Gateway to Space Station's Future Reaches Orbit

Some gateways to international progress, it turns out, look like giant tin cans that float in space.

The U.S. Harmony connecting module, also known as Node 2, has been deemed such a gateway because it is crucial for future expansion of International Space Station (ISS). NASA successfully launched the Italian-built node on Tuesday aboard the space shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

But never judge a space station module by its metallic cover: the 31,500-pound (14,288-kilogram) Harmony packs devices essential to completion of the orbital laboratory by September 2010, when NASA plans to retire its aging space shuttle fleet.

"It's a very complex piece of hardware," said Paolo Nespoli, a European Space Agency (ESA) spaceflyer and STS-120 crewmember, in a NASA interview. "It's an example of how an international cooperation can work together ? and continue the building of this important laboratory."

NASA mission managers expect the seven-person crew of the STS-120 mission, led by Cmdr. Pam Melroy, to berth Harmony to the ISS on Oct. 26 just one day after docking.

Core of science

Once Discovery and its crew attach Harmony to the space station, it will be the first pressurized module added to the ISS since September 2001.

From its permanent home on the end of the Destiny laboratory, Harmony will serve as a core to distribute air, water, electricity and other systems to two major scientific hubs to be attached at a later time.

"Node 2 is the expansion of the space station's capability to bring international laboratories up," Melroy said, adding that it will also allow to the space station crew to double to six members. "It's this big boost in the capability which is really exciting."

The node is 23.6 feet (7.2 meters) long and 14.5 feet (4.4 meters) in diameter, and will increase the space station's livable space by more than 2,500 cubic feet (71 cubic meters). A powered grapple fixture on the end of Harmony will also allow crewmembers to operate the space station's robotic Canadarm2 from the module.

NASA hopes to launch the ESA's Columbus Research Laboratory to the ISS in December and attach it to one of Harmony's four available ports during the STS-122 mission. Further space shuttle missions—STS-123, STS-124 and STS-127—will deliver the four main chunks of the Japanese Experimental Module called Kibo, also for attachment to Harmony.

Long road to Harmony

Thales Alenia Space, a Torino, Italy, company, built Harmony as part of an agreement between NASA and the ESA, and delivered the component to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in June 2003.

Yet the module's name remained "Node 2" until March 15 of this year, when NASA ended a contest among U.S. schools to name the node—six different schools from five different states, in fact, suggested "Harmony."

"Harmony was selected to symbolize the spirit of international cooperation embodied by the space station, as well as the module's specific role in connecting the international partner modules," said Steve Huning, STS-120 launch package manager.

Margaret Brackey, an 8-year-old who built a model of the Harmony module with her classmates as part of the contest, told SPACE.com that her naming of the module had more to with its pleasing sound.

"I just like the name Harmony," Brackey told SPACE.com, adding that her mother and classmates settled on the moniker after a few discussions.

In either case, mission managers are looking forward to the day the module is permanently installed.

"The arrival of the Harmony module really sets the stage for a series of shuttle flights between now and next spring that will finally allow us to realize the full benefit of this international partnership," said Kenny Todd, ISS program manager. "That's something we've looked forward to for a very, very long time."
NASA is broadcasting Discovery's STS-120 launch and mission operations live on NASA. Click here for mission updates and NASA TV from SPACE.com.

SPACE.com Staff Writer Tariq Malik contributed to this story from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

• VIDEO INTERPLAYER: Delivering 'Harmony' with NASA's STS-120 Mission
• Test Your Smarts: Space Shuttle Countdown Quiz
• Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage