Bartolomeo External Platform Entering Into Commercial Service

摘要

Bartolomeo is a new external payload hosting platform on the International Space Station's Columbus module. Bartolomeo offers 12 new external payload sites, all of them at the forward-facing side of Columbus. Payloads are accommodated using the General-purpose Oceaneering Latching Device 2 (GOLD-2) which enables full robotic servicing of the facility. As a standard Bartolomeo offers to host payloads in a range of 3 Cubesat units up to 0.56 cubic meters corresponding to 450 kg. Smaller payloads down to 3U size are accommodated in the ArgUS multi-payload frame installed on one standard slot. Designed to user requirements from the commercial and institutional sector, Bartolomeo complements the space station with its unique capabilities and resupply logistics with unique features: access to best viewing angles in nadir, zenith and limb directions with minimal obstructions from other ISS elements, choice between unpressurized and pressurized launch of payloads to ISS, compatibility with all ISS payload airlocks, return option, enhanced data downlink capability through optical communication, and easy access to space with standardized payload interfaces. Payload sites on the new facility are accessible to customers world-wide through a commercial contract. With a lead time of 18 months, the Bartolomeo Mission Service offers end-to-end mission integration with standardized interfaces definition to the user. Payloads, thereby, benefit directly from the partnership with the ISS program providing frequent access to space. The Bartolomeo platform will enable customers to use LEO more frequently, quicker and at lower cost supporting competitiveness and growth of the industrial sector, especially for small and medium enterprises and academic institutions who are yet unexperienced in using space. With the Bartolomeo platform scheduled for launch in March 2020 and the installation scheduled thereafter, the paper will focus on the preparation of the operational phase. Bartolomeo int