Human Spaceflight

OHB System developed several critical ISS infrastructure and experiment facility elements, which are listed below.

Since more than ten years OHB has provided engineering, integration & operations support for all Columbus payloads developed by OHB as part of the Industrial Operational Team (IOT), that is led by Airbus DS.

https://www.ohb.de/en/news/columbus-flew-into-space-10-years-ago/

ISS Facilities and Subsystems
  • European Physiology Modules Facility
    Human physiology research facility to study the influence of space conditions on the human body.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: OHB)
  • Plasma Kristall 4 Facility (PK-4)
    Research facility for studying complex plasmas under microgravity conditions.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: OHB)
  • European Transport Carrier Rack
    Storage rack for onboard equipment.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: OHB)
  • EDR and FSL Subsystems
    Video Management Units for the European Drawer Rack and the Fluid Science Laboratory.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: OHB)
  • Biolab and EMCS Subsystems
    Centrifuges and Life Support Systems for the Biolab Research Facility and the European Modular Cultivation System.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: Airbus DS)
  • Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer Subsystems
    Electronic Unit and Rack Interface Unit for the ISS Minus Eighty-degree laboratory freezer, a facility for freezing scientific experiment samples.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: Airbus DS)
  • Material Science Laboratory Subsystems
    Electronic Unit for the Material Science Laboratory onboard the ISS.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: Airbus DS)
  • Exobiology Platform Observatory (EXPO) Subsystems
    Scientific Module 1 containing optical instruments and electronics for the Modular In-situ Spectroscopy Platform for Exobiology Research outside the ISS, that accommodates the following experiments:
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: Kayser Italia)
    • OREOcube - Effects of solar and cosmic radiation on organic thin films supported on inorganic substrates.
    • EXOcube-Chem – Astrochemistry effects on samples exposed to solar and cosmic radiation.
    • ICECold and  EXOcubeBio : Optical density , fluorescence, colorimetric measurement on organisms cultures.
  • Expose
    Multi-user exposure platform for scientific samples outside the ISS.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: OHB)
ISS Infrastructure
  • Columbus Subsystems
    Harness and Mechanical Ground Support Equipment.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: Airbus DS)
  • Node 2&3 Subsystems
    Harness and secondary structure.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: Thales Alenia Italy)
  • Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Subsystems
    Harness and Meteoroid and Debris Protection System for ATV 1 to 5.
    (Customer: ESA, prime contractor: Airbus DS)