Multi-Purpose Logistics Module

MPLM logo

March 10 2001 - The Leonardo Multi Purpose Logistics Module rests in Discovery's payload bay in this view taken from the ISS by a crew member using a digital still camera during STS-102.

Raffaello module docked to the ISS during STS-114 mission

March 21 2001 - Cosmonaut Yuri P. Gidzenko is dwarfed by transient hardware aboard Leonardo.

A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) is a large pressurized container used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). It is carried in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle and berthed to the Unity or Harmony module, where supplies are offloaded and finished experiments and waste are loaded. The MPLM is then reberthed in the Shuttle for return to Earth.

The modules are provided to NASA under contract by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Three MPLMs were built and delivered to NASA and have names chosen by the ASI to denote some of the great talents in Italian history: Leonardo, Raffaello, and Donatello. It's also the names of three of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so NASAs MPLM Group designed a logo with a ninja turtle in an astronaut flight suit. While built by ASI, the modules are owned by NASA. In exchange for building the MPLMs, ASI receives access to U.S. research time on the ISS.

The MPLM was originally designed for Space Station Freedom. Initially, it was to be built by Boeing, but in 1992, the Italians announced that they would build a "Mini-Pressurized Logistics Module," able to carry 4500 kg of cargo. After the 1993 redesign, the length was doubled and it was renamed the "Multi-Purpose Logistics Module." Each empty MPLM is approximately 21 feet (6.4 m) long, 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter, weighs 4.5 tons, and can deliver up to 10 tons of cargo to the ISS.

Donatello is a more capable module than its two siblings, as it is able to carry payloads that require continuous power from construction through to installation on the ISS. However, based on the current schedule, Donatello will not fly before the retirement of the Space Shuttle.

A European proposal suggested that Donatello would be fitted with enhanced micrometeoroid protection and cooling systems and left attached to the ISS after the Space Shuttle fleet is retired. Cost for this has been estimated at $20M to $40M per unit. Then called a Permanent Logistics Module (PLM), it would house spare parts and supplies, allowing longer times between resupply missions. The proposal was rejected by NASA because it would require changing plans and additional costs.Since then internal discussions have continued.

With the early end of the Space Shuttle program in 2010, the Raffaello and Leonardo modules will fly just eleven times based on the current schedule.

Completed missions

Launch Date	Mission	Shuttle	MPLM
8 March 2001	STS-102 ISS 5A.1	Discovery	Leonardo
19 April 2001	STS-100 ISS 6A	Endeavour	Raffaello
10 August 2001	STS-105 ISS 7A.1	Discovery	Leonardo
5 December 2001	STS-108 ISS UF-1	Endeavour	Raffaello
5 June 2002	STS-111 ISS UF-2	Endeavour	Leonardo
26 July 2005	STS-114 ISS LF 1	Discovery	Raffaello
4 July 2006	STS-121 ISS ULF 1.1	Discovery	Leonardo
14 November 2008	STS-126 ISS ULF 2	Endeavour	Leonardo

Scheduled missions

These MPLM missions are planned for future Space Shuttle flights:

Launch Date	Mission	Shuttle	MPLM
NET 30 July 2009	STS-128 ISS 17A	Discovery	Leonardo
NET 11 February 2010	STS-131 ISS 19A	Discovery	Raffaello
NET 2010	STS-133 ISS ULF 5	Endeavour	Leonardo

NET: No Earlier Than

Specifications

• Length - 6.4 m
• Width - 4.57 m
• Mass - 4,082 kg empty; 13,154 kg loaded

External links

• MPLM Web Site at Marshall Space Flight Center