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At a time when most gadgets only last an average of a few years, it is comforting to see that one of the most complex technological instruments ever built is still performing. On 20 November, the International Space Station (ISS) has reached the milestone of two decades since the launch of its first module. Beyond a technical feat, the ISS is a rare example in this hyper-partisan era of what can be achieved when our willingness to cooperate triumphs over our divisions.
It was on this day, in 1998, that aerospace engineers from former rivals, Russia and the United States, celebrated the take-off of the Zarya ("sunrise") unit built by Moscow in Moscow. and taking off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On a cloudy Friday at 11:40, the first component of the ISS entered orbit and served as a basis for an international space exploration program that continues today.
But Zarya, and even the ISS, as we know it, may never have existed if the vestiges of Cold War animosity and the fierce race for space had not been side to bring Russia aboard the station project. As a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States used the Russian space industry, qualified but at rest, to reduce costs and achieve Ronald's vision. Reagan of a "space station occupied permanently" in 1984 ". In their daring attempt to create a continually inhabited structure 250 miles above the Earth, long-time adversaries have found common ground.
US-Russian teams continued to build links in the final border, including the first ISS crew. Astronaut Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev boarded the plane on November 2, 2000. At that time, the station was slowly turning around the Earth every 90 minutes. But over the next two decades, space agencies based in 15 countries, including Japan, Canada, France, Germany and Spain, have transformed the extraterrestrial springboard into a modular monster with 15 components under pressure. Additions such as Canadarm2 Canada's Robotic Annex and Japan's Kibo Lab Module have made the ISS a football field.
The continuous staffing of the giant-orbit laboratory with a multinational team of six also relies on intercontinental collaboration. According to NASA, 230 people from 18 countries visited the country. It is a sign of the human progress we are going through at a time when people who have reached adulthood this month are no longer living a day without a human being in space.
Despite its triumphs, the staggering cost of the ISS has been a source of contention: estimates estimate the bill between $ 100 billion and $ 150 billion. Many think that money could have been better spent to improve the conditions of the planet. This did not help that there were not many scientific results from onboard experiments with commercial or social applications on Earth.
Nevertheless, the research was ambitious and focused on how different substances and compounds, such as cells, tissues and fluids, reacted when released from the constraints of gravitational forces. Many studies have examined the human body's response to long-duration space flight, a vital area for understanding whether we want to survive the 500-day journey to and from Mars. Exercise information such as the record of two astronauts and his one-year stay at the station are essential to help humans push the boundaries of space exploration.
But it is the station's role as the largest and most peaceful scientific collaboration in history that has earned it the most praise. Space exploration is an expensive and deadly venture, and multi-national partnerships are doing it. Collaborations between mission controls also contributed to the maintenance of missions. After NASA stopped the space shuttle program in 2011, the Russian spacecraft Soyuz started selling attractions.
The cosmic collaborations on the station have also guaranteed that, even in the diplomatic stalemate, the channels of communication between the countries of the ISS can not be completely closed. During the crisis of Crimea in 2014, when the US-Russian cooperation NASA and Roscosmos continued to cooperate on the Space Station, where they both had money and life at stake. And although, during the crisis, a Russian official suggested the United States to jump Soyuz and use a trampoline to get to the ISS, a potential leak of ammonia has jeopardized the presence of 39 US astronauts, the same manager who assured the team to stay in the Russian section of the station. as long as necessary.
As governments set their goals and budgets on the Moon, March and beyond, the future of the ISS, 20 years old, remains unclear. NASA has only committed funds until 2024. There has been talk of desorbing the station and crushing it in the Pacific Ocean or handing over the keys to private companies. Whatever its fate, the role of the ISS as the only emissary of its kind for the international community should not be forgotten.
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