WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The first system rack for the U.S. laboratory module for the International Space Station is installed recently by Boeing technicians at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. The rack, about the size of a closet and weighing almost 1,200 pounds, is the first of two which will supply electrical power to the scientific racks inside the laboratory module. When the laboratory module is in orbit, it will have a total of 24 racks, 13 of those containing science experiments. The other 11 racks will provide power, temperature and humidity control, air revitalization and other support systems for the science racks. The aluminum laboratory module is 28 feet long and 14 feet wide. It will be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, this year to begin preparations for launch on a Space Shuttle in 1999.