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Space Station Turns 2

Space Station Turns Two
Space Station Additions

The International Space Station celebrated its second year of permanent habitation in 2002.

Already the largest, most sophisticated and powerful spacecraft ever built when its second year of occupancy began in 2001, the International Space Station grew by more than 25,400 kilograms (56,000 pounds) in components added during the following 12 months.

During the first two years of permanent occupancy, the station grew by more than 90,718 kilograms (200,000 pounds), and its internal volume increased from that of an efficiency apartment to a three-bedroom house.

In 2002, construction began on the station's backbone, a truss structure that eventually will support almost an acre of solar panels to provide more power for orbital research than ever before.

International Space Station, August 2001International Space Station, October 2002
The above photograph shows the International Space Station's external configuration at the beginning of Year 2. An STS-105 crewmember snapped the photo in August 2001.The above photograph was taken by an STS-112 crewmember in October 2002, at the end of Year 2. The large white structure running parallel to the right solar array is the beginning of the Integrated Truss Structure.
The following structures were added to the station between November 2001 and November 2002:
ElementDate LaunchedMission
S0 Truss and Mobile Transporter April 8, 2002STS-110
Mobile Remote Servicer Base SystemJune 5, 2002STS-111
S1 Truss Oct. 7, 2002STS-112
Spacewalks
IMAGE: STS-110 spacewalker Rex Walheim
STS-110 spacewalker Rex Walheim, anchored to the mobile foot restraint at the end of the International Space Station's Canadarm2, moves a piece of equipment toward the S0 (S-Zero) Truss. During Year 2, station residents and visitors conducted 17 spacewalks.
Related Links

Space Station Assembly
Integrated Truss Structure
Space Station Robotic Arm (Interactive requires Flash Player)

Curator: Kim Dismukes | Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty | Updated: 12/24/2002
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