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RUTH LAW
DAYTONA'S PIONEER AVIATOR
To “enable long term exploration of space and
provide benefits to people on earth”......
International Space Station (ISS)
1998
Construction of the International Space Station began in
low earth orbit in 1998, and is due for completion in
2011, with operation expected until 2015. The ISS is an
internationally developed research facility (America,
Russia, Europe and Japan) larger than any previous
space station. The ISS is a research laboratory in which
crews conduct experiments in biology, human biology,
physics, astronomy and meteorology. In addition, the
environment allows for testing of spacecraft systems that
will be required for missions to the Moon and Mars. Its
mass can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.
The ISS Expedition has been continuously staffed since
November, 2000, and as of December 2009, a crew of 22
is aboard. It has been visited by astronauts and
cosmonauts from 15 different nations. The crews fly
missions of several months in length to conduct scientific
experiments each day.
The purpose of ISS also includes educational outreach
and international cooperation. Currently the station
consists of 11 pressurized modules and an integrated
truss structure. Power is provided by 16 solar arrays
mounted on the external truss, with four smaller arrays
on the Russian modules. The ISS is maintained in orbit
between 173 miles and 286 miles in altitude and travels
at an average speed of 17,227 miles per hour. It
completes 15.7 orbits per day.
HER PLACE IN AVIATION HISTORY
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