Columbus
ISS
columbus
Size
7.2m
Launched
7 Feb 2008
Facts
Columbus is a laboratory on the ISS.
Astronauts can carry out experiments to find out what happens to the human body in space.
Some experiments can be exposed to the harsh conditions and almost-total vacuum of space.
Cupola
ISS
columbus
Diameter
2.95m
Launched
8 Feb 2010
Facts
The Cupola is the biggest window in space.
It was built by the European Space Agency and completed in Italy in 2003.
The glass in the Cupola must be tougher than bulletproof glass to protect against space debris.
Harmony
ISS
columbus
Size
7.1m x 4.4m
Launched
23 October 2007
Facts
Harmony is home to four of the six bedrooms on the Space Station.
Bedrooms about the size of phone boxes.
Astronauts have sleeping bags Velcro-ed to the walls, or float freely in their rooms.
Solar Arrays
ISS
columbus
Size
35m x 12m
Launched
25 Mar 2009
Facts
Each wing is the largest ever deployed in space, weighing over 2,400 pounds.
A solar array's wingspan of 73m is longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan, which is 65m.
Altogether, the four sets of arrays can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity.
Zarya
ISS
columbus
Size
12.5m x 4.1m
Launched
20 Nov 1998
Facts
The Zarya Module was the first component launched for the ISS.
Also known by the technical term Functional Cargo Block and the Russian acronym FGB.
The name Zarya ("Dawn") was given to the FGB because it signified the dawn of a new era of international cooperation in space.