Node 2 is the International Space Station's "utility hub," containing eight racks that provide air, electrical power, water and other systems essential to support life on the spacecraft. Weighing approximately 30,000 pounds, Node 2 is the second of three connectors between the ISS modules. Node 2 is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Its deployment will make the Space Station roomier, allowing it to expand from the size of a three-bedroom house to the space equivalent of a typical five-bedroom house once attached to the Japanese and European laboratories and the Centrifuge Accommodation Module .

In an agreement between NASA and the European Space Agency, Italian company Alenia Spazio , based in Rome, built Node 2 at its facility in Torino, Italy.

Specifications

• Length: 6.1 m
• Diameter: 4.2 m
• Mass: 13,608 kg