Discovery Delivered Harmony Node to Space Station on This Date in 2007

Space shuttle Discovery launched on October 23, 2007, carrying the Harmony module to the International Space Station. The payload arrived during the STS-120 mission, marking a major expansion of the orbiting complex.

Harmony measures 14 feet wide and 24 feet long, comparable to the length of a minibus. The addition transformed the station from a space the size of a three-bedroom house to one resembling a five-bedroom home. Before this delivery, the last new room added to the station had been Russia's Pirs docking module in 2001, a unit that has since been discarded.

The module serves as a utility hub and connection point for international laboratories. It links the European Space Agency's Columbus module with Japan's Kibo laboratory. Harmony also houses the sleeping quarters for American astronauts. Inside the unit, eight payload racks are installed, with four dedicated to avionics and the remaining four used for storage or crew rest areas.

Italy-based Thales Alenia Space built Harmony for NASA. Originally designated Node 2, it followed Unity, which was the first such hub module. The structure contains five common berthing mechanisms that allow other modules to connect to the station. A docking port on the roof also permits visiting vehicles to park at the node.

Upon arrival, astronauts initially attached Harmony temporarily to the Unity node. After Discovery departed, the crew used the station's robotic arm to move the shuttle docking port away from the Destiny module. This maneuver cleared the path for Harmony to be moved to its permanent position beside Destiny.

The relocation was completed after the two-week STS-120 flight ended. Harmony was shifted from its temporary spot at Unity to the forward port of NASA's Destiny laboratory. From this location, it became the central link for the starboard Columbus lab and the port Kibo lab.

NASA selected the name Harmony through a public naming contest. The module has since facilitated traffic from visiting cargo ships using its available ports. Its installation established a new phase of station growth by providing a central hub for future attachments.