Editing International Space Station (section)

==== ''Quest Joint Airlock'' ====
{{Main|Quest Joint Airlock}}
[[File:Quest airlock exterior - STS-127.jpg|thumb|''Quest'' Joint Airlock Module]]

The ''Quest Joint Airlock'' enables [[Extravehicular activity|extravehicular activities]] (EVAs) using either the U.S. [[Extravehicular Mobility Unit]] (EMU) or the Russian [[Orlan space suit]].<ref name="nasa-questairlock">{{cite web|title=Quest Airlock|url=https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/quest-airlock/|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=24 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024152123/https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/quest-airlock/|archive-date=24 October 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before its installation, conducting EVAs from the ISS was challenging due to a variety of system and design differences. Only the Orlan suit could be used from the Transfer Chamber on the ''Zvezda'' module (which was not a purpose-built airlock) and the EMU could only be used from the airlock on a visiting Space Shuttle, which could not accommodate the Orlan.<ref name="usaf-2010">{{cite tech report|last1=Stockman|first1=Bill|last2=Boyle|first2=Joe|last3=Bacon|first3=John|title=International Space Station Systems Engineering Case Study|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA538763.pdf|publisher=[[United States Air Force]]|access-date=24 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124095002/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA538763.pdf|archive-date=24 November 2023|pages=36–38|year=2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

Launched aboard {{OV|104}} during [[STS-104]] in July 2001 and attached to the Unity module, Quest is a {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=mid|order=flip|-long}}, {{convert|13|ft|m|adj=mid|order=flip|-wide}} structure built by Boeing.<ref name="nasa-20210714">{{cite web|last1=Uri|first1=John|title=Space Station 20th: STS-104 Brings Quest Joint Airlock to the Space Station|url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/space-station-20th-sts-104-brings-quest-joint-airlock-to-the-space-station/|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=24 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124093812/https://www.nasa.gov/history/space-station-20th-sts-104-brings-quest-joint-airlock-to-the-space-station/|archive-date=24 November 2023|date=14 July 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> It houses the crew airlock for astronaut egress, an equipment airlock for suit storage, and has facilities to accommodate astronauts during their overnight pre-breathe procedures to prevent decompression sickness.<ref name="usaf-2010" />

The crew airlock, derived from the Space Shuttle, features essential equipment like lighting, handrails, and an Umbilical Interface Assembly (UIA) that provides life support and communication systems for up to two spacesuits simultaneously. These can be either two EMUs, two Orlan suits, or one of each design.