The Big ATV Cargo Post v3.0

What, exactly, is ATV Edoardo Amaldi hauling up to Station, you ask? Yes: It’s time again for our Big ATV Cargo Post^*!

We’ve gathered some updates from the very helpful ATV team at ESA (credits below), and in particular from Kirsten MacDonell, ESA’s ATV Phase E Cargo Integration Engineer at ESTEC and one of the most knowledgeable folks in terms of what’s actually on board.

Our post today is divided into three parts:

1. A great video from ESA TV highlighting what’s on board
2. A listing of the more crucial items needed for orbital science on board the ISS
3. Two tables giving a detailed breakdown of cargo on board by type and mass, including liquid cargo (propellants, gases), dry cargo, experiments, spare parts, expendables, food, crew items, toothbrushes, etc.

There’s a lot of info, so if you’re pressed for time, at least watch the video now and then perhaps refer back when your mates ask, ‘What in heck does that ATV carry, anyway?’ They’ll wonder how you got to be such an expert!

For even more on ATV-3 cargo, journalist Pete Harding and the nice folks over at NASASpaceFlight.com have put together a great ATV-3 cargo update including additional details on how the various cargo items were selected for launch.

Finally^*, to compare loads with ATV-2, see our Big Cargo Post of 2011.

Part-1: ATV-3 cargo in video

Part-2: ATV-3 orbital science payloads

From ESA

ATV-3 carries the LSM3 for Biolab (LSM = Life Support Module, 3 = Oxygen) and additional neoprene gloves and an arm gripper for Biolab; there is the ALTEA shield (consists of tiles that will be subjected to radiation), and the ENERGY experiment (consists of food and urine sampling kits). There are also ESEMs (Exchangeable Standard Electronic Modules) that fit as modules into the RPDA (Remote Power Distribution Assembly) housing for the Power Distribution Unit of the European Payload Racks on the ISS.

From JAXA

ATV is carrying a High Definition Camcorder, tapes, cables, etc., for down-linking videos or imagery from the ISS’s Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), also known with the nickname Kibo (きぼう, Kibō = Hope).

From NASA

“NanoRacks Module-16 (NRP-10016)” is a P430 ABSplus Ivory thermoplastic enclosure, with four (4) inserted P430 ABSplus thermoplastic experiment sub-modules within. Each one of the four experiment modules contains a programmable Microcontroller and a Digital Camera plus experiment-specific electronics to monitor and control the experiment. The four experiment modules include the following:

1. A miniature robot experimen
2. A bronze and gold electroplating experiment with 50 ml of non-toxic plating solution
3. A concrete mixing and setting experiment with 50 ml of water
4. A DH5 Alpha E-coli bacteria growth and Kanamycin antibiotic resistance experiment

“NanoRacks Module-18 (NRP-10018)” is a P430 ABSplus Ivory thermoplastic enclosure, with four (4) inserted P430 ABSplus thermoplastic experiment sub-modules within. Each one of the four experiment modules contains a programmable Microcontroller and a Digital Camera plus experiment-specific electronics to monitor and control the experiment. NanoRacks Module-18’s four experiments consist of:

1. A plant growth experiment with 50 ml of water — same seeds as CL-10010 (HTV-2 reflight), except qty 1 of each (Wisconsin Fast Plant, Sweet Basil, & Marigold)
2. A biological growth experiment with a probiotic bacteria called B. Subtilis
3. A ferrofluid (electromagnetic field) experiment
4. A 2nd ferrofluid (electromagnetic field) experiment

A ‘VelociCalc’ meter which measures air velocity, temperature, humidity and calculates flow rate. It will allow the on-orbit crew to measure air velocity at inlet/outlet vents, within racks and crew passage ways on the ISS.

The HRF (Human Research Facility) ‘PIG in a Blanket’ is used to supply calibration gas for the HRF VO2max experiment. The PIG gas cylinder is connected via lines and fittings to provide gas for this investigation. The gas composition is 80% Nitrogen, 15% Oxygen and 5% Carbon Dioxide and there are 190 litres of gas at standard temperature and pressure stowed inside.  Total mass is 5 kg and size is 11.6 x 17 x 56.1 cm.

