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The next Shuttle mission will take the Leonardo logistic module back to the International Space Station

02 April 2010

Cannes, April 2, 2010 – The Multipurpose Pressurised Logistic Module (MPLM) Leonardo built by Thales Alenia Space is ready for a new journey to the International Space Station (ISS). The Discovery shuttle STS-131 mission is scheduled to lift-off on April 5, 2010, from the Kennedy Space Center.

MPLMs are reusable pressurised logistic modules designed to carry cargo, supplies and sciences experiments between the Earth and the ISS. STS-131 will be Leonardo’s seventh mission and the last before it evolves into a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) with STS-133 mission, becoming an integral part of the International Space Station.

On the fourth day of the mission, the crew will remove the MPLM Leonardo from the Shuttle cargo-bay using the robotic arm to dock it to the Station. Eight tons of science experiments and cargo will be transferred to the ISS as well as new crew “sleeping quarters”. At the end of the mission, Leonardo will be installed back on board the shuttle for its return to Earth.

For the first time, the astronauts will be able to see the operations through the Cupola that was attached to the ISS in February 2010.

All MPLM missions are supported during the preparation and operation phases in orbit by ALTEC team. ALTEC is a subsidiary of Thales Alenia Space Italy and partly held by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The real-time support for mission operations is operated by a team working in three shifts, guaranteeing 24-hour coverage for the entire duration of the STS-131 mission.

The three existing MPLMs (Leonardo, Raffaello and Donatello) have been designed and built by Thales Alenia Space for ASI under the scope of a bilateral agreement between NASA and ASI. This agreement has laid the basis for the company to participate extensively in the development of living modules for the ISS, both through the agencies and by means of agreements between industries.

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, which achieved revenues of Euro 2 billion in 2009, has a total of 7,200 employees located in 11 industrial sites in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
www.thalesaleniaspace.com

Thales Alenia Space Press Contacts

Florence Pontieux
Tel: +33 (0)1 57 77 91 26
florence.pontieux@thalesaleniaspace.com

Sandrine Bielecki
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94
sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com