The international space station is the largest man-made object outside the earth. The construction and operation of this space station represent the greatest scientific and technical project ever achieved by global cooperation. Highly qualified engineers and scientists from 15 nations are involved in the construction of this research centre in the near-earth orbit for the peaceful use of space. The new space station will give totally new impetus to life science and material science, technology, earth resources technology and astronomy. In all, the lab. will orbit the earth at a speed of approx. 28,000 km/h at an altitude between 350 and 450 km. One earth orbit lasts about 90 minutes. The station will be powered by gigantic solar sails that extend over a total area of 4,500 m2 giving it a capacity of 110 kW. Individual components such as external solar collectors, external experimental platforms, research and accomodation modules are anchored to a huge lattice mast structure. It has a total weight of approx. 500 tonnes. The international partners involved in the construction and use of this space station are the USA, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe. The European Space Agency (ESA) is an important partner in this project and is responsible for the "Columbus" (COF) space lab and the automatic transport vehicle (ATV). The main NASA contractor is Boeing who are responsible for the tubular space frame design, solar panels and various modules.
Paints required: 92 94 98 99 301
Display stand with earth hemisphere
Detailed lattice mast construction
Movable large solar panels