What's a "passive FRAM"?
Quotes from
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txs/initiatives/harmon%20indictment.pdfSpace Shuttles carried cargo to the ISS. The cargo was sometimes secured to the shuttle by a device called a Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism ("FRAM").
FRAMs functioned as follows:
a. The cargo was attached to an adaptor plate;
b. The adaptor plate was attached to a removable part of the FRAM called the "Active FRAM";
c. The Active FRAM was attached to a stationary part of the FRAM called the "Passive FRAM";
d. The Passive FRAM was attached to a beam on the sidewall of the Space Shuttle payload bay.
When the Space Shuttle docked at the ISS in orbit, an astronaut would do a space walk into the payload bay and use tools to separate the Active FRAM from the Passive FRAM. The astronaut would hand carry the Active FRAM and its cargo a short distance through space and attach it to a spot on the outside of the ISS. The Passive FRAM would remain attached to the Space Shuttle payload bay.
