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ISS Destiny

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AKA: Destiny. Status: Operational 2001. Gross mass: 15,000 kg (33,000 lb). Height: 8.40 m (27.50 ft). Diameter: 4.20 m (13.70 ft).

The Destiny Laboratory was comprised of three cylindrical sections and two endcones that contained the hatches through which astronauts enter and exit the module. Destiny was mated to the forward port of Unity. In Destiny were five systems racks that provided life-sustaining functions on board including electrical power, cooling water, air revitalization, and temperature and humidity control. Each rack weighs about 550 kg. Six additional racks were to be flown to Destiny on STS-102. Four standoffs provided raceways for module utilities / interfaces for ducting, piping, and wiring to be run to/from the individual racks and throughout the Lab. Twelve racks provided platforms for a variety of scientific experiments would follow on subsequent missions. In total, Destiny was to eventually hold 23 racks -- six each on the port and starboard sides and overhead, and five on the deck.

Boeing began construction of the laboratory in 1995 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Destiny was shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 1998 and was turned over to NASA for pre-launch preparations in August 2000.

Destiny's Laboratory Structure

Internal to the laboratory were racks, rack standoffs, and vestibule jumpers. The lab racks housed the system hardware in removable modular units. The rack standoffs provided a volume for ducting, piping and wiring to be run to/from the individual racks and throughout the Lab. The racks interfaced to the piping and wiring in the standoff via outlets and ports located in the standoffs at the base end of each rack location.

Jumpers in the vestibule, the area between Unity and Destiny, connected the piping and wiring between the two. Grounding straps between Unity and Destiny were installed. One side of the grounding strap was connected to the Active Common Berthing Mechanism (ACBM) on Unity, while the other end was connected to the Passive Common Berthing Mechanism (PCBM) on Destiny.

Some of the mechanisms on Destiny were the CBMs (passive and active), hatches, and the laboratory window shutter. The ACBM was in the forward port of the laboratory. It was attached to the PCBM in Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2) when the PMA was berthed to the forward port of Destiny at the conclusion of the STS-98 mission. Destiny's ACBM could not be operated until the laboratory was activated. The PCBM on Destiny was located in the laboratory's aft port. The ACBM in Unity's forward port was to be latched to the laboratory's PCBM to berth Destiny to Unity.

Each of the two berthing ports on Destiny contained a hatch. The aft hatch (hatch to Unity) was to remain normally open (unless a situation arises requiring a module to be isolated). The forward hatch was to be used as the main access to the orbiter until Node 2 arrived.

Each hatch had a window. The hatches could be opened or closed from either side. The hatches had a pressure interlock feature, which prevented the hatch from being opened if there was a negative pressure across the hatch (higher pressure on the outside of the hatch).

Destiny had an optical quality window (principally for Earth science observations) and a window shutter to protect the window from potential micrometeoroid and orbital debris strikes during the life of the ISS. The crew manually opened the shutter to use the window. The shutter was to be installed during the third scheduled space walk.