Harmony (ISS module)

List of ISS modules

Harmony (English for harmony ) to the second Unity connecting module (formerly known as Node 2 ) to the International Space Station ( ISS). On February 8, 2010 followed with tranquility, a third and final connecting node.

Harmony is 6.71 m long, has a diameter of 4.48 m and a launch mass of 14.5 t. The pressurized volume is approximately 75.5 m³. The module has eight racks that are used to supply the station with air, electricity and water, and other vital systems included.

Harmony controls and allocates resources of the support structure and the U.S. laboratories Destiny to the connected segments; the European Columbus laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodations Module (deleted according to recent plans ), the coupling adapters PMA -2, the Japanese Kibo science module, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the HTV transportation vehicle. It also serves as a starting point for the ISS remote manipulator system.

The module is part of the U.S. portion of the station and was built by Alenia Spazio (Italy ) on behalf of the European Space Agency ( ESA) and the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana for NASA. These transported in exchange for the Columbus laboratory to the ISS.

Harmony was flown with an Airbus Beluga from Turin, Italy to the USA and met on June 1, 2003, at Kennedy Space Center. On June 18, was officially handed over to NASA. The module was launched on 23 October 2007 with the Space Shuttle mission STS -120 to the ISS and was three days later provisionally mounted on Unity. On 14 November 2007 it was at the end of the Destiny laboratory moved to its final position.