The ISS is the successor to the MIR station, the largest and most expensive object in the history of mankind.

What size orbital station? How much does it cost? How do astronauts live and work on it?

We will talk about this in this article.

What is the ISS and who owns it

International space station(MKS) is an orbital station used as a multipurpose space complex.

This is a scientific project in which 14 countries are participating:

• Russian Federation;
• USA;
• France;
• Germany;
• Belgium;
• Japan;
• Canada;
• Sweden;
• Spain;
• Netherlands;
• Switzerland;
• Denmark;
• Norway;
• Italy.

In 1998, the creation of the ISS began. Then the first module of the Russian Proton-K rocket was launched. Subsequently, other participating countries began to deliver other modules to the station.

Note: in English, ISS is spelled ISS (transcript: International Space Station).

There are people who are convinced that the ISS does not exist, and all space flights were filmed on Earth. However, the reality of the manned station was proven, and the theory of deception was completely refuted by scientists.

The structure and dimensions of the international space station

The ISS is a huge laboratory dedicated to the study of our planet. At the same time, the station is home to astronauts working in it.

The station is 109 meters long, 73.15 meters wide and 27.4 meters high. The total weight of the ISS is 417,289 kg.

How much is an orbital station

The cost of the facility is estimated at $ 150 billion. This is by far the most expensive development in human history.

Orbital altitude and flight speed of the ISS

The average altitude at which the station is located is 384.7 km.

The speed is 27,700 km / h. The station makes a complete revolution around the Earth in 92 minutes.

Station time and crew working hours

The station operates London time, and the astronauts start their working day at 6 am. At this time, each crew establishes contact with their country.

Crew reports can be listened to online. The working day ends at 19:00 London time .

Flight path

The station moves around the planet along a certain trajectory. There is a special map that shows which section of the route the ship passes in this moment time. This map also shows different parameters - time, speed, altitude, latitude and longitude.

Why doesn't the ISS fall to Earth? In fact, the object falls to Earth, but misses, as it is constantly moving at a certain speed. It is required to regularly raise the trajectory. As soon as the station loses some of its speed, it gets closer and closer to the Earth.

What is the temperature outside the ISS

The temperature is constantly changing and directly depends on the cut-off situation. In the shade, it stays at about -150 degrees Celsius.

If the station is located under the influence of direct sunlight, then the temperature overboard is +150 degrees Celsius.

Temperature inside the station

Despite fluctuations overboard, the average temperature inside the ship is 23 - 27 degrees Celsius and is completely suitable for human habitation.

Astronauts sleep, eat, play sports, work and rest at the end of the working day - the conditions are close to the most comfortable for being on the ISS.

What astronauts breathe on the ISS

The primary task in the creation of the spacecraft was to provide the cosmonauts with the conditions necessary to maintain full breathing. Oxygen is obtained from water.

A special system called "Air" takes carbon dioxide and throws it overboard. Oxygen is replenished by electrolysis of water. There are also oxygen cylinders at the station.

How long to fly from the cosmodrome to the ISS

The flight takes just over 2 days. There is also a short 6-hour schedule (but not suitable for cargo ships).

The distance from the Earth to the ISS ranges from 413 to 429 kilometers.

Life on the ISS - what astronauts do

Each crew conducts scientific experiments ordered from the research institutes of their country.

There are several types of such studies:

• educational;
• technical;
• ecological;
• biotechnology;
• biomedical;
• research of living and working conditions in orbit;
• exploration of space and planet Earth;
• physical and chemical processes in space;
• study solar system other.

Who is on the ISS now

At the moment, the following personnel continue to maintain watch in orbit: Russian cosmonaut Sergei Prokopiev, Serena Aunyon-Chancellor from the USA and Alexander Gerst from Germany.

The next launch was scheduled from the Baikonur cosmodrome on October 11, but due to an accident, the flight did not take place. At the moment, it is not yet known which of the astronauts will fly to the ISS and when.

How to get in touch with the ISS

In fact, anyone has a chance to contact the International Space Station. This requires special equipment:

• transceiver;
• antenna (for the frequency range 145 MHz);
• rotary device;
• a computer that will calculate the orbit of the ISS.

