International Space Station

The International Space Station had its beginnings in the 1980;s when NASA wanted to have a counterpart to the Space stations of the Soviet Union. Even though it was cancelled when the Cold War ended, it still remained on the drawing board and was not completely forgotten. Thoughts then turned to international cooperation between Europe, Russia, Japan, Canada and the US in the 1990’s to build a station in space that would be truly international. It proposed to combine the best elements of the existing space stations and the technologies of the countries involved in the project.

The first section of the space station was placed in orbit in November 1998. This is the Zarya Functional Cargo Block. Two other pieces were put in place by November 2000. Sections have been added and the station is expected to be complete by the end of 2008.

The sun will be the power source for this station. Light is converted into electricity through the use of solar panels. The environmental control and life support system of the station will provide or control the atmospheric pressure, oxygen levels and water. For example, the Elektron system supplies oxygen throughout the station and an extensive recycling system will recycle the used water so that it can be reused over and over.

The main goal of this international space station is to conduct research in space, mainly in the areas of biology, astronomy, physics, and meteorology. So far, the bulk of the research has concentrated on studying the long-term effect that micro gravity has on humans, such as in muscle atrophy, bone loss and fluid shifts. This is essential so that when people are assigned to this station for long periods of time medical personnel will be able to deal with any conditions that develop.

All permanent crews assigned to this station are designated as Expedition n, with n denoting the number of the expedition. The typical duration of each assignment is expected to be six months.