The Past, Present, and Future of Space Station Technology
A rundown of past technology used on Skylab and the Salyut missions, the technology currently being used on the ISS, and other organizations working in the field.
Humanity is going through a new age of exploration, and space stations will be the point at which humanity meets to expand beyond Earth. The International Space Station or ISS, which is arguably the most famous space station, has hosted 256 individuals from the countries listed below as of April 9th, 2022.
- The United States of America (156 People)
- Russia (54 People)
- Japan (11 People)
- Canada (9 People)
- Italy (5 People)
- France (4 People)
- Germany (4 People)
- Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Great Britain, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates (1 Person Each)
Both government organizations such as NASA and private organizations like SpaceX have benefited immensely from the International Space Station. In this article, I will be looking at how space stations came to be feasible in the first place, what countries and companies have been at the forefront of this innovation, and how space stations will be approached and built in the future.
The Past of Space Stations
The term “Space Station” was coined by a Romanian rocket pioneer named Hermann Oberth in 1932. The idea of space stations had been around decades beforehand but now, with a single term to define them, the idea caught on. Early designs for space stations were imagined to have a single rocket that would launch the entire station into orbit. American engineer Robert Goddard was one of the innovators that successfully harnessed the power of the liquid propulsion rocket that dwarfed the power of the black powder rockets at the time.
The First Designs
Even before the first space station was launched into orbit, other prototypes were designed and built. NASA’s inflatable wheel concept never got out of the lab but was a concept that was created out of Langley Laboratory, like most of the concepts of the time and paved the way for more sophisticated designs.
Even as the United States won the space race when Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the Moon, the Soviet Union still became the nation to launch Salyut 1, the first space station, on April 18th, 1971.
Like many early space stations, the Salyut 1 stayed in orbit for a very short time and was purposefully crashed into the Pacific Ocean after 175 days in orbit because of issues that made the station lose air pressure and fuel mismanagement. While the Salyut 1 was a failure, in the end, it paved the way for multiple other successful Salyut stations and was the first station ever to orbit the Earth.
Skylab
While the Soviets failed again with the first military space station, the Salyut 2, on April 3rd, 1973, the U.S. launched their first station, Skylab, on May 14th, 1973. Skylab was the first station dedicated to research and was used for 3 crews until it crashed into the Indian Ocean. Skylab is regarded as the first “successful” space station and was the first to maintain a crew and prove that humans could live in a space station for extended periods and let us explore space beyond what we could see on the surface of Earth.
Skylab conducted experiments for reasons such as,
- Observe the Earth to study natural resources and the environment
- Observe the Sun to study high-energy solar activity
- Study the effects of weightlessness on the human body and assess crew adaptation to long-duration spaceflight
- Study materials processing in microgravity
- Perform experiments submitted by students for a “Classroom in Space”
Skylab was at the forefront of space station technology for a very long time and paved the way for the ISS, and bridged the gap between the end of the Apollo missions and the ISS. Some of the best photographs of space at the time were also taken using technology abroad Skylab, these pictures gave the public a clearer idea of what our solar system and beyond actually looked like.
X-Ray pictures of the Sun taken on Skylab as well as other attempts by Soviet and American space agencies continued to push the boundaries of what we could do using space stations. The work done with these projects culminated in one of the most important space tech projects to date, the International Space Station.
The ISS (The Present)
Now that we have a quick rundown of some projects from the past let’s look into the technology used in space stations today! I will be using examples mostly surrounding the technology from the International Space Station since the most advanced space station technology can be found there.
Environmental Control and Life Support Systems
The Environment Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) are some of the most important pieces of hardware on a station, this is what provides air and water to the station. This provides crucial life-sustaining elements to our station and has subsystems that enable our crew to stay longer and for more astronauts to be on the station at once.
One of these systems is the Water Recovery System (WRS), which is a closed-loop system that can recycle wastewater and astronaut urine and turns it into clean water to be reused, this process is done using electrolysis, which is the process of splitting water molecules into its chemical components which are hydrogen and oxygen (or H+ and OH-ions) when an electric current is passed through it, the splitting of molecules happens at the two electrodes, the negative cathode and the positive anode which are both in the electrolysis cell which is a part of the water molecule. Once that process has finished, the hydrogen and oxygen can be reformed into the water using electrolysis, and all that will be left behind is the other compounds which form the waste otherwise known as brine.
This whole process can be broken into two parts which are done using two systems built into the WRS, the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) which can clean and separate the compounds in wastewater and the hydrogen and oxygen in water, and the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) which performs the electrolysis that turns the hydrogen and oxygen back into the water.
Another system like this is the Oxygen Generation System or OGS, which as the name implies, generates oxygen for the ISS using a two-part system, the Power Supply Module to power the entire system as well as the Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) which actually creates the Oxygen.
