Mini pressurized logistics module (MPLM)

Abstract

The MPLM Program was initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Italy's ASI, the Italian Space Agency, that was signed on 6 December 1991. The MPLM is a pressurized logistics module that will be used to transport supplies and materials (up to 20,000 lb), including user experiments, between Earth and International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) using the Shuttle, to support active and passive storage, and to provide a habitable environment for two people when docked to the Station. The Italian Space Agency has selected Alenia Spazio to develop MPLM modules that have always been considered a key element for the new International Space Station taking benefit from its design flexibility and consequent possible cost saving based on the maximum utilization of the Shuttle launch capability for any mission. In the frame of the very recent agreement between the U.S. and Russia for cooperation in space, that foresees the utilization of MIR 1 hardware, the Italian MPLM will remain an important element of the logistics system, being the only pressurized module designed for re-entry. Within the new scenario of anticipated Shuttle flights to MIR 1 during Space Station phase 1, MPLM remains a candidate for one or more missions to provide MIR 1 resupply capabilities and advanced ISSA hardware/procedures verification. Based on the concept of Flexible Carriers, Alenia Spazio is providing NASA with three MPLM flight units that can be configured according to the requirements of the Human-Tended Capability (HTC) and Permanent Human Capability (PHC) of the Space Station. Configurability will allow transportation of passive cargo only, or a combination of passive and cold cargo accommodated in R/F racks. Having developed and qualified the baseline configuration with respect to the worst enveloping condition, each unit could be easily configured to the passive or active version depending upon the ISSA logistics requirements and their optimized fulfillment.