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A Tribute to the International Space Station
Perhaps one of mankind's greatest technological accomplishments is the International Space Station (ISS). The space station travels at some 17,000 miles per hour at an average of around 200 miles above the earth. It orbits every 91 minutes, allowing for 15.7 orbits around the earth each day. The program originated from an agreement between Russia and the United States just after the Cold War in an attempt to peacefully engage the world in scientific research.
Construction of the ISS began in 1998 and should finally be completed by the year 2011. Currently, the space station is 240 feet long by 356 feet wide and has a mass of nearly 700,000 pounds. Accordingly, the craft is big enough to flare at an apparent magnitude of -8 when the sun reflects off of it just right. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, only has a magnitude of -1.
The station has brought together astronauts and scientists from all over the world, particularly from the United States, Russia, and Japan. The numerous international crews that have lived on the space station have made advancements in the areas of biology, meteorology, physics, astronomy, and more. The International Space Station is certainly a unique place to carry out all kinds of new experiments because of the negligible effects of gravity in space.
It is fascinating to think that, as we look up at the night sky, there are astronauts looking down at us on the International Space Station.
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