Page 50 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

 Assembling Unity and Zarya.
The ISS has pressurized space of 396 cubic metres.
It can accommodate a permanent crew of six or seven. The crew thus has about the same amount of space as in the passenger cabin of a jumbo jet. On such a large station moving objects can be difficult, and a rail transporter system has been developed to get materials from one end of the station to the other.
The power source is made up of two ArrAys of solAr cells. Both are 34 m long and 12 m wide, and can each generate 23 kW of electricity. The feed batteries, if placed end to end, would stretch for 883 m.
One of the most interesting features is a cupola with windows designed to provide a complete all-round view. Since the ISS is so complex, it has been designed to be
controlled by 52 separate computers.
Ventures into space will always be costly and
demanding. Thus the cooperation on the ISS project has helped the nations involved find out how to work together most effectively.
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