Tim Furniss
Boeing delivered a vital component of the International Space Station (ISS) to NASA's Kennedy Space Centre (KSC), Florida on Friday.
Called the S-Zero Truss, it will form part of what will eventually be the ISS's girder-like framed crossbeam. The S-Zero will be the first starboard truss of the ISS and will carry fluid, powerlines, gyros and batteries.
It will be launched in mid-summer 2000 and joins in the KSC's Space Station Processing Facility (SPF), a collection of Boeing-built components that will precede it into space, as the construction of the ISS builds up to a frenzy of what could be up to 12 Shuttle launches in 2000.
It is hoped that the much-delayed Russian Zvezda service module will be launched by November and will be docked with the present ISS configuration, the Russian Zarya control module and the US Unity node 1 module. Another Shuttle logistics supply mission will be flown in December and then the real construction work begins, says Boeing.
February 2000 will see the launch of Brian Duffy and his STS-92 Discovery crew with the Z-1 truss and its attached pressurised mating adapter (PMA), which will eventually be like a hallway connecting different modules on the finished station. The mission will involve several EVAs.
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The ISS's first primary solar arrays will then be attached on the truss network. Called the photovoltaic module P-6, it will fly in March 2000, on the STS 97/Endeavour commanded by Brent Jet. The mission will also feature more EVAs.
The US laboratory module, the Destiny, joins the ISS in April 2000 on the fight of the STS 98/Atlantis, led by Ken Cockrell.
The first Alenia-built Multipurpose Logistics Module (MLPM) will fly the STS 102 Discovery in June and will be followed by a second MLPM, carrying the Canadian remote manipulator system robot arm, on the STS 100 Atlantis in July 2000.Then the Z-0 truss will follow.
NASA and Boeing, meanwhile, have started a second Multi-Element Integration Test (MEIT) for the ISS programme in the SSPL. The test involved the P-6 photovoltaic module, the Z-1 truss and the PMA 3.
All electrical and fluid connections were hooked up to verify how these elements operated together. The first MEIT was conducted in January and concentrated in the Destiny module.
The third MEIT will follow and ensure that the Italian-built MPLM, called the Leonardo, and the Destiny work together.
The fourth MEIT will involve the Canadian robot arm.
Source: Flight Daily News
