In a large room at the Kennedy Space Center, there is a cylindrical space laboratory weighing 17 tons and a system designed to strengthen it and connect it to the International Space Station. Now it's time to take off. The package, which includes two supports, is the first large part to be uploaded to the International Space Station in over four years.
A large crane hoisted the new component of the space station and placed them inside a container built for the purpose of storing this component in the space shuttle. "I've always wanted to see this," said the site manager for Boeing, Chuck Hardison of Merritt Island, who had been waiting a long time for the component to be delivered. "It's like a ship drifting down the river. The component is so big and it moves so nobly."
The cargo will therefore be transferred to the launch and loaded onto the shuttle Atlantis scheduled for launch on August 28. The shuttle itself will travel from the hangar where it is stored so the launch is on July 31st.
"The shuttle is taking off again, and we are excited and looking forward to our turn at the end of August," said Robbie Ashley, NASA's cargo manager.
