The first of two pressurised mating adaptors (PMAs) for the International Space Station (ISS) have arrived at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. The Boeing PMA is a cone-shaped connector which will eventually serve as a passageway between the ISS' Node 1 and the Russian Functional Cargo Block. The PMA and the Node 1, which will be mated this month, are the key payloads for the first Space Shuttle ISS assembly mission in July 1998. The second PMA will serve as a Space Shuttle docking port.
Source: Flight International
