International Space Station: Twenty Years of Continuous Human Presence [Digital Magazine]
In his 1984 State of the Union speech, President Ronald Reagan stated: “I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade. … NASA will invite other countries to participate so we can strengthen peace, build prosperity, and expand freedom for all who share our goals.”
Today, the International Space Station is a consortium of the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, and the 12-member nations of the European Space Agency.
Inside this edition you will find a narrative describing the 20 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit as a feat of engineering and technology (people spacewalking to build and maintain the structure housing humans), cooperation (working with international partners and residents of different nationalities living aboard ISS), fortitude and spirit (the people who undertake missions to live and work on the ISS and the people who support them from the ground). Features detail what it is like to live and work in space aboard the ISS; the scientific achievements aboard the station; the many “firsts” that have taken place aboard the station, from scientific breakthroughs to more lighthearted achievements such as the first music video recorded in space, the first “jam session,” the first orbital marathon, and more.
Other articles describe the commercialization of space and the development of civilian “space taxis” and cargo ships as well as the many civilian payloads and experiments that have been aboard the ISS over the years; the ways in which the station is also an important cultural and educational resource for people around the world; the “village on the ground” supporting the operations of the station and the astronauts aboard; and the “overview effect” upon astronauts of seeing the fragile Earth as a whole and how it affects their worldview. Finally, an article looks toward the future of the ISS and the stations that will follow it.
Faircount Media Group’s International Space Station 20th Anniversary: Twenty Years of Continuous Human Presence magazine is one among several publications in the company’s portfolio about NASA, its partners, and international space explorers.