The International Space Station - From Imagination to Reality

From Mir-2 to the ISS Russian Segment
Bart Hendrickx

The International Space Station resulted from the amalgamation of the US/European/Canadian/Japanese Freedom station and Russia’s Mir-2 station. This article will explore the evolution of Mir-2 and how it was incorporated into the ISS. It will also take a look at the development of the various Russian ISS modules and the numerous transformations that many of them have undergone in the past decade.

ISS American Elements On-Orbit Through Decemebr 2001
Roelof Schuiling

This chapter discusses the American ISS components launched and assembled up to December 2001. These include the Unity Node; Pressurized Mating Adapters -1, -2 and -3; the Destiny laboratory; Quest airlock and the Z-1 truss.

The International Space Station: Expedition Crews
Neville Kidger

Astronaut and cosmonaut crews began the permanent staffing of the International Space Station early in November 2000 after years of delay. Neville Kidger describes the activities of the first expedition crew using first-hand accounts from the Commander, William Shepherd, to illustrate the sometimes fraught difficulties encountered by the first trio of pioneers on the ISS. The major activities of the second and third crews are covered with emphasis upon the engineering and historic aspects of these expeditions.

NASA Shuttle Missions to ISS
David J. Shayler

This article reviews the operational accomplishments of the twelve American Space Shuttle assembly and re-supply missions flown between December 1998 and November 2001, which enabled the International Space Station to finally become a reality.

Research in Orbit
Andrew Salmon

Tommy Holloway, ISS programme manager, said at a press conference at the start of 2001: “…a rigorous science programme (on ISS) will not begin until the station is ready for a seven-person crew around 2005”. Despite those words, what follows is an introduction to the wide variety of research carried out aboard the nascent ISS. The account ends with the handover of Expedition 3 to Expedition 4 in December 2001.

ISS Soyuz Crewing 2000-2001
Bert Vis

The first expedition crew was launched to ISS on a Russian Soyuz, a ship that from then on was to act as “life-boat”. Given the limited lifetime of around 200 days, two replacement flights per year were needed. The crewing history of these flights is covered in this chapter, including the new phenomenon: space tourism.

The International Space Station - Orbital Considerations and Related Topics
Phillip Clark

This Chapter is built around two main tables. Table 1 provides a listing of all of the orbital manoeuvres by the International Space Station, from the launch of the first element, Zarya, in November 1998 through to the end of 2001: additionally, the orbit if the ISS Complex at the time of the arrival of each spacecraft docking is listed. Table 2 provides a listing of the main mission event dates/times for all of the spacecraft launched to ISS through to the end of 2001. As well as discussing issues connected specifically with these two Tables, the Chapter reviews anomalies in United States Space Command’s policy of cataloguing ISS elements. The different systems of designating ISS missions are reviewed and finally orbital debris which has been tracked from ISS missions is discussed.

Conclusion
Rex Hall