Nov. 20, 2008 -- When Russia launched the first component of what would become the International Space Station 10 years ago, NASA expected to finish construction in eight years, spend about $30 billion and fund hundreds of experiments in fields ranging from fluid physics to materials sciences to medical research.
Up to seven people would live on the outpost, which would be regularly resupplied by the space shuttle and other ships. The crew would have its own habitation module, with a kitchen, bathroom, shower, sleeping quarters and a medical station.
It hasn't all happened according to plan.
From a one-room foundation, the station has expanded to the size of a five-bedroom house, with 10 modules owned by the United States, Russia, Japan and Europe now permanently linked in orbit. The cost has blossomed to more than $100 billion and NASA says it will need another two years to finish assembly.
This week, space shuttle Endeavour, on NASA's 27th visit to the station, is delivering the first U.S. sleeping berths -- the dedicated living quarters was canceled years ago -- a second toilet and a water recycling system so astronauts can process urine and other wastewater into fresh water for drinking. They need to do this because
the space shuttles, which supply the bulk of the station's water, will be permanently grounded in two years.
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The focus of research has shifted as well, with NASA now devoting its limited funds for science to experiments that support its next grand endeavor -- returning astronauts to the moon.
"The space station has this unusual capability of changing in response to political circumstances," said Howard McCurdy, a political science professor and NASA historian with American University in Washington, D.C.
Gone are the days when NASA touts space station research as key to developing new drugs, finding cures for cancer or developing new building materials. In its place, the agency has emphasized the value and experience of international cooperation.
"It's clear to me that the most important feature of the space station has been learning how to live and work in space -- how to fix things that break, how to resupply it, how to make living in space a 24/7, 365-day job. That's hard," said NASA administrator Mike Griffin.
"The other hard thing has been learning how to work together with people of all these other nations in the pursuit of a common goal. That may in fact be the longest-lasting benefit to the human race."
NASA is still working to expand the size of the station's live-aboard crew from three to six, a milestone it hopes to achieve next May. The water recycling gear is key. Engineers need at least a 90-day run with no problems before it will be put into service. The two new bedrooms delivered by Endeavour and the second toilet are another step in that direction.
Most of the extra hands, however, will be needed just to keep the station running. With six crewmembers aboard, NASA has scheduled 35 hours a week in total for astronaut-tended science experiments, said Bill Gerstenmaier, the agency's associate administrator for spaceflight.
That's more than triple the number of hours the crew now spends on science, though many experiments can be operated remotely by researchers on the ground.
The rest of the time is needed just to keep the station operational, Gerstenmaier said.
NASA expects to finish construction with eight more shuttle flights. Crew transport is expected to be turned over to Russia next year. Resupplying the outpost will be shared by Russian, European and an as-yet unflown Japanese craft. NASA also plans to hire a commercial launch services firm to deliver cargo to the station.
"We really are working pretty well, as a group of nations, to accomplish this project," Griffin said. "It's not perfect but we are really working pretty well together."
"We can build on that partnership," Griffin added. "We can take it to the moon, we can take it to Mars, we can take it to the near-Earth asteroids. We can explore the solar system. That may be the longest-lasting value of the program."
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