Dear fineart-ga;
Of course, I understand. Let me see if I can put it in a condensed,
explanation easily consumable by a 9-year old:
Well, here?s the deal. The International Space Station (known as the
ISS) is built in such as way that it only coincidentally somewhat
resembles an airplane. This has nothing to do with the way the station
?flies? through space, in fact it doesn?t really fly at all, rather it
merely drifts in it?s orbit around the earth. The reason I mention
this though is because on one side of the station there is a
noticeable wing-looking apparatus. With a strong telescope one can
actually see the ISS and from this distance it certainly appears to be
a ?space airplane? because of this unusual ?wing?.
Look through NASA?s telescope. Does it look like an airplane to you?
NASA
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/images/sunrise/issroll0105310404.gif
Oh, it isn?t though! The space station is really shaped more like the
letter ?T? than an airplane but you can?t see that from where we
stand. The ?wing-looking thing? that you see is the ISS power plant.
On top of it there are actually about $600 million dollars worth of
very complex solar panels (called ?solar arrays?) that capture the
light from the sun and convert the light into useable energy. It also
happens to be the largest array of solar panels ever flown in space.
Take a look at the ISS from the close-up top angle and you?ll see just
how enormous this solar power plant really is.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OVERVIEW
View from the top: http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/images/iss/iss_top.jpg
View from the bottom: http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/images/iss/iss_sunrise.jpg
Neat, huh? The energy captured by them 24 hours a day is stored in
large batteries aboard the space station that are capable of
delivering electric current of 246 kilowatts, literally at the flip of
a switch. Each day, the huge arrays can soak up enough of the sun's
energy to run 10 average homes year round with no problem. It doesn?t
look like it from here, but there are actually eight wings, each 108
by 38-feet that encompass an area of 26,000 sq. ft. ? that?s more than
one acre of solar panels! Each wing consists of a mast assembly and
two solar array blankets. Each blanket has 84 panels, of which 82 are
populated with solar cells. Each panel contains 200 solar cells.
That?s a lot of solar panels working on the job at one time! The ISS
never runs at maximum power but if it did, in one giant burst of
energy it would power up about 200 homes for a short period of time.
If you are interested in the much more advanced and complicated
explanation I told you about, here is the book:
INSIDE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION : PAYLOADS, STRUCTURES AND
LIGHTING ASTRONAUT TRAINING MANUAL
by World Spaceflight News
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1893472167/lestweforgecanad/104-2528169-9565524
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
CNN
?Spacewalkers Give Alpha A Surge?
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/12/05/shuttle.04/
NASA
?Space Station Supernova?
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/28aug_sunrise.htm
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PROFILE
http://lmms.external.lmco.com/about/press_kit/spacestation.html
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINES USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Space station
Solar panels
Solar array
ISS |
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