MPLM - Mini-Pressurised Logistics Module. Cutaway drawing of the Italian Mini-Pressurized Logistics Module. Credit: NASA via Marcus Lindroos. 46,898 bytes. 416 x 480 pixels.

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-Pressurised 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 could not 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.

Article by Marcus Lindroos