An Airbus Beluga transporter taxis down the Shuttle Landing Facility to deliver the first of three Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs.

An Airbus Beluga transporter taxis down the Shuttle Landing Facility to deliver the first of three Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs), designed to transport experiments and supplies in a pressurized environment to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The MPLMs will be carried in the payload bay of a Shuttle orbiter, and will provide storage and additional work space for up to two astronauts when docked to the ISS. The modules are being provided by Alenia Aerospazio, in Italy, and will be operated by NASA and supported by ASI, the Italian space agency. The first MPLM has been named Leonardo and is scheduled to be launched on STS-100 in December 1999. The second, to be handed over in April 1999, is named Raffaello. A third module, to be named Donatello, is due to be delivered in October 2000 for launch in January 2001