Space Station Marks 20 Years of People Living in Orbit
2020-11-03
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1The International Space Station was just three small rooms when the first crew moved in.
2The crew members soon discovered there was hardly any space for them to move around.
3The air was warm and humid, making them feel sticky.
4Twenty years and 241 visitors later, the space station has a lookout tower, enough space for six people to sleep and 12 rooms, depending on how you count.
5Monday marked 20 years since people first began living on the space station.
6Astronauts from 19 countries have spent time there.
7That includes repeat visitors who arrived on spacecraft for short-term repair or building projects, and several tourists who paid their own way.
8The first crew - American Bill Shepherd and Russians Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko - left Earth on October 31, 2000.
9Two days later, they opened the doors to the space station, holding hands in a sign of unity.
10Bill Shepherd was the space station's first commander.
11He likened his time living there to living on a ship at sea.
12The three-man crew spent most of their time trying to get the equipment to work; heat from some of the devices made the living space too warm.
13Adding machinery and making repairs took hours, compared to minutes on the ground, Krikalev remembered.
14"Each day seemed to have its own set of challenges," Shepherd said during a recent panel discussion with his former crewmates.
15Their reunion was organized by NASA, the U.S. space agency.
16Today the space station is almost as large as a football field and has three modern laboratories.
17The station has enough solar power equipment to fill almost four-tenths of a hectare, and enough electrical wiring to stretch 13 kilometers.
18Shepherd is long retired from NASA and lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
19Krikalev and Gidzenko continue to work for the Russian space agency.
20The two were involved in the launch of the space station's 64th crew last month.
21The first thing the first crew did upon arriving at the darkened space station on November 2, 2000, was turn on the lights, which Krikalev recalled as "very memorable."
22Then they heated water for hot drinks and activated the lone toilet.
23"Now we can live," Gidzenko remembers Shepherd saying.
24"We have lights, we have hot water, and we have (a) toilet."
25The space station did not come close to hitting any space objects during their nearly five months up there, Shepherd said, and the station has held up relatively well.
26Today NASA's top concern is the growing threat from space junk.
27This year, the space station has had to move around objects three times.
28As for life on the space station, astronauts now have near-continuous communication with flight controllers and even an internet phone for personal use.
29The first crew had periodic radio contact with the ground; communication problems could last hours.
30Astronauts spend most of their six-month stints these days keeping the space station running and performing science experiments.
31A few have even spent close to a year up there on a single flight.
32It takes only 90 minutes for the station to circle the world, giving crew members a chance to enjoy 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets each day.
33While more men have served on the space station than women, more crews today are likely to include women.
34Two U.S. women have served as the space station's commander.
35Commanders usually are American or Russian, but have also come from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.
36Monday was a major anniversary for the International Space Station.
37But the space station has, in fact, spent 22 years in Earth's orbit, and its first piece was launched into space in 1998.
38NASA and its partners say the space station easily has several years of usefulness left.
39Russia's Mir station operated for 15 years in the late 1980s and 1990s.
40America's 1970s Skylab spent much less time in space, as did China's much more recent orbital missions.
41Shephard said that the past 20 years of international experience and cooperation can help massive projects, like possibly sending humans to the planet Mars.
42"If you look at the space station program today, it's a blueprint on how to do it," Shepherd said.
43"All those questions about how this should be organized and what it's going to look like, the big questions are already behind us."
44I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The International Space Station was just three small rooms when the first crew moved in. The crew members soon discovered there was hardly any space for them to move around. The air was warm and humid, making them feel sticky. 2Twenty years and 241 visitors later, the space station has a lookout tower, enough space for six people to sleep and 12 rooms, depending on how you count. 3Monday marked 20 years since people first began living on the space station. Astronauts from 19 countries have spent time there. That includes repeat visitors who arrived on spacecraft for short-term repair or building projects, and several tourists who paid their own way. 4The first crew 5The first crew - American Bill Shepherd and Russians Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko - left Earth on October 31, 2000. Two days later, they opened the doors to the space station, holding hands in a sign of unity. 6Bill Shepherd was the space station's first commander. He likened his time living there to living on a ship at sea. 7The three-man crew spent most of their time trying to get the equipment to work; heat from some of the devices made the living space too warm. Adding machinery and making repairs took hours, compared to minutes on the ground, Krikalev remembered. 8"Each day seemed to have its own set of challenges," Shepherd said during a recent panel discussion with his former crewmates. Their reunion was organized by NASA, the U.S. space agency. 9Today the space station is almost as large as a football field and has three modern laboratories. The station has enough solar power equipment to fill almost four-tenths of a hectare, and enough electrical wiring to stretch 13 kilometers. 10Shepherd is long retired from NASA and lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Krikalev and Gidzenko continue to work for the Russian space agency. The two were involved in the launch of the space station's 64th crew last month. 11The first thing the first crew did upon arriving at the darkened space station on November 2, 2000, was turn on the lights, which Krikalev recalled as "very memorable." Then they heated water for hot drinks and activated the lone toilet. 12"Now we can live," Gidzenko remembers Shepherd saying. "We have lights, we have hot water, and we have (a) toilet." 13Twenty years later 14The space station did not come close to hitting any space objects during their nearly five months up there, Shepherd said, and the station has held up relatively well. 15Today NASA's top concern is the growing threat from space junk. This year, the space station has had to move around objects three times. 16As for life on the space station, astronauts now have near-continuous communication with flight controllers and even an internet phone for personal use. The first crew had periodic radio contact with the ground; communication problems could last hours. 17Astronauts spend most of their six-month stints these days keeping the space station running and performing science experiments. A few have even spent close to a year up there on a single flight. 18It takes only 90 minutes for the station to circle the world, giving crew members a chance to enjoy 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets each day. 19While more men have served on the space station than women, more crews today are likely to include women. Two U.S. women have served as the space station's commander. Commanders usually are American or Russian, but have also come from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan. 20Monday was a major anniversary for the International Space Station. But the space station has, in fact, spent 22 years in Earth's orbit, and its first piece was launched into space in 1998. 21NASA and its partners say the space station easily has several years of usefulness left. Russia's Mir station operated for 15 years in the late 1980s and 1990s. America's 1970s Skylab spent much less time in space, as did China's much more recent orbital missions. 22Shephard said that the past 20 years of international experience and cooperation can help massive projects, like possibly sending humans to the planet Mars. 23"If you look at the space station program today, it's a blueprint on how to do it," Shepherd said. "All those questions about how this should be organized and what it's going to look like, the big questions are already behind us." 24I'm Jonathan Evans. 25The Associated Press reported this story. George Grow adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 26_______________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28humid - adj. containing enough water or water particles to make one feel sticky 29tower - n. a tall, narrow structure 30tourist - n. a traveler 31solar - adj. involving or related to the sun 32challenge - n. an invitation to take part in a competition; a test 33toilet - n. a large container connected to a system for removing waste products or liquids 34mission - n. an important project or trip 35blueprint - n. a design plan 36We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.