The hatch on the second part of Japanese lab Kibo has been opened by the denizens of the International Space Station.

Yesterday, at 5:05 pm EDT, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide officially opened the lab, the name of which means ‘hope’ in Japanese, for science and to applause down in the JAXA headquarters. He also hung a ‘noren’ – the sort of cloth curtain you may have seen in front of Japanese restaurants – above the hatch.

“We have a new hope on space station,” he says. “It’s a beautiful module. It looks pretty empty because we don’t have lots of racks inside. It looks empty, but it’s filled with dreams.” [NASA, JAXA has a slightly different translation.]

Initial problems with the module’s air conditioning were resolved after a couple of hours.

A third part of Kibo, allowing experiments to be subjected to space rather than a nice pressurised lab, is scheduled for delivery next year. AFP says, “When completed, Kibo will allow astronauts to carry out experiments in medicine, biology and biotechnology, material production and communications, both in a pressurized environment and completely exposed to space.”

Japanese coverage

Yomiuri Shimbun (in English)

Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese)

Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese)

Image: Inside Kibo / NASA