Da.Ba.Go

FACTS

The ISS (International Space Station) orbits the earth every 90 minutes, about 400 kilometres above the earth’s surface level, at an unimaginable speed of 28,000 kilometres per hour (compare this speed with an airplane that flies at the speed of around 1000 kilometres/H, 10 kilometres above the sea level). That means, if you are an astronaut on board of any of the space stations, you will see 16 sunsets and 16 sun rises in 24 hours. The ISS is a comfortable home with sleep stations, store-rooms, washrooms and entertainment hubs – with wifi – for astronauts who can stay back in it for months for research.

To reach the space stations, astronauts use rockets that lift off the space-shuttle or a capsule. On the way, parts of the rocket burn out and fall back to the earth, leaving only the shuttle in orbit. Once there, a capsule docks to the ISS and the astronauts will enter the space-station where they will carry out the mission. It is important to note that the ISS does not constantly require fuel to remain in orbit, except to reboost itself against the drag from the earth. 

After each mission is completed, astronauts get back into the capsule and return to the earth in the capsule. This is known as re-entry. The capsule will enter the atmosphere and will start a free-fall to a specific landing spot, usually an ocean, using huge parachutes. Once the capsule splashed down into water, after burning its fireproof exteriors, a rescue team carries out the evacuation procedure with the help of specially designed speed-boats.

Although an astronaut earns huge salaries and bonuses based on experience, expertise and the extent of risk they are ready to take, astronauts run into risks during missions. As of 2024, around 15 astronauts have died during missions or training. The launch and re-entry are the most hazardous phases of a space mission. Among the many known hazards, spacecraft can be hit by fast moving space debris, or lose communication with the control stations for many reasons. 

The ISS will be decommissioned around 2030 and replaced with another space station. There is always a crew actively carrying out a mission out in orbit.

All these activities happening 400 kilometres above the earth’s sea-level no fiction, there is no wonder why a lot of people on the lowest sphere of this earth care not a bit about space and space missions. It also explains why the majority of people who eat, reproduce and die can never believe in a race of ape-like people who had flown to distant planets thousands of miles away, some ten or twenty thousand years ago.