Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: The International Space Station (ISS) will be the largest human-made object ever to orbit the Earth. The station is so large that it could not be launched all at once -- it is being built piecemeal with large sections added continually by flights of the Space Shuttle. To function, the ISS needs trusses to keep it rigid and to route electricity and liquid coolants. These trusses are huge, extending over 15 meters long, and with masses over 10,000 kilograms. Pictured above earlier this month, astronauts Robert L. Curbeam (USA) and Christer Fuglesang (Sweden) work to attach a new truss segment to the ISS and begin to upgrade the power grid.

APOD Editor to Discuss "Best of APOD 2006" Pictures in NYC on January 5

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publications with keywords: ISS
Publications with words: ISS
See also:

• ISS and the Summer Milky Way
• Orbiting Astronaut Self Portrait
• A Dark Earth with a Red Sprite
• Perseid Below
• Jupiter and the Moons of Earth
• Flying Over the Earth at Night
• Around the World in 90 Minutes

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