ISS – P1 truss segment arrives at KSC

Another International Space Station (ISS) truss segment arrived today at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility aboard the "Super Guppy" transport aircraft. The truss segment was manufactured by a division of the Boeing Company in Huntington Beach, Calif. and assembled in Huntsville, Ala.
 
This truss segment, called "P1," is a 46-by-15 foot structure weighing about 32,000 pounds when fully outfitted and ready for launch.  The P1 truss will attach to the port side of the center truss, S0, and will be the third truss assembled to the ISS as part of a total 10-truss, girder-like structure that will ultimately extend the length of a football field.  Scheduled for launch in the spring of 2002, astronauts will use the orbiter’s robot arm to attach the P1 truss to the S0 truss.  During later assembly flights, the astronauts will attach remaining truss segments to the port side of P1.
 
During processing at KSC, one radiator wing comprising three radiator assemblies will be installed on the truss structure.  The P1 radiators dispose of thermal energy into space to maintain thermal conditioning for the ISS.  The radiator assemblies are launched in a stowed position and will be deployed on orbit by a scissors-type mechanism.
 
Other items to be attached to the P1 truss include power distribution system modules, computers, a grapple fixture and a UHF antenna.  In addition, the P1 truss provides rails on which Canada’s Mobile Service System will move its 55-foot robotic arm down the length of the 300-foot truss structure.
 
The P1 truss was transported to the Operations and Checkout Building, which has been reconfigured from a Spacelab processing facility to accommodate ISS truss processing.