Japanese lab segment welcomed to KSC

Kennedy Space Center this morning officially welcomed one of the parts of a Japanese science complex soon to be launched and attached to the International Space Station.

The Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section of the Japanese Experiment Module arrived at KSC about one month ago to begin getting ready for launch.

A ceremonial welcoming event (seen in the image at left) has just begun, around 9 a.m., at the KSC Space Station Processing Facility, where the component is awaiting its flight to the station.

Japan's entire laboratory complex will be flown to the station, aboard space shuttles, on three different flights. The science facility is known as Kibo, which means Hope in Japanese.

The pressurized section welcomed to the launch site in the ceremony today is the storage area for materials, tools and supplies. As many as eight racks loaded with science experiments can be stored inside. The section being welcomed to KSC this morning attaches to another larger pressurized module once it arrives in orbit.

The launch of the pressurized section is currently targeted for February of next year.