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The ''Destiny'' module is the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It was berthed to the ''Unity'' module and activated over a period of five days in February, 2001. ''Destiny'' is NASA's first permanent operating orbital research station since Skylab was vacated in February 1974. The Boeing Company began construction of the 16 ton (14.5 tonne), state-of-the art research laboratory in 1995 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.〔 ''Destiny'' was shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 1998, and was turned over to NASA for pre-launch preparations in August 2000. It launched on February 7, 2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-98.〔 Astronauts work inside the pressurized facility to conduct research in numerous scientific fields. Scientists throughout the world will use the results to enhance their studies in medicine, engineering, biotechnology, physics, materials science, and Earth science.〔 == Laboratory structure == The aluminum U.S. laboratory module is long and wide.〔〔 It comprises three cylindrical sections and two endcones that contain the hatch openings through which astronauts enter and exit the module.〔 The aft port of ''Destiny'' is connected to the forward port of the ''Unity'' node, and the forward port of ''Destiny'' is connected to the aft port of the ''Harmony'' node. A -diameter window is located on one side of the center module segment.〔 Each of the two berthing ports on ''Destiny'' contains a hatch.〔 Both hatches are normally open, and remain open unless a situation arises requiring a module to be isolated. Each hatch has a window. The hatches can be opened or closed from either side. The hatches have a pressure interlock feature, which prevents the hatch from being opened if there is a negative pressure across the hatch (higher pressure on the outside of the hatch). ''Destiny'' has a optically pure, telescope-quality glass window located in an open rack bay used primarily for Earth science observations.〔〔〔 Station crewmembers use very high quality video and still cameras at the window to record Earth's changing landscapes. A window shutter protects the window from potential micrometeoroid and orbital debris strikes during the life of the ISS. The crew manually opens the shutter to use the window. Imagery captured from ''Destiny's'' window has given geologists and meteorologists the chance to study floods, avalanches, fires and ocean events such as plankton blooms in a way never seen before, as well as given international scientists the opportunity to study features such as glaciers, coral reefs, urban growth and wild fires.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Destiny (ISS module)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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