International Space Station S5 Truss Segment Arrives at KSC to Begin Processing

Caption: The S5 truss segment for the International Space Station is offloaded from the Super Guppy transport aircraft at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. The S5 truss will be transferred to the Space Station Processing Facility where it will be fit checked for a Photo-Voltaic Radiator Grapple Fixture. It will also undergo a fit check to a truss simulator to make sure S5 will fit together with the S4 and S6 truss segments. S5 is scheduled for launch in October 2003 on mission STS-118. It will be the 10th truss assembled as part of a total 11 trusses.

Another segment of the International Space Station (ISS), the S5 truss
segment, arrived late yesterday at the Kennedy Space Center 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 “S5,” is a mirror image of the P5 truss segment
that arrived for processing at Kennedy Space Center in July 2001. The S5
truss segment is a 10-1/2-by-15-foot aluminum structure that will weigh
3,900 pounds when fully processed.

The truss segment will attach to the starboard side of the S4 truss and will
be the tenth truss attached to the ISS as part of a total 11-truss,
girder-like structure that will ultimately extend the length of a football
field.

S5 is scheduled for launch in October 2003 on Mission STS-118 (13A.1).
During this mission, astronauts will use either the orbiter or the ISS
robotic arm to attach the S5 truss to the S4 truss segment previously
delivered to the orbiting Station.

During processing at KSC, the S5 truss will be fit checked for a
Photo-Voltaic Radiator Grapple Fixture (PVRGF) and also will undergo a fit
check to a truss simulator to make sure S5 will fit together with the S4 and
S6 truss segments.

Items to be attached to the S5 truss include handholds to be used by
spacewalking astronauts, a strut assembly, multi-layer thermal blankets, and
the installation of the PVRGF.

After arrival at the Shuttle Landing Facility, the S5 truss will be
transferred from the Super Guppy Shipping Fixture to a test stand in the
Space Station Processing Facility in KSC’s Industrial Area.