Cupola – ESA/Thales Alenia Space Italy (TAS-I)
<ul><li>The Cupola (named after the raised observation deck on a railroad caboose) is a small module designed for the observation of operations outside the ISS such as robotic activities, the approach of vehicles, and extravehicular activity (EVA). It was built in Europe by Thales Alenia Space Italy (TAS-I) under contract of the European Space Agency. It provides spectacular views of Earth and celestial objects. The Cupola has six side windows and a direct nadir viewing window, all of which are equipped with shutters to protect them from contamination and collisions with orbital debris or micrometeorites. The Cupola is designed to house the robotic workstation that controls the ISS’s remote manipulator arm. It can accommodate two crewmembers simultaneously and is berthed to the Earth facing side of Node-3 using a Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM).</li></ul>
NASA
2015-06-25
<a class="external free" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ISS_Utilization_Guide_2015.pdf&amp;page=35">https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ISS_Utilization_Guide_2015.pdf&amp;page=35</a>