International Space Station Essay, Research Paper

The International Space Station

The International Space Station is the doorway to the future of mankind and the world as it is known. The scientific and medical discoveries that

will be made on the station could create billions of dollars annually. A plan like this, arranged to benefit the whole world economy, should sound

like a good idea to every person, but some believe that the ISS is too risky, too ineffective, or too costly to create. Whether or not the space

station is worth the money, time, and effort, one thing is clear, everyone is interested in this virtual floating laboratory and what assets or liabilities it

will bring. The future of scientific experimentation and exploration may be located, not on earth, but on the man made island called the International

Space Station. Of all the factors that go into building a space station, construction of the massive object is the most tedious objective. During the

building of the ISS, tensions have run high several times when deadlines were missed or funds were not available. This space station is the most

expansive mission the world has ever encountered. The International Space Station will be a fifteen country mission. When finished, it will boast

over an acre of solar panels for heating and energy, have a volume roughly sizable to two jumbo jets, and contain four times the electrical power of

the Russian space station, Mir. It will take approximately forty-five flights over the next five years to assemble the one hundred pieces of the station

while circling the orbit of the earth (Goldin 11). This floating station, the size of a large football stadium, which is traveling at over 17,500 miles per

hour around the earth, will have a minimum life expectancy of only ten years, although scientists hope for a much longer time. The station is so large

that it will sometimes be visible by the naked eye during the night (Chang 12). Many people agree with the idea of some sort of space laboratory,

but wonder why it has to cost so many tax dollars. Some estimates for the station confirm that the cost has been underestimated by billions of

dollars. Late last year Boeing beat out several other competitors for the prestigious position of main contractor. NASA agreed to sign a 5.6 billion

dollar contract with Boeing to build many of the essential parts of the space station. Russia is also placing trust in this airplane superpower. They

signed a 180 million dollar contract to build the Functional Cargo Block, the unit that will provide power to stabilize the station (Bizony 87). The

International Space Station may provide many scientific discoveries, but everyone will pay for it. This project will become the most expensive

project in space since the 1969 mission of Apollo 13 to the moon. The total estimated cost will be over twenty billion dollars (8). On the

International Space Station, there will be a large variety of experiments ranging from improvements of industry to medical advances. The largest

portion of time will be devoted to scientific experimentation and discovery. The ISS will create advances that will assist scientists to better

understand the mysteries of the physical, chemical, and biological world. Without gravity they may conceive the technological discoveries that will

boost all economies (Goldin 11). One thing the astronauts will use in their pursuit of knowledge is remote telescience. It is an advanced technology

that allows scientists on the ground to monitor the progress of the experiments on the station. This will keep people on Earth up to date on the data

collection that is occurring in space. Telescience will use interactive data and video links to make the connection as realistic as possible (?Science

Facilities? 7). The populous sometimes asks what the station will do scientifically. The International Space Station will try to answer questions that

have bothered deep thinkers for years. The affect of no gravity on living things, any mental and physical affect on humans in space, and the growth

of better materials in space that will create better products on Earth will all be explored in hopes of becoming better understood. Hopefully,

scientists will be able to answer these questions and many more on the International Space Station (Chang 12). NASA has confirmed that

microgravity, the almost weightless condition of space, is one of the largest factors in the experiments that will occur aboard the International

Space Station. The affects of gravity and microgravity on animals, plants, cells, and microorganisms will be studied on the station. Artificial gravity

can be adapted from 0.01 G, almost entirely weightless, to 2G, twice the earth?s gravity, to fit the experiment (Science Facilities 1). Gravitational

biology is a major research topic dealing with microgravity. It is the study of gravity?s influence on living things such as plants and animals. This will

help astronauts conclude definitely what will happen to humans on long trips and stays on Mars (6). The Optical Window is a special window that

will monitor natural events with cameras, sensors, and other devices. The window will be able to track such disasters as oil spills, hurricanes, and

forest fires (3). ?The ISS is our best effort to date to provide a laboratory environment where combustion can be fully understood.? Combustion

will help to better understand air pollution, global environmental heating, propulsion, and hazardous waste incineration (Industrial Processes 3). The

new experiments on combustion could save the United States millions of dollars annually because it controls the heating of homes, powering of

cars, and the production of a large range of synthetic materials (4). Real combustion cannot take place on Earth. So combustion will be studied in

space. On the ground gravity feeds flames with oxygen and takes away heat. The space station?s combustion facility will do research on gas,

liquid, and solid fuels which already yields eighty-five percent of the world?s energy production (Science Facilities 4). Combustion is the release of

chemical energy. Combustion research on the station will lead to less pollution in the industries and the production of advanced materials which will

