The Node 2 module is placed into an Airbus Beluga heavy-lift aircraft. The aircraft departed 30 May 2003 from Turin, Italy and arrived at the Kennedy Space Center 1 June 2003. Under contract of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Alenia Spazio led a consortium of European sub-contractors to build Node 2. The module was built for NASA under a barter agreement with the European Space Agency in exchange for the launch of the European Columbus Laboratory by the space shuttle to the International Space Station. Node 2 will provide a passageway between four International Space Station science experiment modules: the U.S. Destiny Laboratory, the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module, the European Columbus Laboratory and the Centrifuge Accommodation Module.