All Roads Lead to KSC for International ISS Hardware

GLOBAL CROSSING

With 200,000 lb. of International Space Station hardware being readied, the shuttle launch site is the nexus for final U.S., Japanese, European and Canadian station hardware preparation by multinational teams.

The Japanese Kibo and European Columbus modules (see cover) are key elements in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) here. The 17.5-ton, $372-million P3/P4 ISS payload (right) that will provide such station science modules with electricity was recently moved from the SSPF for loading into Atlantis for launch on STS-115 by late this month or early September. Launch timing will depend on resolution of a bolt issue with the orbiter's Ku band antenna.

The 45 X-16-ft. truss payload is 5 tons heavier than the Hubble Space Telescope and, as with its shuttle-sized transport canister, the element will consume the entire Atlantis payload bay. The new element will be positioned on the ISS port beam to unfurl the station's second set of solar arrays spanning 240 ft. (see artist's concept, top right).

The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is already a busy intersection for 100 tons of diverse station hardware including Italian station logistics modules. But more hardware is also due in the coming months, especially from Japan.

"There is a sense of upbeat battle rhythm across the program," says Mark Jager, Boeing program manager for the NASA Checkout Assembly and Payload Processing Services (Capps) contract that oversees ISS payload support.