The International Space Station is the result of the joint work of specialists from a number of fields from sixteen countries of the world (Russia, USA, Canada, Japan, states that are members of the European Commonwe alth). The grandiose project, which in 2013 celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of the start of its implementation, embodies all the achievements of the technical thought of our time. An impressive part of the material about the near and far space and some terrestrial phenomena and processes of scientists is provided precisely by the international space station. The ISS, however, was not built in a day; it was preceded by almost thirty years of astronautical history.
How it all began
Orbital stations were the forerunners of the ISS. The indisputable superiority in the matter of their creation was occupied by Soviet technicians and engineers. Work on the Almaz project began at the end of 1964. Scientists were working on a manned orbital station, which could accommodate 2-3 astronauts. It was assumed that "Diamond" will serve for two years and all this time will be used for research. According to the project, the main part of the complex was the OPS - manned orbital station. It housed the working areas of the crew members, as well as the household compartment. The OPS was equipped with two hatches for spacewalks and dropping special capsules with information to Earth, as well as a passive docking station.
The efficiency of the station is largely determined by its energy reserves. The developers of Almaz found a way to increase them many times over. The delivery of astronauts and various cargo to the station was carried out by transport supply ships (TKS). They, among other things, were equipped with an active docking system, a powerful energy resource, and an excellent traffic control system. TKS was able to supply the station with energy for a long time, as well as manage the entire complex. All subsequent similar projects, including the international space station, were created using the same method of saving OPS resources.
First
Rivalry with the United States forced Soviet scientists and engineers to work as quickly as possible, so another orbital station, Salyut, was created as soon as possible. She was taken into space in April 1971. The basis of the station is the so-called working compartment, which includes two cylinders, small and large. Inside the smaller diameter there was a control center, sleeping places and recreation areas, storage and eating. The larger cylinder is a container for scientific equipment, simulators, without whichno such flight is complete, and there was also a shower cabin and a toilet isolated from the rest of the room.
Each next Salyut was somewhat different from the previous one: it was equipped with the latest equipment, had design features that corresponded to the development of technology and knowledge of that time. These orbital stations marked the beginning of a new era in the study of space and terrestrial processes. "Salutes" were the base on which a large amount of research was carried out in the field of medicine, physics, industry and agriculture. It is difficult to overestimate the experience of using the orbital station, which was successfully applied during the operation of the next manned complex.
Peace
It was a long process of accumulating experience and knowledge, the result of which was the international space station. "Mir" - a modular manned complex - its next stage. The so-called block principle of creating a station was tested on it, when for some time the main part of it increases its technical and research power through the addition of new modules. It will subsequently be “borrowed” by the international space station. Mir has become a model of our country's technical and engineering prowess and, in fact, provided it with one of the leading roles in the creation of the ISS.
Work on the construction of the station began in 1979, and it was delivered into orbit on February 20, 1986. All the timethe existence of Mir, various studies were carried out on it. The necessary equipment was delivered as part of additional modules. The Mir station allowed scientists, engineers and researchers to gain invaluable experience in using a spacecraft of this scale. In addition, it has become a place of peaceful international interaction: in 1992, an Agreement on Cooperation in Space was signed between Russia and the United States. It actually began to be implemented in 1995, when the American Shuttle set off for the Mir station.
Flight end
Mir station has become a place of various researches. Here, data in the field of biology and astrophysics, space technology and medicine, geophysics and biotechnology were analyzed, refined and opened.
The station ended its existence in 2001. The reason for the decision to flood it was the development of an energy resource, as well as some accidents. Various versions of the object's rescue were put forward, but they were not accepted, and in March 2001 the Mir station was submerged in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Creation of the international space station: preparatory stage
The idea of creating the ISS arose at a time when the idea of flooding the Mir had never occurred to anyone. The indirect reason for the emergence of the station was the political and financial crisis in our country and economic problems in the United States. Both powers realized their inability to cope alone with the task of creating an orbital station. In the early nineties, a cooperation agreement was signed, one of the clauses of whichwas the international space station. The ISS as a project united not only Russia and the United States, but also, as already noted, fourteen more countries. Simultaneously with the selection of participants, the approval of the ISS project took place: the station will consist of two integrated units, American and Russian, and will be completed in orbit in a modular way similar to Mir.
Zarya
The first international space station began its existence in orbit in 1998. On November 20, with the help of the Proton rocket, the Russian-made Zarya functional cargo unit was launched. It became the first segment of the ISS. Structurally, it was similar to some of the modules of the Mir station. It is interesting that the American side offered to build the ISS directly in orbit, and only the experience of Russian colleagues and the example of Mir persuaded them towards the modular method.
Inside Zarya is equipped with various instruments and equipment, life support systems, docking, power supply, control systems. An impressive amount of equipment, including fuel tanks, radiators, cameras and solar panels, is located on the outside of the module. All exterior elements are protected from meteorites by special screens.
Module by module
On December 5, 1998, the shuttle Endeavor with the American Unity docking module headed for Zarya. Two days later, the Unity was docked to the Zarya. Further, the international space station “acquired” the Zvezda service module, which was also manufactured in Russia. Zvezda was a modernized base unit of the Mir station.
Docking of the new module took place on July 26, 2000. From that moment on, Zvezda took over control of the ISS, as well as all life support systems, and it became possible for the cosmonaut team to stay permanently at the station.
Transition to manned mode
The first crew of the International Space Station was delivered by Soyuz TM-31 on November 2, 2000. It included V. Shepherd - the expedition commander, Yu. Gidzenko - the pilot, S. Krikalev - the flight engineer. From that moment, a new stage in the operation of the station began: it switched to manned mode.
The composition of the second expedition: Yuri Usachev, James Voss and Susan Helms. She changed her first crew in early March 2001.
Study of space and terrestrial phenomena
The International Space Station is a venue for a variety of scientific research. The task of each crew is, among other things, to collect data on some space processes, to study the properties of certain substances under weightless conditions, and so on. Scientific research carried out on the ISS can be presented in the form of a generalized list:
- observation of various distant space objects;
- study of dark matter, cosmic rays;
- Earth observation, including the study of atmospheric phenomena;
- study of the features of physical and biological processes under conditionsweightlessness;
- testing new materials and technologies in outer space;
- medical research, including the development of new drugs, testing of diagnostic methods in weightlessness;
- production of semiconductor materials.
Future
Like any other object subjected to such a heavy load and so intensively exploited, the ISS will sooner or later cease to function at the required level. Initially, it was assumed that its “shelf life” would end in 2016, that is, the station was given only 15 years. However, already from the first months of its operation, assumptions began to sound that this period was somewhat underestimated. Today, hopes are expressed that the international space station will operate until 2020. Then, probably, the same fate awaits her as the Mir station: the ISS will be flooded in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Today, the international space station, the photo of which is presented in the article, successfully continues to orbit around our planet. From time to time in the media you can find references to new research done on board the station. The ISS is also the only object of space tourism: only at the end of 2012, eight amateur astronauts visited it.
It can be assumed that this type of entertainment will only gain momentum, since the Earth from space is a mesmerizing sight. And no photograph compares to the ability to seesimilar beauty from the window of the international space station.
