Neat.
Debbie Downer: Looks like it fairly easily could have been made with like 50% less mass.
Perhaps that wouldn't have mattered though.
Debbie Downer: Looks like it fairly easily could have been made with like 50% less mass.
Perhaps that wouldn't have mattered though.
the front/back plates? looks like your standard 3/8" aluminum plates. could they have used 1/4"? other materials like plastic/carbon would probably not have passed NASA requirements. plastic/carbon could chip into small pieces which is a very bad thing on the ISS. so you're left with a metal, and aluminum is pretty safe choice. it's clear there are several holes in these plates that are not tapped and are there solely as a means to reduce the weight.
moving the pieces closer for a tighter fit resulting in a overall smaller unit size? this thing is meant for ease of use. extra space affords that, and making it more compact complicates its use.
I also can't imagine that the resupply flights are volume limited instead of mass.
Once it's up there, it's a negligible percent of the total spacecraft mass, and might be useful for later astronaut photographers.