International Space Station (ISS)

STS-102 astronaut and mission specialist James S. Voss works outside Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory (shown in lower frame) on the International Space Station (ISS), while anchored to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) robotic arm on the Space Shuttle Discovery during the first of two space walks. During this space walk, the longest to date in space shuttle history, Voss in tandem with Susan Helms (out of frame), prepared the Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 for repositioning from the Unity Module's Earth-facing berth to its port-side berth to make room for the Leonardo Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) supplied by the Italian Space Agency. The The Leonardo MPLM is the first of three such pressurized modules that will serve as the ISS' moving vans, carrying laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments, and supplies to and from the Station aboard the Space Shuttle. The cylindrical module is approximately 21-feet long and 15- feet in diameter, weighing almost 4.5 tons. It can carry up to 10 tons of cargo in 16 standard Space Station equipment racks. Of the 16 racks the module can carry, 5 can be furnished with power, data, and fluid to support refrigerators or freezers. In order

Date: 2001-03-11
Collection: MSFC
Archive: NASA Image and Video Library
Type: photograph