KSC-97PC943

Members of the STS-88 crew examine the Node 1 of the Internation Space Station in the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility. The module is the first element of the International Space Station to be manufactured in the United States and the first scheduled to be launched on the Space Shuttle. The Node 1 is currently scheduled to lift off aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in July 1998, along with Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMAs) 1 and 2. The 18-foot-in-diameter, 22-foot-long aluminum module was manufactured by the Boeing Co. at Marshall Space Flight Center. Once in space, the Node 1 will function as a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of the International Space Station. The six hatches on the Node 1 will serve as docking ports to the U.S. laboratory module, U.S. habitation module, an airlock and other space station elements