International Space Station

[gusl]

The ISS is in near-Earth orbit, and is visible to the naked eye, often several times a day. One just needs to look at the right place at the right time. But I haven't seen it yet! Here's the schedule.

Being near the Earth, the ISS needs to travel really fast. As a result of this, the "centrifugal force" cancels out the Earth's gravity. Being in a constant state of "free fall" results in a state of microgravity.

I have to wonder: how do they get people up there and back? Do they launch a similar micro-ship at roughly the same speed and phase, from which the crew jumps into the ISS?

Comments

[bhudson.livejournal.com]

They launch a Shuttle or a Soyuz (or, for supplies, a Progress, but those are unmanned), and dock -- kind of like in the movies, but a bit less graceful. Also, microgravity is expensive to do in the movies so they invent a gravitational field that miraculously acts almost exactly like Hollywood's.

[bhudson.livejournal.com]

The inclination of Station's orbit is specifically steeper than optimal in order to get the Soviets to be able to get there; this requires a bit (aka shitloads) more fuel out of the Cape because changing inclination is expensive. Once in the properly-inclined orbit, it's just a matter of catching up. Perversely, to catch up in orbit, you slow down (by firing retro-rockets). That drops your orbit, so it becomes shorter, and makes you speed up relative to your target.

PS: Yes, I did say the Soviets.

[kartiksg.livejournal.com]

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/08/10/shuttledocks_spa.html?category=space

[wjl.livejournal.com]

I saw it just the other day in Palo Alto.. it's really cool! If i didn't know it was a space station, i might peg it as some weird sort of alien ship -- it seems to pause every few seconds and just sort of hang where it is (probably due to some precession phenomenon (where by "precession", i really mean "something i should probably have learned in physics class)).