The International Space Station

                Table of Contents

Introduction...........................................................6

What is the International Space Station?...........8

History...................................................................10

Big Problem..........................................................12

Conclusion............................................................14

Glossary.................................................................16

Citations................................................................18

                         Introduction

    Did you know that the International Space Station is the largest satellite currently orbiting the Earth? The International Space Station (ISS) is a research base for astronauts that is orbiting the earth. The International Space Station is an important base for space research.

This is a computer generated image of the International Space Station.

What is the International Space                           Station?

    What is the International Space Station? The ISS is a base for scientific research where astronauts live and work while it orbits around the Earth. The ISS is made up of lots of different parts, known as modules that were all taken into space separately and put together there. More than 15 countries have taken part in making the ISS what it is today. The International Space Station is an amazing show of international effort.

An astronaut working on the ISS.

                        History

    The history of the International Space Station is very interesting to learn about. The ISS is the ninth space station with people on it to orbit around the Earth. In the 1980s President Ronald Reagan gave NASA permission to start building a space station called Freedom, and gave them 10 years to do so; they were going to carry out this plan with Europe, Canada, and Japan. At around the same time Russia was also going to build a space station called Mir 2, but in 1993 they decided to combine the stations and the plan to build the International Space Station had been born. The SpaceX Dragon was the first privately owned spacecraft to take astronauts to the ISS in 2012. The International Space Station will continue to grow as the years go by.

This is a photo of the SpaceX launch to the ISS.

                  Big Problem

    The Columbia space shuttle disaster was one of the worst problems that happened to the International Space Station. On February 1, 2003, the Columbia space shuttle fell apart when it was trying to get back into Earth's atmosphere, sadly all seven crew members on board were killed in the accident. For a little while after that shuttle flights were delayed until NASA could be sure they would be safe for everyone on board. After an investigation it turned out that a big piece of foam had fallen from a part of the shuttle. The solution to this problem was to have astronauts fly to the ISS on Russian Soyuz rockets or privately owned spacecraft like the SpaceX Dragon. This was a terrible day for a lot of people, but hopefully this accident will help us prevent such terrible things in the future.