The International Docking Adapter (IDA) is a spacecraft docking system adapter developed to convert APAS-95 to support docking with spacecraft that implement the

International Docking System Standard The International Docking System Standard (IDSS) is an international standard for spacecraft docking adapters. It was created by the International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board, on behalf of the International Space Station partner ...

. The IDA uses NASA Docking System (NDS) hardware. An IDA was permanently installed on each of 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 ...

's (ISS) two open Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMAs), both of which are connected to the ''Harmony'' module.

History

Prior to IDA several different docking adapters were designed to fill a similar role but were never implemented.

APAS to LIDS Adaptor System

The APAS to LIDS Adaptor System (ATLAS) was announced in 2008. It would have been placed on the open PMAs and converted APAS-95 to the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS). ATLAS was planned to be launched on Orion's first two missions to the International Space Station. Orion's missions to the ISS were later canceled altogether and its role as a crew transporter was replaced by the

Commercial Crew Program The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides Private spaceflight, commercially operated human spaceflight, crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between t ...

Common Docking Adapter

The Common Docking Adapter (CDA) was announced in 2009. It was planned to be used to convert the

Common Berthing Mechanism The Common Mechanism (CBM) connects habitable elements in the US Orbital Segment (USOS) of the International Space Station (ISS). The CBM has two distinct sides that, once mated, form a cylindrical wiktionary:vestibule, vestibule between modules ...

to the NASA Docking System. The CDAs would have been attached directly to Node-2 forward and Node-2 zenith. They would have been delivered on the Japanese HTV cargo spacecraft.

Design

IDA converts APAS-95 to the NASA Docking System (which complies with the

) and allows the transfer of crew, cargo, power and data. IDA has a mass of , a height of and a width of . When including the docking targets, laser retro-reflectors and related systems that are arrayed around the outer perimeters, the outer diameter is about .

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

is the primary contractor for the IDAs and the adapters were assembled at their

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Product Support Center. Parts from subcontractors came from 25 American states and the primary structure is from Russian company RSC Energia.

Deployment of IDA modules

Each IDA was delivered as unpressurized cargo in the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon 1. When each IDA arrived, Dextre removed it from Dragon's trunk and moved it to about from the front of the PMA. It then moved the IDA carefully into position until it was seated on the PMA and held it there. Astronauts during an

Extravehicular activity Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environme ...

then completed the electrical connections and permanently connect it to the PMA. IDA-1 was planned to be attached to Node-2's forward PMA. IDA-2 was originally planned to be attached to Node-2's zenith PMA. But following the loss of IDA-1, IDA-2 was instead attached to Node-2's forward PMA (PMA-2). IDA-3, a replacement for IDA-1, is installed at Node-2's zenith PMA (PMA-3).

IDA-1

In February 2015, IDA-1 had been transported to the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

while IDA-2 was still at Boeing's Houston facility. The systems and targets for IDA-1 were put through about a month of tests at the

Space Station Processing Facility The Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF), originally the Space Station Processing Facility, is a three-story industrial building at Kennedy Space Center for the Manufacturing of the International Space Station, manufacture and Process manufac ...

before being loaded for launch. IDA-1 was lost during the launch failure of SpaceX CRS-7 on 28 June 2015.

IDA-2

IDA-2 was launched on SpaceX CRS-9 on 18 July 2016. It was attached and connected to PMA-2 during a spacewalk on 19 August 2016. First docking was achieved with the arrival of Crew Dragon Demo-1 on 3 March 2019.

IDA-3

IDA-3 was launched on the SpaceX CRS-18 mission in July 2019. IDA-3 is constructed mostly from spare parts to speed construction. It was attached and connected to PMA-3 during a spacewalk on 21 August 2019. First docking was achieved with the arrival of SpaceX CRS-21 on 7 December 2020.

Gallery

File:IDA attached to PMA.png, Rendering of IDA connected to the PMA-2 File:IDA former planned locations on ISS.png, Pre-IDA-1 loss, planned locations of the IDAs File:IDA planned locations on ISS.png, Post-IDA-1 loss, current locations of the IDAs File:Iss072e143839 (Nov 3, 2024) --- The unoccupied space-facing port on the International Space Station's Harmony module is pictured several hours before the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft would relocate there after und.jpg, IDA-3 (white) attached to the top of PMA-3 (black), which is attached to the zenith berth of the ''Harmony'' module

References

{{NASA space program Spacecraft components Spacecraft docking systems 2015 in spaceflight Components of the International Space Station