The International Space Station is the doorway to the future of mankind and the world as it is known.
The scientific and medical discoveries that will be made on the station could create billions of dollars annually. A plan like this, arranged to benefit the whole world economy, should sound like a good idea to every person, but some believe that the ISS is too risky, too ineffective, or too costly to create. Whether or not the space station is worth the money, time, and effort, one thing is clear: everyone is interested in this virtual floating laboratory and what assets or liabilities it will bring. The future of scientific experimentation and exploration may be located not on earth, but on the man-made island called the International Space Station. Of all the factors that go into building a space station, construction of the massive object is the most tedious objective.
During the building of the ISS, tensions have run high several times when deadlines were missed or funds were not available. This space station is the most expansive mission the world has ever encountered. The International Space Station will be a fifteen-country mission. When finished, it will boast over an acre of solar panels for heating and energy, have a volume roughly the size of two jumbo jets, and contain four times the electrical power of the Russian space station, Mir. It will take approximately forty-five flights over the next five years to assemble the one hundred pieces of the station while circling the orbit of the earth.
This floating station, which is the size of a large football stadium and travels at over 17,500 miles per hour around the earth, will have a minimum life expectancy of only ten years. However, scientists hope for a longer lifespan. The station is so large that it will sometimes be visible to the naked eye at night (Chang 12). Many people agree with the idea of a space laboratory but wonder why it has to cost so many tax dollars. Some estimates confirm that the cost has been underestimated by billions of dollars. Late last year, Boeing won the prestigious position of main contractor.
NASA agreed to sign a $5.6 billion contract with Boeing to build many of the essential parts of the space station. Russia is also placing trust in this airplane superpower. They signed a $180 million contract to build the Functional Cargo Block, the unit that will provide power to stabilize the station (Bizony 87). The International Space Station may provide many scientific discoveries, but everyone will pay for it.
This project will become the most expensive project in space since the 1969 mission of Apollo 13 to the moon. The total estimated cost will be over twenty billion dollars. On the International Space Station, there will be a large variety of experiments ranging from improvements in industry to medical advances. The largest portion of time will be devoted to scientific experimentation and discovery. The ISS will create advances that will assist scientists in better understanding the mysteries of the physical, chemical, and biological world. Without gravity, they may conceive the technological discoveries that will boost all economies.
One thing the astronauts will use in their pursuit of knowledge is remote telescience. It is an advanced technology that allows scientists on the ground to monitor the progress of the experiments on the station. This will keep people on Earth up to date on the data collection occurring in space. Telescience will use interactive data and video links to make the connection as realistic as possible. The population sometimes asks what the station will do scientifically.
The International Space Station will try to answer questions that have bothered deep thinkers for years. The effects of zero gravity on living things, as well as any mental and physical effects on humans in space, and the growth of better materials in space that could create better products on Earth, will all be explored in hopes of better understanding them. Scientists hope to answer these questions and many more on the International Space Station (Chang 12). NASA has confirmed that microgravity, the almost weightless condition of space, is one of the largest factors in the experiments that will occur aboard the International Space Station. The effects of gravity and microgravity on animals, plants, cells, and microorganisms will be studied on the station.
Artificial gravity can be achieved through various means.
