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Boeing Studies Keep ISS Humming

ST. LOUIS, April 24, 2003 - Boeing [NYSE: BA] engineers have provided
a number of studies to help NASA keep the International Space
Station (ISS) viable for the foreseeable future, relying upon Russian
vehicles, Soyuz and Progress, to transport cargo to the station.

Engineers at Boeing NASA Systems in Houston, many from the ISS
Vehicle Integrated Performance and Resources (VIPeR) team, studied
ways to maintain a safe and operable ISS. The team was asked by NASA
immediately after the space shuttle Columbia accident to study a
number of options, taking into account the delay of the unique cargo
ferrying capabilities of the space shuttle.

The Boeing ISS team's primary assessment effort focused on a smaller
ISS crew size and assessed the consumables used by the station and
its crew and the need for spare hardware. The ISS team is relying
upon the Russian vehicles as the only means of transporting cargo to
the ISS until the shuttle returns to flight and/or the European Space
Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle is available.

The team tracked the primary consumables used by the station and its
crew and worked closely with NASA's ISS Mission Integration group.
Boeing conducted various analyses to minimize ISS supply and return
requirements while optimizing the ISS vehicle performance and
research. 

The VIPeR team first focused on the issue of propellant on board the
station, which is used to keep the ISS in the proper orbit and
orientation and has been one of the most critical consumables in past
studies. They concluded that currently planned Progress launches
would meet propellant re-supply needs.

The next critical consumable is the water necessary to support the
crew and system needs. Each crewmember uses about two kilograms of
water a day for drinking, food and oxygen generation. The team looked
at how water could be brought up while also examining ways to reduce
water needs. "We looked at how long we could leave three crewmembers
up there and when we would go to two crew members," said Neil
Lemmons, senior systems engineer with the Boeing VIPeR team.

"Without the space shuttle, it was quickly determined by all involved
that a three person crew could not be sustained," said Bob Korin,
manager of the Boeing VIPeR team. Keeping a crew on the ISS was
important, he added, because it would "give us a set of eyes, hands
and creative thinking capability to respond to things that arise."

Although there would be some limits, a two-person crew could also
continue to do scientific research. The Boeing teams, including a
strong effort by the safety community, looked at the risks associated
with a smaller two-person crew and concluded that their were no
significant safety concerns. A two-person crew not only keeps
research going but also maintains support for preventative and
corrective maintenance, anomaly investigation and response, and other
ISS System Operations needs that can best be done by an on-orbit
crew.

Boeing and NASA engineers have studied the impact of a two-person
crew on future science research. "The focus has been on new samples
and consumables for the science and research apparatus already on
board the ISS that require minimal space and weight," said Rick
Golden, program manager of ISS payload integration.

"Our group (Boeing and its subcontractors, Teledyne Brown Engineering
and United Space Alliance) ensures that interfaces between the
science experiments and the space station are compatible," said
Golden. 

"A lot of our focus has been working the safety aspects to fly U.S.
payload hardware on Soyuz and Progress launches," Golden explained.
"We are positioning a select number of payloads at the Baikonur
launch site in order to be able to take advantage of any space that
becomes available on the upcoming Progress flights."

The Boeing ISS team reassessed the manifests for several planned
shuttle launches. "We had to support system maintenance which may
have required changing out filters, valves, bags and things along
those lines or other items to support system repair," said Korin.

The team came up with a prioritized shopping list and looked at what
they could take up without the space shuttle. The NASA/Boeing ISS
team evaluated the amount of propellant, water, gas, and dry cargo
that is needed to the support the ISS and its crew. The ISS subsystem
teams, including the logistics and maintenance team, played a
critical role in defining the shopping list of needed items.

The Environmental Control and Life Support System group identified
the selector valve and filter for the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly
and the Internal Thermal Control System group identified the Pump
Package Assembly as essential spares to be manifested on the upcoming
Russian Soyuz and Progress flights.

The Soyuz is the ISS crew escape vehicle used in case of emergency
and is certified for 200 days of life and is rotated every 180 to 190
days. They are normally taken to ISS by a "taxi crew" who then bring
the "old" one back. The Progress vehicle is unmanned and carries crew
supplies and hardware spares to help maintain the life of ISS. There
are normally 3 Progress flights a year.

"The Russians have given us about 30 kg allocation for US items to be
launched on Soyuz 6S, so we have been working very hard with NASA to
make sure all these items are certified to be launched on a Russian
vehicle, and the Russians properly stow them for launch," according
to Ray V. Gonzales, Boeing launch package manager for Russian
vehicles. "We are also working to get these items to Moscow and then
to Baikonur, Khazakstan where they will be launched."

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, is
one of the world's largest space and defense businesses.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a
$25 billion business. It provides systems solutions to its global
military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading
provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the
world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest
satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based
communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile
defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch
services. 

###

Contact:
Ed Memi
Boeing NASA Systems
(281) 226-4029
edmund.g.memi{at}boeing.com

Kari Allen
Boeing NASA Systems
(281) 226-4844
kari.k.allen{at}boeing.com

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