The International Space Station

The International space station is currently being constructed in low earth orbit, and is the culmination of effort between 14 nations. It will be the largest construction in space thus far in history, being as wide as two football fields, and having the interior space of the volume of a 747 Jumbo Jet...

The ISS will be a world-class laboratory, providing for permanent long-duration habitation and experiments in a microgravity environment.It will not only become the testbed for 21st century technologies, but help foster the effective cooperation of international partners, and the ability to live and work in space for extended periods of time... There are Government-to-Government agreements for ISS, to commit the various countries and national space agancies to development of ISS. There are four major space agencies involved, and their respective contractors... The ISS assembly process involves approximately 50 launches over the next five years, and will construct a facility that will become the largest, most complex oriting structure the world has yet seen.

-Pressurized volume of 1200 cubic meters

-A mass of 419,000kilograms

Maximum power availability of 110 Kilowatts(kW)

Structure that measures108.4 meters, by 74 meters

Orbital Altitude of 370-460 km

Orbital Inclination of 51.6 degrees

Crew of six (three until completion of assembly)

The shuttle will fly 31 of the 50 flights to assemble ISS, 10 unmanned Russian Proton launches, 11 Soyuz flights, (mostly for crew rotation) and 30 Progress M1 flights until completion of assembly to provide logistics.Progress flights will also provide reboost capability for the station, and refueling of the Service Module's propellant tanks.They will also carry food, clothing, supplies, and be used as well for 'garbage dumps' to get rid of garbage as they detach and burn up in earth atmosphere...

The CRV, or Crew Return Vehicle (x-38) is one of the more unique components of the station. It uses a lifting body design, and seats 6. The CRV is designed as the 'lifeboat' aboard ISS, in the event that the crew must evacuate the station quickly. The crew simply gets in, closes the hatch, and powers up the vehicle. It then detaches from the station, gliding down through re-entry, until approximately 15,000 ft, when a parafoil chute opens and brings the craft down for a soft landing. The 2 hour re-entry rescue is completely automated, and the astronauts never touch the controls. It is scheduled to be one of the final elements delivered to ISS, in approximately 2005.

Another element which is unusual is the inflatable Transhab element for ISS. It is delivered to orbit on board the space shuttle, attached, and then inflated to become roughly twice the diameter it was in the shuttle payload bay.It is a very new concept currently being tested, and could be the new U.S. crew habitation module for the station.The outer shell of Transhab consists of almost two dozen separate layers, which provide shielding against high-speed debris, insulate the module, and bladders to hold in the air.Flooring and dividers inside the module provide three separate levels in the Transhab element, including a Health Care area, Galley, and sleeping quarters. A central tunnel constructed of carbon-fiber runs the length of the module to connect these areas...Transhab will be the last element to be delivered to ISS in 2005-2006.

January 15, 2002 ---

With the fourth resident crew aboard the Station, The ISS is beginning to slowly take shape. The U.S. government has continually looked at the cost overruns that are plagueing the program, and have taken steps to force NASA and the International partners to re-evaluate the station design and configuration... The Transhab module has been cut, as has the CRV, and without these elements, the station cannot support an expanded crew aboard the outpost. NASA is seeking the aid of the other partners in the CRV program, and continues doing drop tests with the X-38 prototypes of the station lifeboat, the latest being done from 50,000 feet, and being remote piloted from a specially set up cargo van on the ground. The testing phase of the X-38 has gone remarkably well, and all hopes lie in a solution to the issue of who will pay for the program...Meanwhile, station construction has reached phase two, and spacewalks and progress resupply vehicles create a robust schedule for the international project.