Treadmill with Vibration Isolation Stabilization

[1] Following the advent of space stations that can be inhabited for long periods of time, exposure to weightlessness has been demonstrated to have some deleterious effects on human health.

Lesser symptoms include loss of body mass, nasal congestion, sleep disturbance, excess flatulence, and puffiness of the face.

To prevent some of the effects associated with weightlessness, a treadmill with vibration isolation and stabilization designed for the International Space Station (ISS) was first evaluated during STS-81.

For the majority of the more than 2 hours of locomotion studied, the treadmill operated well, and vibration transmitted to the vehicle was within the micro-gravity allocation limits that are defined for the ISS.

One goal of the treadmill design is to offer the possibility of generating 1 g-like loads on the lower extremities while preserving the micro-gravity environment of the ISS for structural safety and vibration free experimental conditions.

[3] The treadmills are intended to help astronauts stay fit, fighting off the bone loss (spaceflight osteopenia) and muscle decay that otherwise comes with space travel.

[4] Researchers believe that exercise is a good countermeasure for the bone and muscle density loss that occurs when humans live for a long time without gravity.

Expedition 20 flight engineers Michael Barratt and Koichi Wakata have performed a complete overhaul of that treadmill to extend its life.

A multiple day IFM was required in October in order to remove COLBERT from its rack and replace key power components.

[9] On the 14 April 2009 episode of The Colbert Report, astronaut Sunita Williams appeared on the show to announce that NASA decided to name the node 3 "Tranquility", the eighth most popular response in the census, and announced that they would name a new treadmill on the station after the comedian – Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT).

[12] NASA poked fun at itself in a humorous press release included in the STS-128 flight day 6 execute package report which claimed that Jon Stewart demanded to be honored similarly but turned down the agency's offer to name the ISS Urine Processor "Space Toilet Environmental Waste Accumulator/Recycling Thingy" (STEWART).

The rack alone weighs 2,200 pounds, which is its contractual design limit, and is also louder than the first treadmill which is a trade-off Wiederhoeft said is necessary to increase its reliability.

COLBERT had to be disassembled into scores of parts, separated into more than six bags and strapped to racks inside the Leonardo cargo module, which flew to the International Space Station aboard STS-128.