Monday 7 February 2011

Why the International Space Station is Valuable.

This month, the ISS will become truly international. At the moment an unmanned Russian progress space truck, and a Japanese vehicle called Kounotori are attached to the station. They came to deliver food and now serve as temporary accomodation units, and by the end of their live time will serve as garbage disposal.
Next week the European Space Agency robot delivery craft, Johannes Kepler, wich carries with it more than seven tonnes of propellant, supplies and oxygen, will join the other two craft.

The vehicle is carried into space by an Ariane 5 ES launch vehicle and give the European spaceflight programme increased independence. This will become important after the discontinuing of the NASA Space Shuttle program, later this year, when provisioning of the ISS will become dependent on the Russian Cosmodrome at Baikonur.

Artists impression of "Johannes Kepler" approaching the ISS. (Credit: ESA)

The last Space shuttle, Atlantis, will visit the ISS in June, after that other partners of NASA will supply and provide transport from and to the station.
Each shuttle launch costs NASA $ 500 million, something it can simply no longer afford. The station itself is the costliest project ever undertaken by mankind.
To say however that the station should have never been built misses the point. Occupied for more than 10 years, the station has been the only living outpost in space for that time.
Every future manned mission to space will have profited in some form from the ISS. Whether that be in how to best retrain muscles after a stay in microgravity, or experiments conducted on the effect of space on organisms.

Any future journey to the moon, or Mars, will build on lessons learned aboard the ISS.



I've realised I took a bit to come to the point here...
Anyways I'll probably write about something not space next. Although maybe the next post will be on Wednesday. I might not have enough time tomorrow.

47 comments:

  1. This space exploration is really exciting stuff.

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  2. i love space !!! BTW Following

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  3. to think that all we know is just based on this teeny tiny spot in the universe called earth, and that there's just incomprihendably much knowledge out there somewhere is just facinates me. even more so when we are on the verge of getting the gear needed to go out and discover that knowledge

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  4. OH yeah
    I love your blog, I talk differently but about similar topics.
    damn, I'm celebrating each spall step towards the space

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  5. wow, most expensive project in human history...that's cool to know. So, how many countries have to attach modules before this thing can turn into Voltron?

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  6. I feel like this would be awesome if I was little and I could build a model of it out of legos

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  7. Relatively the most expensive - as value changes hugely through time (I'd say the pyramids in Giza were pretty expensive - if not comparatively expensive), that said - I think to create a place where people can literally live in space is one of mankinds most necessary and comendable achievements - every step closer we come to being able to live independant of Earth is a step in the right direction.

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  8. That is cool. I love space. I can't wait for some day when vacations to other planets replace things like vacations to Rome or something.

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  9. when will it be mine turn to go to mars

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  10. I don't mind you posting about space. It' very interesting.

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  11. I heard the ISS is going to be abandoned soon. It doesn't seem like it went up that long a go. What do I know though lol

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  12. interesting stuff. i want to live in space already.

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  13. So cool, always loved the space stuff since I was a little kid.

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  14. Np with space posts.. keep them coming !

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  15. I remember when the ISS was first launched, it seemed cool, I thought we'd get constant reports. And the reports, while not constant, ahve come. I just expected it to be bigger. But, I am happy that we're still benefiting from it, as well as the inclusion of Russia and Japan.

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  16. We're abandoning the Space Shuttle program?

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  17. It's kind of depressing to see the fall of the space program.

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  18. The space programme isn't abandoned. Only the shuttles. And they are replaced with private company providing the services. I've written about that a few posts back. :)

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  19. I've always wanted to go to space :(

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  20. It gives me shivers to think about this

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  21. Space exploration is just such an exciting field.

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  22. They also need it to generate some tourist dollars...

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  23. Now we wait to tour of the ISS to go for $50 million.

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  24. I love your space posts, just sayin'. Vote of approval :p

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  25. I hope humans can make it to Mars before I pass away.

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  26. We need more space adventures. \o/ I'd rather fund that then other projects

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  27. You now realize that before humans get in space for sure you'll be dead or to old to move.

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  28. I enjoy space stuff, keep going. Wish I could visit space someday.

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  29. i think the space station is a wonderful idea. one of the astronauts that was up there went to my school, told some really neat stories at a presentation.

    http://underratedfilms.blogspot.com/

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  30. oh space traveling is really amazing. i wonder when it will be open for public

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  31. When it'll crash I hope it will be on Cthulhu's face !

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  32. Azathoth is in the space eating all the NASA stuff

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  33. Getting ever closer to residing in outer space...

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  34. Step by step...gotta crawl before you can walk.

    U Laugh U Lose
    http://ulaughulose.blogspot.com/

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  35. I'd love to travel to space....never gonna happen tho :(

    x

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  36. It's sad that we have to waste so much material after a mission, though it is cool that we're getting farther knowledge for space.
    It just reminds me of Dead Space in a way, which prooobably isn't a good thing, hahaha.
    Awesome blog!!

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  37. W-O-W. I had no idea 500 million dollars went into this project! I guess that it makes me feel good that THIS is the most expensive project in history, though. I would have figured man-kind would have pissed away more money on something quite stupid and useless. So it's a relief that this is the most expensive!

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  38. At first I thought $500 million seems like quite a small figure relative to the budget for the space program.
    $500 million per launch. Oh. Haha.
    Following, very interested in space news.

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  39. the ISS is a bureaucratic nightmare, but it's nice to see countries come together and make things happen in space.

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  40. I'm for government budget cuts, but not budget cuts to NASA. We get too much out of NASA.

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  41. Space exporation is the way to go and I imagine a lot of useful experiments are performed to make longer missions possible. No way they should reduce funding to that!

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  42. I've read a lot of your posts, and am now commenting; I just wanted to say that I almost always have found what you post interesting. Keep 'em coming!

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  43. It's a lot of money, but I think the space program is one of those things that will continue to benefit us for a long time, unlike short term programs that nobody will care about in even 5 years, let alone 10 or 100.

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  44. Cool post! Very nice background aswell. Hope you come back to some space info soonish :)

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