Andrew Yee[_1_]
November 10th 07, 01:40 AM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
5 November 2007
Columbus moves to payload canister
The European Columbus laboratory has taken an important step towards launch.
Columbus was moved from its work stand at NASA's Space Station Processing
Facility and placed inside the payload canister. The canister will transport
the module to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for its journey to the
International Space Station.
"The empty stand symbolises one of the most visible milestones in the
Columbus project," says Alan Thirkettle, ESA's International Space Station
Programme Manager. "The transfer to the canister is an essential step
forward for the Columbus laboratory towards its launch and its final
attachment to the ISS. It is indeed a symbolic moment for all those who have
been contributing to the development of Columbus. Another step towards
launch, a moment they will remember and of which they can be very proud."
The 8-metre long Columbus laboratory has been prepared for flight at the
Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
(KSC), in Florida.
The European Columbus laboratory is the cornerstone of ESA's contribution to
the ISS and the first European laboratory dedicated to long-term research in
space. Columbus will be carried into orbit in the cargo bay of Space Shuttle
Atlantis on the STS-122 mission, targeted for launch on 6 December 2007.
The STS-122 crew includes ESA astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts.
Eyharts will remain on the ISS for two months as a member of the Expedition
16 crew to oversee the in-orbit commissioning of Columbus and its
experimental facilities.
More images:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMDT3NHE8F_index_1.html
http://www.esa.int
5 November 2007
Columbus moves to payload canister
The European Columbus laboratory has taken an important step towards launch.
Columbus was moved from its work stand at NASA's Space Station Processing
Facility and placed inside the payload canister. The canister will transport
the module to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for its journey to the
International Space Station.
"The empty stand symbolises one of the most visible milestones in the
Columbus project," says Alan Thirkettle, ESA's International Space Station
Programme Manager. "The transfer to the canister is an essential step
forward for the Columbus laboratory towards its launch and its final
attachment to the ISS. It is indeed a symbolic moment for all those who have
been contributing to the development of Columbus. Another step towards
launch, a moment they will remember and of which they can be very proud."
The 8-metre long Columbus laboratory has been prepared for flight at the
Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
(KSC), in Florida.
The European Columbus laboratory is the cornerstone of ESA's contribution to
the ISS and the first European laboratory dedicated to long-term research in
space. Columbus will be carried into orbit in the cargo bay of Space Shuttle
Atlantis on the STS-122 mission, targeted for launch on 6 December 2007.
The STS-122 crew includes ESA astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts.
Eyharts will remain on the ISS for two months as a member of the Expedition
16 crew to oversee the in-orbit commissioning of Columbus and its
experimental facilities.
More images:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMDT3NHE8F_index_1.html