The European Drawer Rack (EDR) is a single, six-post
International Standard Payload Rack (ISPR) with seven
Experiment Modules (EMs), each of which has separate access to power and cooling. A video management unit sends streaming video, images, and science data to Earth via the
Columbus module's high-rate data link and can temporarily store 72 GB of video. The experiments are largely autonomous to minimize data transfer requirements, though the EDR can be operated remotely via telescience or in real time by the crew via a dedicated laptop. The EDR has two different types of EMs: the standard
International Space Station locker and the standard eight panel unit
International Subrack Interface Standard (ISIS) drawer.
Overview
EDR is a multi-user facility on board the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
that accommodates a variety of science experiments. It is located in the
Columbus Laboratory module and was developed for the
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
by
Alenia Spazio
Thales Alenia Space () is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France.
It provides space-based systems, including ...
, a subsidiary of
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (company), Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France.
It provides space-based ...
. Like other payload racks in the station, the physical characteristics of EDR conform to the
International Standard Payload Rack specification.
EDR provides accommodation for up to 3
ISIS Drawers, and 4
ISS Lockers. These standardized ECMs (Experiment Container Modules) can contain scientific experiments. EDR provides the following services to the ECMs:
* Stowage space
* Power supply (28 V DC, 120 V DC)
* Low Rate telecommand/telemetry (19.2 kbit/s
RS-422
RS-422, also known as TIA/EIA-422, is a technical standard originated by the Electronic Industries Alliance, first issued in 1975, that specifies the electrical characteristics of a digital signaling circuit. It was meant to be the foundation ...
)
* Medium Rate telecommand/telemetry (10 Mbit/s
Ethernet
Ethernet ( ) is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
)
* High Rate telemetry (32 Mbit/s
SpaceWire
SpaceWire is a spacecraft communication network based in part on the IEEE 1355 standard of communications. It is coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with international space agencies including NASA, JAXA, and RKA.
...
)
* Analogue video acquisition (
NTSC
NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170.
In 1953, a second ...
)
* Discrete commanding, monitoring and temperature monitoring services
* Air cooling
* Water cooling
* Gaseous Nitrogen supply
* Vacuum service
* Waste gas service
* Timeline service
* Ancillary data and time services
* Laptop crew interface
The following ESA payloads are designed for use in EDR:
*
PCDF (Protein Crystallisation and Diagnostics Facility);
*
FASTER (Facility for Adsorption and Surface Tension).
EDR is operated according to ESA's decentralised payload operation concept. The FRC (
Facility Responsible Centre) for EDR is
Erasmus USOC, located at
ESTEC
The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands, alth ...
,
Noordwijk
Noordwijk () is a town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and had a population of in .
On 1 January 2019, the f ...
,
The Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
Gallery
File:233875main EDR2.jpg , The European Drawer Rack (EDR) installed in the Columbus laboratory. Image taken during Expedition 16.
File:European Drawer Rack.jpg, European Drawer Rack (NASA)
See also
*
Scientific research on the ISS
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
References
External links
ESA - The European Drawer Rack Retrieved 05-Aug-2011.
Retrieved 05-Aug-2011.
{{Use British English, date=January 2014
Science facilities on the International Space Station
European Space Agency
Columbus (ISS module)