WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Inside the Operations and Checkout Building, a strongback lifts the S1 truss from the Guppy cargo carrier that protected it during flight and transfer. Manufactured by the Boeing Co. in Huntington Beach, Calif., this component of the International Space Station is the first starboard (right-side) truss segment, whose main job is providing structural support for the orbiting research facility's radiator panels that cool the Space Station's complex power system. The S1 truss se gment also will house communications systems, external experiment positions and other subsystems. Primarily constructed of aluminum, the truss segment is 45 feet long, 15 feet wide and 6 feet tall. When fully outfitted, it will weigh 31,137 pounds. The tr uss is slated for flight in 2001