalf of the European Space Agency ESA. On its latest mission, STS 121, the space shuttle Discovery brought a cargo of new high-technology equipment to the ISS, designed and built by Astrium. The instruments were transported to the space station as part of the payload contained in the Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM).
Since the launch on 4th July 2006, MELFI was subject during last summer to all the necessary tests for the on orbit commissioning. The performances obtained are in line with the expectations, and even slightly better. Temperatures as cold as -98°C were reached with reduced electrical power consumption. A few weeks were sufficient to confirm that the biological samples were correctly cooled down and protected inside the different storage cold volumes.
This first MELFI flight unit is now continuously used for the storage and preservation of the samples on board the Station. The astronauts and the scientific community are both very satisfied to finally have this freezer allowing them to continue the space experiments on biology and human physiology.
The MELFI facility will allow the human, animal and plant samples collected by the astronauts at various times throughout the duration of their mission on board the ISS to be preserved until such time as they can be analysed by scientists after being sent back to Earth. Astrium designed a freezer capable of reaching a temperature of -80° Celsius in order to keep the samples in perfect condition for a period of up to 2 years.
MELFI has a total capacity of 300 litres split into 4 separate storage units. Each unit with a capacity of 75 litres can be set to one of three different temperatures (+4° C, -26° C, -80° C), depending on the user’s requirements. The freezer is equipped with a motorised compressor and a turbine in permanent operation that rotates at a speed of 90,000 rpm, powered by the space station’s solar energy supply. In the event of a power failure, MELFI is capable of maintaining an adequately low temperature for 8 hours, allowing all samples to be preserved without deterioration.
Unlike earlier refrigeration units employed in space, MELFI is able to guarantee the best conditions for the storage of frozen samples thanks to an innovative technology developed by Astrium team in Toulouse. Whereas its predecessors employed the same basic technique as a household refrigerator, namely a two-phase gas/liquid cycle requiring gravity to function properly, the MELFI freezer is specifically designed to operate under zero-gravity conditions. It cycles nitrogen gas in a single phase that is not dependent on gravity, thus ensuring the perfect storage of all biological samples, from their collection to their transport back to Earth from the International Space Station.
A total of two flight models have now been delivered to the NASA Kennedy Space Center for installation in the U.S. lab module on board the space station, in addition to the flight model delivered to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA for installation in the JEM laboratory, and the various ground reference models delivered to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for use in astronaut training.
Like MELFI, the European Modular Cultivation System, EMCS, was transported to the International Space Station in July on shuttle mission STS 121. Developed by Astrium in Friedrichshafen, the EMCS is an incubator for the automated processing of different types of living organism – from plants to aquatic micro-organisms. Two centrifuges enable scientists to investigate the effects of weightlessness as well as the effects of gravitational fields of different gradients, such as those typical of the moon or Mars. The results of these experiments will help fundamental research into understanding how organic processes work at cellular and genetic level, providing answers to a number of medical questions .
The German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter installed EMCS on board the space station with the help of his American colleague Jeff Williams. The system then entered the commissioning phase in August, during which it was thoroughly tested. The incubator stood up to these tests without a hitch. “EMCS is working perfectly,” reported Astrium’s Ulrich Kübler, in charge of setting up and operating the research facility onboard the space station. The first scientific experiments using EMCS, designed to study the growth of plant roots under zero gravity conditions, have already been completed, Kübler says.
Astrium
Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems. In 2005, Astrium had a turnover of €2.7 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. It has two main business units: Astrium Space Transportation, for launchers and orbital infrastructure, and Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Astrium Services, develops and delivers satellite services.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of €34.2 billion and employed a workforce of more than 113,000.
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