Help name European-built ISS module
NASA wants your opinion in choosing a name for the International Space Station Node 3 module. The European-built connecting module is scheduled for launch to the Station in December 2009.
The Node 3 connecting module is the last element of a barter agreement by which ESA supplied NASA with Space Station hardware, including the Cupola and two Node modules (Node 2 and 3). In return, NASA ferried the European Columbus laboratory to the ISS in February 2008.
Once in space, Node 3 will connect to the port side of the Unity Node and will provide room for eight refrigerator-sized racks, two of the locations being used for the avionics racks controlling Node 3. It will house many of the Station's Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), including an air revitalisation system, an oxygen generator system, a water recycling facility, a waste and hygiene compartment and a treadmill for crew exercise, which are currently stored in various places around the Station.
Following the completion of module development in summer 2007, Node 3 remains at the premises of prime contractor Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. In that period, several modifications to the module were requested by NASA to further enhance the Station's capabilities or to provide a solution to ISS system issues.
Node 3 will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, in mid-May. At KSC, Thales Alenia Space will add the final touches before ownership is officially transferred to NASA at the end of September.
Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to deliver Node 3 and Cupola to the ISS on flight STS-130, targeted for launch on 10 December 2009.
Visit http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/name_ISS/index.html to vote for your choice, or to make a suggestion of your own. Voting is open until 20 March. NASA will announce the winning name in April.
