KSC-07pd3225

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the integrated cargo carrier-lite, or ICC-L, is ready to be lifted and placed in the payload canister for mission STS-122. Joining the primary payload, the Columbus module, the ICC-L is an unpressurized cross-bay carrier providing launch and return transportation with the space shuttle. It rests on a keel yoke assembly, seen underneath. The ICC-L carries three elements: a nitrogen tank assembly that is part of the external active thermal control system on the International Space Station, the European technology Exposure Facility composed of nine science instruments and an autonomous temperature measurement unit, and the SOLAR payload designed for sun observation. The nitrogen tank assembly is mounted underneath. The exposure facility is seen at left on top, and the SOLAR is on the right. The SOLAR will be transferred and stowed on the Columbus module during the third spacewalk of the mission. STS-122 is targeted for launch on Dec. 6 on space shuttle Atlantis. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller