Design features which enable ESA's Man-Tended Free Flyer (MTFF) to be operational on-orbit for a 30 yr period via servicing and maintenance are described. The MTFF is to be serviced at the Station or by Hermes every 6 months using man in the Pressurized Module (PM) and using robotics for the external equipment. Extravehicular activity is a contingency back-up to the latter. Crew servicing inside the PM is enhanced by design details allowing good access to the payload and subsystem equipment in the same manner as for the Attached Modules of the Station, that is by mounting all equipment in standard racks to which the crew have easy access. Servicing of the external items is achieved by mounting them in Orbital Replacement Units (ORU's) which are compatible with the Station and/or Hermes manipulator arms. The ORU's have standardized interface provisions for end effectors and also for attachment to their parent spacecraft. There are also nonstandard ORU's such as solar arrays and antennas. The MTFF has attitude/orbit control, stability, and position features, has RVD sensors and propulsive capabilities for orbit maintenance, transfer, and rendezvous functions.
Man-Tended Free Flyer Operational Design Features
1987
8 pages
Report
No indication
English