THE SPACE STATION

 

 

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The International Space Station, the largest international scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken, is taking shape in factories and laboratories of 15 nations around the world. With the Space Station, a permanent laboratory will be established in a realm where gravity, temperature, and pressure can be manipulated in a variety of scientific and engineering pursuits that are impossible in ground-based laboratories. The Space Station will be a test bed for the technologies of the future and a laboratory for research on new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, and medical research.   Program The International Space Station is a permanent orbiting laboratory in space capable of performing long-duration research in the unique environment of Earth's orbit. The Space Station will: 1. maintain U.S. leadership in space and in global competitiveness 2. serve as a driving force for emerging technologies 3. forge new partnerships with the other space faring nations of the world 4. inspire our children 5. foster the next generation of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs 6. satisfy humanity's need to explore Click on the above Image to zoom in for a closer view. (This is a very large image, so please be patient while it loads up - It is WORTH IT!)   Aboard the international orbiting laboratory, science crews will: 1. conduct medical research in space develop new materials and processes to benefit industries on Earth 2. accelerate breakthroughs in technology and engineering that will have immediate, practical applications for life on Earth and will create jobs and economic opportunities today and in the decades to come. Assembly of the Space Station begun in November 1998 and was completed in March 2010. In orbit 220 statute miles above the Earth, the Space Station will circle the globe at an inclination of 51.6 degrees to the equator. This orbit has two advantages: 1. It can be reached by the launch vehicles of all the inter-national partners, providing a robust capability for send-ing crews and supplies to the Station. 2. The orbit provides excellent Earth observation with coverage of 85 percent of the globe and overflight of 95 per-cent of the planet's population. Now completed, the Space Station will be 356 feet across and 290 feet long. It  weighs about 950,000 pounds. Up to seven people will live on the Space Station.   Phase One: The Shuttle-Mir Program In preparation for the 1998 assembly and operations of the International Space Station, NASA and the Russian Space Agency are cooperatively using the U.S. Space Shuttle and the Russian Space Station Mir to provide technology demonstrations, risk mitigation, operational experience, and early science opportunities. Accomplishments include: 1. The flight of a Russian cosmonaut on the Shuttle in February 1995, during which Russian and American space ground crews operated the Shuttle jointly for the first time in two decades. 2. The March 1995, launch to Mir of Dr. Norm Thagardon Russian Soyuz and his 110-day Mir stay permitted collection of the first long-duration medical data on an American astronaut since Skylab in the 1970's. 3. The Russian Spektr Module, carrying 750 kilograms of U.S. life sciences hardware, was launched to Mir in May FS-1997-01-004-HQ

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The Interim Control Module	The Italian built module, named Leonardo	The Long Spacer
Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)-2	Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 (PMA)-3	The Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG)
	The Control Module, or Functional Cargo Block (Russian acronym FGB)

Photo credits: NASA

The Future Astronauts of America Foundation Title; 'We help launch the future' slogan; Character and Name Ikky;
and The Future Astronauts of America Foundation Logo are intellectual property of The Future Astronauts of America Foundation