There is also a resupply kit for the Human Research Facility including urine tube kits, wipes, electrodes, bags, echo gel, gauze, needles, etc. All of these are necessary items to conduct HRF experiments even though none of these items are an experiment per se.

Part-3: ATV-3 cargo by mass and type

Fluid Cargo Loading	ATV-3	ATV-2	ATV-1
Mission Propellant	2261	2030	3598
ISS Propulsive Support	3150	4535	2260
Water	285	0	267
Gas (3 tanks: 2 Oxygen, 1 Air for ATV-3)	100	100	20
Refuel Propellant	860	850.6	860
Total Fluid Cargo	4395	5486	3407
Dry Cargo Loading
Nominal Load Cargo
NASA	1572	906	966
ESA	25	189	184
Late Load Cargo
NASA	428	402	No late load for ATV-1
ESA	103	27
JAXA	51
Total Late Load	582	435
Ballast/Filler foam	22	75	0
Total Dry Cargo	2201	1605	1150
Total Cargo Fluid + Dry	6596	7091	4557

Summary of the various types of cargo on ATV-3			23-Feb-12
Cargo Type	TOTAL	Sub-total	Contents
COMPUTER RESOURCES	31.19
C&DH-PCS		19.34	Laptops, hard drives, power cables, etc.
PHOTO/TV EQUIPMENT		11.85	Camera body, lens, camcorder, flash unit, etc.
CREW SUPPLIES (OC)	1100.4
U.S. SUPPLIED FOOD (ENERGY)		4.00	Food
CREW CARE PACKAGES		44.21	Food and personal items/gifts
FLIGHT CREW EQUIPMENT		311.96	Clothes, hygiene, office supplies, tools, flashlights, etc.
FOOD SUPPLY SYSTEM		718.40	Food
SODF		21.83	On-orbit Crew Procedures
EVA EQUIPMENT	26.22
UTILIZATION	156.84
ESA UTILIZATION		40.03	Altea, ESEM boards, Biolab (gloves, gas), Energy
JAXA UTILIZATION		29.04	Biological rhythms experiment, Space Sound, Marangoni Inside Core
US UTILIZATION		87.77	Human Research Facility supplies (gauze, wipes, sample kits), LEGO (airplane, gyro, spinner), Nanoracks, MELFI, Ultrasound 2, VO2 Max (PIG in a Blanket)
VEHICLE HARDWARE (OB)	638.56
ANDROGYNOUS PERIPHERAL DOCKING SYSTEM (APDS)		2.32	ESA (PCE bag)
CHECS		29.62	Exercise equipment
CONTROLLER PANEL ASSEMBLY		2.66	Packaging
C&T VIDEO		17.15	2 colour TV cameras
ECLSS		320.42	Life support equipment (ARFTA, Solid waste containers, Multifiltration Bed ORU,  Fire Cartridge Assembly)
ECLSS WATER RECOVERY MANAGEMENT		54.21	ACTEX unit
ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEM (EPS)		139.73	50 Lamp Housing Assemblies, Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU)
ESA HARDWARE		45.04	CFA,CMU, WOOV, ASD/DSD caps, etc
ESA PAO		12.73	Various items for PR/Comm activities
FLIGHT CREW EQUIPMENT		7.94	Beverage Adapter, Hair clipper hose, tools, etc
STRUC & MECH		0.04	UBNT syringe barrel assy
U.S. WASTE		6.71	Trash bags
TOTAL	1953.21	*
TOTAL cargo on ATV-3	2201.81

And — Yes! — ATV-3 will carry a new Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR) into orbit — and, indeed, back down from orbit, too! More details in a later post on this fascinating device.

Editor’s note: Sincere thanks for input on this post to M. Cislaghi, ATV-3 Mission Manager, B. Bekooy, ESA/ESTEC – ATV programme, K. MacDonell – ATV Cargo Integration Engineer and M. Steinkopf – ATV Mission Director, ATV-CC.