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Space Station Alpha | |||
Space Station Alpha (final configuration) |
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The International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) is a cooperative venture
between the United States, Russian, Japan and the European Union to
produce, by 2002, a semi-permanent outpost in Low Earth Orbit. The Space Station Alpha program consists of three phases. Phase I, which began with STS-60 in February 1994, will lay the groundwork for the construction of the space station which occurs in phases II and III. Americans and Russians will conduct spacewalks and practice space station assembly by adding new modules to the Russian space station Mir. The cost and value of the Space Station continues to be a major issue.
Supporters say that the Space Station will foster technical and medical discoveries and be a catalyst for further space development During Phase II, which is scheduled to begin in 1998, the core International Space Station will be assembled from U.S. and Russian parts and scientific research aboard the station will begin. Due to fiscal difficulties in the Russian Republic, the date to begin human occupation has been delayed six months. During Phase III (1999 to 2002), European, Japanese, Russian, Canadian and U.S. components will be added to complete the station and crews of docked shuttle orbiters will conduct research inside the station. When completed, Space Station Alpha would support 6 full time crew members for a planned operational lifetime of 10 years. 28 Shuttle flights are planned to complete the project and an even larger number of Russian flights.
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