World’s largest satellite, the International Space Station
Introduction
If you think the Hubble Space Telescope is the world’s largest artificial satellite, then my friend you are wrong. If you think James Webb Space Telescope is the largest one then you are wrong again.
Hubble Space Telescope
These are the satellites which are big of course but not the biggest one. The International Space Station (ISS) is the biggest and heaviest artificial satellite ever made by human.
International Space Station
Artificial satellite is the satellite made by human not naturally, for example, Moon is the natural satellite of Earth because it is naturally made in universe.
Introduction of International Space Station (ISS)
It is the largest modular space station currently in low earth orbit ( around 2,000 km height from Earth ). It is not made by a single nation or space agency but manufactured and maintained by multiple nations and their space agencies which as follows,
1.NASA (USA)
2.Roscosmos (Russia)
3.JAXA (Japan)
4.ESA (Europe)
5.CSA (Canada)
This space station is used for multipurpose such as astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics and other fields.
Statistics
COSPAR ID- 1998–067A
SATCAT no-25544
Call sign- Alpha, Station
Launch- 20 November 1998
Mass- 444,615 kg
Length- 73 m
Width- 109 m
Orbits per day- 15.49
The ISS program evolved from the Space Station Freedom, a 1984 American proposal to construct a permanently crewed Earth orbiting station. The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews. It is the world’s largest object in space and regularly visible from the Earth to the naked eye.
image source-nasa.gov
It completes one revolution in 93 minutes and completing 15.5 orbits per day.
The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment which is operated by Russia and the United States Orbital segment operated by USA.
Purpose
The ISS was originally intended to be a laboratory, observatory and factory while providing transportation, maintenance and low earth orbit staging for the future missions to the Moon, Mars and asteroids.
ISS is the most expensive project made by humans who’s cost is approximately $150 billion and it costs around 4 millions every year according to NASA.
The International Space Station is the largest structure humans ever made into space. In fact , it is so large that it wasn’t launched it entirely, it was set up in pieces and then constructed in the orbit.
image source- researchgate.net
Interesting facts about ISS
> It completes one revolution around Earth in 90 minutes running at 5 miles per second.
> After the Moon the ISS is the brightest object in the night sky.
> Six spaceships can dock to the ISS at any one time.
image source- en.wikipedia.org
> More than 50 computers control all the system on the station.
> The astronaut Peggy Whitson set the record for spending the most total length of time living and working in this station in space at 665 days on September 2017.
> There are two bathrooms on board. There are also one gym, six sleeping quarters and a 360 degree bay window.
> Astronauts have to work out for two hours a day on board to help keep their muscles in shape while in space.
