Submission + - Astronauts Prepare to Open Station Room (go.com)
mikesd81 writes: "ABC News reports that the ISS has opened the new station room. Commander Peggy Whitson and astronaut Paolo Nespoli delayed their lunch so the event could happen before the station's orbit temporarily blocked the ability to send a video downlink to Mission Contro. "It's a pleasure to be here in this very beautiful piece of hardware," said Nespoli, who joined Discovery's crew to personally deliver the Italian-made pressurized chamber. Astronauts added the school bus-sized room called Harmony during a 6.5-hour spacewalk Friday, using a robotic arm to lift it from the shuttle's cargo bay and install it on the station. The compartment will serve as the docking port and nerve center for European and Japanese laboratories that will be delivered on the next three shuttle flights. It also will be a power and thermal distribution center, providing air, electricity, water and other systems for the space station. Racks of computer and electronic equipment are already inside the cylinder, which will double as a living space for the crew. The astronauts will have to undo about 700 bolts that held down the equipment during flight to get the room ready. Also time on Saturday has been set aside to inspect Discovery."