Today every astronaut has a high-speed Internet connection. Most specialists contact friends and family via Skype, maintain personal pages on Instagram and Twitter, Facebook, where they post stunningly beautiful photos of our green planet.

How many times the ISS orbits the Earth per day

The speed of rotation of the ship around our planet - 16 times a day... This means that in one day, astronauts can meet the sunrise 16 times and watch the sunset 16 times.

The ISS rotation speed is 27,700 km / h. This speed prevents the station from falling to Earth.

Where is the ISS at the moment and how to see it from Earth

Many are interested in the question: is it realistic to see the ship with the naked eye? Due to the constant orbit and large size, anyone can see the ISS.

You can view the ship in the sky both during the day and at night, but it is recommended to do this at night.

In order to find out the flight time over your city, you need to subscribe to the NASA mailing list. You can monitor the movement of the station in real time thanks to the special Twisst service.

Conclusion

If you see a bright object in the sky, it is not always a meteorite, comet or star. Knowing how to distinguish the ISS with the naked eye, you definitely will not be mistaken in a celestial body.

You can learn more about the ISS news, see the movement of the object on the official website: http://mks-online.ru.

April 12 is the day of cosmonautics. And of course, it would be wrong to bypass this holiday. Moreover, this year the date will be special, 50 years from the date of the first manned flight into space. It was on April 12, 1961 that Yuri Gagarin accomplished his historic feat.

Well, man cannot do without grandiose superstructures in space. This is exactly what the International Space Station is.

The dimensions of the ISS are small; length - 51 meters, width with trusses - 109 meters, height - 20 meters, weight - 417.3 tons. But I think everyone understands that the uniqueness of this superstructure is not in its size, but in the technologies used to operate the station in open space. The orbit of the ISS is 337-351 km above the ground. The orbital speed is 27,700 km / h. This allows the station to complete a revolution around our planet in 92 minutes. That is, every day the cosmonauts on the ISS meet 16 sunrises and sunsets, 16 times the night changes the day. Now the ISS crew consists of 6 people, and in general, over the entire period of operation, the station received 297 visitors (196 different people). The start of operation of the International Space Station is considered November 20, 1998. And at the moment (04/09/2011) the station has been in orbit for 4523 days. During this time, it has evolved quite strongly. I suggest you make sure of this by looking at the photo.

ISS, 1999.

ISS, 2000.

ISS, 2002.

ISS, 2005.

ISS, 2006.

ISS, 2009.

ISS, March 2011.

Below is a diagram of the station, from which you can find out the names of the modules and also see the places of the ISS docking with other spaceships.

The ISS is an international project. 23 states participate in it: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg (!!!), Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, USA, Finland, France, Czech Republic , Switzerland, Sweden, Japan. After all, not a single state can financially master the construction and maintenance of the functionality of the International Space Station alone. It is not possible to calculate the exact or even approximate costs for the construction and operation of the ISS. The official figure has already exceeded $ 100 billion, and if you add all the incidental costs here, you get about $ 150 billion. The International Space Station is already doing this. the most expensive project throughout the history of mankind. And based on the latest agreements between Russia, the United States and Japan (Europe, Brazil and Canada are still in thought) that the ISS service life has been extended at least until 2020 (and possibly further extension), the total costs of maintaining the station will increase even more.

But I propose to digress from the numbers. Indeed, in addition to scientific value, the ISS has other advantages. Namely, the opportunity to appreciate the pristine beauty of our planet from orbital altitude. And it is not at all necessary for this to go out in open space.

Because the station has its own observation deck, a glazed module "Dome".

Manned Orbital Multipurpose Space Research Complex

The International Space Station (ISS), created for scientific research in space. Construction began in 1998 and is carried out with the cooperation of the aerospace agencies of Russia, the United States, Japan, Canada, Brazil and the European Union, and is scheduled to be completed by 2013. When completed, the plant will weigh approximately 400 tons. The ISS revolves around the Earth at an altitude of about 340 kilometers, making 16 revolutions per day. The station will roughly operate in orbit until 2016-2020.

