Think of the next component set for delivery to the
International Space Station as an international crossroads in space.
That's the major function of the Italian-built U.S. module that will be
ferried to the station aboard space shuttle Discovery during mission STS-120.
The pressurized component was named "Harmony"
by U.S. students in a nationwide contest.
It will serve as the connecting point between the U.S. Destiny lab,
the European Space Agency's Columbus module and the Japanese Kibo module.
Those laboratory modules have been prepared side by side with Harmony in the high bay of the
Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Glenn Chin: Harmony, as you know, has been here with us for four years.
It was delivered in June of 2003 and we've been working hard on getting it ready for flight,
and we've finally come to this stage, this exciting stage of getting it ready
to be put into the orbiter and ready for flight at the end of October.
Weighing 31,500 pounds when loaded for flight, the 24-foot-long component
will be parked in a temporary spot on the space station by the
STS-120 crew -- and later relocated to its permanent location by the station's crew.
Harmony will be the fourth named U.S. module on the station, taking its place with the
Destiny laboratory, the Quest airlock and the Unity node.
While the excitement for the launch builds among those who have been working on the module since
its arrival, there are also some mixed feelings about seeing it depart for its final destination.
Glenn Chin: It's an exhilarating feeling of excitement. We're all anxious to see
Harmony get to the pad. It's been with us for four years.
It's been good, challenging work. I've never been mission manager for any other mission
that was as challenging, so we will definitely miss Harmony.
Once at the pad, the module will be transferred to Discovery's
cargo bay for its ride into space, its final destination.