The ESA Laboratory Support Equipment for the ISS

The Laboratory Support Equipment (LSE) for the International Space Station (ISS) is a suite of general-purpose items that will be available onboard the Station either as self-standing facilities or as equipment that can be used at defined locations. Dedicated to supporting system maintenance and payload operations, some LSE items are derived from commercial equipment, while others have been specifically developed for the ISS. ESA is currently engaged in developing three pressurised facilities and one pointing mechanism that will become part of the LSE complement, namely: the Minus Eighty degree centigrade Laboratory Freezer for the ISS (MELFI), the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), the cryogenic storage and quick/snap freezer system (Cryosystem), the external-payload pointing system (Hexapod).