Page 8 - Aerotech News and Review 11-6-15
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Space & Technology News
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Associated Press NASA puts the number of experi-
Humankind marked an off-the- ments at this space station, over the
planet pinnacle Nov. 2: the 15th an- years, at more than 1,760. At the same
niversary of continuous residency at time, there have been 189 spacewalks
the International Space Station. to build and maintain the outpost since
construction began in 1998; No. 190
NASA and its global partners cel- will occur Friday when Kelly and
ebrated the milestone, as did the six Lindgren venture out for the second
astronauts on board. The U.S., Rus- time in 11/2 weeks.
sian and Japanese spacemen planned
a special dinner 250 miles up. As the space station ages, more
maintenance will be required. NASA
Commander Scott Kelly, seven hopes to keep the complex running
months into a yearlong mission, said until 2024.
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is furthering long-term exploration NASA Administrator Charles Bold-
goals deeper into space. en called the milestone “a remarkable
moment 5,478 days in the making.”
“The space station really is a
bridge. It’s a test bed for the tech- “It has taught us about what’s pos-
nologies that we need to develop and sible when tens of thousands of people
understand in order to have a success- across 15 countries collaborate to ad-
ful trip to Mars,” American astronaut vance shared goals,” Bolden said in a
Kjell Lindgren noted during a news statement.
conference.
One sticking point, one to two de-
Since the first permanent crew cades ago, was a name for the place
moved in Nov. 2, 2000, 220 people other than International Space Station
have come and gone, representing 17 — ISS in NASA shorthand.
countries.
The original inhabitants — Ameri-
The United States is in the lead be- can Bill Shepherd and Russians Sergei
FDXVHRIDOOWKHVSDFHVKXWWOHÀLJKWV Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko — chris-
that were needed to deliver station tened their high-flying home Alpha
pieces; Russia is in second place, and when they arrived, but the name
Canada and Japan tied for third. At didn’t last. Kelly remembers wishing
least one American and one Russian back then that the space station had a
have been on board at all times. real name, but the various countries
couldn’t agree on one.
More than 26,500 meals have been
dished up, according to NASA, and “Now, it’s the `space station’ to me
the complex has grown from three and I think it’s a great name,” Kelly
to 13 rooms since 2000. The current told reporters. “The name `Interna-
structure has a mass of nearly 1 mil- tional Space Station’ really represents
lion pounds and as much pressurized what it is. So in some ways, maybe it’s
volume as a Boeing 747. a better name.”
The most important experiment, As for day-to-day life, Japanese as-
Kelly said, is about keeping humans tronaut Kimiya Yui said the space sta-
alive in space. His one-year mission tion has yielded a unique culture given
with Russian Mikhail Kornienko, all the nationalities involved, with the
due to end in March, includes 400 crew members respecting each other.
experiments, many of them medical. If this were practiced back on the
Americans have never spent this long planet, he noted, “the Earth will be a
in space; the Russians have, but it was much better place.”
NASA photograph by Yvette Smith
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8 Aerotech News and Review November 6, 2015
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