The awesome part about this system is that it can use the exact same technology needed for the WRS minus the final step since then we’re left with pure oxygen and hydrogen made from the wastewater which can then be used to fill the station with air! Oxygen can
The connectivity of all these systems is crucial to use as few resources as possible while also making sure that everything our astronauts need to survive long periods of time in space is readily available.
Prior to the use of the technology in the ECLSS, life support systems relied heavily on consumables to power necessary tasks on the station and required consistent, costly launches using space shuttles. As more systems incorporate and reuse materials, space flight and exploration will become cheaper and more accessible.
EXPRESS Racks
EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station or EXPRESS Racks are used to store and support research experiments aboard the ISS. EXPRESS racks make it easy for researchers and astronauts to undergo multiple experiments at the same time in a small amount of space. The EXPRESS Racks can hold up to up to ten small payloads at a time, meaning that there is a total operation capability of eighty experiments aboard the ISS. The racks are comprised of several subsystems such as the Rack Interface Controller (RIC), EXPRESS Memory Unit (EMU), Payload Ethernet Hub/Bridge (PEHB), EXPRESS Laptop Computer (ELC), EXPRESS Rack Thermal System, and the Solid State Power Controller Module (SSPCM) which all ensure that every experiment and payload can be monitored and controlled so they are secure in the ISS’s low gravity environment.
EXPRESS racks can truly make sure that an experiment is monitored from every angle using technology that can provide storage, power, data, command and control, video, water cooling, air cooling, vacuum exhaust, and nitrogen supplies to the payloads.
Each rack can operate independently from the other, meaning that the features mentioned above can be adjusted to meet each experiment’s specifications so a wide range of experiments can be held in the racks at a time.
Each set of racks is stored in an outer shell called an International Standard Payload Rack (ISPR) to ensure that experiments are kept safe, and all the racks are in turn controlled directly by the ISS crew or from the Marshall Space Flight Centre at the Payloads Operations Integration Centre (POIC). This is done using the Payload Rack Officer (PRO) which can ensure that the racks can be monitored from both space and Earth.
Payloads Operations Integration Centre
While all of the technology found on the ISS is crucial for the exploration of space and has a huge impact on multiple fields, it wouldn’t be possible without the work of the people back on Earth and the people working at the Payloads Operations Integration Centre (POIC).
The POIC is the primary research command post for the ISS investigations and payloads located in the Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Alabama. The centre coordinates the scientific experiments and commercial efforts of the United States, European, Japanese, and Canadian space agencies aboard the ISS. The centre also manages communications between the ISS and researchers worldwide.
With the collective efforts of the staff at the POIC and the crew of the ISS, experiments explored the unique microgravity environment of space using cutting-edge technology. The POIC is staffed around the clock by a team of dedicated payload flight controllers who work in multiple shifts. At any given time, eight to ten flight controllers are on consoles operating, planning for, and controlling various systems and payloads aboard the ISS.
The POIC started around-the-clock operations in 2001 and will last until the end of the ISS’s lifetime which is currently scheduled to be deorbited in 2031. Before the ISS the POIC was used to support Spacelab which was a reusable laboratory developed by the European Space Agency and used by both it and NASA on certain space shuttles for experiments involving microgravity, space physics, Earth observation, solar observation, and human adaptation to space, sounds similar to the ISS, doesn’t it!
Microgravity Science Glovebox
Yet another piece of technology aboard the ISS is the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), this facility provides a place to conduct experiments in low or microgravity aboard the ISS. Small and medium experiments can fit inside the compartment from fields such as biotechnology, combustion science, fluid physics, fundamental physics, and materials science. The MSG can provide the experiment with power, data acquisition, computer communications, vacuum, nitrogen, and specialized tools which can all be monitored and adjusted as needed. The design is meant to mimic laboratory conditions back on Earth.
The glovebox also offers a safe space for the crew aboard the ISS to conduct experiments using fire, liquids, and particles that are used as a part of everyday research on Earth. A pair of built-in gloves that can access the area allow astronauts to safely manipulate samples inside the sealed facility, and side ports on the Glovebox permit crew to set up equipment and experiments inside the box. As experiments are conducted using the MSG, the results can be monitored back on Earth by scientists and investigators.
The MSG wouldn’t be possible without the innovation brought about by the Middeck Glovebox and Spacelab Glovebox, which were previous renditions of a similar machine used aboard several Space Shuttle missions and on the Russian Mir Space Station. The MSG has the advantage of being able to hold larger and more complex experiments safely.
The MSG was built by the European Space Agency and is currently operated by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre.