Ten years after the first space flight made by Yuri Gagarin, in April 1971, the world's first space orbital station Salyut-1 was launched into orbit. Long-term habitable stations (DOS) were necessary for scientific research. Their creation was a necessary stage in the preparation of future human flights to other planets. During the implementation of the Salyut program from 1971 to 1986, the USSR had the opportunity to test the main architectural elements of space stations and subsequently use them in the project of a new long-term orbital station - Mir.

Decay Soviet Union led to a reduction in funding space program Therefore, Russia alone could not only build a new orbital station, but also keep the Mir station operational. Then the Americans had practically no experience in creating DOS. In 1993, US Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin signed an agreement on space cooperation "Mir - Shuttle". The Americans agreed to finance the construction of the last two modules of the Mir station: Spectrum and Priroda. In addition, the United States from 1994 to 1998 made 11 flights to Mir. The agreement also provided for the creation of a joint project - the International Space Station (ISS). In addition to the Federal Space Agency of Russia (Roscosmos) and the US National Aerospace Agency (NASA), the Japanese Aerospace Research Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA, which includes 17 participating countries), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) took part in the project. as well as the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB). India and China expressed their interest in participating in the ISS project. On January 28, 1998, the final agreement was signed in Washington to start construction of the ISS.

The ISS has a modular structure: its different segments were created by the efforts of the countries participating in the project and have their own specific function: research, residential, or are used as storage facilities. Some of the modules, for example the American modules of the Unity series, are jumpers or serve for docking with transport ships. When completed, the ISS will consist of 14 main modules with a total volume of 1,000 cubic meters; a crew of 6 or 7 people will be permanently aboard the station.

The weight of the ISS after the completion of its construction, according to plans, will be more than 400 tons. The station is roughly the size of a football field. In the starry sky, it can be observed with the naked eye - sometimes the station is the brightest celestial body after the Sun and the Moon.

The ISS revolves around the Earth at an altitude of about 340 kilometers, making 16 revolutions a day around it. Scientific experiments are carried out on board the station in the following areas:

• Research of new medical methods of therapy and diagnostics and means of life support in zero gravity conditions
• Research in the field of biology, the functioning of living organisms in outer space under the influence of solar radiation
• Experiments to study earth's atmosphere, cosmic rays, cosmic dust and dark matter
• Study of the properties of matter, including superconductivity.

The first module of the station - Zarya (weighs 19.323 tons) - was launched into orbit by the Proton-K launch vehicle on November 20, 1998. This module was used at an early stage of the station's construction as a source of electricity, also for attitude control and temperature maintenance. Subsequently, these functions were transferred to other modules, and Zarya began to be used as a warehouse.

The Zvezda module is the main living module of the station; it contains life support and control systems for the station. Russian transport ships Soyuz and Progress dock to it. The module, two years later, was launched into orbit by the Proton-K launch vehicle on July 12, 2000 and docked on July 26 with the Zorya and previously launched into orbit by the American docking module Unity-1.

The Pirs docking module (weighs 3,480 tons) was launched into orbit in September 2001 and serves for docking of the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, as well as for spacewalk. In November 2009, the Search module, almost identical to Pirs, docked with the station.

Russia plans to dock a Multifunctional Laboratory Module (MLM) to the station, after launching in 2012 it should become the station's largest laboratory module weighing more than 20 tons.

The ISS already has laboratory modules from the USA (Destiny), ESA (Columbus) and Japan (Kibo). They and the main nodal segments Harmony, Quest and Unnity were launched into orbit by shuttles.

During the first 10 years of operation, the ISS was visited by more than 200 people from 28 expeditions, which is a record for space stations (only 104 people visited Mir). ISS became the first example of commercialization space flights... Roskosmos, together with Space Adventures, sent space tourists into orbit for the first time. In addition, within the framework of the contract for the purchase of Russian weapons by Malaysia, Roscosmos in 2007 organized the flight to the ISS of the first Malaysian cosmonaut, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.

Among the most serious accidents on the ISS is the crash during the landing of the space shuttle Columbia (Columbia, Columbia) on February 1, 2003. Although Columbia did not dock with the ISS, conducting an independent exploration mission, this disaster led to the fact that shuttle flights were terminated and only resumed in July 2005. This delayed the completion of the station's construction and made the Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft the only means of delivering cosmonauts and cargo to the station. In addition, smoke occurred in the Russian segment of the station in 2006, and the failure of computers in the Russian and American segments was recorded in 2001 and twice in 2007. In the fall of 2007, the crew of the station was engaged in repairing a break in the solar battery that occurred during its installation.

