Space User Center
The space user center ( Microgravity User Support Center , MUSC for short ) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) operates large-scale equipment for the scientific use of space in the disciplines of materials science, life sciences, technology and extraterrestrial science. Located at the DLR site in Cologne, the space user center is part of the Institute for Space Operations and Astronaut Training. The MUSC certifies space experiments for their readiness to fly, supervises the implementation of the mission with the help of specific ground infrastructure (for example using ground models of the flight systems and ground computer systems) and makes the archived data accessible to European users after the mission.
MUSC is currently involved in two long-term space projects, the use of the European experimental facilities on board the International Space Station ISS and the operation of the comet lander PHILAE as part of the ESA Rosetta mission.
Research under weightlessness
The German user support center for research under weightlessness is operated in the MUSC. The focus is on the disciplines of life and material sciences. Here, scientists are supported in the development and implementation of space experiments on board the ISS. In addition to supervising experiments on the ISS, pilot experiments are tested on short-term missions under weightlessness and new system concepts are developed.
Fields of activity:
- Support of astronaut training
- Operation of ground facilities
- Flight procedure development
- Interactive operation of space experiments (telescience)
- Data acquisition, processing, archiving and distribution
- Support for short-term experiments on parabolic flights and sounding rockets
ROSETTA Lander Control Center
The ROSETTA mission is a cornerstone of ESA's science program. For the first time, a space probe, PHILAE , will land softly on a cometary core and examine the structure, physical properties, composition and activity of this dirty pyramid there . The aim of the mission is comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko . After a journey of 10 years, the orbiter is expected to reach the 4 km diameter celestial body in 2014 and drop the PHILAE lander there. PHILAE will carry out an extensive measurement program on the comet's surface as long as the probe can withstand the extreme conditions on the comet.
The Lander Control Center (LCC) in the MUSC is responsible for the operation of the PHILAE lander. The transmission of telemetry data and telecommands from the probe or the orbiter takes place via the European Mission Control Center ( ESOC ) in Darmstadt and the network of ESA ground stations. The runtime of the signals depending on the distance from ROSETTA to the earth (in one direction) is a few minutes up to half an hour.
ISS facility control center
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest research platform for experiments under reduced gravity. The European payloads on board the ISS are operated by a decentralized network of User Support Operation Center ( USOC ) on behalf of the European Space Agency .
As a Facility Responsible Center, MUSC monitors and controls the payloads: Materials Science Laboratory , Biolab , DOSIS and operates the external payloads Matroshka and EXPOSE as a Facility Support Center .
While the experiment is being carried out, the system data is received by the ground stations, the Columbus control center and the NASA Payload Operations and Integration Center (POIC for short) and passed on to the experimenters after being processed by the MUSC. At the same time, the scientists can transmit changes in the course of the experiments to the user center, which are sent from here to the flight systems in real time.
Other tasks of the MUSC include the planning of the experiment operation on the ISS and the preparation and certification of the experiments in the functional ground facilities of the payloads.
Materials Science Laboratory
- → Main article: Materials Science Laboratory
The Materials Science Laboratory ( MSL for short ) is used to melt and solidify conductive metals, alloys and semiconductors in an extreme vacuum or in ultra-pure noble gas environments in weightlessness. In addition to experiments to better understand the influences of weightlessness on the structure development of metals in casting processes, the system opens up further possibilities for researching the thermophysical properties of alloys and glass-forming materials as well as the solid-liquid phase transitions in polymers and ceramics.
The aim of the investigations is to expand the understanding of transition processes, (atomic) structures and material properties so that the calculation models can be improved. It should be possible to refine previous production methods, improve products and develop new ones.
Biolab
- → Main article: Biolab
Biolab supports biological experiments on microorganisms, cells, tissue cultures, plants and small invertebrates. The role and influence of gravity on the various levels of life - from cells to plants or insects - will be investigated.
The biological test samples are brought to the International Space Station in a bio-container and then manually introduced into the Biolab. Some of the examinations can be carried out automatically. The typical examination duration ranges from a single day to three months.