ESA Human Spaceflight | Projects » Cupola

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Cupola

The Cupola is a control tower-shaped structure, fitted with seven specially developed windows, which will be installed on Node 3 of the International Space Station (ISS).  From the Cupola, astronauts will have a panoramic view for observing and guiding operations on the outside of the ISS.  


 


With a diameter of about 2 metres and height of 1.5 metres, the Cupola provides a shirtsleeve working environment for two crewmembers working at the same time. The ergonomically designed interior is equipped with workstations from which astronauts will be able to control the Station"s robotic arm.

The Cupola project was started in America by NASA and Boeing, but was cancelled as a result of cost cuts. After a barter agreement between NASA and ESA, development of the Cupola was taken over by Europe in 1998.

Under contract by ESA, the Italian company Alenia Spazio designed, developed and integrated the Cupola in Turin, Italy, leading an industrial team made up six major European aerospace companies: CASA (Spain), APCO (Switzerland), SAAB Ericsson (Sweden), Lindholmen Development (Sweden), EADS Space Transportation (Germany) and Verhaert (Belgium).

The Cupola, with its seven windows, is very unlike any of the other modules on the International Space Station and so presented some unique challenges for design, development and manufacture. For example, the six trapezoidal side-windows, and the 80-cm diameter circular rooftop window of the Cupola must be able to withstand the extreme environment that they will be exposed to in space. 
 
 For the astronauts, the Cupola will also be a highly welcome addition to the Station after it is installed on Node 3 which is presently foreseen in January 2009. The large viewing windows will provide the astronauts with a view of the Earth quite unlike any other. For long-stay crews this will provide them with a stronger mental connection to Earth and will thus have an important psychological influence on the crew"s morale.


The completion of the manufacture of the 1.8 tonne Cupola has been marked by ESA, NASA and Alenia Spazio in a small ceremony that took place at the Alenia Spazio premises in Turin on 6 September 2004. The Cupola will now be transported to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida where it will undergo final acceptance in November 2004.

For more information on the Cupola, please download the following pdf-files with fact sheets on the Cupola:

Or you can visit the Cupola Presspack area: