30/3/2016

InternationalSpaceStation,ISSInformation,SpaceStationFacts,News,PhotosNationalGeographic

TheInternationalSpaceStationisanorbitinglaboratoryandconstructionsitethatsynthesizesthescientificexpertiseof16
nationstomaintainapermanenthumanoutpostinspace.
Whilefloatingsome240miles(390kilometers)aboveEarth'ssurface,thespacestationhashostedarotatinginternational
crewsinceNovember2000.
AstronautsandsuppliesareferriedbytheU.S.spaceshuttlesandtheRussianSoyuzandProgressspacecraft.Astronauts
whoreachthefacilityaboardoneofthesemissionstypicallyliveandworkinorbitforaboutsixmonths.
Simplybyspendingtimeinorbit,astronautsrevealmuchmoreabouthowhumanscanliveandworkinspace.Crewshave
learnedthedifficultiesofdiet,inaworldinwhichtheirsenseoftasteisdecreased,andofgettingagoodnight'ssleepwhile
securedtoanonfloatingobject.
Butthecrewisalsooccupiedwithafullsuiteofscientificexperiments,theongoingimprovementandconstructionofthe
station,andarigorousregimeofphysicaltraining.Astronautsmustexercisefortwohourseachdaytocounteractthe
detrimentaleffectsoflowgravityonthebody'sskeletonandcirculatorysystem.
OngoingConstruction
ThestationhasbeenunderconstructionsinceNovemberof1998.Inthatyearthefirstpieceofitsstructure,theZaryaControl
Module,waslaunchedintoorbitwithaRussianProtonrocket.In2008,thetwobilliondollarsciencelabColumbuswas
addedtothestation,increasingthestructuretoeightrooms.
Thefloatingfacility'sdesignfeaturesaseriesofcylindermodulesattachedtoalargertrussofadozensegments.TheZarya
Moduleismainlyusedforstorageandexternalfueltanks,whiletheZvezdaServiceModulehousesthecrew'slivingquarters
andthestation'smanylifesupportingsystems.Thespacestationispoweredbysolarpanelsandcooledbyloopsthatradiate
heatawayfromthemodules.Thestation'sDestinylaboratoryfunctionsasauniquefloatingfacilityfortestsofmaterials,
technologies,andmuchmore.TheColumbuslabwasdesignedtohouseexperimentsinlifesciences,fluidphysics,and
otherfields.
Dockingportsallowthestationtobevisitedbyagrowingvarietyofspacecraft,andtheQuestAirlockenablesaccessforthe
frequentspacewalksessentialtothefacility'scontinuingconstruction.
Canadarm2isanotherimportantfeatureofthespacestation.ThisCanadianbuiltapparatusisalarge,remotecontrolled
spacearmthatfunctionsasacraneandcanbeutilizedforawidevarietyoftasks.
TheInternationalSpaceStationmaybecompletedbytheendofthisdecade.Whenconstructionisfinished,sixcrew
memberswillbeabletoliveandworkinaspacelargerthanatypicalfivebedroomhouse.

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/spaceexploration/internationalspacestationarticle/

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