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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The delivery of the Columbus module from Germany to Florida is officially accepted by NASA during a ceremony in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF). Participating in the welcoming ceremony are, from left, William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations; Alan Thirkettle, International Space Station program manager, European Space Agency; Jim Kennedy, director, Kennedy Space Center; and Russell Romanella, director, International Space Station and Payloads Processing. Columbus is the European Space Agency's research laboratory for the International Space Station. The module will be prepared in the SSPF for delivery to the space station on a future space shuttle mission. Columbus will expand the research facilities of the station and provide researchers with the ability to conduct numerous experiments in the life, physical and materials sciences. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller