If we had to choose which is the most exciting and
futuristic project that man has ever completed, we would probably find
ourselves thinking about that complex and magnificent machine that tirelessly
swings over our heads at an impressive speed. Having become more and more
famous over the years - thanks to ever more decisive media coverage (also
thanks to the improvement of our technologies) - it is now a worldwide star
that fascinates millions of people simply by showing itself from time to time,
when evening falls. .
Yet, despite all this, we often hear questions and doubts
about him: " what is it for? ", " What are you doing up there?
", " Where '"and others similar. Questions often asked innocently,
by those who may have only recently become curious about the world of space,
but who have prompted us to create this article hoping to do something pleasing
to both experts and" novices ". intense tour, starting from the
origins and arriving up to the most likely future that will touch the
"Outpost of humanity in Space." What machine are we talking about?
Surely you have already guessed: welcome to the International Space Station .
Concept and assembly
How did the idea of a space station that could unite
various agencies and nations come about? How was it possible above all to unite
two historical adversaries such as Russia and the United States of America in a
common project that also involved other countries?
The idea of a space station was vivid in engineers and
agencies already during the Cold War, and in this the USSR held the podium,
having put eight in orbit already before 1986, against the only American "
Skylab " ( moreover not modular). Obviously they weren't the outposts we
can imagine today, but they were certainly small engineering miracles already
at the. Although it is often overshadowed, it should not be forgotten that Mir
also played a fundamental role in scientific discoveries, and thanks to the
experience gained by the various astronauts and engineers who worked there, it
was possible to avoid defects and "lightness", it was useful as a
field test for the future (the Mir was in fact also the scene of some more or
less serious accidents , including a dangerous fire that almost suffocated the
two astronauts on board).
The Russian station occupied a dominant place in the space
race, but sadly the agencies at the time did not have the economic and
political support they needed to maintain such a cutting-edge outpost.
Over time - and above all with the political scenario that
changed so drastically (after only 3 years the Berlin Wall collapsed, 1989) -
it became urgent to find new funds to keep one's creations alive; in the
meantime, the US pushed on Russian colleagues in the hope that some sort of
collaboration between the agencies would be opened, in order to divide the
burdens and pursue a common purpose.
In the end, after some friction and disagreements about
which modules and which carriers to use, an agreement was reached : the Mir
would be dismantled (making it deorbit and destroying it in the atmosphere),
leaving the possibility of building a new space station, called "
Internazionale", using the Shuttle and Soyuz vehicles to transport the
various modules into orbit.
The concrete experience of the Soviet personnel, combined
with American technology, not forgetting a good dose of external aid (Canadian,
Chinese and European) led to the creation of the ISS which we all know.
Purpose and meaning
Officially started in 1998 with the first Zarja module , it
was completed after several delays only in 2011, but its operation was already
well underway around 2000, when the first human crew docked on the Station,
remaining there for various work and scientific activities for 136 days.
But what exactly is being done on the Space Station? What is
its ultimate purpose? Answering these questions can seem trivial and complex at
the same time. The simple answer is: "scientific research". A couple
of words that can mean anything, yet contain sacrifices and goals of such
importance that they can change the whole way of lifeof the population here on
Earth. The research fields on the International Space Station are many:
medicine, biology, fluid physics, materials science, astronomy (just to name a
few). Let's think, for example, of how fundamentally important the research on
the adaptation of the human body in an environment of microgravity has been:
although the pure purpose was to improve the adaptability of our body to such
an unusual environment, the "secondary" discoveries have allowed a
marked improvement in human life itself.
Thanks to this research, the conditions of people suffering
from muscle diseases have been greatly improved here on Earthor to bone tissue
(such as osteoporosis, muscle atrophy, fibromyalgia) and this also thanks to
cutting-edge machinery that was initially exclusive to the space program, but
which then - once returned and broken in on land - is it was possible to
"readjust" and reuse them in hospitals and specialized centers.
Think of the energy research: one of the most pressing
headache with which they have to deal engineers and astronauts savings and more
efficient use of stocks of energy . Designing and building more efficient
engines, better performing fuels and even writing leaner lines of code for a
program that can handle these tasks are the main objectives of the entire space
research; once the projects have proved reliable and safe, these discoveries
come into everyday life.
It is not a miraculous change, nor something that comes true
overnight, but small steps taken together by dozens of communities and groups
of scientists, in turn made up of tens of thousands of individuals.
All togetherwe work together to give power to that tireless
forge of dreams that is the human mind. In the end, this is what it is all
about: every big and arduous step pushes us to move, to get busy, to repudiate
mental immobility and to always design new solutions: this is what the ISS can
really represent.
