The primary objective of STS-98, International Space Station Assembly Mission 5A, was to deliver and install the U.S. Destiny Laboratory onto the ISS. The centerpiece of research on this world-class scientific orbiting outpost, this workshop in space will support experiments and studies in cancer, diabetes and materials, just to name a few.

The aluminum U.S. laboratory module is 28 feet long and 14 feet wide. It is comprised of three cylindrical sections and two endcones that contain the hatch openings through which astronauts enter and exit the module. Destiny was mated to the forward port of the Unity Module.

In Destiny are five life support system racks that provide electrical power, cooling water, air revitalization, and temperature and humidity control. Each rack weighs about 1,200 pounds. Six additional racks will be flown to Destiny on STS-102. Four standoffs provide raceways for module utilities—interfaces for ducting, piping, and wiring to be run to/from the individual racks and throughout the Lab. Twelve racks that will provide platforms for a variety of scientific experiments will follow on subsequent missions. In total, Destiny will hold 23 racks – six each on the port and starboard sides and overhead, and five on the deck.

Astronauts will 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.

The Boeing Company. began construction of the 16-ton, state-of-the art research laboratory in 1995 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. 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.

Destiny’s Laboratory Structure

Internal to the laboratory are racks, rack standoffs, and vestibule jumpers. The lab racks house the system hardware in removable modular units. The rack standoffs provide a volume for ducting, piping and wiring to be run to/from the individual racks and throughout the Lab. The racks interface to the piping and wiring in the standoff via outlets and ports located in the standoffs at the base end of each rack location.

Jumpers in the vestibule, the area between Unity and Destiny, connect the piping and wiring between the two. Grounding straps between Unity and Destiny will be installed. One side of the grounding strap will be connected to the Active Common Berthing Mechanism (ACBM) on Unity, while the other end will be connected to the Passive Common Berthing Mechanism (PCBM) on Destiny.

Some of the mechanisms on Destiny are the CBMs (passive and active), hatches, and the laboratory window shutter. The ACBM is in the forward port of the laboratory. It will be attached to the PCBM in Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2) when the PMA is berthed to the forward port of Destiny at the conclusion of the mission. Destiny’s ACBM cannot be operated until the laboratory is activated. The PCBM on Destiny is located in the laboratory’s aft port. The ACBM in Unity’s forward port will be latched to the laboratory’s PCBM to berth Destiny to Unity.

Each of the two berthing ports on Destiny contains a hatch. The aft hatch (hatch to Unity) will be opened and will remain open (unless a situation arises requiring a module to be isolated). The forward hatch will be used as the main access to the orbiter on future missions until Node 2 arrives.

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).

Destiny has an optical quality window (principally for Earth science observations) and a window shutter to protect 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. The shutter will be installed during the third scheduled space walk.

Specifications

• Length: 8.53 m
• Diameter: 4.27 m
• Mass: 14,515 kg