Related topics: space station , nasa , space shuttle discovery , space , shuttle
International Space Station
hideThe International Space Station (ISS) is an internationally developed 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 at least 2015. As of 2009[update], the ISS is the largest artificial satellite in Earth orbit, with a mass larger than that of any previous space station.
The ISS is a joint project among the space agencies of the United States (National Aeronautics and Space Administration—NASA), Russia (Russian Federal Space Agency—RKA), Japan (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency—JAXA), Canada (Canadian Space Agency—CSA) and ten European nations (European Space Agency—ESA).[a] The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) participates through a separate contract with NASA. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) similarly has separate contracts for various activities not done within the framework of ESA's ISS projects (where Italy also fully participates). 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 due to objections from the United States.
The space station can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, orbiting at an altitude of approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) above the surface of the Earth, travelling at an average speed of 27,724 kilometres (17,227 mi) per hour, completing 15.7 orbits per day.
The ISS has been continuously staffed since the first resident crew, Expedition 1, entered the station on 2 November 2000. This has provided an uninterrupted human presence in space for the last &0000000000000008.0000008 years, &0000000000000269.000000269 days. Prior to May 2009, the station had the capacity for a crew of three. However, to fulfil an active research programme, since the arrival of Expedition 20, it has been staffed by a resident crew of six. The crew of Expedition 20 is currently aboard.
Early crew members all came from the American and Russian space programmes until German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter joined the Expedition 13 crew in July 2006. The station has been visited by astronauts from 16 different nations, and it was the destination of the first six space tourists.
For more information about International Space Station, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with international space station
Plasma Rocket Could Travel to Mars in 39 Days
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 06, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (120) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Last Wednesday, the Ad Astra Rocket Company tested what is currently the most powerful plasma rocket in the world. As the Webster, Texas, company announced, the VASIMR VX-200 engine ran at ...
Obama space panel says moon return plan is a no-go (Update)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 08, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (15) |
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(AP) -- A White House panel of independent space experts says NASA's return-to-the-moon plan just won't fly.
Solar Cycle Driven by More than Sunspots
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 17, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (14) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- Challenging conventional wisdom, new research finds that the number of sunspots provides an incomplete measure of changes in the Sun's impact on Earth over the course of the 11-year solar ...
In Search of Antimatter Galaxies
Aug 17, 2009 |
4 / 5 (13) |
9
NASA's space shuttle program is winding down. With only about half a dozen more flights, shuttle crews will put the finishing touches on the International Space Station (ISS), bringing to an end twelve years ...
US scientists plan greenhouses on the Moon
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 15, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (11) |
1
Astronauts' meals have come a long way from the freeze-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes of decades ago: now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the Moon.
Space Station Room With a View
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 29, 2009 |
5 / 5 (9) |
3
The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) is about to get a new "eye-pod." The Tranquility node headed for the space station early in 2010 will feature a viewing dome unlike any other window ever flown ...
Panel says NASA should skip moon, fly elsewhere (Update)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 23, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (12) |
23
(AP) -- NASA needs to make a major detour on its grand plans to return astronauts to the moon, a special independent panel told the White House Thursday.
White House orders review of NASA space plans
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 07, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (8) |
4
(AP) -- The White House has ordered a complete outside review of NASA's manned space program, including plans to return astronauts to the moon.
Scientists use low-gravity space station lab to study crystal growth
Sep 21, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (9) |
1
A research project 10 years in the making is now orbiting the Earth, much to the delight of its creator Rohit Trivedi, a senior metallurgist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. Equipment recently ...
'Space headaches' come out of the blue
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
4
Researchers are calling for space headache to be established as a new secondary disorder after carrying out a study of 17 astronauts, published in the June issue of Cephalalgia.
UFO? No, it's just the International Space Station
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 05, 2009 |
4 / 5 (7) |
4
As a public service, Art Maurer would like you to know that the bright light you might see skimming across the early morning sky later this week is not a UFO.
Space flight panel can't fit lunar mission into NASA budget
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 16, 2009 |
4 / 5 (7) |
9
When President Barack Obama named a panel to review NASA's manned space program, his aides said privately they were hoping the group would recommend scrapping NASA's troubled Ares I rocket program and finding ...
Obama administration to review NASA program, sources say
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
6
In a major turnaround, the Obama administration intends this week to order a review of the spacecraft program that NASA had hoped would one day replace the space shuttle, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
Researchers test new 'space Internet' system on International Space Station
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
2
The University of Colorado at Boulder is working with NASA to develop a new communications technology now being tested on the International Space Station, which will extend Earth's Internet into outer space ...
New NASA boss: Astronauts on Mars in his lifetime
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
5
(AP) -- NASA's new boss says he will be "incredibly disappointed" if people aren't on Mars - or even beyond it - in his lifetime.
