International Space Station (ISS)

Docked to the International Space Station (ISS), a Soyuz vehicle (foreground) and the Space Shuttle Atlantis were photographed by a crew member in the Pirs docking compartment on the orbital outpost. Atlantis launched on April 8, 2002, carrying the the STS-110 mission which prepared the ISS for future space walks by installing and outfitting the 43-foot-long Starboard side S0 (S-zero) truss and preparing the first railroad in space, the Mobile Transporter. The 27,000 pound S0 truss was the first of 9 segments that will make up the Station's external framework that will eventually stretch 356 feet (109 meters), or approximately the length of a football field. This central truss segment also includes a flatcar called the Mobile Transporter and rails that will become the first "space railroad," which will allow the Station's robotic arm to travel up and down the finished truss for future assembly and maintenance. The completed truss structure will hold solar arrays and radiators to provide power and cooling for additional international research laboratories from Japan and Europe that will be attached to the Station. STS-110 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) marked the first use of the Station's robotic arm to maneuver space walkers around the Station and was the first time all of a shuttle crew's scapulas were based out of the Station's Quest Airlock.