International Space Station

[bryanharley]

Is it just my imagination?<br /><br />Wasn't the ISS supposed to be finished a few years ago and be much larger than it currently is? What happened?<br /><br />If and when the damn thing is finished...the shuttles retire in 2010. How will we even get to and from the thing? Could the ISS be one of NASA's bigger failures?

 

[nacnud]

What happened? The colombia accident.

 

[najab]

><i>The colombia accident.</i><p>Yep, this bunch of drug dealers got together and decided to buy the Station, but the DEA....what...oh...you meant the Col<u><b>u</b></u>mbia accident. <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /><p>Sorry, I don'y usually pick on speeling misteaks. Just couldn't help myself. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /></p></p>

 

[nacnud]

I'm very creative with my language <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" />

 

[bryanharley]

Thanks, <b>thedream</b>. I should've meantioned though, that I meant <i>before</i> the Columbia accident.<br /><br />EDIT: I searched on google and discovered that the initial completion date was 2002. And for those of you who think it was the Columbia accident that stopped NASA from meeting that date, you're wrong. They were nowhere near completing the station in 2002. In fact before the Columbia accident I think the completion date had already been pushed back to 2008.<br /><br />It's just sad to see the recent news about the problems on the station. It seems like the thing is already falling apart before we've put it all together.

 

[adzel_3000]

The program actually "started" in 1984 and I remember President Reagan announcing it during his State of the Union speech. It was called Space Station Freedom, originally. Then it devolved to Space Station Fred. It has been a torturous path but at least there is hardware now on-orbit. Problem is, with scale reductions have come reductions from original capability.<br /><br />I had a chance to tour the module mock-ups at MicroCraft in Huntsville back in 1990. Also, I visited a staging area where they had the guts of a life support module prototype spread out across a wearhouse floor. The challenge, the engineers told me, was to get all of that into something that was roughly 40 feet long and 15 feet wide. A great deal of evolution has occurred since then, and I do not beleive any of the prototypes I saw uiltimately reflected what was built.<br /><br />I don't think getting the Russians onboard created too many delays, although NASA might claim otherwise. Having partners might be the only reason the project survived.<br /><br />Here is a history up to 2001. It might be of interest...<br /><br />http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=2562<br /><br />--A3K

 

[steve82]

" don't think getting the Russians onboard created too many delays, although NASA might claim otherwise."<br /><br />I imagine there was a covert sigh of relief between NASA and Boeing whenever a delay could be aattributed to the Russians.

 

[JonClarke]

Without the Russians there would be no ISS. They have saved the program's bacon many times and contributed immensely though their unmatched expertise in human space spaceflight.<br /><br />Jon<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[ascan1984]

Yep, this bunch of drug dealers got together and decided to buy the Station, but the DEA...........<br /><br />decided they wanted to buy it to spy on dealings with drug cartels, but Nasa used it to create bew forms of drugs only possiblke to create in orbit in the Destiny drug factory, sorry module <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[ascan1984]

I whole hartidly agree. Three cheers for the Russians.

 

[davp99]

I Agree Also, <br />The Russians Really Came though ...<br /><br />and Being a BabyBoomer growing up with the Same Russians as Mortal Enemies...<br /> <br />Its Weird...<br /><br />Being Friends Now, Hopefully it will Last, It's a Nice End to the Cold War...... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="4">Dave..</font> </div>