Early in the space programs of the USA and Soviet Union, each nation began to dream of a semi-permanent presence of astronauts/cosmonauts in space. Drawing upon Skylab experience, the U.S. gradually set upon the idea of the International Space Station. Before this was funded and construction started, the USSR - after it occupied the Salyut station - began its MIR program. After the USSR was dissolved, the Russians and Americans combined their efforts, and invited in other national space programs, to start building the ISS. If all goes well, this facility will be completed by 2010. Its greatest value may be the know-how that develops in keeping humans in space for long periods; this will facilitate a return to the Moon and eventually trips to Mars.
As the Salyut program came to an end, largely because a bigger and more versatile Space Station was an obvious next step, the Soviets conceived, designed, and launched - piece by piece - the components they then assembled in space. This, the MIR station, was for 15 years the premier space facility in orbit. The first component was sent into space on February 20, 1986. The sequence of assembled parts is shown on a Web site that gives the Mir Construction timeline. You can also use this site to learn more about the individual named components and their functions. The next two photos show MIR in space.
The next figure shows a schematic of the fully assembled station, similar to the one presented on the above Web site:
As it was being built, the Soviet Union was in process of dissolution. Strapped for cash to keep its space program going effectively, the Russians, with some continued cooperation from former states that split off, decided to join NASA and other nations in joint use of MIR, even as the U.S. was developing the design and schedule for its own space station, ISS. There were a number of visits to MIR by the Space Shuttle, feasible because the two facilities incorporated appropriate common hardware to allow docking. Here is the Shuttle as attached to MIR.
MIR was manned by astro-/cosmo-nauts over 13 years, 213 days (involving 3287 days of uninterrupted occupation). Much experience was gained in living and performing for weeks at a time. Most of the 128 visits brought crews of six.
Besides the Shuttle, MIR was routinely visited by Soyuz-TM spacecraft carrying personnel. The Russians developed the unmanned Progress-M spacecraft used to deliver supplies and materials to MIR and to cart away refuse as the vehicle returned to Earth. Here are two views of this ferry spacecraft
MIR was the host vehicle for an ambitious remote sensing program. In April, 1996 the Priroda (Russian for "Nature") module was launched and successfully docked onto MIR. Here is a drawing of Priroda with its main instruments:
Because of the importance of Priroda as a multisensor, dedicated system for comprehensive remote sensing activities, the sensors onboard are described here:
Alissa lidar - measured cloud height, structure, optical properties. 150 m vertical resolution, 1 km horizontal resolution
Centaur 400 MHz receiver - used to gather ocean buoy data DOPI interferometer - studies gases and aerosols. 2.4-20 micrometer
Greben ocean altimeter - 10 cm resolution, 13.76 GHz, 2.5 km swath, nadir viewing
Ikar D scanning microwave radiometer system - scanned 40 deg off track with a 400 km swath. 4.0, 0.3, 0.8, 1.35 micrometer wavelengths, resolution up to 5 km and 0.15 deg. K
Ikar N nadir microwave radiometers - 0.3, 0.8, 1.35, 2.25 6.0 micrometer wavelengths, resolution up to 60km and 0.15 deg. K Ikar P panoramic microwave radiometers - 2.25, 6.0 micrometer wavelengths, 750 km swath, resolution up to 75 km and 0.15 deg. K
Istok 1 IR spectroradiometer - wavelengths between 4.0-16.0 micrometer, 7 km swath, 0.7 x 2.8 km resolution
MOS-Obzor spectrometer - measured aerosol profile and ocean reflectance. 17 channels between 0.750-1.01 micrometer, 80 km swath, 700 m resolution
MOMS 02P Earth imager - 4 channels between 0.440-0.810 micrometer. Multi spectral, stereo or high resolution data, 6 km resolution. German instrument, initially flown aboard Spacelab D2 on Shuttle.
MSU-E2 high resolution optical scanner - 10 m resolution, 3 channels between 0.5 and 0.9 micrometer, nadir viewing, 2 x 24.5 km swaths
Ozon M spectrometer - used for ozone/aerosol profiles. 160 channels between 0.257-1.155 micrometer, 1 km altitude resolution
Travers Synthetic Aperture Radar - 1.28/3.28 GHz, 50 km swath, 38 deg. look angle, 50 m resolution
MIR was in many ways a large success. But it experienced numerous, sometimes dangerous, problems over its lifetime. So, with fond regrets, the Russians brought about its removal from space by a fiery reentry on March 28, 2001.
