International Space Station (ISS)
ISS Development is also located within the Kennedy Space Centre. The ISS commenced in 1995 with NASA and the Russian Space Agency connecting the shuttle to the MIR space station. A second phase involving the Russian Proton Rocket in 1998, launched from the desert of Kazakhstan. It houses a liveable volume of workspace larger than two 747 plane interiors put together. Principle benefits include medical and materials research, for example, growing protein crystals more easily to contribute to the work being done on finding cures for AIDS and Cancer.

There are 16 nations involved in production of the ISS. Currently it is orbiting at 220 miles above the earth at an inclination of 51.6 degrees to the equator and its position relative to your hometown can be garnered online at www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/station

Operating in 91% gravity the speed of the structure at 17,500mph counters this pulling effect so that like all earth satellites the body experiences near zero-gravity conditions. 1 million pounds in weight, and 356 feet across and 290 feet long when construction is complete will make the ISS larger than 2 football fields. It is the largest, most ambitious space program since the Apollo moon landing. The entire lab for the assembly of the ISS is available for public viewing and the montaged panorama above shows the work as it happens.

Human and Environmental Factors.
Covering such a large area the Kennedy Space Center location attracts wildlife including manatees, ‘gators, and eagles which have been nesting there for over 3 decades, 500 species of birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians. The danger of close proximity to a launching shuttle would be fatal to all such creatures. Shotgun sounds are imitated to scare away birds which are then dispersed by a circling helicopter over the launch pad which drives the birds away, following this the sounds of hunting eagles going in for the kill is played discouraging the bird’s return. Alligators submerse themselves and thus avoid vibration damage.

Huge volumes of water are pumped into the fire pits of the launch area 10 seconds prior to launch and 10 seconds during launch. The enthusiast may have considered the

flames to be the most obvious threat but the vibration damage from noise and thrust generated by a rising shuttle are invisible killers in their own right.The effects of a launching shuttle causes fish to jump from the surface of the nearby Atlantic. Unfortunately for smaller fish the launch pad is shaped so as to exhaust the thrusting flames out to sea with the resultant effect that the smaller fish are burnt and so do not survive.

Effects on a human standing within a mile of a launching shuttle would be deafness, vibration damage to internal organs and rupturing capillaries at the skin’s surface closely followed by death. Despite this people still attempt to view the shuttle close up for which there is an onsite SWAT team including a missile armed helicopter which follows the Astronauts to the pad and surveys the local site prior to launch. A safe distance of 3 miles is recommended.

The images that are seen from nearby cameras do not convey the vibrational effects, instead the platforms on which they reside float on a bed of gaseous nitrogen. Whilst the images appear stable the experience of viewing at that distance would be immediately fatal.

I hope you found this article an interesting insight into the world of Space Travel, the environmental effects of a rocket launch were most surprising and the diversity of the work carried out at Kennedy was also impressive, being both a site for the launch of the Shuttle and the development of the ISS.

Interested Readers may find out more at;
www.nasa.gov and www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy



Dr. Anthony Mc-Donagh Smith
B.Eng. (Hons.), M.Res., Ph.D., M.S.A.E.
Editor, DefenceIntegration.org