Overview
The Cupola provides an observation and work area for the ISS crew giving visibility to support the control of the space station remote manipulator system and general external viewing of Earth, celestial objects and visiting vehicles. Its name derives from Italian word cupola, which means "dome". The Cupola project was started by NASA and Boeing, but canceled due to budget cuts. A barter agreement between NASA and the ESA resulted in the Cupola's development being resumed in 1998 by ESA. It is extremely important to the ISS astronauts, as previously they have been confined to looking out of small portholes or at best the 20-inch (50 cm) window in the US Destiny laboratory. The Cupola is berthed onto the Earth-facing port of Node 3—the final of three modules, including Node 1 and Node 2.
Read more about this topic: Cupola (ISS Module)