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The International Space Station is the largest and most complex international scientific project in history. The station represents a move of unprecedented scale off the home planet that began in 1998 with the launch of the first two components, the Unity and Zarya modules. Led by the United States, the International Space Station draws upon the scientific and technological resources of 16 nations: Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency and Brazil.

More than four times as large as the Russian Mir space station, the completed International Space Station will have a mass of about 1 million pounds. It will measure about 360 feet across and 290 feet long, with almost an acre of solar panels to provide electrical power to six state-of-the-art laboratories. The first two station modules, the Russian-launched Zarya control module and U.S.-launched Unity connecting module, were assembled in orbit in late 1998.
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The station is in an orbit with an altitude of 250 statute miles with an inclination of 51.6 degrees. This orbit allows the station to be reached by the launch vehicles of all the international partners to provide a robust capability for the delivery of crews and supplies. The orbit also provides excellent Earth observations with coverage of 85 percent of the globe and over flight of 95 percent of the population. Already, about 500,000 pounds of station components have been built at factories around the world.

The two-module complex now in orbit has a mass of more than 74,000 pounds and measures 76 feet long with a 78-foot wingspan tip to tip of the Artist's concept of the completed International Space Station solar arrays. The current station's internal pressurized volume is 4,635 cubic feet.

The Space Shuttle Discovery peformed the first docking with the new station in May 1999 on mission STS-96, delivering almost two tons of internal and external supplies.

 

The United States has the responsibility for developing and ultimately operating major elements and systems aboard the station. The U.S. elements include three connecting modules, or nodes; a laboratory module; truss segments; four solar arrays; a habitation module; three mating adapters; a cupola; an unpressurized logistics carrier and a centrifuge module. The various systems being developed by the U.S. include thermal control; life support; guidance, navigation and control; data handling; power systems; communications and tracking; ground operations facilities and launch-site processing facilities.

The international partners, Canada, Japan, the European Space Agency, and Russia, will contribute the following key elements to the International Space Station:

  • Canada is providing a 55-foot-long robotic arm to be used for assembly and maintenance tasks on the Space Station.
  • The European Space Agency is building a pressurized laboratory to be launched on the Space Shuttle and logistics transport vehicles to be launched on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle.
  • Japan is building a laboratory with an attached exposed exterior platform for experiments as well as logistics transport vehicles.
  • Russia is providing two research modules; an early living quarters called the Service Module with its own life support and habitation systems; a science power platform of solar arrays that can supply about 20 kilowatts of electrical power; logistics transport vehicles; and Soyuz spacecraft for crew return and transfer.

In addition, Brazil and Italy are contributing some equipment to the station through agreements with the United States.

Source: NASA Human Space Flight Website



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