The International Space Station (ISS) is currently very popular – the orbital laboratory appears, for example, in a new film I.S.S. or series Constellation. The ISS can be described as an icon of cosmonautics, but in addition to being known as a pioneering space laboratory, it also hides a number of lesser-known facts and functions. Web Gizmodo selected the thirteen most interesting.
The ISS orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, continuously for a quarter of a century. It’s a space lab that never stops working, despite the occasional toilet malfunction, air leak, or impromptu backflip. The International Space Station is a marvel of engineering and human ingenuity—from unique firefighting measures adapted to the microgravity environment to a complex water recycling system.
A space cafe full of microbes and mold
Even in space, people may crave a hot cup of morning coffee. Therefore, in 2015, an espresso machine designed to work in zero gravity appeared on the ISS. Italian coffee company Lavazza, aerospace company Argotec and the Italian Space Agency collaborated on the machine with the characteristic name ISSpresso.
The device works using a standard NASA beverage pouch connected to a specially designed capsule. The crew puts these components into the machine, which then produces a fragrant and tasty drink.
NASA has put many measures in place to ensure that the ISS will hacker resistant. These include, but are not limited to, isolating networks from the public Internet (yes, the Internet is available on the ISS, but it’s a slower, mirrored version), using encrypted communication links, regularly updating software, and implementing firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
These measures also include the development of a Space Security Best Practices Guide that describes various control mechanisms and strategies for mission cyber security.
Astronauts and their cargo regularly bring microbes to the ISS, creating a unique microbial environment since the first Earth orbit in 1999. More than two hundred missions have contributed to a specific microbial population that NASA is eager to track and understand.
The cramped environment of space, along with the astronauts’ weakened immune systems and more aggressive bacteria, means that even a simple cold in space tends to be much worse than on Earth.
Speaking of microorganisms, the crew of the International Space Station is tempting constant fight against fungi. Because of the high humidity, lack of gravity, and closed environment, mold tends to grow faster on the station than on Earth. This problem requires specific cleaning procedures and has led to research on microbial growth in closed environments.
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Urine odor and water recycling
The air inside the station is constantly forced through air filters, but crew members have described the interior as smelling like ozone, gunpowder, antiseptic, garbage, body odor, hospitals, burnt toast, or “barbecuing gone wrong,” as British astronaut Tim Peake described the smell .
The waste management system also contributes to the unpleasant odors wafting through the laboratory. But as ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti claims, you get used to it after a while.
Supplying water to the ISS is neither cheap nor easy, so it is necessary to use an unconventional solution consisting in recycling the water already present. Last year, during the test of the environmental control and life support system, it was achieved 98% recycling rate of water obtained from astronaut sweat, breath and urine.
It includes a water recovery and treatment system that produces potable water. Advanced dehumidifiers capture moisture from the air in the cabin, and water is also obtained from astronauts’ urine through vacuum distillation. Water from feces cannot be recycled, but NASA is said to be working on this possibility.
The dome nicknamed “the window to the world”
The ISS first orbited Earth in 1998, but its famous dome – nicknamed the “window to the world” – was not part of the original design. The seven-window cupola, installed in 2010, was added to give the crew a perfect view of Earth and space and improve morale.
Another lesser-known fact is that the dome has protective shutters that close when the windows are not in use to protect them from possible micrometeorite impacts that could have catastrophic consequences if they hit the glass.
Safety first
The space laboratory is prepared for challenging conditions in which it may encounter space debris or a small asteroid. In 2016 according to ESA “a paint flake or a small metal fragment with a maximum diameter of a few thousandths of a millimeter hit the dome window”.
Indeed, micrometeors and various debris sometimes hit the ISS, but they do not leave serious damage because the space station is the most heavily armored spacecraft, that was ever built. But there are some limits: objects larger than 1 centimeter in diameter, flying at speeds exceeding 29,000 km/h, would probably break through the mantle, which would be, in a word, wrong.
The space laboratory is prepared for demanding conditions
Fires in space can be particularly dangerous due to the absence of gravity, which affects the behavior and spread of flames. Fire extinguishers on the ISS, specially designed for the microgravity environment, use a mixture of micro-atomized water and nitrogen gas (or, more simply, a fine water mist) to extinguish fires.
These fire extinguishers work in any orientation and are equipped with an extension rod to reach confined spaces, ensuring effective fire safety in the conditions of the station’s specific environment. ADA Technologies, Wyle and NASA, among others, participated in the development of these fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers arrived on the ISS in 2016, replacing the original CO2 fire extinguishers.
Every once in a while, the ISS needs a boost to cope with orbital descent and maintain its altitude. Although the station is equipped with its own thrusters, these are not sufficient for a large increase in altitude due to limited fuel capacity, lower power, and the need to preserve on-board resources for other important operations (such as orientation control and space debris avoidance).
Therefore, instead they use docked spaceships to provide transfers. Spaceships, specially designed for these purposes, have their own fuel, which minimizes the load on the ISS resources, and more powerful engines that allow substantial adjustments to the orbit. Currently, the only spacecraft officially approved for this mission is the Russian Progress.
Interior of the International Space Station
The station’s exterior is subject to rapid temperature changes as it orbits the Earth, going from sunlight to darkness every 45 minutes. Inside the station, heat does not rise or circulate as it does in Earth’s gravity. Therefore, the ISS relies on a sophisticated thermal regulation system that controls temperature fluctuations and ensures a stable environment.
A complex thermal regulation system stabilizes these extremes with an internal water loop that absorbs heat from the cabin, experiments and equipment. This heat is then transferred to an external loop filled with ammonia via exchangers. Inside the ISS, the temperature is maintained between 18 and 23 degrees Celsius, which ensures a (reasonably) pleasant environment for astronauts and on-board equipment.
A narrow view of the interior of the ISS can give the impression that it is relatively small. The opposite is true – the laboratory it is unexpectedly large in orbit. The living and operational space inside the station exceeds the size of a house, with six sleeping rooms, two toilets and a gymnasium. The outer parts are also large – for example, the wingspan of the solar system, which measures 109 meters, exceeds the length of the largest airliner in the world – the Airbus A380.
The ISS measures 109 meters from one end to the other, which is roughly the length of a football field. The electrical system inside the space station consists of 13 kilometers of cables. In total, the ISS weighs approximately 420 metric tons.
International Space Station to be phased out by 2030but the responsible disposal of the orbital laboratory will not be cheap (it is planned to crash into an uninhabited part of the Pacific Ocean).
A space tug is needed to capture the station and pull it into Earth’s atmosphere for a controlled re-entry. The problem is that the proposed deorbital vehicle is expected to cost $1 billion, according to NASA’s 2024 budget request. That’s a pretty expensive garbage truck.
2024-01-31 14:48:04
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