ISS node 2
Encyclopedia : I : IS : ISS : ISS node 2
Node 2 is the International Space Station's "utility hub," containing eight racks that provide air, electrical power, water and other systems essential to support life on the spacecraft. The completion of the installation process deemed by NASA as the "U.S. Core Complete" stage, finished in 2003.
Weighing approximately 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg), Node 2 is the second of three connectors between the major ISS modules. Node 2 is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Its deployment will make the Space Station roomier, allowing it to expand from the size of a three-bedroom house to the space equivalent of a typical five-bedroom house once attached to the Japanese and European laboratories and the Centrifuge Accommodations Module. The Space Station Robotic Arm, Canadarm2, can operate from a powered grapple fixture on the exterior of Node 2. The node measures in length of 7.2m and a diameter 4.4m.
For more specifications see [Specs]
Agreement process
In an agreement between NASA and the European Space Agency, Italian company Alenia Spazio, based in Rome, built Node 2 at its facility in Torino, Italy. Node 2 arrived on June 1, 2003 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida after its flight in an Airbus Beluga heavy lift vehicle. Following post transportation inspection, the Italian Space Agency formally handed over Node 2 to the European Space Agency (ESA). From there, ESA formally transferred ownership of Node 2 to NASA on June 18, 2003, taking place in the Space Station Processing Facility of the Kennedy Space Center. The handover of Node 2 completes a major element of the barter agreement between ESA and NASA signed in Turin on October 8, 1997.Launch
Node 2 will launch for mission ISS-10A and attach to the US Lab module for the purpose of providing a location for the eventual docking of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), ESA's Columbus Attached Payload Module (APM) and Multipurpose Logistics Modules (MPLM).Node 2 is not expected to be launched until late in 2007, although the actual date is still to be announced (TBA).
Notes
External links
| The International Space Station modules and systems |
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Already launched: Zarya | Unity (Node 1) | Zvezda | Destiny | Quest airlock | Pirs airlock Launched periodically: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Scheduled for Shuttle: Node 2 | Columbus | KibÅ | Node 3 | Cupola Scheduled for Proton: Multipurpose Laboratory Module | European Robotic Arm | Russian Research Module Other subsystems: Truss | Solar Arrays | Canadarm2 |
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