Installation of the Columbus KA-band antenna (ColKa)

Europe strengthened its connection to space on Wednesday 27 January, as NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins (white suit with red stripes) and Victor Glover (plain white suit) installed the Columbus KA-band antenna (ColKa) outside ESA’s Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station. 

 This antenna will create an additional bi-directional KA-band data transmission for the Space Station, providing a direct link between the Columbus laboratory and Europe, for researchers and astronauts, at home broadband speeds.