ISS celebrates 15 years of continuous occupation
The International Space Station today celebrates the anniversary of the arrival of its first crew and the completion of fifteen years of continuous human activity in space.
The previous record of continuous human occupation, on Mir, was ten years. Hopefully, the record now is permanent and ongoing, and will never have an end.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
The International Space Station today celebrates the anniversary of the arrival of its first crew and the completion of fifteen years of continuous human activity in space.
The previous record of continuous human occupation, on Mir, was ten years. Hopefully, the record now is permanent and ongoing, and will never have an end.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Sadly I am surprised it has operated this long.
And this well.
But we will not be truly”in space” permanently until they stop using over educated over trained astronauts to do the work a well trained construction worker and a well trained collage lab tech could do.
Pzatchok wrote: “But we will not be truly”in space” permanently until they stop using over educated over trained astronauts to do the work a well trained construction worker and a well trained collage lab tech could do.”
This is probably a long way off, because each person in space is required to perform multiple duties. The only way to get “specialization” in space is to have enough people there to allow each to have his own specialty that is almost his only task. Essentially, when we have someone whose task is solely janitorial/maintenance work, and no science, construction, administration, etc., then we probably will have reached the point that you consider as being truly in space.
An alternate comparison would be submarine crews, who are well trained and educated for their specialized tasks and responsibilities, but also are their own janitors/maintenance crews.
In the meantime, you are right. With such a small ISS crew, each astronaut has to be trained to perform multiple functions just as well as the specialists in each of those functions are trained. The range of sciences alone is from astronomy to biology, earth sciences, materials sciences, and zoology (what with all those little creatures they experiment upon). Each astronaut having a thorough knowledge of the workings of most of the on-board systems is necessary for such a small crew to repair or maintain any of them. The cost of each minute spent aboard the ISS means that on the job training is not an option. Prior over-training (a relatively low cost) is necessary.
Indeed, in the story “The Martian,” it was the fictional astronaut’s over education and over training that kept him alive so long.
I should not be surprised that it has worked and operated this long. I should just expect it.
But considering its pretty much wholly US funded and operated I’m just as surprised that our congress and presidents have not shut it down.
Most of the time I think that Congress and presidents of the United States take to heart the saying “the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.” It explains why things cost so much and why they continue to fund them — the higher price paid makes the suggestion that they are “manlier men” than the millionaires and billionaires that they like to talk down.
They don’t seem to be willing to stop funding things unless they think their “toy” won’t work or will otherwise embarrass them.