Destiny (ISS module)

The Destiny module, also known as the U.S. Lab, is the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It was berthed to the Unity module and activated over a period of five days in February, 2001. Destiny is NASA's first permanent operating orbital research station since Skylab was vacated in February 1974.Destiny heads to the launch pad aboard crawlerThe Shuttle crew heading out for the launchLiftoffAstronaut on EVA with DestinyThe newly expanded ISS with Destiny Laboratory, February 2001Dutch ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers looks out of the Destiny nadir window at EarthAstronaut Susan Helms looks out the nadir window, 2001Destiny nadir view with astronauts Susan J. Helms and James S. Voss looking out The Destiny module, also known as the U.S. Lab, is the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It was berthed to the Unity module and activated over a period of five days in February, 2001. Destiny is NASA's first permanent operating orbital research station since Skylab was vacated in February 1974. The Boeing Company began construction of the 16 ton (14.5 tonne), state-of-the art research laboratory in 1995 at the Michoud Assembly Facility and then the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.Destiny was shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 1998, and was turned over to NASA for pre-launch preparations in August 2000. It launched on February 7, 2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-98. Astronauts work inside the pressurized facility to conduct research in numerous scientific fields. Scientists throughout the world will use the results to enhance their studies in medicine, engineering, biotechnology, physics, materials science, and Earth science. Destiny was launched to ISS aboard the Space Shuttle mission STS-98. It launched into Earth orbit on February 7, 2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. On February 10, 2001 at 9:50 am CST, the installation of Destiny began. First, the Shuttle SRMSS (CanadaArm) was used to remove Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2) from Unity node's forward port to make room for the new module. PMA-2 was temporarily stowed on the forward berthing ring of the Z1 truss. Destiny was 'grabbed' by the robotic arm at 11:23, lifted out of Atlantas' cargo bay, and berthed to the forward port of Unity. Two days later, PMA-2 was moved to its semi-permanent location on the forward hatch of Destiny. (See also Pressurized Mating Adapter and Z1 Truss) Several years later, on November 14, 2007, the Harmony module was attached to the forward end of the Destiny laboratory . The addition of Destiny increased the habitable volume by 3,800 cubic feet an increase of 41 percent. The U.S. laboratory module is 28 feet (8.5 m) long and 14 feet (4.3 m) wide. It is made from aluminum and stainless steel, and comprises three cylindrical sections and two endcones that contain the hatch openings through which astronauts enter and exit the module. The aft port of Destiny is connected to the forward port of Unity, and the forward port of Destiny is connected to the aft port of Harmony. The ends are colored blue and white respectively for the crew to navigate easily. A 20-inch (510 mm)-diameter window is located on one side of the center module segment. Each of the two berthing ports on Destiny contains a hatch. Both hatches are normally open, and remain open unless a situation arises requiring a module to be isolated. Each hatch has a window. The hatches can be opened or closed from either side. The hatches have a pressure interlock feature, which prevents the hatch from being opened if there is a negative pressure across the hatch (higher pressure on the outside of the hatch). The hatch openings are a square like six sided shape - which is associated to that module. Destiny has a 20-inch (510 mm) optically pure, telescope-quality glass window located in an open rack bay used primarily for Earth science observations. Station crewmembers use very high quality video and still cameras at the window to record Earth's changing landscapes. A window shutter protects the window from potential micrometeoroid and orbital debris strikes during the life of the ISS. The crew manually opens the shutter to use the window. Imagery captured from Destiny's window has given geologists and meteorologists the chance to study floods, avalanches, fires and ocean events such as plankton blooms in a way never seen before, as well as given international scientists the opportunity to study features such as glaciers, coral reefs, urban growth and wild fires.