The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth at an altitude of 360km. The ISS has been continuously inhabited since the first resident
crew entered the station on November 2, 2000, thereby providing a permanent human presence in space. The construction of this satellite was a joint effort, bringing
together the resources of NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency
(ESA). The station is serviced primarily by Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft and by US Space Shuttle orbiters.
Europe, working through ESA, is exclusively responsible for two key Station elements: the European Columbus laboratory and the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).
Columbus is a multifunction laboratory that specializes in research into fluid physics, materials science and life sciences. ATV is a supply ship lifted into orbit
by the Ariane-5 launcher, which will carry up to nine tons of cargo, including provisions, scientific payloads and rocket propellant. Once docked, the craft can use
its motor to boost the Station higher in its orbit, thus counteracting the faint drag from the Earth’s atmosphere. Europe’s scientists and engineers also contribute
other elements, equipment and design skills across much of the ISS.
At the annual conference of the American Astronautical Society in November 2007, the ISS partnership received the society’s award for the advancement of international
cooperation. The partnership was chosen for its outstanding cooperation in the design, development, assembly, management and operation of the ISS. The space station
is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken, and the effort involves more than 100,000 people in space agencies, at 500 contractor
facilities and in 37 US states.
URL:
www.nasa.gov/station
www.esa.int/esaHS/iss.html
Collaborators:
USA:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Russia:
Russian Federal Space Agency
Japan:
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Canada:
Canadian Space Agency
Europe:
European Space Agency
