Table of Contents

Mission STS-104

Canadarm2 and Mission STS-104 (July 12 to 24, 2001)

Airlock and Gas Tanks installation

The primary objective of Flight 7A/STS-104, launched on July 12, 2001, is to deliver and install the ISS Airlock, the first official task of Canadarm2. The purpose of the airlock is to make it possible for crewmembers on board the International Space Station, to undertake spacewalks, wearing either American or Russian space suits. ISS-based Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is extremely important, since astronauts and cosmonauts need to be able to leave the Space Station in order to personally assemble, maintain and service certain components. Before the Airlock was installed on the Station, only U.S.spacesuits could be used for EVAs, from the space shuttle, and only Russian spacesuits from the Zvezda Service Module.