How long does it take the International Space Station to orbit the Earth ______ minutes?
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft that orbitis around Earth every 90 minutes. It is not only a science laboratory but also serves as a home to crews of astronauts and Cosmonauts.
Its laboratory has components from the United States, Russia, Japan, and Europe.
The space station is used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists to learn more about living and working in space. The research here will make it possible to send humans farther into space than ever before.
History
Originally called 'Freedom' in the 1980s, then U.S. President Ronald Reagan authorised NASA to build the space station. It was redesigned in the 1990s to reduce costs and expand international involvement, at which time it was renamed.
In 1993, the U.S. and Russia agreed to merge their separate space station plans into a single facility and incorporate contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan.
It took 10 years and more than 30 missions to assemble the space station. It was launched in 1998 with the help of the U.S., Russia, Canada, Japan, and the participating countries of the ESA. The first piece of the ISS was launched in November 1998. The ISS is the size of a large five-bedroom house or a football field and is able to support a crew of six people and some visitors
It is made up of several parts that were assembled in space by astronauts. The first crew reached the space station on November 2, 2000. People have lived on the space station ever since.
International Space Station
The space station is equal to a five-bedroom house or the size of a football field and is able to support a crew of six people, plus visitors. The laboratories in the space station help the crew members to do research that could not be done anywhere else.
At the ISS, the scientists also study what happens to the human body when people live in microgravity (place where there is almost no gravity) for a long time.
The space station has solar arrays, which collect energy from the sun to provide electrical power. The arrays are connected to the station with a long truss, which is a beam that is the backbone of the space station.
There are radiators on the truss that control the space station's temperature. Astronauts reach the space station on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft Operating the space station is more complicated than other space flight programmes as it is an international programme. Each partner is mainly responsible for managing and running the hardware it provides It is the largest space station ever constructed and yet it continues to be assembled in orbit.
Till now, it has been visited by astronauts from 18 countries During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the U.S.. President Joe Biden said that India and the US. will collaborate to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS in 2024.
Picture Credit: Google
