Cockrell, who resigned his naval commission in 1987, had joked that he was rusty with Navy tradition and probably would stay away from it. After all the greetings, the first order of business involved transferring supplies from the shuttle to the space station, including food, water, computers and some outfitting equipment such as computer hard drives and cables needed to activate Destiny when it is mounted onto Alpha. Such political fare is not the usual entertainment diet for the Russian-American crew members. During their rare off-duty hours, they are known to favor action pictures. Gidzenko is particularly fond of Arnold Schwarzenegger's work.
Destiny is the first science module to be delivered to the station.
Several more science modules are expected to be added before construction ends in 2006. Besides being a hub for science research, Destiny will provide a fourth room for the three men living aboard the space station. Atlantis' astronauts spent their first full day in orbit on Thursday checking their spacesuits and the shuttle robot arm, in preparation for Saturday's spacewalk. Destiny will enable astronauts and cosmonauts to begin major science work aboard the space station, although not for a while. Experiments will involve fluids, metals, semiconductors, flames, plants and even the astronauts and cosmonauts themselves.