JSC2003-E-40245 (28 May 2003) --- The International Space Station Node 2 module is lowered into an environmentally controlled container in preparation for its transportation to the United States. An Airbus Beluga heavy-lift aircraft carrying Node 2 departed May 30 from Turin, Italy where the Italian Space Agency's (ASI) contractor, Alenia Spazio, leading a consortium of European companies, built it. The module was built for NASA under a barter agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) in exchange for the launch of the European Columbus Laboratory by the space shuttle to the International Space Station. Node 2 will provide a passageway between four International Space Station science experiment modules: the U.S. Destiny Laboratory, the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module, the European Columbus Laboratory and the Centrifuge Accommodation Module. The addition of Node 2 to the station will signify the U.S. Core Complete stage of assembly, at which time the station can support the addition of international laboratories from Europe and Japan. Photo Credit: NASA