Complete with Robot Butler
There might be a new favorite hang out for astronauts aboard the International Space Station later this year. The Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) known as Leonardo which will be going to the ISS on the upcoming STS 131 mission carrying cargo and supplies will be canada goose store transformed after canada goose outlet the mission into a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM), and brought up to stay on the station on STS 133 as a storeroom for supplies. But it might also become a haven to get away from it all.
“The thought is, the PMM might become sort of a ‘man cave’,” said Mike Kinslow, the Boeing payload manager out at Kennedy Space Center. “It won’t have all the background noise of fans, computers and other equipment running like in the laboratories, so it will be a quieter atmosphere that might appeal to the astronauts during their off duty hours.”
No plans for a big screen TV Kinslow said, but there will be ports for computers, and since internet canada goose clearance is now available on the ISS, Leonardo could be the location of choice to compose emails to loved ones back canada goose outlet in usa home, or do a https://www.zoetermeerinbeeld.nl little Twittering.
Another interesting piece of hardware scheduled to fly on the PMM is the Robonaut 2, NASA’s second generation of dexterous robots with a human like torso that can work with tools and one day are envisioned to be able to do EVA work outside buy canada goose jacket cheap the ISS. But for now, R2 will be tested inside the station in zero g. “It will be used on orbit for routine maintenance indoors only.” said Kinslow, “This is not an external unit.”
It has a “head” with a vision canada Canada Goose online goose outlet reviews system, with hands that can do work, controlled by virtual Canada Goose Coats On Sale reality like operation. Any chance R2 could be programmed to serve drinks or bring food into the man cave?
See our article on how General Motors is going to use R2 for manufacturing cars.
Turning Leonardo canada goose outlet online into a permanent module will take some work, said NASA Payload Manager Joe uk canada goose Delai. “Once it returns from this flight we will beef up the external shield and change things internally to become canada goose outlet jackets a permanent module. It will be about a four month process to get it ready.”
Leonard being attached to the ISS on a previous mission. research time on the Station. Four modules were built; three flew to the ISS. STS 131 will be Leonardo’s seventh trip to space.
Kinslow said shields for an MPLM are lighter weight because they canada goose outlet store are only meant to be on orbit for 2 weeks at a time. “Leonardo will be canada goose outlet store uk plated with a multilevel Kevlar blanket, the same type of exterior shielding other modules have, which is cheap canada goose similar to armor plating, to protect against meteorite or debris impact. Internally, not a lot of changes will be made,” he said. “It already has a ventilation system like a normal module, but will need a computer system and a few other additions.”
Leonardo won’t be outfitted with a sleep station or crew quarters because it might be in a more vulnerable position for radiation or debris hits. “They don’t really want canada goose outlet nyc crew to get in and sleep because of the shielding,” Kinslow said. “It will be a storage module, and we’re discussing putting exercise equipment in there.”
The PMM will be berthed on the Node 1 nadir, or Earth facing port. Leonardo measures about 6.5 meters (21 feet) long and 4.5 meters (15 feet) in diameter.
STS 131 is currently scheduled for an April 5 launch, and STS 133 is shooting for a September 2010 launch. Creamer, who is on board the station now told Universe Today that they aren’t able to have streaming video or download large files. “In terms of download speeds you know, back in the old days, it kind of compares cheap canada goose to 9.6 and canada goose outlet uk sale the 14.4 kilobyte modems, canada goose outlet black friday so it’s not really fast enough to do large file Canada Goose Outlet exchange or videos, but it certainly lets us to do browsing and the fun reading we want to do, or get caught up on current events on that day. It’s a nice outreach for us, and of course you’ve heard about the Twittering which is a nice feature that we can partake in also.”
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