On 31 March at Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, Germany,
ESA Director of Human Spaceflight Mr Jörg Feustel-Büechl
will sign a EUR 37.7M contract with DLR, the German
national agency for aerospace research and spaceflight,
to develop the Columbus Control Centre for the European
Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station
(ISS).

Columbus is a European science laboratory built to
facilitate European research in space. It is the
cornerstone of the European contribution to the ISS
project and represents Europe as a key partner in the
Space Station programme. ESA expects to launch the
laboratory in October 2004.

The main functions of the Columbus Control Centre
will be to command and control the Columbus laboratory
systems, to provide and operate the European ground
communications network for the facility, and to
coordinate operations for the European payloads on
board the International Space Station.

“The Columbus laboratory and the Columbus Control
Centre are vital elements of the European
participation in the International Space Station,”
said Mr. Feustel-Büechl, “the signature with DLR for
the Columbus Control Centre demonstrates Europe’s
commitment to the International Space Station
programme”.

Once the Columbus Control Centre is set up in
Oberpfaffenhofen, on the premises of DLR’s German
Space Operations Centre (GSOC) and ready for
operations in 2004, DLR will take responsibility
under a further ESA contract for management of the
centre and coordinate and support all on-orbit
operations of the Columbus laboratory on behalf of
ESA. The Columbus assembly mission, scheduled for
October 2004, and the first period of Columbus
operations will be managed by an Integrated Flight
Control Team consisting of DLR, Astrium and ESA
personnel led by an ESA Flight Director. For
subsequent periods, DLR will lead the Columbus
Laboratory Flight Control Team, with up to 90
operators. The team will act on ESA’s behalf vis-à-vis
NASA and other ISS partners for the execution of all
Columbus operations.

The Columbus Control Centre has to be operational in
time to provide ground communication services for
the ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Control
Centre in Toulouse, France. The ATV is scheduled to
be launched by Ariane 5 from Kourou, French Guiana,
in September 2004 and is designed to resupply the
ISS and carry out orbit reboost operations.

In placing this contract, ESA is recognising the
long-standing experience and competence of DLR in
Oberpfaffenhofen in the management of manned
spaceflight operations. DLR has been involved in
spacecraft operations for 35 years and in the
management of manned spaceflight missions since
the first European Spacelab mission in 1983. Since
1998 DLR specialists have contributed to the design
and preparation of the Columbus Control Centre.

Media representatives wishing to attend the contract
signature event at DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen on 31
March at 11:00 (see programme attached) are kindly
requested to complete the attached accreditation
form and return it, preferably by fax, to ESA Media
Relations Service in Paris (Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690).
[NOTE: Not attached – A.Y.]

For further information on the Columbus Control
Centre, please contact:

Robert Chesson
Head of the Operations Management Division
Directorate of Human Spaceflight
Tel: +31 71 656 3341
Fax: + 31 71 565 5431

ESA Columbus Control Centre Contract Signature

DLR/GSOC – Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich (Germany)

Monday 31 March 2003

10.15 Doors open for check-in and refreshments

11.00 Welcome address – Prof. Bernd Höfer, DLR

Role and importance of the Columbus Control
Centre in the overall operations of the ISS –
Jörg Feustel-Büechl, ESA

The Columbus Control Centre, the culmination
of 35 years’ spaceflight operations control at
GSOC – Prof. Achim Bachem, DLR

Signature of Contract

Columbus Control Centre operations – Robert
Chesson, ESA

Design and implementation of the Columbus Control
Centre -Prof. Klaus Wittman, DLR

Questions and Answers

12.00 Opportunities for individual interviews

Buffet lunch

Place: DLR/GSOC Oberpfaffenhofen, near MunichMotorway
A 96, Munich-Lindau

Exit: Oberpfaffenhofen, then follow the signs to DLR. You
can download a map from:
http//www2.dlr.de/Oberpaffenhofen/karte.pdfContact

Telephone during the event: DLR Public Relations
Tel: +49(0)8153.28.2297

Related links

* Programme and accreditation form
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/Pr_20_2003_p_EN.html

* International Space Station
http://www.esa.int/export/esaHS/iss.html

* Columbus Laboratory
http://www.esa.int/export/esaHS/ESAAYI0VMOC_iss_0.html

* DLR
http://www.dlr.de/

* Astrium
http://www.astrium-space.com

IMAGE CAPTIONS:

[Image 1:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM5V19YFDD_Life_1.html]
ESA’s Columbus Laboratory, Europe’s laboratory on the
International Space Station (ISS), will become one of
the principal manned modules of the ISS when it is
launched in late 2004 aboard the US Space Shuttle.

In this pressurised laboratory, European astronauts
and their international colleagues will work in a
comfortable shirtsleeve environment. It is a
state-of-the-art, general-purpose laboratory,
accommodating experiments in life sciences, materials
processes, technology development, fluid sciences,
fundamental physics and other disciplines. Up to 500
experiments will be performed in it every year of its
more than 10-year operational life.

Measuring 6.7 m long and 4.5 m in diameter, the one-piece
module will weigh 9.9 tonnes without its research
equipment of 5 tonnes in 10 exchangeable modular racks.
Payloads will also be attached on four express pallets
on the exterior of the Columbus for technology
experiments, Earth observation and space science. It is
being developed by a European consortium (41 companies
in 14 countries) headed by Daimler Benz Aerospace (DASA).

Credits: ESA / D.Ducros

[Image 2:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM5V19YFDD_Life_1.html#subhead1]
Europe’s laboratory on the International Space Station
(Cutaway view)

[Image 3:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM5V19YFDD_Life_1.html#subhead2]
Cutaway view of the Automated Transfer Vehicle