NEW YORK - Two
commercial firms in the U.S. and Japan are teaming up with hopes of ferrying
experiments and other cargo to a planned Japanese laboratory at the International
Space Station (ISS).
The
Oklahoma-based Rocketplane Kistler, Inc. and Tokyo's Japan Manned Space Systems
Corp. (JAMSS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop commercial launch
support for Japanese users of the space station's
Kibo laboratory. The firms announced the deal Tuesday during a Space
Investment Summit held here near Wall Street.
Rocketplane
Kistler is developing its K-1 reusable rocket and cargo module as part of
NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to spur the
development of private cargo and crew delivery systems for the ISS. The firm is
sharing a $500 million NASA award with fellow COTS contender Space Exploration
Technologies (SpaceX), which is developing its own Falcon
rocket family and Dragon crew capsules.
Charles
Lauer, vice president of business development for Rocketplane Kistler, told SPACE.com
that the deal will hopefully lead to ISS-bound launches in 2009 once all
components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Kibo laboratory
have been installed at the space station.
"Having
readily available commercial transportation services to the ISS for both upmass
and downmass is critical to attracting users for Japanese investment in ISS
facilities and resources," Kazuhide Todome, JAMSS managing director, said in a
statement. "The K-1 launch vehicle shall provide key services to JAMSS and the
ISS user community."
Lauer said
that about 30 percent of Japan's Kibo laboratory assets are expected to be
available for commercial users, though JAXA officials said Wednesday that they
could not comment on the future plans of private firms with an interest in
supplying their orbital laboratory. Any commercial supplies are envisioned to
be launched inside K-1 cargo compartments that will resemble those found on the
middeck of NASA's space shuttles, he added.
JAXA's Kibo
laboratory consists of several components, but at its heart is the 37-foot (11.2
meter) long Japan Experiment Module (JEM) Pressurized Module. Slated for launch
in April 2008 aboard a NASA shuttle, the pressurized laboratory will be the
largest science module to be installed at the ISS.
Adding to
Kibo's pressurized laboratory is the Experiment Logistics Module, a pressurized
compartment that will serve as an orbital storage area for tools, supplies and
other equipment to be used inside Kibo. A dedicated robotic arm and external
science platform, designed to expose samples to the space environment, round
out the Kibo laboratory.
Kibo's
Experiment Logistics Module is slated to launch in February 2008, and was welcomed into
NASA's Space Station Processing Facility at Florida's Kennedy Space Center
on Tuesday.
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