|
|
|
International Space Station
In December, Space Shuttle Endeavor completed its historic flight to start assembly of the International Space Station. The Endeavor carried the Boeing-built Unity module into orbit (shown here emerging from the shuttle’s cargo bay), which the crew attached to the Russian-built Zarya power unit launched two weeks earlier. Together, the two modules measure about 77 feet from end to end and have a combined mass of 70,000 pounds. They are the first of 100 major components to be united in space over the next five years. Transporting the parts and pieces of the station into orbit will require more than 40 space flights on three different types of launch vehicles. This unprecedented, complex orchestration of space flights will include the Space Shuttle, and Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets. Boeing is prime contractor for the International Space Station, leading the U.S. industry team to build the largest, most complex structure ever placed into orbit. A joint project of the United States and 15 other nations, the station will be a world-class laboratory that will test everything from metals to medicine to make scientific advances that will benefit mankind. Almost a dozen interlocking modules, housing research laboratories, living quarters and support equipment, are planned to provide 46,000 cubic feet of pressurized space, equal to the interior volume of two Boeing 747s. When completed in 2004, the International Space Station will weigh almost a million pounds and measure the length of a football field.
|
