Unity (ISS module)

The first U.S.-built component of the International Space Station, a six-sided connecting module and passageway, or node, named Unity, was the primary cargo of Space Shuttle mission STS-88, the first mission dedicated to assembly of the station.

The Unity connecting module, technically referred to as node 1, layed a foundation for all future U.S. International Space Station modules with six berthing ports, one on each side, to which future modules will be attached. Built by The Boeing Company at a manufacturing facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Unity is the first of three such connecting modules that will be built for the station. Sometimes referred to as Node 1, the Unity module measures 15 feet in diameter and 18 feet long.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.