SPACE TRANSPORTATION & THE AMERICAN I.S.S. SEGMENT
Notes:
Lockheed-Martin's “Aeroballistic Rocket” spaceplane -- now called Venturestar -- docks with the Space Station. This 1994 illustration shows what the “Alpha” International Space Station would look like, without Russian modules. The non-Russian option was rejected in September 1993 because it would have cost more than the initial estimates if the project was to meet its 2000/2001 completion deadline. Stretching the program by two years would still have cost $1 billion more than the $10.5-11 billion FY 1994-98 limit imposed by President Clinton. The project's political appeal was also quite limited, since it was regarded as an obsolete Cold War monument. Bringing in some additional Russian capabilities thus appeared to solve several political and technological problems.
The Space Shuttle docks with the International Space Station. The ISS removed some of the space transportation burden from the Shuttle's back since the other international partners will contribute their own rocket. However, ISS is also more challenging because its orbit has to be accessible to rockets launched from Russia's Baikonur spaceport at 45 degrees northern latitude. The ISS orbital inclination is now greater which means the Shuttle must burn more fuel to reach its destination. NASA has developed a new super lightweight aluminium-lithium propellant tank to boost the Shuttle's performance while gradually privatizing Space Shuttle management to save money.
Interior of the US laboratory module. The pressurized modules and about 70% of the hardware developed for the old Space Station Freedom project will be adopted for the International Space Station as well.
