The shuttle Atlantis will carry the European component of the space station, on mission STS-122. And meanwhile on the ground, preparations continue for Endeavor's STS-118 mission on August 8
Columbus laboratory (cutaway view)
Artist photo: Interior of the Columbus Space Laboratory
More than 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus' voyage to new lands and his many discoveries caused much interest and excitement in Europe. Today, excitement is conquering both sides of the ocean for the launch of the space laboratory "Columbus", a product of the development of the European Space Agency, while NASA is preparing the space shuttle "Atlantis" for the joint mission.
Columbus was already flown to Florida on May 30, 2006. Now, the space laboratory, which weighs 12.8 tons, is equipped with all the experimental and laboratory instruments, and is ready for the launch planned for October of this year. At the end of the summer, the space lab will reopen for a final safety check.
Columbus about to launch
Photo: ESA
"The launch of Columbus will be a great leap forward for the European Space Agency," says Bernardo Pati, director of the Columbus project. "The launch of Columbus was planned for 2002, but due to construction delays on the space station and the tragedy of the Columbia shuttle disaster, the launch was delayed five years ahead."
"Once Columbus is operational, we will have a permanent presence on the space station, and part of it will now be owned by the European Space Agency. Thanks to this, we will have full scientific partnership with the rest of the space station." Patty adds.
Columbus will not be the only representative of the European Space Agency on the STS-122 mission. Out of a team of seven astronauts, two of them are from the European Space Agency, Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyhart. Schlegel's task has an important role in the mission, he will have to perform two spacewalks to install and connect the laboratory to the space station, and then, to place two dedicated payloads on the outside of the laboratory. Leopold, for his part, will work from the inside to install and operate the devices for full operation.
In the meantime, members of the crew of the shuttle Endeavor on mission STS-118 arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, in preparation for its launch on August 8 in the early morning (Israel time). In this mission, the astronauts will continue assembling the station and bring another support beam to the right side of the station.
Translation: Yariv Zerbiv