Soyuz, Progress-M, and the Shuttle continue as viable means of bringing 'nauts and materials to a new and grander platform, the International Space Station (ISS), even now still under construction. The need for safe, adept reusable transport craft to replace these vehicles has caused serious "brainstorming" of new designs and technologies by space organizations worldwide. Here is a panel showing 4 candidate spacecraft, sometimes referred to as space planes, from which one may be selected, or an as-yet new version will evolve (the so-called Crew Exploration Vehicle [CEV]).
The story of ISS is quite involved, with interesting details beyond the limits on this page. A good overview of the ISS history and status can be found at this Wikipedia website. The site also reviews such ISS topics as politics and costs, contributions by multinational partners, problems being encountered, stages and schedules for completion, and purposes/goals for the station's use as a practical platform in space.
The ISS grew out of a combination of two space station programs. The Soviets began planning for MIR-2 in 1982, with launch in the early '90s. President Reagan announced a new program to build Space Station Freedom in 1984. After the Cold War ended, the two nations decided to combine their space station plans and to ask other nations (16 at present) to contribute equipment, personnel, and monetary resources, thus making this a true "International" Space Station. Early plans for a final station were grandiose, but doable. This is an artist's view of the initial ISS after it would become fully constructed:
The next figure is a drawing that shows the hoped-for actual final ISS (completed by end of 2010), assuming the Space Shuttle after its return to service meets its schedule, and has no accidents. The Shuttle is the only vehicle presently capable of handling payloads that include large components.
One of the current uncertainties is the ability of the Russian program to deliver its promised major components. These are shown in the diagram below:
One of the more important components is the final quarters (Habitation Module) that will serve to house the humans living in the ISS. Here is one version:
The joint construction of the ISS began in 1998. The first component, the Zarya Cargo module, was placed in orbit on November 20.
Subsequent Shuttle and Soyuz flights have added some of the essential components. The station grew to the point where it could be occupied comfortably by a crew of three (the final ISS should be able to accommodate 6 or 7 passengers). The initial occupying crew arrived on October 21, 2000 and dedicated the ISS (as Station Alpha) on November 2. Here is a picture of the ISS soon thereafter.
The next photo shows the stage of ISS building as of October, 2002.
The Columbia disaster halted all assembly work from 2003 til 2006, but ISS-Alpha has stayed in good shape. It was photographed in 2003 by a high resolution camera from Earth and later by a Russian cosmonaut.
Resumption of building of the ISS was initiated with STS-115 in September of 2006. Currently, there are continuous 2 or 3person crews on the ISS, usually one American and one Russian. A Soyuz vehicle remains docked at the station in case of need for emergency evacuation. The total cost of building the ISS will be at least $56 billion (and probably more). Its planned operational lifetime is 15 years, but the shut-down date, which could be as early at 2013 based on start time, will likely be extended owing to the hiatuses involved when visits were not made.
President George W. Bush's 2004 directive to NASA outlining the administration's proposals for the U.S. space program for the next two decades included among its goals a return to the Moon. One option being considered would be to establish a fixed lunar base, manned by astronauts/cosmonauts for extended periods (using unmanned supply ships). Such a base would allow certain experiments to be done better than in most other environments. One task may be to set up a powerful telescope for astronomical observations. Implicit in this goal is the further hope for extraterrestrial planetary exploration, such as visiting and then setting up base(s) on Mars. These "pie-in-the-sky" events are not so far-fetched and may indeed come to pass in the 21st century. A motivating factor behind developing these bases is the "dream" of someday establishing colonies on Mars or other bodies. Imaginative and elaborate schemes for producing oxygen and water, and growing foodstuffs, in colonies have been worked out by space visionaries.
The Russians, with their financing problems, hit upon a novel way to attract money from non-governmental sources to support their continuing participation in space station activities. They trained and then launched during a regular Soyuz mission a rich civilian, Dennis Tito, and brought him aboard the ISS for a brief stay, charging $20 million dollars for this privilege. NASA officials were not "charmed" by this enterprising approach to selling space travel to the populace.
Since then the South African Mark Shuttleworth, the American Greg Olsen, and the Iranian-American Anousheh Anwari have each become paying space tourists on the ISS. This form of entrepeneurship is an example of the trend to commercialize "space" in various ways (discussed two pages hence).
Primary Author: Nicholas M. Short, Sr.