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Decking The Space Station Out With Comms
snuf23 writes: "The crew of Discovery has attached the Z1 Integrated Truss Segment to the International Space Station. In addition to serving as the base for the U.S. solar array, the Z1 houses the Space Station's communications systems. Like the Space Shuttle, the Z1 has a slower S-Band system as well as a fast Ku-Band Communications System which transmits at 50 Mbps.
Shuttle Online Press Kit has detailed information about the Discovery's payload on the 100th Shuttle flight." Specifically, here's the information about the Integrated Truss Segment, which sounds like a smart way to use expensive hardware in multiple ways.
Shuttle Online Press Kit has detailed information about the Discovery's payload on the 100th Shuttle flight." Specifically, here's the information about the Integrated Truss Segment, which sounds like a smart way to use expensive hardware in multiple ways.
How is this "Informative" ? I'd rather moderate it "Uninformed".
May I cite "ISS Familiarization, ISS FAM C 21109":
1.2 Purpose, Objectives, and Organization of the ISS
The purpose of the ISS is to provide an "Earth orbiting facility that houses experiment payloads,
distributes resource utilities, and supports permanent human habitation for conducting research
and science experiments in a microgravity environment." (ISSA IDR no. 1, Reference Guide,
March 29, 1995)
This overall purpose leads directly into the following specific objectives of the ISS program:
Develop a world-class orbiting laboratory for conducting high-value scientific research
Provide access to microgravity resources as early as possible in the assembly sequence
Develop ability to live and work in space for extended periods
Develop effective international cooperation
Provide a testbed for developing 21 st Century technology.
Here is a link that describes the scientific objectives.
I was interested to read on Boeing's page that the Truss (which they manufactured for NASA) will end up being the length of a football field. It's hard to imagine when you actually see the thing being delivered to NASA. This will be one awesome piece of kit!
/ components_structure/integrated_truss.html
The link to Boeing's page seems to be too long for Slash to let me post it without corrupting it with spaces (!) so here it is (minus the initial "http://"):
www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/spacestation
There are plenty of photos of the Truss and other parts of the Shuttle payload at NASA's STS-92 homepage.
arnald
What is the point of all this? What do they hope to get in the way of data from the ISS? I mean what is the point of the ISS anymore? They already know how humans react to extended space exposure. The reason NASA is losing funding is because stuff like this is pointless.
Nice troll, troll.
In point of fact I am not entirely behind the ISS; I would prefer more spending on planetary science, even at the expense of the crewed space program. But you shouldn't argue from ignorance.
The basic premise of your argument is that NASA is "losing funding". In point of fact NASA is not losing funding. Certain NASA programs are less well-funded than they could be, but ISS is Congress's baby, and they've willingly gone along with one slipped launch date and technical delay after another. They have restricted funding on specific things. At this point NASA cannot switch to experimental tech like a "balloon" habitat for ISS, nor can it officially spend anything on preparing for human visits to Mars. The planetary craft budget is notoriously starved. But funding for shuttle and ISS has been pretty much stable, taking into account a mandate to privatize and cut costs.
As far as research into extended space exposure, I tend to agree with you. Nevertheless, NASA does not, and in any case, they do not see medical research into long-term habitation as the primary purpose of ISS. It will certainly occur, and NASA astrodocs want to do their own experiments rather than translate Russian papers, but it's not the main reason.
ISS has two reasons to exist, which trump any others. The first is "international cooperation". This is rpetty much the only reason that ISS was ultimately funded: the Bush and Clinton administrations finessed a joint US/Russian ISS as a way to forge a relationship with the new Russia, incidentally toss them some cold hard US cash, and to stop sending nuclear engineers to places like Iran. So, foreign policy above all.
Second is that ISS, like Shuttle and Apollo before it, is a large, complex program that just happens to be spread -- and can be purposely spread even more -- across dozens of states and congressional districts. Hence pork above all but foreign policy.
Finally there is the political need for NASA to have a major "goal" program rather than just endless shuttle flights to low orbit. NASA has watned a space station since the early 1960s, and they finally have it. NASA doesn't really care that scientists, per se, may not have that much to do with it; it's not built for the scientists. It's also provided a way to build up space agencies in other countries, allow them to train astronauts, cooperate on a vast project, and generally learn how to handle a large engineering project in space.
All that said, the hope is that the microgravity environment will allow many different long-term experiments to be done that could not on a 10-day shuttle flight, covering materials, biology, and yes, human habitation, not just about medical but also about technology for doing it. This may yet prove useful. Folk like me see the utility, just not the cost-benefit ratio.
If you understand the political reality of a program like ISS the reasons for decisions made becomes much more clear.
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