It would have been impossible to construct the International Space Station on Earth and
then send it into space all at once - there is no rocket large or powerful enough.
This laboratory, a collaboration of international space agencies, provides a glimpse into the
origins of the universe and the potential of future spaceflight.
Flying some 240 miles above Earth's surface at 17,500 miles an hour, the ISS is dedicated
to helping humans learn how-to live-in space.
That includes determining how the space environment impacts biology—particularly human bodies.
Other onboard experiments aim to better understand how the universe works, from the most energetic
particles that rip across our solar system to the remote, incredibly dense corpses of
dead stars.
Despite all of the qualities that make the International Space Station a vital resource,
it is not without controversy.
Some are political, some are technical, and some are strange and otherworldly.
So, today we'll look at some of the most heated debates and conspiracy theories surrounding
the International Space Station.
In the mid-1980s, President Ronald Reagan authorized NASA to build an international
space station within a decade, stating that it would "allow quantum leaps" in scientific
study.
First, the United States collaborated with Europe and Japan; then, in 1993, Russia was
requested to join the project because it had the most comprehensive expertise managing
orbital space stations.
By 1998, all five space agencies were on board with the project.
The International Space Station was designed as a collection of linked, cylindrical modules
that are solar powered and cooled by heat-radiating loops.
These are shared between the station's two bigger segments: the Russian Orbital Section,
which is controlled by Russia, and the US segment, which includes contributions from
many countries.
Construction began in November 1998, when the first piece of the eventual ISS structure—the
Russian Zarya Control Module—was autonomously delivered to orbit by a Proton rocket.
The Zarya module, which got its name from the Russian word for "sunrise," used to be
responsible for power generation, communications, and the regulation of the spacecraft's altitude,
but it is currently largely utilized for storage and propulsion.
Two weeks later, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour delivered Unity, a module
that now unites the Russian and American segments of the station.
The station's first crew arrived on November 2, 2000, and included cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko
and Sergei Krikalev, as well as NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd.
The station now covers the area of a football field and is usually manned by at least three
astronauts, sometimes up to six.
Construction is still proceeding, with Russia preparing to deliver a new science module
to the station.
This space station has enabled astronauts to conduct over 3000 scientific experiments.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have conducted science in ways that
have never been done before.
Numerous discoveries, scientific papers, one-of-a-kind possibilities, and historic achievements have
been made possible by the space station.
It is important science that not only allows us to travel further into space, but also
benefits us here on Earth.
But why does life on the International Space Station matter?
Everything on Earth evolved to survive in its natural environment, not in the alien
environs of space, which can pose unexpected challenges to lifeforms.
By far the finest venue to practice living and working in these foreign conditions, as
well as better comprehend how space impacts our complicated biology, is the space station.
Most notably, surviving in space requires dealing with microgravity (the absence of
gravity) and increased radiation exposure, both of which can have a significant impact
on biological functioning.
Tolerating a small, restricted environment, minimal human contact, and high-pressure situations
that may demand swift coordination to survive is also part of life in orbit.
Although the majority of the station's research is focused on learning more about surviving
in space, tests conducted outside of the space station are staring into the cosmos and aiming
to understand more about the environment in which spacefaring humans might reside.
One of these equipment, known as NICER, studies neutron stars, which are the densest objects
in the known universe.
Another experiment, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, is a particle physics experiment that is seeking
to capture and analyze cosmic rays, the most fundamental components of the universe, in
order to better comprehend the universe's origins.
The station has been a symbol of cooperation through conflicts and turbulence, and many
in the space world believe it is deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize for being the largest
multinational peacetime enterprise in human history.
However, there are weird conspiracy theories concerning an identifiable object sighted
from the ISS.
There are many examples, yet there are few or no explanations.
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured an unusual shot of the Earth
in 2017 that revealed two unusual blue Blobs of light floating the Earth.
The image must be seen to appreciate how odd and unearthly these lights appear.
