NASA News 
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration

John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899
AC 321-867-2468

Kyle Herring
Headquarters, Washington 
(Phone: 202/358-1600)

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center
(Phone: 321/867-2468)


 
The final pieces of what will become the longest structure in space, the 
International Space Station's football-field-long backbone, are being shipped 
to Florida next week.

The 11th and final piece of the Station's Integrated Truss Structure 
(designated Starboard 6 (S6) truss segment) leaves Houston for the Kennedy 
Space Center (KSC), on Monday, Dec. 9, weather permitting. S6 will be shipped 
in two segments. The first shipment will be the Integrated Equipment 
Assembly (IEA), and the second shipment the truss Long Spacer.
 
The two pieces are too large to be shipped together, but they will be 
joined together prior to launch. The S6 shipments mean virtually all the 
U.S. core structure of the Station has left the factory and is either in 
orbit or being readied for launch. Only one major Station core component 
awaits shipment. The second connecting module, Node 2, is completing 
construction in Italy.

When launched in early 2004, the S6 truss will weigh 26,000 pounds and 
measure 45 feet long. Its assembly in orbit will complete a 356-foot-long 
span across the Space Station. The span will support a half-acre of solar 
arrays, massive station cooling systems and a railway to allow a robotic 
arm to relocate for Station maintenance.

"The shipment of this segment signals that the fabrication of all U.S.-built 
International Space Station core components has been completed," said ISS 
Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier. "But the most complex and challenging 
work is ahead as we continue to assemble the truss segments in orbit, 
multiplying and expanding the Station's power system. When this final 
truss segment is attached in 2004, we will be in the home stretch of 
Station assembly," he said.

The S6 will include the fourth and final set of Station solar arrays, 
batteries and electronics. The truss IEA and Long Spacer have been in 
Houston for about a year undergoing final construction. The segment began 
as a qualification article for other truss segments before being renovated 
to flight status. It will spend a little over a year in KSC's Space Station 
Processing Facility being readied for launch. 

While at KSC, the truss IEA and Long Spacer will be inspected. Orbital 
Replacement Units will be installed to the IEA and undergo verification 
tests in order to ready them for flight. Kennedy will perform final i
integration of the Long Spacer truss segment to the IEA and final verification
and testing.
 
More than 390,000 pounds of Station components are in orbit. Approximately 
110,000 additional pounds, including S6, are being readied for launch aboard 
Space Shuttle flights during the next 14 months.

The S6 will be flown from Houston's Ellington Field to Kennedy aboard NASA's 
Super Guppy cargo airplane. The customized four-engine aircraft has a 
25-foot-diameter fuselage and a foldaway nose enabling it to load and 
transport oversize cargo. 

Media are invited to view shipment of the S6. For information on departure 
viewing opportunities, contact the newsroom at NASA's Johnson Space Center, 
Houston, at (281) 483-5111. For information on arrival viewing, contact the 
Kennedy Space Center newsroom at (321) 867-2468. The recorded message on 
Johnson Space Center's Broadcast News Service at (281) 483-8600 will be 
updated during the weekend if weather threatens the planned shipment of 
the S6 on Monday.


For automatic email subscriptions to this KSC originated press releases, 
send an Internet electronic mail message to mailto:
ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov. 
With no subject or message. The system will reply with a 
confirmation via e-mail of each subscription.

Status reports and other NASA publications are available on the 
World Wide Web at: 
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/kscpao.htm .