have very large payoffs for the economy (2). Since the computer age began, microchips have become smaller and more efficient every year. On

the International Space Station, The multinational crew will spend one half of its time working on science. Many experiments will deal with

improving the microchip and the silicon that makes it up (DiChristina 77). Finding cures for many medical problems is one hope for the space

station. One of the most important missions of the station will be to search for cures to earthly diseases. The International Space Station will

provide information that might lead to cures for AIDS, Cancer, Diabetes, Emphysema, and Osteoporosis (Lawler 50). Scientists will find this

mission an ideal spot to study the human biology without the restraints of gravity. A cure for Cancer might be found in space. In orbit, Cancer cells

grow in solid clumps because gravity does not flatten them. Therefore the space station will be the best effort yet to search for treatments because

they can be studied three dimensionally (Bizony 120). Some think that protein crystals are the answer to many cures. They are associated with

every disease on Earth. If they can be understood deadly diseases may be curable (DiChristina 77). Aging has always been a large concern for

many people on Earth. Soon that may not be as large of a problem. Research from previous shuttle missions and Mir have shown that some of the

processes that occur in a person when they get older are the same processes that also affect the astronauts on a mission in space. Problems such

as weakening of the heart, muscles, and bones, disturbed sleep patterns, abnormal immune system, and problems balancing affect both groups the

same ways. Therefore, some aspects of aging may be curable if scientists can find a connection between the two (?Our health? 1). NASA is trying

to learn more about the affects of weightlessness on their astronauts during long missions. They plan to use the International Space Station as one

means to do so. On the space station, scientists will discover ways to predict the effects of weightlessness on travelers to Mars (7). It has already

been 1earned that living in space for any extended period of time is not good on a person?s health. Scientists plan to explore why and will study the

effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body and mind (Bizony 113). Developers working for NASA are creating some of the most

technologically advanced machines ever made which are specially formulated for experimentation on the International Space Station. It would be

very hazardous and not practical for NASA to return an ill or hurt member of the station back to the United States. Therefore, NASA is improving

computer systems that will be able to diagnose and help treat any injury that may occur while on the station. These machines, along with medically

trained astronauts, will create a very small need for return missions to Earth due to health considerations (?Our health? 3). To deliver the best

medicine possible, the space station will be equipped with virtual reality and medical monitoring systems like those found in hospitals. Cyber

surgery, a type of virtual reality, will be used in the extreme cases of a medical emergency (4). The human body will be thoroughly studied while in

space to conclude if there are any long term affects on the body during space travel. The experiments will be broken into three basic categories:

bones, tissues, and cells. The space station will have a special laboratory called the Bioreactor which will reproduce human tissues and cells. The

Bioreactor will be able to create Cancerous cell tissue called tumors from a few individual cancer cells. Some think that while in space, the space

station will find healthier alternatives to a cure for Cancer other than the very harmful chemotherapy. Scientists plan to make healthy tissue outside

the body in a space laboratory and then transfer the tissue into a body with damaged tissue. This is possible because in space cells are not crushed

by the pressure of gravity. They grow three dimensionally like those which occur naturally in the body (?Our health? 5). Besides cures for cancer,

how to fight bone loss will be considered. Bone loss is one of the major reasons astronauts cannot stay in space for extended periods of time.

Once bone loss can be controlled, NASA will be capable of bringing all men and women back in perfect health (Chang 13). I view the space

shuttle program as a stepping stone to the ultimate program that will guarantee prolonged efforts in microgravity… Ultimately our hope is to be able

to crystallize proteins in microgravity, conduct all x-ray data collection experiments in space and transmit the data to Earth for processing. This can

only be done in a space station (Our health 9). One of the reasons the International Space Station is so important is because it offers the chance

for experiments to be done at all times during the year instead of making scientists wait for weeks, months, or even years to get their experiments

tested. The space station will mean that industry will become more involved in the space research which will benefit both areas into the future (6).

