“FRED”SPACE STATION CREW MODULES
Notes:
The length of the crew modules was reduced to 8.2 meters to reduce the weight while allowing them to be tested, integrated and outfitted on the ground rather than in space. The US laboratory and habitation modules are in the foreground. Two node modules were also deleted. The total pressurized volume was now 878 cubic meters.
Inside the redesigned habitation module. The crew was reduced from eight astronauts to four.
Cutaway drawing of the new 8.2-meter habitation module. The galley and gymnasium are visible at left. Space Station Freedom's advanced life support system was replaced with a cheaper and simpler design which did not recycle all water and oxygen, at the cost of greatly increasing the mass of the supplies that had to be launched from Earth.
The redesigned US laboratory module now contained 15 experiment racks. Scientists complained about the lack of power and reduced 50mbits/s data transmission rate, down from the 1987 design's 300mbits/s. There would also be no centrifuge module for life science research, and the crew of four was regarded as too small for serious scientific work.
