WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-130 Commander George Zamka welcomes the media and employees on hand for the arrival of his crew to the STS-130 "night shift." The astronauts arrived at Kennedy about 10:10 p.m. EST aboard the Shuttle Training Aircraft, in the background, to make final preparations for launch, many of which will take place overnight rather than during daylight hours. From left are Mission Specialists Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire; Zamka, at microphone; and Pilot Terry Virts. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station is the Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turin, Italy, by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency. Endeavour's launch is set for Feb. 7.