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Node 3 leaves Thales Alenia Space's plants, heading towards Cape Canaveral

18 May 2009

Important European contribution to expand the International Space Station and make it more comfortable.

Cannes, May 18, 2009 - Node 3 left Saturday 16 the Turin plant of Thales Alenia Space, heading towards NASA's Kennedy Space Center, from where it will be launched towards the International Space Station. Node 3 is an additional European-built element which will be permanently attached to the Space Station, contributing to its completion and extension. With Node 3, life in space will be more comfortable: its innovative life support system is the most sophisticated ever to be sent to space.

Node 3, developed by Thales Alenia Space, was dubbed Tranquillity by NASA, in reference to the famous lunar sea of the first historical Moon side landing in 1969. The docking to the orbiting Station will be carried out in Endeavour shuttle's Mission STS 130, a particularly important mission for the completion of the Station and for Italy. Along with Node 3, there will also be the Cupola, an impressive technological robotic control room, also produced by Thales Alenia Space, which will allow the astronauts to see and to work through its seven windows with a 360 degree view around the Space Station.

The 3 Nodes are fundamental elements in the International Space Station's architecture and they allow the interconnection and management of the various pressurised modules. Two in three have been designed and produced by Thales Alenia Space Italia, on behalf of the European Space Agency.

Node 2 and its twin, Node 3, share a similar construction, a cylindrical structure that is 7 meters in length, 4.6 meters in diameter and a weight of over 14 tons, but they have different functions.

Harmony, also known as Node 2, has, since 2007, been connected to three scientific laboratories: the European Columbus, the American Destiny, and the Japanese Kibo. Furthermore, it distributes electricity and controls the ISS environment (air, temperature, ventilation, humidity, pressure, water treatment).

Node 3 supplies the Station with more advanced functionalities: it recycles the water and regenerates oxygen, thus purifying the atmosphere, removing toxic substances, controlling and measuring all elements. Tranquillity will accommodate the Cupola and supply further docking ports for future space vehicles.

In the ambitious project of the International Space Station, Italy, through Thales Alenia Space and also thanks to its technological expertise, plays a key role in the production of the orbiting structure.

Drawing from its thirty-year experience in the field of space research, Thales Alenia Space, on behalf of the European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency, has been able to supply and continues to supply, in the phase of design, construction and utilisation, a productive contribution recognised at the international level. A great part of the pressurised, habitable elements of the Station, with a quantity of approximately 50% of the available pressurised volume, is indeed produced in its company plants in Turin, Italy.

About Thales Alenia Space
European leader in satellite systems and a major player in orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio embody the two groups' "Space Alliance". Thales Alenia Space sets the global standard in solutions for space telecoms, radar and optical Earth observation, defense and security, navigation and science. The company has a total of 7,200 employees and 11 industrial sites, with design and manufacturing facilities in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium. www.thalesaleniaspace.com