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Building the Space Station

Astronauts Joan E. Higginbotham (foreground), STS-116 mission specialist, and Sunita L. Williams, Expedition 14 flight engineer
Astronauts Joan Higginbotham (foreground) and Suni Williams refer to a procedures checklist as they work the controls of the Canadarm2, in this 2006 image.

In this 2006 image, astronauts Joan Higginbotham (foreground) and Suni Williams refer to a procedures checklist as they work the controls of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) or Canadarm2 in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station, during flight day four activities for space shuttle Discovery’s STS-116 mission.

During the 13-day mission — the 20th shuttle flight to the International Space Station — the crew rewired the outpost’s power system and continued constructing the station by installing the P5 integrated truss segment. Higginbotham directed the transfer of 5,800 pounds of much-needed supplies and equipment to the station from the SPACEHAB single logistics module in the orbiter’s payload bay.

Image Credit: NASA