International Space Station
In the early 1980's, the International Space Station (ISS) was only an idea on paper. Today, the ISS is a result of sixteen international partners working together to create a world-class, state-of-the-art orbiting research facility.
The ISS provides scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs an opportunity to perform complex experiments over long periods of time in a space environment. But, it is much more; it is an international "city in space" - a place where we will learn how to live and work "off planet."
Some facts about the International Space Station
- The Space Station is the largest manned object ever sent into space - larger than the new Airbus 380 recently put into service to carry over 500 passengers. It consists of 70 separate major components and hundreds of minor ones. All the parts will be put together in space for the first time.
- This is a BIG construction job - 45 launches in total to assemble the parts and over 1700 hours of space walks for the astronauts and cosmonauts. Future plans for missions to the ISS can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html
- We can see it - and the people on board can see us! When completed, the ISS will be visible to more than 90 percent of the world's population and circles the Earth every 90 minutes.
- Canadian astronaut, Dr. Robert Thirsk, spent 187 days on board the ISS in 2009.
- In November 2012, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield will launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to reach the International Space Station (ISS) where he will live and work for six months as part of the crew of Expedition 34/35.
- During the second half of his mission Hadfield will become the first Canadian Commander of the ISS–a milestone for Canadian space exploration. In addition to overseeing operations as Commander, he will carry out scientific experiments, operate Canadarm2 and perform various robotics tasks.
- Having trouble sleeping? Humans need less sleep in space because the body does little work in a microgravity environment. It takes little effort to raise an arm, hold your head up, or move a bulky object.
- It's a team effort - many countries are involved - the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The construction involves more than 100,000 people, and hundreds of companies. Astronauts also work in teams on the various experiments aboard the ISS.
- Keep working in Physical Education classes - Every astronaut must do at least two hours of strenuous exercise, every day. This is to counteract the tendency of the human body to lose muscle and bone mass rapidly in space.
- It's not cheap! It is the most expensive object every built. The Chunnel between England and France cost about $22 billion. The United States' contribution ALONE is estimated at nearly $200 billion!
There are excellent photographs and statistical information at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/ISS_Reference_Guide.html - and then go to the "facts" - a downloadable pdf.
International Space Station Statistics
| Statistic | Updated | |
|---|---|---|
| Perigee | 347.9 km | June 17, 2005 |
| Apogee | 354.1 km | June 17, 2005 |
| Orbital period | 91.55 minutes | June 17, 2005 |
| Orbits per day | 15.73 | June 17, 2005 |
| Average speed | 7.69 km/s (27,685.7 km/h) | |
| Pressure | ~757 mmHg (100 kPa) | |
| Oxygen | ~162.4 mmHg (22 kPa) | |
| Carbon Dioxide | ~4.8 mmHg (640 Pa) | |
| Temperature | ~26.9°C |
| Major Elements | |
|---|---|
| Zarya: | launched Nov. 20, 1998 |
| Unity: | attached Dec. 8, 1998 |
| Zvezda: | attached July 25, 2000 |
| Z1 Truss: | attached Oct. 14, 2000 |
| P6 Integrated | attached Dec. 3, 2000 |
| Truss: | |
| Destiny: | attached Feb. 10, 2001 |
| Canadarm2: | attached April 22, 2001 |
| Joint Airlock: | attached July 15, 2001 |
| Pirs: | attached Sept. 16, 2001 |
| S0 Truss: | attached April 11, 2002 |
| S1 Truss: | attached Oct. 10, 2002 |
| P1 Truss: | attached Nov. 26, 2002 |
| P3/P4 Truss: | attached Sept. 12, 2006 |
| P5 Truss: | attached Dec. 12, 2006 |
| Harmony: | attached Oct. 26, 2007 |
| Columbus: | attached Feb. 11, 2008 |
| Kibo (ELM-PS): | attached March 14, 2008 |
| Kibo (JPM): | attached June 3, 2008 |
| S6 Truss: | attached March 19, 2009 |
| Poisk: | attached Nov. 12, 2009 |
| Iss Flights | |
|---|---|
| American | 31 space shuttle flights |
| Russian | 2 Proton flights |
| 20 Soyuz Crew flights | |
| 2 Soyuz assembly flights | |
| 35 Progress resupply flights | |
| European | 1 automated transfer vehicle flight |
| Japanese | 1 H-11 Transfer vehicle flight |
| Spacewalks | |
| Shuttle-based | 28 |
| ISS-based | 108 |
| Total time | 850+ hours |
| Crew Support | |
| Weight | 2 722 kg of supplies per expedition |
| In Flight | 6 crew members |
| Ground | 100 000 + personnel |
| Contractors | 500 |
| Countries | 16 |
| Meal Consumption | approximately 20 000 |
Links
Some good links to provide more information about the ISS for STUDENTS (and many of them have teacher information as well) include:
CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY (this is an excellent link which has the tracking map for the ISS and also an excellent diagram showing the stages of development)
- Project Overview
- KidStation (this site also has connections to the tracking of the ISS and also highlights Canada’s contributions to the space program)
- Powering the International Space Station
NASA
- NASA Quest (FREE Web-based, interactive explorations designed to engage students in authentic scientific and engineering processes. The solutions relate to issues encountered daily by NASA personnel.)
- SpaceKids - Space Science for Kids.
- NASA Space Place - Check out our games, animations, projects, and fun facts about Earth, space and technology.
- Astro-Venture - Search for and design a habitable planet; great opportunities to integrate geography, geology and biology into your program
Tracking the International Space Station
Other International Space Station resources
- PBS Space Station See & Do - Interesting activities and facts about living in space and to answer questions about space suits, sanitation, recreation and sleeping, eating and microgravity.
- Wikipedia - Excellent links to a number of other sites as well as basic information about the International Space Station.
Tomatosphere is sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency, Heinz Canada Ltd, HeinzSeed, Stokes Seeds and the University of Guelph.
