Space Exploration Stack Exchange
Space Exploration Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [iss]

Questions about the ISS (International Space Station), a habitable man-made low Earth orbit satellite whose first component was launched in 1998 and used to conduct experiments for a wide variety of research fields in a microgravity environment.

The ISS (International Space Station) is a combination of the Soviet/Russian plans for a successor to the Mir space station, and the US Freedom space station model. The merging of the two programs was meant to save money and generate political good will.

The ISS now consists of many modules, delivered over a decade in dozens of launches on many different launch vehicles).

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What kind of laptops do ISS astronauts use?

In many videos of the ISS, you can see tethered laptops all over the place. Presumably these are heavily customised for space. What kinds of customisation do they need? Are they off-the-shelf laptops with customisations for space-worthiness or…
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Why does the ISS have so much pressurized but uninhabitable space?

From this answer I learned that the International Space Station has over 900m3 of pressurized volume. However, the same answer points out that the inhabitable volume is under 400m3. It seems odd to me that so much space is kept pressurized when…
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Laundry on the ISS

How is the matter of fresh clothes managed on ISS? Is there a local washing machine or are fresh clothes delivered and dirty ones burned with trash on delivery craft reentry? How long do astronauts wear one change of clothes?
SF.
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How exactly will the ISS die in 2025?

According to: ”Moreover, the ISS end of life might come in 2025, and assuming you need a few years to graduate, more to get a degree, work experience, get hired, do the training... The ISS might not exist at that point anymore.” Antzi I begin to…
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How long would ISS stay in orbit if it didn't get reboosts?

Apparently ISS is so close to Earth's atmosphere that it requires periodical boosts to stay in orbit. If the station were completely abandoned and it wouldn't get the boosts anymore, how long would it take until it crashed on Earth? Would it burn…
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Why does the interior of the ISS appear so disorganized?

I have noticed that interior of the ISS appears to be very disorganized. Let me clarify what I mean by that. I grew up watching Star Trek, and the Enterprise was the reference of clean space-faring vehicle. Things were in drawers, hidden. Or…
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Is there a realistic looking ISS scale model available somewhere?

I'm looking for a serious, realistic looking scale model of the International Space Station to build at home. Even better, if it would include some electronics. I'm open to free or commercial products.
ack__
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Is there any money in space?

Currently everything used by astronauts in space gets there via a state/government sponsored lift. Astronauts can also bring a few personal supplies, but I imagine that most if not all financial considerations occur at government level…
James Jenkins
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Does the orbit of the ISS decay?

Does the orbit of the ISS decay? I don't know much about the ISS, but I heard some rumors. The rumor I heard was that there is a very, very tiny atmosphere at the ISS orbit.
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What would happen to the ISS if we stopped maintaining it?

What would happen if the astronauts on the ISS stopped maintaining it, and no further vehicles or remote control commands were sent up from the ground? I'd like to know what systems would stop working, what would burn out, fail, jam, freeze,…
Innovine
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To what extent are the US modules of ISS based on the Spacelab design?

Various sources, for example the Spacelab wikipedia page, report that several modules used in American sector of the ISS are based on the Spacelab legacy. To what extent has its legacy been used? Was there any ready to use hardware left from the…
user54
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What is this small white device with LCD and 10 keys on the International Space Station?

I see this device in many places in International Space Station; what is it called and what does it do?
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What is the theoretical life of the ISS?

There still seems to be uncertainty about how long the ISS will remain flying, mainly due to political wrangling and budgetary concerns. Even the longest plans state that operations are not expected to last beyond 2024. However, leaving aside…
ForgeMonkey
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When was the last time 9 people were on the ISS?

Currently (September 4, 2015) there is a complement of 9 people aboard the ISS. This will change a week from now, when 3 of those people return to Earth. When was the last time the ISS had 9 people on board, if ever? It seems over the last few…
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Can the ISS be brought to a long term storage orbit using existing NEXT ion engines?

To throw away an investment in space infra-structure the size of the ISS seems an incredible waste. Even if there is only a limited chance of ever using it again, the probability of this happening should be multiplied with the gigantic investment…
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