WEBVTT

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Think of the next component set for delivery to the

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International Space Station as an international crossroads in space.

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That's the major function of the Italian-built U.S. module that will be

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ferried to the station aboard space shuttle Discovery during mission STS-120.

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The pressurized component was named "Harmony"

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by U.S. students in a nationwide contest.

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It will serve as the connecting point between the U.S. Destiny lab,

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the European Space Agency's Columbus module and the Japanese Kibo module.

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Those laboratory modules have been prepared side by side with Harmony in the high bay of the

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Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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Glenn Chin: Harmony, as you know, has been here with us for four years.

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It was delivered in June of 2003 and we've been working hard on getting it ready for flight,

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and we've finally come to this stage, this exciting stage of getting it ready

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to be put into the orbiter and ready for flight at the end of October.

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Weighing 31,500 pounds when loaded for flight, the 24-foot-long component

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will be parked in a temporary spot on the space station by the

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STS-120 crew -- and later relocated to its permanent location by the station's crew.

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Harmony will be the fourth named U.S. module on the station, taking its place with the

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Destiny laboratory, the Quest airlock and the Unity node.

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While the excitement for the launch builds among those who have been working on the module since

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its arrival, there are also some mixed feelings about seeing it depart for its final destination.

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Glenn Chin: It's an exhilarating feeling of excitement. We're all anxious to see

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Harmony get to the pad. It's been with us for four years.

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It's been good, challenging work. I've never been mission manager for any other mission

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that was as challenging, so we will definitely miss Harmony.

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Once at the pad, the module will be transferred to Discovery's

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cargo bay for its ride into space, its final destination.