By agreement, each project participant owns its segments on the ISS. Russia owns the Zvezda and Pirs modules, Japan - the Kibo module, ESA - the Columbus module. The solar panels, which, after completion of the station's construction, will generate 110 kilowatts per hour, and the rest of the modules belong to NASA.

The completion of the ISS construction is scheduled for 2013. Thanks to the new equipment delivered to the ISS by the Endeavor shuttle expedition in November 2008, the station's crew will be increased in 2009 from 3 to 6 people. It was originally planned that the ISS station should operate in orbit until 2010, in 2008 another date was called - 2016 or 2020. According to experts, the ISS, unlike the Mir station, will not be drowned in the ocean; it is supposed to use it as a base for assembling interplanetary spacecraft. Despite the fact that NASA spoke in favor of reducing funding for the station, the head of the agency, Michael Griffin, promised to fulfill all US obligations to complete its construction. However, after the war in South Ossetia, many experts, including Griffin, said that the cooling of relations between Russia and the United States could lead to the fact that Roscosmos would stop cooperating with NASA and the Americans would lose the opportunity to send their expeditions to the station. In 2010, US President Barack Obama announced the end of funding for the Constellation program, which was supposed to replace the shuttles. In July 2011, the Atlantis shuttle made its last flight, after which the Americans had to rely indefinitely on Russian, European and Japanese colleagues to deliver cargo and astronauts to the station. In May 2012, the Dragon spacecraft, owned by the private American company SpaceX, docked with the ISS for the first time.

International Space Station. It is a 400-ton structure, consisting of several dozen modules with an internal volume of over 900 cubic meters, and is home to six space explorers. The ISS is not just the largest structure ever created by man in space, but also a real symbol. international cooperation... But this colossus did not appear out of nowhere - to create it, it took over 30 launches.

It all started with the Zarya module, delivered into orbit by the Proton launch vehicle in November 1998.

Two weeks later, the Unity module went into space aboard the space shuttle Endeavor.

The Endeavor crew docked two modules, which became the main ones for the future ISS.

The third element of the station was the Zvezda residential module, launched in the summer of 2000. Interestingly, Zvezda was originally designed as a replacement for the base module of the Mir orbital station (AKA Mir 2). But the reality that followed after the collapse of the USSR made its own adjustments, and this module became the heart of the ISS, which, in general, is also not bad, because only after its installation it became possible to send long-term expeditions to the station.

The first crew went to the ISS in October 2000. Since then, the station has been continuously inhabited for over 13 years.

In the same fall of 2000, the ISS was visited by several shuttles, which mounted a power module with the first set of solar panels.

In winter 2001, the ISS was replenished with the Destiny laboratory module, delivered into orbit by the Atlantis shuttle. Destiny was docked to the Unity module.

The main assembly of the station was carried out by shuttles. In 2001-2002, they delivered external storage platforms to the ISS.

Arm-manipulator "Kanadarm2".

Airlocks "Quest" and "Pier".

And most importantly, the elements of the truss structures, which were used for storing cargo outside the station, installing radiators, new solar panels and other equipment. The total length of the farms to date reaches 109 meters.

2003 year. Due to the disaster of the space shuttle Columbia, work on the assembly of the ISS has been suspended for almost three to three years.

2005 year. Finally, the shuttles return to space and station construction resumes.

The shuttles are delivering new truss elements into orbit.

With their help, new sets of solar batteries are being installed on the ISS, which makes it possible to increase its power supply.

In autumn 2007, the ISS is replenished with the Harmony module (it docks with the Destiny module), which in the future will become a connecting node for two research laboratories: the European Columbus and the Japanese Kibo.

In 2008, Columbus is delivered into orbit by a shuttle and docks with Harmony (the lower left module at the bottom of the station).

March 2009. Shuttle Discovery delivers the final fourth set of solar arrays into orbit. Now the station is operating at full capacity and can receive a permanent crew of 6 people.

In 2009, the station is being replenished with the Russian Poisk module.

