What is ISS? How the International Space Station Functions

 

Introduction

The International Space Station (ISS), is a huge spacecraft in orbit around Earth that serves as a space environment research laboratory wherein clinical studies are performed in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and different fields. It also serves as a platform for international cooperation in space exploration.

History of the International Space Station

The idea for a space station was first proposed in the early twentieth century; however, the development of designs for a worldwide space station did not begin until the 1980s and 1990s. The ISS is a result of collaboration among five space agencies, including NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
The construction of the ISS started in 1998, with the launch of the Russian module Zarya. Over the years, numerous modules and components were added, contributing to the station's growth and functionality. The first long-term crew arrived in November 2000.

How the International Space Station Works

The ISS is a modular structure made from a couple of interconnected additives, along with laboratories, dwelling quarters, solar arrays, and docking ports. It orbits the Earth at a mean altitude of approximately 420 kilometers (about 261 miles) and travels almost at a pace of around 28,000 kilometers per hour (about 17,500 miles in step per hour). This lets it complete an orbit roughly every 90 minutes.
The station is powered using huge solar arrays that generate power from sunlight. It uses cutting-edge life support systems to give the crew a livable environment, along with systems for air purification, water recycling, and waste control.

Applications of International Space Station

The ISS serves as a unique microgravity research environment, allowing scientists to conduct experiments that might not be possible or tough on Earth. This research has applications in a wide range of domains, including basic physics, pharmaceuticals, and substance technology.
Crewed missions to the ISS commonly contain astronauts from exceptional nations, reflecting the international nature of the collaboration. The station has been continuously inhabited considering the arrival of Expedition 1 in November 2000, with crews rotating periodically.

Facts about the International Space Station

• The International Space Station is run by a multinational consortium of five space organizations from fifteen nations.
• Since November 2000, there has been constant habitation on the space station.
• Seven multinational crew members live and work while they orbit the Earth roughly every ninety minutes at a speed of five miles per second. Occasionally, there are more people on board when a crew changeover occurs.
• The space station completes 16 orbits around the planet in a day, passing through 16 sunrises and sunsets.
• The station’s living and working area is larger than a house with six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window, the station's living and working area is larger than a house with six bedrooms.
• 42 assembly flights were used to carry the station's big modules and other components; 37 of these flights were made using American space shuttles, and five used Russian Proton/Soyuz rockets.
• The space station is just one yard short of being 356 feet (109 meters) long, including the end zones, when measured end to end.
• The space station's electrical power system is connected by eight miles of wire.
• With its seven joints and two hands, or end-effectors, the 55-foot robotic Canadarm2 can move complete modules, launch research experiments, and even carry astronauts on spacewalks.
• The space station can have eight spacecraft linked to it at once.
• After taking off from Earth, a spacecraft can reach the space station in as little as four hours.
• More than twenty distinct research payloads, such as particle physics experiments like the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02, materials science payloads, and Earth sensing equipment, can be housed externally to the station simultaneously.
• The space station roughly covers the same distance to and from the Moon in roughly a day.
• By 65%, the crew's reliance on water brought by a cargo spacecraft is reduced to a third of a gallon per day thanks to the Water Recovery System.
• To ensure the health and safety of the station and crew, on-orbit software keeps an eye on some 350,000 sensors.
• The space station's pressurized volume is equivalent to a Boeing 747.
• The systems on board the space station are managed by almost fifty computers.

Station record holder

ISS Visitors 

Astronauts from NASA frequently stay on the International Space Station for extended periods. NASA keeps track of and releases the records for the most days spent in space on a single mission (the single spaceflight record) and the cumulative days in space record (the total amount of time an astronaut has spent in space over their career).

Frank Rubio, a NASA astronaut, now holds the single spaceflight record with 371 days, closely followed by Scott Kelly and Mark Vande Hei. With 655 days, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the record for the most days spent in space.

International Space Station Visitors  

Record Holder 

There have been 276 visitors to the International Space Station, hailing from 22 different countries and five international partners.

The International Space Station’s Dimensions and Weight

Length of the Pressurized Module: 218 feet (67 meters) along the major axis
Truss Length: 310 feet (94 meters)
Length of Solar Arrays: 239 feet longitudinally across both arrays (73 meters)
Weight: 925,335 pounds (419,725 kilograms)
Habitable Volume: 13,696 cubic feet not including visiting vehicles.
Pressurized Volume: 35,491 cubic feet.
Power Generation: Provides power up to between 75-90 KW with eight solar arrays
Lines of Code in Computers: Approximately one and a half million.

Conclusion

The ISS has been an image of international cooperation in space exploration, bringing together the efforts of more than one country for clinical research and technological advancements.