Window Observational Research Facility
The Window Observational Research Facility (WORF) is a facility in the U.S. Laboratory Destiny Module designed for ISS crew to be able to view Earth. The facility serves as a valuable resource for payloads as well as a protection for the actual window. WORF utilizes the same hardware from EXPRESS Racks which we saw earlier, as well as a Rack Interface Controller which is another subsystem of the EXPRESS Racks, Avionics Air Assembly fan for air circulation, rack fire detection, and avionics are also used to communicate with the ISS data network.
The WORF also uses many different types of cameras to capture Earth, sensors, cameras, multispectral and hyper-spectral scanners, camcorders, and other instruments are all used to get as clear of a picture as possible. Multiple instruments can be used in the facility at once because of several power and data transfer attachment points on the facility.
Other adjustments inside the facility like non-reflective walls and panelling create a light-tight environment and minimize glare off the high-quality optical window. Other adjustments can be added to the facility as needed, such as an opaque fabric shroud that can be attached to the front of the facility to allow the crew to work inside the WORF without interference from glare emitted from the U.S. Laboratory Module lights.
Solar Array Wing
One of the most recognizable pieces of technology on the ISS has to be the Solar Array Wing (SAW) which powers the station. This method of energy production uses photovoltaics (the process solar panels use to create energy). Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into energy using photovoltaic materials such as silicon, after the light is absorbed using the semiconducting materials in the multiple solar cells inside a solar panel, the energy can then be used in an electrical current and used to power the various systems aboard the ISS.
Each wing is the largest ever deployed in space as each weighs a whopping 2,400 pounds and contains 33,000 solar arrays. The solar arrays are mounted on a “blanket,” giving them the ability to be folded like an accordion for delivery to space, and then ground controllers were able to send commands so the arrays would fan out to their full size once in orbit.
Two gimbals also allow the arrays to rotate towards the Sun to absorb as much energy as possible. The alpha gimbal is used to focus on the Sun as the station orbits Earth, the beta gimbal is used to account for the Earth’s orbit.
Canadarm 2
Canadarm 2 is another group of iconic pieces of the ISS designed to deploy, capture and repair satellites, position astronauts, maintain equipment, and move cargo.
Canadarm 2 is a big improvement from its predecessor because it has the ability to be detachable at both ends, and can “flip itself end over end to “walk” freely all over the ISS like an inchworm.” Canadarm 2 was installed on the ISS on April 19, 2001, and is still functioning to this day.
A Canadarm 3 is currently in the works as well but will be part of a Lunar Gateway orbiting the Moon and will keep the Lunar Gateway shipshape as well as help relocate its various modules as needed.
The Future
Wow! After that rundown of all the technology being used today on the ISS, let’s see the companies that are building the space station technology of the future.
Axiom Orbital Segment
Axiom Space is a Houston-based aerospace company that is currently designing the Axiom Orbital Segment (AxS), which is a series of modular components designed to create a space on the ISS for commercial space activities. NASA approved the project in January of 2020 and the contract was signed the next month on February 28th.
The orbital station will eventually be separated to become its own modular space station, Axiom Station after the ISS is decommissioned! The first module is scheduled to be launched in 2024 and connected to the forward port named Harmony. Axiom plans to add at least an additional three modules to the first which would become the core.
Starlab
Starlab is a commercial space station made by Nanoracks in collaboration with Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin to be a continuously crewed station to enable both scientific research as well as provide space for manufacturing for a cost. Starlab takes advantage of the technology currently on the ISS, including the ECLSS, which allows the station to support a crew of 4 in the 340m³ space.
A huge part of the Starlab project is the George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park which serves as the core of the station, making it the first science park in space! The park will host core scientific components for astronauts, researchers, students, and commercial companies to use in space and also provide research facilities on Earth to compare experiment results and streamline commercial operations aboard the station.
The GWC is currently operational in its first location on the ISS, and as the first in-space member of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation, the GWC Science Park will provide immediate, agile access to infrastructure in space on the ISS and allow a seamless transition to the Starlab commercial space stations of the future.
Tiangong Space Station
The Tiangong Space Station is a station run by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and is meant to compete with the ISS. The first module was launched in April of 2021 and more modules are planned to be connected in 2022.
The Tiangong is China’s first long-term space station with the goals of researching life sciences, microgravity research, astronomy, Earth science and new materials and space technology.
The two modules scheduled for this year, the Wentian and Mengtian are both lab areas and are to be added to the first module which consists of living quarters, a service section, and a docking hub. Two solar arrays designed to last 15 years power the station and can both be rotated the same way the arrays on the ISS do.
In Conclusion
The future of space is constantly evolving and how humanity will meet will be in the stations of the future, only time will tell what we will see from both NASA as well as other countries and companies in the future but with all the innovation we can see today I’m confident the industry of space exploration isn’t going anywhere.
