Harmony (ISS module)

Harmony, also known as Node 2, is the "utility hub" of the International Space Station. It connects the laboratory modules of the United States, Europe and Japan, as well as providing electrical power and electronic data. Sleeping cabins for four of the crew are housed here.[3]

Harmony
Harmony shown connected to Columbus, Kibō, and Destiny. PMA-2 faces towards the camera. The nadir and zenith locations are open.
Module statistics
COSPAR ID2007-050A
Launch date23 October 2007,
15:38:19 UTC[1]
Launch vehicleSpace Shuttle Discovery
Docked26 October 2007
Mass14,300 kg (31,500 lb) [2]
Length7.2 m (24 ft)
Diameter4.4 m (14 ft)
Pressurised volume70 m3 (2,500 cu ft)

Harmony was successfully launched into space aboard Space Shuttle flight STS-120 on 23 October 2007.[4][5] After temporarily being attached to the port side of the Unity module,[6][7] it was moved to its permanent location on the forward end of the Destiny module on 14 November 2007.[8] Harmony added 70 m3 (2,500 cu ft) to the station's living volume, an increase of almost 20%, from 420 m3 (15,000 cu ft) to 490 m3 (17,000 cu ft). Its successful installation meant that from NASA's perspective, the station was considered to be "U.S. Core Complete".

Origin of name
Interior of Harmony

The unit formerly known as Node 2 was renamed Harmony in March 2004.[9] The name was chosen in a competition where more than 2,200 students from 32 states participated.[10][11] The Node 2 Challenge required students to learn about the space station, build a scale model, and write an essay explaining their proposed name for the module, which will serve as a central hub for science labs. The six winning classes were: Paul Cummins' 8th grade class at Browne Academy, Alexandria, Va.; Sue Wilson's 3rd grade class at Buchanan Elementary School, Baton Rouge, La.; Brigette Berry's 8th grade class at League City Intermediate School, League City, Texas; Bradley Neu's 9th grade science class at Lubbock High School, Lubbock, Texas; Russell Yocum 's 3rd grade class at West Navarre Intermediate School, Navarre, Fla.; and, David Dexheimer's students at the World Group Home School, Monona, Wisconsin.[12]

Specifications
Crew members hanging out of the USOS crew quarters
Harmony during assembly at the Space Station Processing Facility

Harmony is the second of three node modules on the United States Orbital Segment (USOS).[13] It is composed of a cylindrical, 5.1 cm (2.0 in) thick 2219-T851 aluminium alloy pressure shell with two endcones and is thermally insulated by a goldised Kapton blanket. It is protected from micrometeoroids by 98 panels, each made from a composite sandwich of stainless steel and 6061-T6 aluminium alloy, and a secondary barrier of Kevlar/resin.[14][15] The design is based on the existing Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, as well as the European Space Agency's Columbus module (both of which have only one passive Common Berthing Mechanism [CBM]).[13] There are six CBMs on Harmony: the aft CBM that connects it to Destiny is passive; the rest are active.[16]

Harmony is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Its deployment expanded the Space Station, allowing it to grow from the size of a three-bedroom house, to the space equivalent of a typical five-bedroom house, once the Japanese Kibō and European Columbus laboratories are attached. The Space Station robotic arm, Canadarm2, is able to operate from a powered grapple fixture on the exterior of Harmony.[17] Harmony is equipped with eight International Standard Payload Racks: four avionics racks and four for stowage or crew quarters.[15] The first two were delivered on STS-126 and the second two on STS-128.[18][19] After the cancellation of the Habitation Module, Harmony was chosen to house the American Crew Quarters.[20][21]

Construction agreement

In an agreement between NASA and the European Space Agency, the company Thales Alenia Space, built Harmony at its facility in Turin, Italy.[17] Harmony arrived on 1 June 2003 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after its flight in an Airbus Beluga oversize cargo vehicle. Following post transportation inspection, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) formally handed over Harmony to the European Space Agency (ESA). From there, ESA formally transferred ownership of Harmony to NASA on 18 June 2003, taking place in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) of the Kennedy Space Center.[22] The handover of Harmony completed a major element of the barter agreement, between ESA and NASA, that was signed in Turin, Italy on 8 October 1997.[22]

Paolo Nespoli, an ESA astronaut born in Milan, Italy, accompanied the Harmony module aboard STS-120 as a mission specialist.

Launch
Graphic showing the six CBMs on Harmony.

Harmony was launched on 23 October 2007 aboard of the STS-120, as the primary component of assembly mission ISS-10A.[23][24][25]

On 26 October 2007, the station's Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) removed Harmony from the shuttle cargo bay and temporarily mated it to the port side of Unity and, on 27 October 2007, the crew entered in Harmony.[6][26] After the Space Shuttle was departed, Harmony was relocated to the forward dock of the Destiny laboratory. It required three EVAs by the station crew to complete the installation.[26][27]

Connecting modules and visiting vehicles
Harmony inside the payload bay of Space Shuttle Discovery while on its way to the ISS.

Harmony was the first permanent living space enlargement to the ISS after the Pirs docking compartment was added in 2001. The Expedition 16 crew moved the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA-2) on 12 November 2007 from Destiny to the forward berth of Harmony. The combined PMA-2/Harmony unit was subsequently berthed to its final destination at the forward end of Destiny on 14 November 2007.[8] All the following Space Shuttle missions would dock at this location.

On 11 February 2008, ESA's Columbus laboratory was attached to the starboard hatch of the Harmony module during space shuttle mission STS-122. On 14 March 2008, the Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section (ELM-PS) of Kibō was attached to its interim location: the zenith hatch of Harmony. During STS-124, a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Discovery, the Pressurized Module of Kibō was added to the port side of Harmony and the ELM-PS was moved, leaving the zenith hatch empty. The zenith hatch was originally intended to be the permanent docking connector for the now canceled Centrifuge Accommodations Module (CAM).

When the Space Shuttle flew the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs) to the station, the MPLM would be temporarily berthed to the nadir mechanism of Harmony.[28] The Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle and the American Commercial Resupply Service (COTS) vehicles, Dragon and Cygnus, are temporarily berthed to either the nadir or zenith mechanism.

In August 2016, the forward docking port was equipped with the International Docking Adapter (IDA) delivered with the CRS-9 mission. This adapter was used for the first time for the automatic docking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft during its uncrewed test mission on 3 March 2019.[29]

  • Space Shuttle docked to PMA-2
    Space Shuttle docked to PMA-2
  • MPLM berthed to Node 2 nadir
    MPLM berthed to Node 2 nadir
  • HTV being berthed to Node 2 nadir
    HTV being berthed to Node 2 nadir
  • Dragon being berthed to Node 2 nadir
    Dragon being berthed to Node 2 nadir
  • Cygnus being unberthed from Node 2 nadir
    Cygnus being unberthed from Node 2 nadir
  • Canadarm2 moving the Harmony module into position on the ISS
    Canadarm2 moving the Harmony module into position on the ISS
  • Both Commercial Crew vehicles Crew Dragon and Starliner docked to zenith and forward ports on harmony module at the same time
    Both Commercial Crew vehicles Crew Dragon and Starliner docked to zenith and forward ports on harmony module at the same time
  • Commercial Crew Program vehicles Starliner and Dragon
    Commercial Crew Program vehicles Starliner and Dragon

On 26 March 2017, PMA-3 was robotically removed from the Tranquility module and attached to the zenith port of the Harmony module after being prepared during a successful spacewalk on 24 March 2017. A second spacewalk was conducted on 30 March 2017 to finalize the PMA-3 cable connections on Harmony. PMA-3 is linked to the International Docking Adapter-3 adapter, delivered on the SpaceX CRS-18 mission in July 2019.[30] IDA-3 was fully linked to PMA-3 during an EVA on 21 August 2019.[31]

References
  1. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. "Harmony module". NASA. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. Sunita Williams (presenter), Corrado Mazzola (project manager) (19 May 2005). Station Tour: Harmony, Tranquility, Unity (video). NASA. Event occurs at 0.06-0.35. Retrieved 30 January 2021. So this is Node 2 ... this is where four out of six of us sleep.
  4. "STS-120 MCC Status Report #01". NASA. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. John Johnson Jr. (24 October 2007). "Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. William Harwood (2007). "Harmony module pulled from cargo bay". CBS News. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  7. John Schwartz (26 October 2007). "New Room Added to Space Station". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  8. "PMA-3 Relocation". NASA. 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. "NASA Space Station Module In Perfect "Harmony" With New Name". NASA. 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. European Space Agency (2007). "Node 2: Connecting Module". ESA. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  11. Tariq Malik (2007). SPACE.com (ed.). "Students Name Next U.S. Space Station Module 'Harmony'". Space.com. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  12. "NASA Space Station Module In Perfect 'Harmony' With New Name".
  13. European Space Agency (2007). "Node 2: Connecting Module". ESA. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  14. "STS-120 Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. October 2007. p. 33. Retrieved 23 January 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  15. "Node-2 Harmony Factsheet" (PDF). ESA. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  16. "ISS Interface Mechanisms and their Heritage" (PDF). NASA. p. 23. Retrieved 4 November 2011. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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  18. "STS-126 Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. November 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2011. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  19. "STS-128 Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. August 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2011. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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  21. Broyan, James Lee; Borrego, Melissa Ann; Bahr, Juergen F. (1 January 2008). "International Space Station USOS Crew Quarters Development". SAE International. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
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  23. "STS-120 to Deliver Harmony Node to ISS". NASA. 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  24. "STS-120 Bringing Space Station 'Harmony'". NASA. 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2004. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  25. "Launch Schedule: Consolidated Launch Manifest". NASA. 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  26. William Harwood for CBS News (2007). "Astronauts enter Harmony". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
  27. "Upcoming Shuttle Missions and ARISS Operations". Victor Amateur Radio Association. 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
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  29. "NASA, SpaceX Launch First Flight Test of Space System Designed for Crew". nasa.gov. NASA. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  30. Gebhardt, Chris (27 July 2019). "CRS-18 Dragon arrives at the ISS following Falcon 9 launch". Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  31. Bergin, Chris; Harding, Pete (21 August 2019). "EVA-55 installs second IDA to allow for additional commercial crew vehicle options". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
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