The International Space Station will become more Italian this month after the Italian-made Node 2 module is attached to the orbiting laboratory.
The Node 2 is a showcase of European technology and it will serve as a connecting passageway for the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, the US Destiny laboratory and the Japanese Kibo laboratory, as well as the attachment point for the Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle.
It will also carry a docking adapter for the Space Shuttle and serve as an attachment point for Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, or MPLMs.
The Node 2 was built by Italy's Thales Alenia Space on a commission from the Italian Space Agency (ASI)
The Node 2 is the primary payload of the Space Shuttle's 13-day Esperia Mission which is set to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center here on Tuesday, weather permitting.
Onboard the shuttle will be Paolo Nespoli, the third Italian astronaut to take part in an ISS mission after Umberto Guidoni in April 2000 and Roberto Vittori in 2002.
The shuttle will also carry three pressurised MPLMs provided by ASI and developed by Italian companies for NASA under a bilateral agreement.
The Italian connection with this mission was the reason why it was named Esperia, which was the name the ancient Greeks used to refer to the Italian peninsula.
Nespoli, a member of the European Astronaut Corps, will have a major role in installing Node 2 and will also be responsible for conducting a joint ESA/ASI program of human physiology and biology experiments.
The 50-year-old astronaut's other duties will include assisting with the maintenance and operation of the orbiter's on-board systems.
Nespoli, who has been been training for over ten years for this mission, said he not time to be either excited or afraid about carrying out this "very difficult mission".
"I have absolutely no fear of flying and I have full confidence in the job done by thousands of technicians. I am very confident that everything will go perfectly well," he said days ahead of blast-off.
