April 15, 2002
The elements that make you — the calcium in your bones, the oxygen in your lungs — were scattered across space by dying stars long before...
A New Truss for the International Space Station
Birthday · April 15, 2002
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
Free PNG · 1080 × 1350 · No account needed
Image rights and credit requirements apply when sharing or reusing imagery.
Date & occasion only
Change the year
APOD published April 15, 2002. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The International Space Station (ISS) is being fitted with a backbone. During the present visit of Space Shuttle Atlantis, astronauts are installing a huge truss on the growing space outpost. The truss is over 13 meters long and about 4.5 meters wide. Dubbed Starboard 0, or S0 (pronounced S-Zero) for short, the truss will route electricity, vent excess heat, and allow for future ISS expansion. Pictured above, the truss was lifted out of the shuttle's cargo bay by the station's robotic Canadarm2.