On the space station, real industrial improvement will be a reality. Semiconductors have already been grown that are of a record quality. They have

all been created as a thin film by the Wakeshield Facility. It creates a vacuum larger than one ever created on Earth. This leads to improvements in

the computer industry. The improvements could mean billions of dollars for industry (Industrial processes 7). Oil refinement provides the United

States will over 90 billion dollars revenue annually. Zeolights, which are used in the refinement process of petroleum products, are being enhanced

dramatically in space. This could create a 400 million dollar increase in the United States economy (7). All industry will be effected because space

does not have the limitations of Earth. Due to microgravity, crystal production is not hindered. Ergo, scientists can concentrate on the phenomenon

of solidification, crystal growth, fluid flow, and combustion like they have never been able to before which translates into large profits for all

countries involved in construction and care of the International Space Station (8). Microgravity is very unique. It will be the factor that affects and

inspires the production of many of the products that have not even been dreamed of yet by inventors and scientists. By delving into the practical

uses of microgravity, it is easy to see that many new alloys, ceramics, glasses, polymers, and semiconductors can be improved, redesigned, or

created (Industrial Processes 1). When viewing the whole spectrum of the space station, many scientists have agreed that microgravity is the most

important factor. It could create treatments for previously incurable diseases, better materials and alloys for industry, and more efficient forms of

fuel and petroleum products. Microgravity is an important factor because compared to the gravity on earth, space has one-millionth the force

pressing down on objects. This accounts for the willingness of people to spend billions of dollar on experiments that can only be performed in one

place, the International Space Station (DiChristina 77). Besides increasing the worth of the economy, the International Space Station will also help

earth science research. The Optical Window will help study the daily buildup and positions of the clouds. This may help to predict droughts and

therefore prepare vegetation. Also available will be key information about our atmosphere. To test in the greatest detail some of the fundamental

laws that govern our physical world, it is often necessary to go beyond the surface of the Earth…Thus, NASA and its academic, industrial, and

international partners will use the microgravity environment of the ISS to conduct fundamental scientific studies that have as their goal to contribute

to the world?s supply of knowledge, which will one day enable the technology of future generations (Fundamental Knowledge 6) Many people

consider the International Space Station a excellent chance for improvement of medical, technological, and industrial processes, but there are a few

skeptics who are unsure of any benefit at all. These people have questioned the purposes and objectives of the scientists who believe it is a

service. Many state that there is no substantial evidence to prove that the International Space Station will fulfill any of the aspirations people have

pressed upon it. Others point to the fact that it may only be able to remain in space for ten years which is not long enough to do anything that is

very conclusive. Still, others contend that the International Space Station is a small price to pay for the usefulness it will provide in the future. The

mixed reviews have left nothing but confusion in their path. No matter what anyone says or thinks, only time will tell. Since the Cold War, Russia

has fallen from the status of superpower, and its space program has become almost non-existent. Since Russia first joined the International Space

Station team, the Russians have been continually behind schedule but always promising the job is almost finished. They have frequently run out of

funds which had to be given to them by the United States and other partners, and several times they threatened to drop out of the project all

together. Russia is only the United States? first problem. Although it is called the International Space Station and is considered a multinational

project, it is obvious that United States dollars are supporting most of the sagging project (89). The cost is one of the most debated topics on the

subject. Once having a price as low as eight to fifteen billion dollars, the cost has since skyrocketed to the exorbitant amount of over 96 billion

dollars by the end of the project in 2006. ?The International Space Station is already over a decade late, and the price is soaring into the billions of

dollars over the original price tag. Some are beginning to wonder if the International Space Station is a floating white elephant.? Boeing admitted it

has underestimated the potential cost by as much as 800 million dollars just for its contract alone (88). On the other hand, some people believe it is

worth the price. For nine dollars less than the average American pays for snack or ?junk? food yearly, NASA can build the International Space

Station which could become a scientific pinnacle from which the benefits would be felt for years (Abatemarco 9). Some critics wonder whether

any scientific progress that the space station will make will create a high enough profit to make up for the gigantic cost of the station. Some

scientists are concerned that the space station will have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. ?Most of the functions of the space station have

disappeared.? ?NASA is mortgaging its future for the next twenty years? (Kluger 90). Some even disagree on whether microgravity is a valid

determinant. Not everyone thinks that research on microgravity will be the least beneficial. Some say that it is ?one of the least important factors

you can have? (DiChristina 76). In the end it is debatable whether the International Space Station will give us enough scientific information to make

the planning, cost, and maintenance worthwhile. One of the main topic to be researched, protein crystals are fragile and with a single bump, which

happens a lot in space, the project is ruined (Kluger 91). There is no information of yet that is going to tell anyone the outcome of the experiments

on the International Space Station. It is a complex machine that may create fantastic results or become a large waste of time and effort, but until the

world tries, it will never know which might be the most disappointing thing of all. For now, all anyone has is hope for a brighter future, and the

chance that the International Space Station may bring them a step closer to that reality. ?The orbiting laboratory serves as a symbol of our future.

A future that embodies the dreams of our children and that promises untold discoveries for the next millennium. One that fulfills our innate human

nature to explore. And one that benefits all people of all nations.? (Goldin 11) The International Space Station is the beginning. It is the beginning of

a world that is working towards a better understanding of everything around it.