ESA to transfer Tranquility node to NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency says it will transfer ownership of the International Space Station's Tranquility node to the U.S. space agency.

The ceremony marking the ownership transfer is to take place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. EST.

"Tranquility is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the station's life support systems," NASA said in a statement. "Attached to the node is a cupola -- a work station with windows on its six sides and top. The module will be delivered to the station during space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission, targeted for launch Feb. 4, 2010."

Officials said Tranquility is the last element of an ESA-NASA barter agreement for station hardware. ESA contributed the node in exchange for NASA's delivery of ESA's Columbus laboratory to the station. Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, built the module.