In addition, the assembly of the Japanese "Kibo" begins (the module consists of three components).

February 2010. The "Tranquility" module is added to the "Unity" module.

The famous "Dome", in turn, joins the "Tranquility".

It is so good to make observations from it.

Summer 2011 - shuttles retire.

But before that, they tried to deliver to the ISS as much equipment and equipment as possible, including robots specially trained to kill all humans.

Fortunately, by the time the shuttles retire, the assembly of the ISS is almost complete.

But still not completely. It is planned that in 2015 the Russian laboratory module "Science" will be launched, which will replace the "Pirs".

In addition, it is possible that an experimental inflatable module "Bigelow", which is now being created by "Bigelow Aerospace", will be docked to the ISS. If successful, it will become the first space station module built by a private company.

However, there is nothing surprising in this - the private Dragon truck flew to the ISS in 2012, and why not private modules appear? Although it is of course obvious that will pass yet a fair amount of time before private companies can build structures similar to the ISS.

Until this happens, it is planned that the ISS will operate in orbit until at least 2024 - although I personally hope that in reality this period will be much longer. Yet, too much human effort has been put into this project to be shut down due to immediate economy rather than scientific considerations. And even more so, I sincerely hope that no political squabbles will affect the fate of this unique building.

2018 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most significant international space projects, the largest man-made Earth satellite - the International Space Station (ISS). 20 years ago, on January 29, in Washington, an Agreement was signed on the creation of a space station, and already on November 20, 1998, construction of the station began - from the BAIKONUR cosmodrome, the Proton launch vehicle was successfully launched with the first module - the functional cargo block (FGB) Zarya ". In the same year, on December 7, the second element of the orbital station, the Unity connecting module, was docked with the Zarya FGB. Two years later, the station has a new addition - the Zvezda service module.

On November 2, 2000, the International Space Station (ISS) began its work in manned mode. Spaceship Soyuz TM-31 with the crew of the first long-term expedition docked to the Zvezda service module.The spacecraft rendezvous with the station was carried out according to the scheme that was used during flights to the Mir station. Ninety minutes after docking, the hatch was opened, and the ISS-1 crew first stepped on board the ISS.The ISS-1 crew included Russian cosmonauts Yuri GIDZENKO, Sergey KRIKALEV and American astronaut William SHEPERD.

Arriving at the ISS, the cosmonauts carried out the deactivation, retrofitting, launch and adjustment of the Zvezda, Unity and Zarya module systems and established communication with the mission control centers in Korolev, Moscow Region and Houston. Within four months, 143 sessions of geophysical, biomedical and technical research and experiments were performed. In addition, the ISS-1 team provided docking with the Progress M1-4 cargo spacecraft (November 2000), Progress M-44 (February 2001) and the American shuttles Endeavor (Endeavor, December 2000) , Atlantis (Atlantis; February 2001), Discovery (Discovery; March 2001) and their unloading. Also in February 2001, the expedition team integrated the Destiny laboratory module into the ISS.

On March 21, 2001, with the American space shuttle Discovery, which delivered the crew of the second expedition to the ISS, the team of the first long-term mission returned to Earth. The landing site was the JF Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA.

In subsequent years, the Quest airlock, the Pirs docking bay, the Harmony connecting module, the Columbus laboratory module, the Kibo cargo and research module, the Search small research module, were docked to the International Space Station. residential module "Tranquility", viewing module "Domes", small research module "Dawn", multifunctional module "Leonardo", test transformable module "BEAM".

Today the ISS is the largest international project, a manned space station used as a multipurpose space research facility. This global project involves space agencies ROSCOSMOS, NASA (USA), JAXA (Japan), CSA (Canada), ESA (European countries).

With the creation of the ISS, it became possible to carry out scientific experiments in the unique conditions of microgravity, in a vacuum and under the influence of cosmic radiation. The main areas of research - physical and chemical processes and materials in space, Earth exploration and space exploration technologies, man in space, space biology and biotechnology. Much attention in the work of astronauts on the International Space Station is paid to educational initiatives and the popularization of space research.

ISS is a unique experience of international cooperation, support and mutual assistance; construction and operation in a near-earth orbit of a large engineering structure, which is of paramount importance for the future of all mankind.