The International Space Station is set to get a little larger over the next year. And Canada will be playing a big role.
The station will not only be adding to its Earth and orbit operations, it will also be adding to its physical structure. A new solar panel will be added next month and then two new laboratories will double the volume of lab space on the station
Benoit Marcotte, Space Station Program Director for the Canadian Space Agency, says in the next 12 months, there will be six shuttle flights to the ISS. The first few will bring the solar panels, and then a connecting node will be installed to allow the installation of laboratories.
"For Canada, Dextre, our dexterous manipulator will join the rest of the mobile servicing system," Marcotte told Canada AM.
Dextre is a two-armed robot that will allow astronauts and cosmonauts do maintenance on the $100-billion space station.
"You've seen Canadarm 2 do its work and the Canadarm 2 is going to continue to do major assembly tasks over the next year -- and really, until the end of the assembly of the space station. But Dextre is there to replace the astronauts that are doing spacewalks in orbit," Marcotte explained.
"It's a robot that will do much finer tasks like replacing batteries, replacing components on the space station so we can save the astronauts' time to do science."
Like Canadarm2, Dextre will be controlled by the crew inside the space station and will allow them to perform many of the tasks that would otherwise need to be performed during a demanding spacewalk.
The European and Japanese laboratories, meanwhile, will allow more astronauts to live at the space station and conduct their work, but the installation of the labs will take about two years.
The construction phase is expected to include one Canadian, and the next phase of the mission could include more who will become the first Canadians to live for an extended period on the space station.
"In June, we have one astronaut going up on a shuttle flight, Dave Williams, who will be participating in the construction," Marcotte said.
"In 2009, we will finish the outfitting of those laboratories and also the living equipment that is needed on board, like exercise equipment and galley facilities, washroom facilities to bring an additional three astronauts in orbit.
"Right now, the station has three and we are looking forward to go to six astronauts on the space station in order to carry out more science in those labs," he said.
"In 2009, when we go to a crew of six, Canada is expecting to have its first astronaut going there for a six-month period to mainly do scientific activities."
