The Columbus laboratory is loaded into a container at EADS in Bremen, Germany, ahead of transportation by Beluga aircraft to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in the United States. Columbus laboratory will be flown on a Space Shuttle to the ISS in the second half of 2007.

The Columbus laboratory is ESA's biggest contribution to the International Space Station. Delivered to ESA by EADS SPACE Transportation on 2 May 2006, this laboratory will provide internal payload accommodation for various scientific experiments.