Technicians remove a side panel that protected the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer or AMS during shipment.

In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians remove a side panel that protected the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, during shipment.

AMS, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, is designed to operate as an external module on the International Space Station. It will use the unique environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for dark matter. The STS-134 crew will fly AMS to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Endeavour, targeted to launch Feb. 26, 2011. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin