Strela () is a class of four

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n-built cargo cranes used during EVAs to move cosmonauts and components around the exterior of the Soviet/Russian

space station A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

'' and the

Russian Orbital Segment The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed in Russia and operated by the Russian Roscosmos. The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the entire Station ...

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 ...

Overview

''Mir'' featured two cranes mounted to its core module (delivered by

Progress spacecraft The Progress () is a Russian expendable cargo spacecraft. Originally developed for the Soviet space program and derived from the crewed Soyuz spacecraft, Progress has been instrumental in maintaining long-duration space missions by providing ...

), and the ISS also possesses two cranes, mounted to ''Poisk'' and Zarya. The cranes are unpowered telescopic poles assembled in sections, which measure around 6 feet (182 cm) when collapsed but, when extended using a hand crank, measure 46 feet (14 m) long. This means that the cranes on ''Mir'' could easily reach all of the main modules of the complex, and those attached to the ISS can be used to transfer objects the full length of the

(ROS), from Zvezda to Zarya. The largest robotic arm on the ISS,

Canadarm2 The Mobile Servicing System (MSS) is a robotic system on board the International Space Station (ISS). Launched to the ISS in 2001, it plays a key role in station assembly and maintenance; it moves equipment and supplies around the station, suppo ...

weighs 1,800 kilograms and is used to hold crew members during EVAs, move station modules, spacecraft,

orbital replacement unit Orbital replacement units (or on-orbit replaceable unit) (ORUs) are key elements of the International Space Station that can be readily replaced when the unit either passes its design life or fails. ORUs are parts of the main systems and subsystems ...

s and Dextre on the

US Orbital Segment The US Orbital Segment (USOS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed and operated by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian ...

. The ROS does not require spacecraft or modules to be manipulated, as all spacecraft and modules dock automatically, and may be repositioned or discarded the same way. Each Strela crane weighs 45 kg and can perform all necessary tasks, with substantial weight savings, less complexity and less maintenance than the Canadarm2 and the European Robotic Arm. Two Strela cranes were originally carried to the ISS on Integrated Cargo Carriers, the first on

STS-96 STS-96 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle '' Discovery'', and the first shuttle flight to dock at the International Space Station. It was Discovery's 26th flight. The shuttle carried the S ...

, the second on

STS-101 STS-101 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle '' Atlantis''. The mission was a 10-day mission conducted between 19 May 2000 and 29 May 2000. The mission was designated 2A.2a and was a resuppl ...

, and one was subsequently transferred from ''Pirs'' by Expedition 65 before ''Pirs'' was decommissioned. An EVA in February, 2012 relocated one Strela crane to the docking compartment Poisk. A second EVA, performed in August, moved the second Strela to Zarya. These moves were required because Pirs was detached and deorbited to allow the MLM Nauka to dock to the location occupied by ''Pirs''.

References

{{Mir modules Mir Russian components of the International Space Station

Overview

See also

References