It is true, there are also a thousand other motivations and
facets, perhaps some less noble than others - such as political and economic
interests - but it is a story that has repeated itself many times and in the
end what has really resisted over the years have only been the things that still
bring good to humanity today.
A striking example is what happened during the race to the
Moon in the 1960s: it was clearly a war between nations - the USA and the USSR
- in which many dangers were run (sometimes even reckless) with the aim of
bringing fame and glory. to those who had crossed the finish line first.But
during that race there were many people who committed themselves, without
thinking about the political implications or ulterior motives, only to be able
to push the limits of science even further and give even a tiny more meaning to
the life of men.
The exceptional numbers
The ISS entered into operation as early as the 2000s with
the first human crew on board and from that moment it has never ceased to
become a reference point for every space mission, increasing its importance and
its operations more and more. With an estimated cost of about 100 billion
dollars spread over a span of almost 30 years - a not so excessive value for a
project of this importance, especially if we think for example of the cost of
the US military: over 700 billion dollars a year - the Space Station has
traveled over 160,000 orbits to date , maintaining an average cruising speed of
about 27,000 km / h. It has hosted 240 individuals to date through 63 missions
called " Expeditions. "", keeping the number of men and women on
board between 2 and 6 at a time.
This rule, however, could undergo a slight modification, in
fact the various space agencies plan - by the end of 2020 - to increase the
number of the crew at least 7 members In addition, with Expedition 64 which
will start on 21 October 2020, there will be - but only for a few days - with
11 astronauts at the same time .
There is no danger of the station becoming crowded, as the
housing modules are designed to be much larger than their common use. The
international outpost is also a great place to park , so much so that it has
the ability to moor eight spaceships at the same time.
Although all together they have never seen each other - also
for a safety issue - it is not certain that in the future it cannot happen,
especially now that commercial space travel is becoming an increasingly
consolidated reality.
The hard life of the crew
The charm and importance of this station of ours is not
something achieved with simple luck: they required sweat, important sacrifices
and even some human life. Right now, as you read these words, the astronauts on
the ISS are performing their daily tasks and routines, and although
"working in space" sounds almost like a dream to many of us, in
reality we have to face different situations. , and compromise that perhaps not
everyone would be able to accept.
On average, the life of an astronaut on board has a rather
fast pace, trying to keep the schedules and daily programming of the various
activities in line. You wake up around 06 in the morning (the time on the ISS
follows the UTC standard,Greenwich ) and after two hours dedicated to personal
time, breakfast and morning meeting, the work and duties (scientific
experiments, repairs, maintenance, EVA and so on) begin until lunch time,
usually at 1pm
. then you have an hour's break and then you go back to work
until 7:30 pm. It would seem a very ordinary day, for an ordinary worker, but
we must not forget that the microgravity environment in which astronauts live
makes everything more complex .
In addition to this, the crew must absolutely find the time
to do a good amount of hours of sporting activity (especially running and
weight lifting) in order to reduce as much as possible the wearing effects that
the absence of gravity has on the human body. especially on bones and muscles.
This is also why it is essential to keep a work environment
as peaceful as possible, avoid quarrels or arguments, and keep the stress level
as low as possible. Just to name a few: the lack of running water, the absence
of a real shower and of one's own sanitary comforts, the reduced capacity of
taste (caused by a sort of "weightless cold") can heavily affect the
mood of a person and, although the astronauts are prepared and trained, it is
also true that they have very long stays in front of them on the ISS - no
shorter than 5 or 6 months - and the nerves, you know, can give way.
The future and retirement
Many times there has been discussions about the possible
withdrawal of the International Space Station. However, his retirement is still
uncertain : on the one hand the station is now - objectively - three quarters
of the potential life for which it was designed and should be officially
"old" (according to NASA engineers) around the year 2028 ; on the
other hand, the Station has shown much less failure than expected - above all
thanks to the many repairs and revisions by the various crews that have
followed one another over the years. The NASA thus would extend the period of
existence of the ISS, but there is also to consider another key: keep her alive
would cost money, and ifthe future projects of the American agency are not just
words , so we need to start thinking about the construction and cost of the
next Lunar Gateway (a fundamental step for lunar and Martian exploration).
How then to keep both creatures alive? A possible solution
is to give the ISS to private lenders : it would always remain an international
station (or at least hopefully), but with money from tycoons and private
investors, which could amortize the costs considerably.
We cannot know with certainty what drift this path may take;
there probably won't be the risk of seeing the birth of space stations with
" blackjack and luxury ringing ", but the concrete implications will
be really interesting. Until then we can still enjoy the splendor of a
futuristic machine, in the prime of life, which has given us not only dreams,
but has also directly shown man the best of humanity itself.
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