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The redesign of Space Station Freedom (SSF) and the requirement of the Columbus programme board to reduce costs have led ESA to change the design and development strategy of the Attached Pressurised Module (APM). A revised APM reference design for integration with the SSF Alpha has been produced with sufficient flexibility to allow adaptation as part of a global space station or to permit operations as part of a European Free Flyer. The main objectives of the redesign have been to simplify the design, reduce the costs and provide increased autonomy from the SSF. The key groundrules for the redesign have been an AR5/ATV launch from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CGS) into an orbit inclined at 51.6 degrees. The APM has a length equivalent to 5 double racks and a net launch mass of 1200 kg. It will be delivered to the SSF at an altitude of 407 km for a 10-year operational life. Safe disposal will be by ATV.

Space hardware design, as well as that for hardware destined to work in 1-g environment, needs to be submitted to a complete design verification process before final utilisation in nominal conditions. As space hardware ground verification is difficult and expensive, a design verification philosophy has been developed in order to reach, as far as possible, the highest degree of space hardware reliability and usability and hence to increase crew productivity via a perfect integration of man and machines. This activity is mainly based on a complete hardware testing process (first on ground, then in microgravity simulated environment and, at the end, during a short duration space mission) and on a correct test procedure preparation in order to avoid inconveniences during test execution. Opportunity for an application of the design verification philosophy has been given by Columbus Precursor Flights and the related MIRIAM '95 programme.

The forthcoming planetary missions require an autonomous crew habitation and a high mass of metabolic consumables. To minimise the launch mass and/or the logistic needs, these missions shall then be based on regenerative technologies able to obtain resources for the human life from the on board produced wastes, guaranteeing a high closure degree of the system. In this context ESA has promoted a preliminary study called SpaceHaven, to understand which functions must be guaranteed for a long term and autonomous mission and to investigate about the hardware/technologies to be exploited to meet the identified functions. A dedicated demonstration program is to be proposed when needed technologies are neither available in Europe nor currently covered by a dedicated technological development.