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Unity Module

Quick Facts

Unity was the second module of the International Space Station. It was delivered to orbit aboard space shuttle Endeavour in December of 1998.

Unity was the second module of the International Space Station. It was delivered to orbit aboard space shuttle Endeavour in December of 1998.

The Unity module was installed to the Zarya module using a combination of space shuttle Endeavour’s thrusters and its Canadarm robotic arm.

The Unity module was installed to the Zarya module using a combination of space shuttle Endeavour's thrusters and its Canadarm robotic arm.
On Dec. 6, 1998, the crew of space shuttle mission STS-88 began construction of the International Space Station, attaching the U.S.-built Unity node and the Russian-built Zarya module together in orbit. The crew carried a large-format IMAX® camera, used to take this image of Unity lifted out of Endeavour's payload bay to position it upright for connection to Zarya. Zarya, launched on Nov. 20, 1998, was the first piece of the International Space Station. Also known as the Functional Cargo Block (FGB), it would provide a nucleus of orientation control, communications and electrical power while the station waited for its other elements. Two weeks later, on Dec. 4, 1998, NASA's space shuttle Endeavour launched Unity, the first U.S. piece of the complex, during the STS-88 mission.
On Dec. 6, 1998, the crew of space shuttle mission STS-88 began construction of the International Space Station, attaching the U.S.-built Unity node and the Russian-built Zarya module together in orbit.
NASA

Unity was the second module of the International Space Station launched to space. It provides living and working space for crew members, contains over 50,000 mechanical items, 216 lines to carry fluids and gases, and 121 internal and external electrical cables using six miles of wire.

After the Russian Zarya module was launched atop a Proton rocket on Nov. 20, 1998, space shuttle Endeavour launched on Dec. 4, 1998, with Unity and two pressurized mating adapters. On Dec. 6, the STS-88 crew captured Zarya and mated it with Unity inside the shuttle’s payload bay. These two pieces had never been in the same hemisphere, but they were mated together perfectly.

Mass: 26,225 lbs
Length: 18 feet
Diameter: 14 feet

Mission Overview


Launch: 12/3/98
Installation: 12/6/98
Assembly Mission: 2A
Shuttle Mission: STS-88
Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour

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