What is the International Space Station?
The International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998, and is scheduled to be complete by 2011, with operations continuing until around 2015.[5] As of 2009[update], the ISS is the largest artificial satellite in Earth orbit, larger than any previous space station.[6] The ISS programme is a joint project among the space agencies of the United States (NASA), Russia (RKA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and ten European nations through the European Space Agency.[7] The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) participates through a separate contract with NASA.[8] The Italian Space Agency similarly has separate contracts for various activities not done within the framework of ESA’s ISS projects (where Italy also fully participates).[9] China has reportedly expressed interest in the project, especially if it would be able to work with the RKA, although as of 2009[update] it is not involved.[10][11] The s
The International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility in low Earth orbit, orbiting at an altitude between 320 km (199 mi) to 345 km (214 mi). As of May 2007, the International Space Station consists of four small rooms, known as “pressurized modules” in engineering parlance, and has a living capacity for three astronauts. The station is scheduled to be completed as of 2010, and will include a total of 10 pressurized modules, alongside a Soyuz spacecraft functioning as a lifeboat and a large unpressurized truss structure for solar panels. Currently, the International Space Station is the only permanently manned facility in orbit. It was created as a way for five space agencies to share the high costs of launching and maintaining an in-orbit facility. The five agencies participating in the ISS project are NASA (United States), Roskosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), CSA (Canada), and the ESA (European Union). By the time the station is completed in 2010, the entire project will have cos
In the early 1980’s, the International Space Station was only a paper concept but was touted as NASA’s “next logical step” in space exploration. Today, the Space Station is a collaboration of sixteen international partners working together to create a world-class, state-of-the-art orbiting research facility. The Station will afford scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs an unprecedented platform on which to perform complex, long-duration and replicable experiments in the unique environment of space. But, the Space Station is much more than a world-class laboratory; it is an international human experiment – an exciting “city in space” – a place where we will learn how to live and work “off planet.
The International Space Station will establish laboratory complex in orbit, in the station’s six laboratories will lead to discoveries in medicine, materials and fundamental science that will benefit people all over the world. The station also will serve as a step in preparation for future space exploration. Examples of U.S.
