INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - SCI & TECH

News: NASA’s Crew-7 mission launched four astronauts to the ISS

 

What's in the news?

       The rocket pushed four astronauts on NASA’s Crew-7 mission into orbit before the Crew Dragon capsule they were aboard docked with the International Space Station (ISS).

 

International Space Station:

       The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit.

 

Key takeaways:

       Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit.

       It circles the Earth in roughly 92 minutes and completes 15.5 orbits per day.

       The ISS was developed and built by five space agencies namely, NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), European Space Agency (ESA-Europe), JAXA (Japan) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA-Canada).

       The space station reached its full six-person crew size in 2009 as new modules, laboratories and facilities were brought online.

       Current plans call for the space station to be operated through at least 2020. NASA has requested an extension until 2024.