Question

A trip to space station-article

Answer 1

An international space station The core module of the International Space Station was launched in 1998.

The ISS is divided into two main sections, the Russian orbital segment (ROS), and the United States operational segment (USOS).

USOS modules were brought to the station by the Space Shuttle and manually attached to the ISS by crews during EVAs. Connections are made manually for electrical, data, propulsion and cooling fluids. This results in a single piece which is not designed for disassembly.



ISS under construction

The Russian orbital segment's modules are able to launch, fly and dock themselves without human intervention using Proton rockets.Connections are automatically made for power, data and propulsion fluids and gases. The Russian approach allows assembly of space stations orbiting other worlds in preparation for human missions. The Nauka module of the ISS will be used in the 12th Russian/Soviet space station, OPSEK, whose main goal is supporting human deep space exploration.

Russian Modular or 'next generation' space stations differ from 'Monolithic' single piece stations by allowing reconfiguration of the station to suit changing needs. According to a 2009 report, RKK Energia is considering methods to remove from the station some modules of the Russian Orbital Segment when the end of mission is reached for the ISS and use them as a basis for a new station, known as the Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex. None of these modules would have reached the end of their useful lives in 2016 or 2020. The report presents a statement from an unnamed Russian engineer who believes that, based on the experience from Mir, a thirty-year life should be possible, except for micrometeorite damage, because the Russian modules have been built with on-orbit refurbishment in mind.

Tiangong (2011–present)

Main article: Tiangong program

China's first space laboratory, Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011. The uncrewed Shenzhou 8 then successfully performed an automatic rendezvous and docking in November 2011. The crewed Shenzhou 9 then docked with Tiangong-1 in June 2012, the crewed Shenzhou 10 in 2013. Tiangong-2 was launched in September 2016 and another space laboratory, Tiangong-3, was expected to be launched in subsequent years, paving the way for the construction of a larger space station around 2020, but was merged with Tiangong-2 and therefore not ordered.

In September 2016 it was reported that the Tiangong-1 is falling back to earth and will burn in the atmosphere during 2017.

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