International Space Station Overview (1997)

more than 30 years ago we trained our eyes toward the Stars as the first humans orbited the earth in the 70s we looked up again toward the heavens to see humans actually living and working in orbit and witness cooperation in space by bitter adversaries by the early 1980s the Space Shuttle was streaking toward orbit in the name of technology and discovery but the 90s will be remembered as the beginning of a new era of space exploration the development of the International Space Station the world's largest laboratory in space will support scientific and technical research performed on earth by taking advantage of the unique environment of space this orbiting complex will remain aloft for up to 15 years and will allow scientists to accelerate the rate of discovery and invention for practical applications and health medicine materials and technology researchers will use the International Space Station to conduct experiments in five scientific areas research in biotechnology will enhance our ability to accurately characterize human proteins enzymes and viruses at the molecular level by studying protein crystals grown in microgravity scientists may then develop better medicines to fight against aids cancer diabetes and many other diseases the International Space Station can also opens a new window onto the human bodies adaptation to a gravity-free environment exposure to microgravity can cause an otherwise healthy astronaut to experience rapid loss of bone mass comparable to osteoporosis but at a much faster rate until now on orbit research for us investigators in this field was limited to short duration flights on the shuttle now extended investigations on the station offer new insights into the aging process fluid physics research will use microgravity to examine the behavior of liquids gases and mixtures private industry will utilize the results of these studies on the behavior of fluids in the absence of gravity to design more efficient production processes agriculture can also benefit from Space Station research biologists have long studied gravity's influence on living organisms on the shuttle scientists have performed studies subjecting both plants and animals to the sometimes adverse effects of weightlessness on the station this type of work would expand the fundamental knowledge that could benefit reproductive life cycles this level of space-based research could one day lead to heightened produce harvest by allowing farmers to reduce growing cycles thereby increasing crop yields experiments in other fields of study will seek advances that could improve technology and communications computers consumer electronics energy efficiency glass and ceramics and metals manufacturing here on earth science will be performed by a multinational crew of astronauts cosmonauts and researchers they will live and work on the International Space Station for up to six months at a time the atmosphere inside the station is pressurized to a sea-level pressure of 14 point 7 pounds per square inch providing a comfortable living environment for crew members and an optimum operating environment for science research the station is comprised of numerous interlocking components that are assembled on orbit one segment at a time the station will be made up of seven laboratories living and sleeping quarters life-support systems energy generators modules for propulsion and attitude control and other essential systems for navigation and communications building the space complex is a partnership of nations spanning the globe each contributes resources and scientific expertise based on technical knowledge capability and national interests the ground-based construction of space station hardware began in the United States with a development of connecting modules or hubs called no later halfway around the world Manufacturing began on the first building block for the world's largest space science platform the functional cargo block better known by its Russian acronym the FGB this space vehicle built by the Russians for the u.s. provides power and propulsion in the early months of on-orbit space station construction the Russian space agency plans to contribute to the station a complex vehicle known as the service module complete with living quarters propulsion and navigation as well as room for science experiments Russia will also provide three smaller research vessels and an energy tower to augment the power capability of the station other elements being manufactured by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its contractors are a laboratory module which can house close to 100 science experiments living quarters for the crew members in the habitation module and an airlock to allow for space walking tasks the long truss structure supporting the station's power producing solar arrays is the backbone of the orbital outpost the complete station structure will have a wingspan of 356 feet longer than the length of a football field a robotic arm that runs the length of the trust to maneuver humans and hardware around the station is being built by the Canadian Space Agency agility of the arm is expanded through the use of a human-like robot a smaller robotic extension that gives the astronauts a hand in conducting delicate work outside the space station another laboratory with numerous science experiments located both inside and outside the station is the japanese pressurized module and it's attached exposed facility this exterior pallet allows astronauts to move experiments from the safety of the experiment module to the harsh environment of space on top of Japan's laboratory is a smaller component that is used to store and resupply experiments a smaller research module built by the european space agency offers yet another venue for scientists all over the world to see their life's work come to fruition on orbit ASI the Italian space agency is building resupply vessels called mini pressurized logistics modules which will be flown to the station aboard the shuttle four times a year these modules will hold food equipment and new experiments to be located in the station's various laboratories constructing space vehicles on the ground then attaching them on orbit will help each partner nation learn more about how to build maintain and operate large structures in space hauling hardware into orbit for the Assembly of the space station requires 43 space flights on three different types of launch vehicles the US Space Shuttle the Russian proton booster rocket and the russian-built Soyuz booster once it is complete the station will weigh over 1 million pounds and will be positioned in an orbit 220 miles above the earth the international space station will circle the planet every 90 minutes traveling at a speed of five miles a second its orbit will be inclined 51.6 degrees to the equator allowing the complex to travel over eighty-five percent of the Earth's surface every day from this extraordinary vantage point researchers will be able to conduct long-duration research on our planets environment its natural resources as well as its atmospheric and oceanic conditions this sprawling space campus will be controlled from both the Russian Mission Control Center outside of Moscow and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas as components from other partner nations reach orbit a direct communications link will be established with each nation Space Operations Center providing a more effective means of interaction with science and research investigators in those countries by the year 2000 the International Space Station expects to support the work of more than a thousand scientists at universities and laboratories all over the world some researchers will have the opportunity to monitor their experiments as they're being conducted and communicate directly with the astronauts operating the experiment this requires a complex communications network that will reach out for Mission Control to scientists throughout the country and possibly throughout the world for the first time ever long-duration spaceflight is available to an unprecedented number of scientists and engineers looking for answers to age-old questions an orbiting laboratory virtually free of gravity will result in new insights and knowledge in scientific and technical fields in ways that cannot be achieved on earth research on the International Space Station could touch the lives of almost everyone who has invested in this technology marvel for the price of one night at the movies each year the space station will become a symbol of the investment in America's future a visible light in the sky for our children to look up at and dream about the wonder of space travel almost four decades after humans caught their first glimpse of earth and the heavens from orbit the International Space Station becomes a permanent home in space to enable those with a curiosity to explore and those with an unquenched to answer questions yet to be asked about our planet and the universe beyond the International Space Station the next step away from our glass