nasa_iss_000731 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA now owns another piece of the International Space Station.
A major segment of the space station, known as the
Z 1 truss, was officially turned over from Boeing to NASA at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Monday during a brief ceremony inside the Space Station Processing Facility."Todays a big day and a proud day for the team thats been working on the Z 1 truss," said John Elbon, Boeings launch site manager at KSC. "Were here today to celebrate passing this from the team thats been getting this ready, to the team thats going to take it and use it."
A NASA artists' conception of what the Zvezda service module will look like docked to the ISS.
The Z 1 truss is a collection of black boxes, gyroscopes and antenna systems connected to a structure that will form the backbone of the station as more and more hardware is added during the coming months.
"It's like a well-packed trunk," is how astronaut Brian Duffy -- who will command the shuttle mission that will carry the Z 1 truss into space -- explained what the payload is like after the ceremony on Monday.
"It's as if you're going on vacation and you strategically pack the trunk of your car so you don't waste a square inch of it. This is packed very smartly," Duffy said.
Now that NASA officially owns the hardware, KSC workers can begin final checks and tests leading to installing the equipment inside
shuttle Discoverys cargo bay in time for a targeted October 5 liftoff.The floor of the station processing facility is packed with hardware waiting for launch. Some estimates put it at a half-million pounds' (quarter million kilograms') worth.
Face inside the Space Station Processing Facility and you will see the Z 1 truss, to be launched in October. Over to your right are some of the electricity-generating solar-array wings for the station.
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Behind on your left is the U.S. science lab named Destiny, which has suffered some of its own trouble lately but apparently is still on target for launch in January, Boeings Elbon said.
"Destiny is in good shape. At the end of this week were going to start the last acceptance test. Its getting real close to being ready to go," Elbon said.
Watch an animation of Zvezda's docking.
Farther down the giant hall you can see the Italian-provided supply modules that will be launched by
the shuttle to help keep the station up to date with the latest hardware for performing experiments.Smaller pieces of the station that are not as easily identified sit inside crates or work platforms all over the floor, leaving little room for people to maneuver without bumping into each other.
The reason for the backlog of hardware to launch: delays in the launch of the
Russian service module called Zvezda, which was successfully sent to dock with the space station during July, clearing the way for NASA to quicken the pace of assembly flights.But waiting for some two years to fly this mission hasnt dampened the spirits of the astronauts who will take the Z 1 truss up to the station in October and attach it to the orbiting outpost during the course of four spacewalks.
"There hasn't been any frustration," commander Duffy said. "You expect that there are going to be some delays along the way."
"You're doing things for the first time and you're learning things for the first time. You need to take the time that's required in order to do it right."
Duffy said that his mission can fly in October even if unforeseen problems should prevent a Progress resupply ship from launching to the station in August or
Atlantis from flying to the station in September."To my knowledge they don't do anything that has to be done before we go. We're essentially disconnected," Duffy said. "As long as our hardware is ready and the station is ready to accept us, which it is, we can launch."
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