by APOD Robot » Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:06 am
The International Space Station over Earth
Explanation: The
International Space Station is the largest object ever constructed by humans in space. The
station perimeter extends over roughly the area of a
football field, although only a small fraction of this is composed of modules habitable by humans. The
station is so large that it could not be
launched all at once -- it continues to be built
built piecemeal. To function, the
ISS needs huge
trusses, some over 15 meters long and with masses over 10,000 kilograms, to keep it rigid and to route
electricity and liquid
coolants.
Pictured above, the immense
space station was photographed from the now-retired
space shuttle Atlantis after a week-long stay in 2010. Across the image top hangs part of a bright blue
Earth, in stark contrast to the darkness of
interstellar space across the bottom.
[/b]
[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160418.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_160418.jpg[/img] [size=150]The International Space Station over Earth[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] The [url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html]International Space Station[/url] is the largest object ever constructed by humans in space. The [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151109.html]station[/url] perimeter extends over roughly the area of a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Football_field_.28area.29]football field[/url], although only a small fraction of this is composed of modules habitable by humans. The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station]station[/url] is so large that it could not be [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010723.html]launched[/url] all at once -- it continues to be built [url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/assembly/ndxpage1.html]built piecemeal[/url]. To function, the [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5HMefvGXG0]ISS[/url] needs huge [url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html]trusses[/url], some over 15 meters long and with masses over 10,000 kilograms, to keep it rigid and to route [url=http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html]electricity[/url] and liquid [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/4e/45/fc/4e45fccd3200b501361ddda9b39fc771.jpg]coolant[/url]s. [url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/html/s132e012208.html]Pictured above[/url], the immense [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISS]space station[/url] was photographed from the now-retired [url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/orbitersatl.html]space shuttle Atlantis[/url] after a week-long stay in 2010. Across the image top hangs part of a bright blue [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091123.html]Earth[/url], in stark contrast to the darkness of [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160314.html]interstellar space[/url] across the bottom.
[b][table][tr][td=left][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=160417]<< Previous APOD[/url][/td] [td=center][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=0418]This Day in APOD[/url][/td] [td=right][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=160419]Next APOD >>[/url][/td][/tr][/table][/b]