Columbus Man-Tended Free Flyer

Columbus MTFF

Columbus MTFF station concept
Station statistics
Crew	3 (visiting from Hermes)
Mission status	Cancelled
Mass	17,600 kg (38,800 lb)
Length	11.5 m (38 ft)
Diameter	4.4 m (14 ft)
References:[1]

The Columbus Man-Tended Free Flyer (MTFF) was a European Space Agency (ESA) program to develop a space station that could be used for a variety of microgravity experiments while serving ESA's needs for an autonomous crewed space platform. It consisted of a Columbus module docked to a service module containing solar power collectors, communications and other services. The program ran from 1986 to 1991, was expected to cost $3.56 billion including launch and utilization,^[1] and was cancelled while still in the planning stage. Aspects of the program were later realised in the Columbus science laboratory attached to the International Space Station (ISS).