Tranquility Module Opened Up At Space Station

The joined crews of shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station opened the U.S. Tranquility module tonight, a key milestone in a decade-long construction project.

Armed with flashlights and wearing safety goggles and masks as a precaution, station commander Jeffrey Williams and Endeavour mission specialist Steve Robinson swung open Tranquility's hatch hatch at 9:17 p.m. as the station and docked Endeavour flew 218 miles above the Pacific Ocean east of Australia.

The grand opening came more than 11 years after the station’s first two building blocks – Russia’s Zarya space tug and the U.S. Unity module -- were linked in low Earth orbit in late 1998.

"We’re ready to see this brand new module down here," NASA astronaut Hal Getzelman said from Mission Control.

"The module looks beautiful and the atmosphere is very clean,” Williams said.

You can watch mission operations here in The Flame Trench. Click the NASA TV box on the right side of the page to launch our NASA TV viewer and round the clock coverage of Endeavour's mission to the station. Refresh this page, too, for periodic updates.

A summary of key events can be found in this latest revision -- Rev F -- of the STS-130 NASA TV Schedule.

A more detailed timeline can be found in the Flight Day 6 Execute Package