Context:

• With more than 1,40,000 Earth orbits, the International Space Station (ISS) has recently completed 25 years.

About International Space Station

• ISS: It is a multi-nation construction project and its main construction was completed between 1998 and 2011.
  • According to the European Space Agency (ESA), it is a co-operative programme between Europe, United States, Russia, Canada and Japan.

• Orbit: The space station orbits in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of approximately 430 kilometers, with its orbital path taking it over 90% of the Earth’s population. 
• Average Speed: The International Space Station circles Earth every 90 minutes at a speed of 8 kilometers per second.
• Launch: The first segment of the ISS viz. Zarya Control Module was Russian and launched November 20, 1998. The ISS was completed over the course of 42 assembly flights. 
• Scientific Discoveries on the ISS: There have been discoveries to benefit drug development, new water purification systems, methods to mitigate muscle and bone atrophy and those that have led innovations in food production.  
• Uncertainty in Future Operation:  Plans for the future operation of the ISS became uncertain with the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. 
• Deorbiting ISS: The ISS is scheduled to end its lifetime in 2030. NASA, Canadian Space Agency, and European Space Agency have committed to operating the space station till 2030. 
  • Russian space agency Roscosmos has committed to the space station only till 2028.
  • NASA has requested ideas from the US aerospace industry to build the “US Deorbit Vehicle” (USDV) focused on the final deorbit activity. 
• Further Reading: Gaganyan Mission, Tiangong Space Station

News Source: Indian Express