STS-104
Quest Joint Airlock and Independent ISS Spacewalk Capability
STS-104 delivered and installed the Quest Joint Airlock, giving the station a dedicated U.S.-segment facility for spacewalk preparation and extravehicular activity.
Mission type
Crewed Space Shuttle assembly mission
Launch
July 12, 2001
Mission end / docking
July 24, 2001
Launch vehicle / spacecraft
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Objective
What this ISS mission set out to accomplish
Give the ISS an independent U.S. airlock capable of supporting station-based spacewalks and servicing both U.S. and compatible Russian spacesuit operations.
This record treats STS-104 as an assembly or station-support mission rather than as a satellite engineering page, keeping the mission objective separate from the hardware-level ISS engineering record.
Flight and rendezvous
How the mission reached and worked at the station
STS-104 launched on July 12, 2001 using Space Shuttle Atlantis from Kennedy Space Center, Launch Pad 39B.
The mission used Canadarm2 to lift Quest from Atlantis and berth it to Unity while spacewalkers guided installation, connected heating and utility lines, and installed high-pressure oxygen and nitrogen tanks.
Hardware and assembly
What was delivered, installed, or reconfigured
Primary hardware or assembly focus: Quest Joint Airlock and high-pressure gas tanks.
Installation record: Quest attached to Unity on July 15, 2001. This is the engineering connection between the mission story and the interactive International Space Station breakdown.
Outcome
What changed on the International Space Station
Quest was activated and became the station's primary U.S. spacewalk airlock, enabling assembly and maintenance EVAs without depending on a docked Space Shuttle.
The documented result makes STS-104 part of the larger ISS assembly chain, where individual missions progressively added structure, power, laboratories, robotics, thermal control, logistics, and crew-support systems.
Continue exploring
Follow the connected story
Open the International Space Station engineering page
See the station modules, truss systems, solar arrays, robotics, and launch/install history in the interactive engineering experience.
Browse launch records
Compare this mission with other launches and ISS assembly flights.
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Explore other TransitSatellite mission stories.