Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System

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The Endeavor Power Transfer Unit (PTU)

The Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS; pronounced spits ) allowed the space shuttle to draw power from the International Space Station . This reduced the use of the on-board fuel cells and extended the possible coupling time at the ISS by four days.

SSPTS was an upgrade of the shuttle's own Assembly Power Converter Unit (APCU) with a new unit called the Power Transfer Unit (PTU). The APCU made it possible to transfer energy from the 28 V DC power supply of the shuttle to the 120 V power supply of the ISS. This enabled the available power of the Russian Zvezda module to be increased at the beginning of the construction of the space station . The PTU now made it possible to feed the 120 V DC voltage of the ISS into the 28 V power supply of the orbiter. The maximum transmission power was eight kilowatts. This enabled the space shuttle and space station to supply each other with energy if necessary. However, no use was made of the transfer from the space shuttle to the ISS.

During the STS-116 mission , the PMA-2 coupling socket , to which the space shuttles docked, was converted to use the SSPTS. The first mission to use the new system was STS-118 with the space shuttle Endeavor .

Only the Discovery and the Endeavor were equipped with the SSPTS. The Atlantis without SSPTS could not be used on the ISS as long as the other two orbiters in the fleet.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ NASA (Ed.): Space Shuttle Program - System Description and Design Data - Electrical Power and Avionics (NSTS 07700, Vol. XIV, Appendix 3) . S. 66 .
  2. ^ Mission Operations Directorate Flight Design and Dynamics Division (Ed.): Ascent Checklist STS-116 . S. 174 ( http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/163524main_ASC_116_F_B_1.pdf , PDF, 2MB [accessed on March 17, 2008]).
  3. ↑ STS-118 MCC Status Report # 05. NASA, accessed March 17, 2008 .
  4. ↑ Various authors: Topic: * ENDEAVOR * - STS 118 / preparation. Raumfahrer.net, January 8, 2007, accessed April 19, 2011 .