Word: stationed
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...Ultimately, NASA is gambling that this kind of basic science will lead to commercial development that pays top dollar to fly experiments on the station, but in the short run, the Russians may do better selling Soyuz seats to wealthy space tourists and game-show winners...
...control of the space station supposed to transfer from the Russians to the U.S. during the mission? Actually, operational control shifts from Mission Control-Moscow to Mission Control-Houston whenever a shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral. This time, though, the shift may be permanent. Since the first segments were launched in 1998, the U.S. components have had to depend on Russian modules for power and navigation. With Destiny in place, that will change. Electricity generated by 240-foot solar paneled "wings" installed in December will now power most of the station. And Destiny carries the computers that will drive four...
...Russians. With Mir scheduled to de-orbit in March, the nation that has always led the world in long-duration space flight may now take a backseat to a "partner" that was once its bitter rival. The ISS blueprint calls for more Russian segments to arrive, including a power station and science lab of their own. But while most of the U.S. components are complete and waiting to be launched, and European and Japanese segments are at least funded, the Russians are struggling to find enough money to launch the necessary Progress supply ships, and no money is budgeted...
...there any spacewalks scheduled? Count on it. Spacewalks are a part of every big ISS assembly job, and three are planned for this mission. Unlike a house, where most of the utilities run through walls, on the space station they run along the outside, and have to be connected by hand every time a new module is added. On this mission, shuttle astronauts Tom Jones and Robert Curbeam will have to make about 100 connections...
...toughest job on this mission? That probably would be Marsha Ivins, the veteran astronaut who will use the shuttle's robotic arm to lift the 28-foot Destiny module from the shuttle's payload bay and move it into position on the space-station. Ivins will have only about two inches of clearance as she lifts the silver cylinder from its berth, then she has to rotate it, flip it over 180 degrees and put it in its place. Once that's done, she retrieves a docking port from where she previously parked it and puts it on Destiny...