October 22, 2007. Copyright 2007, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Space Station set for harmony and growth over coming months
By Mark Rutter

LONDON, October 22, Graphic News:  When the next major component of the International Space Station is launched aboard the Discovery space shuttle on October 23, it will begin an important chain of events for future construction. Known as Harmony, the new unit will link together the U.S. Destiny laboratory, and the soon-to-arrive European Space AgencyÕs Columbus and Japanese Kibo components.
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The Space Station is the largest international science project in history, involving a partnership between the European Space Agency, the U.S., Japan, Canada and Russia. Due for completion in 2010, it will eventually reach the size of a football field. This large volume means that it cannot be carried on a single spacecraft, so instead it must be assembled in orbit. With the first section launched in 1998, human habitation began in 2000.
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Formerly known as the Node 2 module, the Italian-built module was renamed Harmony by children in a national competition, as it will provide a connecting port to all the international partner pieces of the station. Weighing around 14,288 kilograms (31,500 pounds), 7.2 metres (23.6 feet) long and 4.4m (14.5ft) in diameter, this high-tech hallway will also increase living and working space inside. As well as delivering the Harmony module, the 14-day Discovery mission will exchange a member of the stationÕs permanent crew and involve five space walks, including the tricky task of repositioning the solar panels.
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HarmonyÕs arrival will prepare the way for the addition of the European Columbus laboratory and the Japanese Experiment Module, or Kibo. The units comprising Harmony are currently being prepared for flight at NASAÕs Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, while Columbus is scheduled for launch aboard the Atlantis space shuttle in December. The cylindrical module is equipped with extensive research facilities, offering scientists a weightless environment in which to carry out a range of experiments, including investigations of the effects of long space flights on humans.
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Kibo will be JapanÕs first human space provision. Similar in diameter to Harmony and Columbus, the 11.2-metre (36.7ft) long unit will be used to conduct research ranging from medicine to Earth observations and communications technology. It also contains an airlock allowing experiments to be passed out into space. The first component of Kibo should be launched on a shuttle in February 2008, with the main parts arriving two months later. Another addition, planned for arrival with Kibo in February, is a two-armed Canadian robot called the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator -- Dextre. This component will carry out some of the intricate maintenance duties currently performed by astronauts on space walks.
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Expansion of the space station will undoubtedly increase the demand for supplies. In January, the European Jules Verne, the first of a series of Automated Transfer Vehicles, will make its first supply trip from Kourou, French Guiana. These ATVs will provide an enhanced capability for supplying equipment, and provisions such as food and water. So the next six months look like a crucial time for the success of the whole mission.
/ENDS