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European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF)
02.15.08
Scientists and payload developers can get more information on International Space Station research facilities by contacting the ISS Payloads Office or at 281-244-6187.

Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Images

Facility/Payload Overview

Brief Facility Summary

The purpose of the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) will provide power, data, thermal control and structural to payloads mounted on the Columbus External Payload Facility. The facility will support research in space and Earth science and materials exposure to the space environment.

Facility Manager(s)

Jan Dettmann, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Co-Facility Manager(s)

No Information Available

Facility Developer

Carlo Gavazzi Space S.p.A., Milan, Italy

Sponsoring Agency

European Space Agency (ESA)

Expeditions Assigned

16,17

Previous ISS Missions

No Information Available

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Facility/Payload Description

Facility Summary

  • European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) provides a platform for multiple types of experiments/material to be exposed directly to the space environment.

Description

The European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) will be mounted outside the Columbus module and carry experiments requiring exposure to the space environment. EuTEF is a programmable, multifunctional, architecture that provides uniform interfaces for instruments. Nine instrument modules are accommodated and operated simultaneously.

The experiments and facility infrastructure are accommodated on the Columbus External Payload Adapter (CEPA), consisting of an adapter plate, the Active Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism (A-FRAM) and the connectors and harness. The experiments are mounted either directly on the Adapter plate or a support structure that elevates them for optimum exposure to the ram (direction of flight) and zenith directions.

In total, the facility mass is about 350 kg, requiring less than 450W peak. The first round of experiments for EuTEF consists of:

  • DEBris In-orbit Evaluator (DEBIE-2): micrometeoroid and orbital debris detector

  • Dosimetric Telescope (DOSTEL): measuring the radiation environment

  • EuTEF Thermometer (EuTEMP): measure EuTEF's thermal environment

  • Earth Viewing Camera (EVC): Earth observing camera

  • Exposure Experiment (Expose): An exobiological exposure facility

  • Flux(Phi) Probe EXperiment (FIPEX): atomic oxygen detector

  • Material Exposure and Degradation Experiment (MEDET): examine material degradation

  • Plasma Electron Gun Payload (PLEGPAY): plasma discharge in orbit

  • An Experiment on Space Tribology Experiment (Tribolab): testbed for the tribology (study of friction on moving parts) properties of materials

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Operations

Facility Operations

Mission 1E will first attach Columbus to the ISS and power it up. Crewmembers performing extravehicular activity (EVA) will then install EuTEF. Before EuTEF is moved, its stay-alive heaters will prepare for the unpowered 5-hour phase (the battery-powered EuTEMP will monitor the temperatures). A crewmember strapped to the Station's Canadarm 2 will release EuTEF from the Integrated Cargo Carrier by activating the Active Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism. It will then be pulled from its soft-dock magnets and hand-delivered to the CEPF. Power feed 2 will immediately activate to ensure survival of the payload in cold conditions.

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Results/More Information

No Information Available

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Availability

Developed for ISS

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Related Web Sites
  • EUTEF Fact Sheet
  • Carlo Gavazzi, EUTEF

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    Publications

    Results Publications

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      Related Publications
      • Dettmann J, Viseten G, Aceti R, Andresen D. European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF). Utilisation of the International Space Station, Proceedings of 2nd European Symposium, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 16-18 November, ;173-176. 1998
      • Borghi G, Dettmann J, Visentin G. Development of the European Technology Exposure Facility. Fifth International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation in Space (IROC), June 1-3, ;129 - 136. 1999

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      Images

      imageEuTEF Flight Model. Image courtesy of Carlo Gavazzi, S.p.A., Milan, Italy.
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      imageEuTEF lit by the solar beam during the Thermal Balance Test. Image courtesy of ESA.
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      Information Provided and Updated by the ISS Program Scientist's Office
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