HOUSTON - TheInternational Space Station (ISS) received a new pantry chock full of freshfood, equipment and other vital supplies Friday after shuttle astronautsinstalled a fresh cargo pod at the orbital laboratory.
STS-121mission specialists LisaNowak and StephanieWilson deftly berthed the Italian-built Leonardo cargo module into a slotoutside the space station's Unity node at about 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 GMT), whereit will remain parked throughout Discovery's eight-day stay at the ISS.
"Houston, Discovery, on the big loop, robotics and CBM operator are go for first stagecapture," Nowak said as Leonardo reached its perch outside the Unity node'sCommon Berthing Mechanism, or CBM.
Aside froma couple of errant straps on Leonardo's Unity port, which ISS and shuttleastronauts tracked closely to make sure they didn't hinder the cargo module's arrival,the operation went smoothly.
"We've hadthree sets of eyes through the portal there and we cannot see any signs of theoffending straps," STS-121 mission specialist MichaelFossum said after Leonardo reached its destination.
Additional itemsare being moved into the ISS from Discovery's middeck, with several stationcomponents exposed to space in the shuttle's payload bay. Over the next week orso, all nine astronauts aboard the ISS will have their hands full with theintricately choreographed cargo transfer process.
"We can't reallypull everything out of our logistics module and put it in the station becauseit would be so crowded we couldn't move through it," STS-121 commander StevenLindsey told ABC News Radio after Leonardo arrived. "It's kind of a shellgame where you have to make room for something before you pull something else out."
Discovery'sSTS-121 mission is NASA's second shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia accident. Themission ferried European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut ThomasReiter to the ISS as a third crewmember, will deliver about 3.6 tons ofsupplies, as well as test shuttle inspection and repair techniques.
The moduleis carrying a new OxygenGeneration System, a U.S.-built piece of equipment that will separate waterinto breathable oxygen and waste hydrogen once installed inside the spacedestination's Destiny laboratory. The 1,465-pound (664-kilogram) U.S. oxygen generator functions much like the Russian-built Elektroncurrently used aboard the ISS. Together, the two systems will help supportlarger, six-person crews once the U.S. generator is brought online.
"It willneed some other software capabilities and some additional hardware before itcan be operational," Debbie Hahn, Discovery's STS-121 payload manager, told SPACE.comof the new oxygen generator before launch.
"It basicallyprovides a plant and growth environment in different gravities," Hahn said ofthe EMCS system. "It can be used for other science other than plant biology...theycould be used for later exploration activities."
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