2013
Space milestones
ASI entrusts Kayser with UTISS support
The UTISS contract, Utilization Technology and Italian Scientific Science on ISS, begins, entrusting Kayser until 2017 with technical support for the design and logistical management of Italian experiments on the International Space Station. The company thus strengthens its role in organising and supporting scientific activities in orbit.
Ham TV heads for the ISS
The Ham TV system reaches the International Space Station aboard a Japanese cargo vehicle. It is designed to enable the transmission of video images through amateur radio links, supporting educational activities between astronauts and schools. The technology opens new possibilities for bringing students and the public closer to life on the ISS.
Luca Parmitano steps out into space
In July, Luca Parmitano becomes the first Italian astronaut to perform an extravehicular activity (EVA), working outside the International Space Station.
Gaia sets off to map the Milky Way
ESA launches Gaia, an observatory designed to measure the position, distance and movement of around one billion stars. The aim is to build a three-dimensional map of the Galaxy with unprecedented precision.
Missions & Payloads
ATV-4
Fourth mission of the European Automated Transfer Vehicle to the International Space Station. It transports supplies, propellant and experiments, and contributes to controlling the station’s orbit.
Mini ECCO
Passive temperature-conditioned container for transporting scientific samples, belonging to the ECCO family developed by Kayser Italia. The compact version uses phase-change material (PCM) modules to keep samples within a predetermined temperature range without electrical power.
SOYUZ 34S
Crewed mission to the International Space Station for Expeditions 35 and 36. It is the first crewed flight to use a fast rendezvous profile, reaching the station in around six hours.
HAMTV
S-band digital amateur television system, designed to add video to radio links between astronauts on the ISS and students and radio amateurs on Earth. It comprises a DATV transmitter intended for the European Columbus laboratory and uses an S-band antenna already installed on the station. It reaches the ISS on the Japanese HTV-4 cargo vehicle, launched on 4 August 2013 and attached to the station five days later. Initial commissioning activities take place in 2014 in preparation for ARISS educational links, which allow students to see astronauts while speaking to them.
BION-M1
Orbital bioscience mission lasting approximately thirty days. It carries organisms and biological samples to study the effects of microgravity and the space environment.
ELITE-S2
The facility’s second major scientific campaign takes place during Increments 33 and 34, between 2012 and 2013, with astronaut Kevin Ford. It includes the IMAGINE-2 protocol, dedicated to the mental representation of motion, and MOVE, on the control of reaching and grasping movements. Overall, the ELITE-S2 campaigns comprise eight experimental sessions with three astronauts. In January 2013, a session with Ford lasts around five hours and is coordinated in real time from Kayser’s command centre in Livorno, connected to the ISS and NASA mission control in Houston. Kayser Italia develops the facility’s space configuration as an ASI contractor, based on BTS motion capture technology.
INCR.34
Thirty-fourth long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, dedicated to scientific research, maintenance, robotic operations and support for cargo vehicles.
HTV-4
Fourth mission of the Japanese HTV cargo vehicle to the International Space Station. It delivers supplies, hardware and experiments, carried in pressurised and unpressurised compartments.
Mini ECCO
Passive thermal container for transporting small scientific samples to and from the ISS. It uses phase-change material (PCM) modules to keep the temperature within a predetermined range without electrical power. In 2013, it is also used to return samples from the IMMUNO experiment to Earth, dedicated to studying changes in immune responses and stress in astronauts.
RIBES
Modular payload project dedicated to experiments across different disciplines, based on the use of standard BIOKON containers. The name derives from Reconfigurable Incubator for Biology Experiments in Space. The precursor configuration aboard Bion-M1 is completely autonomous: it comprises a single BIOKON with its own battery and hosts two experiments, FOAM2 and DIASPACE2. FOAM2 studies shape-memory polymer foams and composites. The samples are heated to test their ability to recover their original geometry in microgravity, with a view to potential applications in actuators and self-deploying space structures. All samples show good shape recovery. DIASPACE2 uses polycrystalline diamond films as dosimeters to measure low levels of space radiation.