Did we really see UFOs fly over the International Space Station on live broadcast?
We'll probably never know, but it's obvious that the Pentagon's broadcast of three short
clips displaying an unidentified aerial phenomenon in April 2020 heightened the age-old preoccupation
on UFOs lurking near Earth viewed from the ISS.
The two videos, from 2004 and 2015, show objects travelling at great speeds that have yet to
be identified.
On the same day that the space station identified a series of high-speed objects travelling
nearby, a white cylindrical object was seen flying past the ISS.
A recent Pentagon assessment indicated that while UFO sightings can be authenticated,
aliens cannot.
It is entirely likely that the weird flying objects observed by US intelligence are advanced
technology created by other countries.
While these aircraft remain unexplained, evidence from the ISS or US records does clarify some
topics that have been mostly hidden from the general public for decades, such as whether
aliens visited Earth with or without human knowledge.
There's always the chance that these strange unidentifiable objects are just space junk
or garbage floating around, but we'll never know for sure.
We have launched thousands of rockets and sent countless more satellites into orbit
since the advent of the space age in the 1950s.
Many are still there because, for as long as humans have been exploring space, we've
also been making a mess.
Thousands of defunct satellites and bits of debris from all the rockets we've launched
over the years circle our planets.
A vlogger shared footage from the ISS live camera feed, which broadcasts over the internet,
on September 11, 2017.
In his captioned footage, he points out a faint elongated white form with a clean row
of faint white dots next to it set against the blackness of space just below the earth's
curvature.
The vlogger explains in the video title that it is a spectacular UFO Mothership releasing
an orb Fleet on ISS live feed.
Is the hazy streak filmed from the window of the International Space Station an unintentional
sighting of an Interstellar object hanging nearby, or is it only a window reflection?
If the answer is Aliens, that would be incredible.
However, ufologist Marc D'Antonio, chief picture and video analyst for an international organization
known as the Mutual UFO Network, who has examined hundreds of ISS photographs and films said
to include UFOs, says the faint white lines in these pictures is a typical sight, they
are reflections from the ISS's window.
Leave the UFO and alien conspiracy theories to the side, and you'll hear tales of sabotage
and political problems on the space station.
As tensions between the space station's two primary partners, Russia and the United States,
reach new heights, the coalition that has kept the station operational for so long begins
to dissolve.
Despite geopolitical tensions, the countries have managed to keep their Alliance on the
station functioning.
However, the wall that has protected the station from destruction is beginning to crumble.
After a mystery pressure leak happened on the International Space Station in 2018, many
conspiracy theories began circulating.
On August 29th, NASA and Roscosmos first noticed a decrease in the Space Station's pressure,
leading them to assume a leak.
Air was leaking out at such a slow rate that air traffic controllers decided not to alert
the crew.
The six astronauts on the ISS discovered the source of the leak the following day: a tiny
breach in one of the two Russian Soyuz capsules attached to the space station and used to
transport astronauts to and from Earth.
In spite of the fact that the hole was repaired a day later, its source remains a mystery.
Despite the fact that the mystery of the hole was never completely solved, tensions between
the two space organizations continued to be contentious.
Russia has announced that it will leave the International Space Station after 2024 and
launch its own, new space station soon afterward.
Given how the continuing conflict in Ukraine is reshaping geopolitics, the decision shouldn't
come as too much of a surprise to anyone.
For a number of years, the Russian space program has toyed with the idea of withdrawing from
the collaboration.
Nevertheless, the ruling is a significant setback for international collaboration in
the space sector.
The statement was made public by Russian media after Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed head
of Russia's space agency, met with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the decision.
Although Russia has not yet formally pledged to fund the station beyond the date of 2024,
the administration of President Joe Biden had planned to support the operations of the
ISS until at least the year 2030.
The United States of America now has the responsibility of determining how to run the station without
the assistance of its longtime partner.
Now let’s hear your thoughts about the International Space Station in the comments down below.