[onehipdad]

And at the same time, the "cargo carriers" could have been designed to become a part of the ISS.

I thought they were: Several times I've lit on the NASA channel to see animation depicting compartments stacked in the payload being removed and inserted/added on to the ISS like tinkertoys.

[jackbill]

I thought they were: Several times I've lit on the NASA channel to see animation depicting compartments stacked in the payload being removed and inserted/added on to the ISS like tinkertoys.

The "cargo carriers" to which I referred ARE the Shuttles. We fly them up there, with a crew, carrying the pieces of the ISS. The manned Shuttle then comes back for another load - at great risk.