Discovery Online -- International Space Station

FEATURE: With the launch of Unity, the International Space Station makes its first connection.

INSIDE STORY: Who says engineers can't be romantic?

Flight 2A: Unity
Nothing's simple in space -- not even Unity, the 22-foot-long cylindrical passageway. Six miles of wire, 50,000 mechanical items and 216 lines that carry fluids and gases line the U.S.-designed and built module. It will ultimately link to Zarya, to the station's living and work areas, to an airlock and to the Shuttle. During three days of spacewalks, Jerry Ross and Jim Newman connect Unity and Zarya. They finish the job inside the nascent Station, but ride the Shuttle back to Earth.

Launch date: December 3, 1998
Launch vehicle: Shuttle Endeavour (Shuttle Mission STS-88)
Launch pad: Kennedy Space Center

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Telescopes & Accessories
Bring the universe into focus with telescopes and accessories, now available to order online from Discovery Shopping.