The International Space Station has already timed up 15 years of unceasing profession ever since its first crew moved in on Nov. 2, 2000. On behalf of 17 nations, 220 individuals have come and gone the space station.
The ISS is a manned satellite that constantly circles around the Earth's orbit. Most of its visitors are Americans due to space shuttle flights that delivered the space station's parts and pieces used to expand its structure.
First in the rankings to send astronauts to the ISS are the Americans, with Russia in second place and tied at third are Japan and Canada. For duration rankings, at least one Russian and one American stayed on the space station for 15 years and counting. For the first time in the ISS history log, a British astronomer is set to visit the space station. British astronaut Tim Peake will be spending six months in space to carry out experiments.
The space station circles the Earth's orbit at 17,150 miles per hour at distance of 240 miles above the planet's atmosphere. Sometimes, the manned satellite can be seen by the naked eye due to its proximity to Earth.
Since the beginning of the ISS, the complex only had three rooms. As time passed by, the station has now 13 rooms and now weighs 450 tons of its current mass structure. Pressurized like a Boeing 747 commercial aircraft, it has served for its 15 years a total of 26,500 meals. In addition, 1,760 experiments were already carried out and 189 undertaken spacewalks.
According to Commander Scott Kelly, the most important experiment conducted at the ISS is keeping humans alive in outer space. Along with Russian astronomer Mikhail Kornienko, their one-year mission at the space station is due to expire in March 2016. Logging a total of 189 spacewalks undertaken, the 190th will take place on Nov. 6 for outpost maintenance.
A lesson learned by astronomers at the ISS is it taught them how to collaborate and advance through their shared objectives disregarding their nationalities. If this unique culture that the space station has cultivated happened here on planet Earth, possibilities are infinite and it would be a much better place to live as compared to the limited space that the ISS offers.
