First UK tech set for ISS installation
Two astronauts will undertake a spacewalk to install technology that will mark the UK'S first major industrial contribution to the International Space Station (ISS).
Called Colka, for Columbus Ka-band Terminal, the system will allow astronauts to communicate with Earth at home broadband speeds.
It will revolutionise scientists' ability in the UK and Europe to access the results of spacebasedexperiments,frominvestigationsintotheeffectsofradiation on seeds to biomining research.
Theresultswillhelpresearchers to understand things like how our bodies and muscles age, and further their understanding of illnesses like cancer and Parkinson's disease.
This giant leap forward for research carried out in the Columbus module will allow astronauts and researchers to benefit from a dedicated link back to Earth at home broadband speeds.
Currently,resultsarereturned to earth on a hard drive, which could take months to receive, with data sometimes being lost in transit.
The new terminal will allow results to be delivered to scientists just a day or two after the data is recorded.
This will allow scientists to process information much more quickly and adjust experiments if they see any problems withthedata,suchasanunclear image.
Today Nasa's Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins will venture outside the space station for six hours to mount the Ukbuilt, UK Space Agency-funded, large suitcase-sized device to the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus module on the ISS.
Science minister Amanda Solloway said: "This mission to install pioneering Uk-built
technology in space exemplifies how government backing is helping our most innovative companies push the boundaries of what we can achieve in space as well as back home on Earth.
"Strengthening the speed at which data can be transmitted from space will bring enormous benefits to scientists and researchers across Europe, helping them progress vital research faster, while opening up numerous commercial opportunities for UK firms as we build back better."
Tetheredtotheissbyaretractable steel cable, the astronauts face challenging conditions as they work to install the terminal,orbitingearthatanaltitude of 250 miles.
They will go without food for hours as they work in the harsh thermal vacuum of space, where the temperature can be as hot as 120C in the sunlight, down to minus 160C when the sun is out of sight.
The data will be transmitted to a ground station at Harwell, Oxfordshire, near ESA'S European Centre for Space Applicationsandtelecommunications.
From there it will be transferred to the Columbus Control Centre and user centres across Europe.
Columbus was conceived and designed more 20 years ago, when the internet was in its infancy.
The laboratory was launched to the Station in 2008 and uses thestation'snetworkandnasa's infrastructureforcommunications with the Columbus Control Centre.