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The new challenges of permanently inhabited orbital stations include the need for immediate, safe return to Earth of the station crew. In particular, in the frame of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) program, three potential emergency situations have been identified: ill/injured crew member return crew evacuation due to uninhabitability of SSF crew return due to unavailability of Space Transportation System It is recognised that station crew rescue/recovery by means of the U.S. Space Transportation System (STS) is not feasible since the time needed to setup the rescue mission would be too long for the assigned requirements. It has therefore been decided to develop an Assured Crew Return Vehicle, permanently docked to SSF and able to re-enter its crew (in total or in part) within assigned time constraints.

The Cupola Environmental Control System (ECS) has the task to ensure the required Cupola internal environment using passive and active control means, in response to the relevant applicable Cupola requirements. The ECS is subdivided into a Thermal Control Subsystem (TCS) and an Environmental & Life Control Subsystem (ECLS). The particular characteristics of Cupola design requires a non standard way to control the internal environment conditions: TCS controls the Cupola primary structures through an High Temperature water Loop (HTL) avoiding shell heaters necessity in the cold cases and representing also an heat sink for the windows assy in the hot cases; ECLS design realizes the air distribution inside the cabin volume using the gap existing between the primary and secondary structure without dedicated ducts.