Ever since it was designed for the International Space Station, it has been known as the Node 2 module. Now thanks to students from across the United States, Node 2 also will be known as "Harmony."

At an event Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., NASA announced the new name. Harmony is being prepared at Kennedy for its space shuttle Atlantis flight, designated STS-120, targeted for launch in 2007. Members of the STS-120 crew and managers who are preparing Harmony for launch took part in the naming event.

The name was chosen from an academic competition involving more than 2,200 kindergarten through high school students from 32 states. The Node 2 Challenge required students to learn about the space station, build a scale model and write an essay explaining their proposed name for the module that will serve as a central hub for science labs.

ISS Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, and Flight Engineer Suni Williams, KD5PLB, recently discussed their experiences in space with students at two schools. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged the direct VHF contacts with Boulder Hill Elementary School in Montgomery, Illinois, March 6, and with Mission Viejo High School, in Mission Viejo, California, March 9. Williams told the youngsters at Boulder Hill that the dress code in space is strictly informal. "People don't understand that up here it's just like being in your house," Williams explained, "so we can wear a T-shirt and shorts or a pair of pants if it gets a little bit cool." She pointed out that crew members need to wear pressure suits during launch and spacesuits when working outside the space station.