MINI-PRESSURIZED LOGISTICS MODULE
Notes:
Cutaway drawing of the Italian Mini-Pressurized Logistics Module. As NASA's Space Station budget received further cutbacks, the agency was forced to consider more and more hardware paid for by foreign space agencies although Congress and private industry were opposed to it. In 1992, Italy's Alenia Spazio announced they would build a small mini-pressurized logistics module (MPLM) for the Space Shuttle, enabling it to carry 4500kg of cargo to the Space Station. The MPLM might also be transformed into a small life sciences laboratory. Boeing had previously wanted to build the MPLM, but NASA cannot afford to pay for it. Instead, the Italian space agency, ASI, would now finance the $400-million project in return for crew time and experiments on the Space Station.
