The International Space Station Completes Its 100,000th Orbit Around Earth – Spacecraft Has Travelled More Than 2.6 Bn Miles

The International Space Station or ISS, completed its 100,000th orbit around the Earth. The spacecraft has travelled for more than 2.6 billion miles in its 17 years of existence.

The ISS went around the Earth for the 100,000th time early this morning. The rotations have been considered from the time the first component, the Zarya cargo module, was launched on November 20, 1998. The milestone was confirmed by Russian mission control in a simple statement.

“Today the ISS made its 100,000th orbit around Earth.”

The mission control based in Moscow is responsible for monitoring various aspects and vital statistics of ISS. It added that during the orbit, ISS released several types of Cubesats – miniature satellites often built with off-the-shelf-components – into space. Today’s deployment of the Cubesats took place from the Kibo lab module’s airlock. Even more such miniature space probes are expected to be launched within two days.

Interestingly, quite a few of these satellites have been designed and programmed by students and scientists across the globe. These enthusiastic space explorers have programmed a variety of tests that will be conducted in zero-gravity and help contribute to a wide variety of research, reported NASA.

ISS travels at a velocity of about 17,500 mph, roughly 250 miles above the earth in a geosynchronous orbit. The space station completes an orbit around the Earth in barely 90 minutes. The “anniversary orbit” lasted from 7:35 a.m to 9:10 a.m Moscow time (0435 to 0610 GMT), added the Russian mission control.

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The ISS has been occupied by over 220 people. However, not more than six people are usually stationed there and a majority of the astronauts do not spend more than a few months due to the adverse effects on the human body due to constantly floating in zero-gravity. Incidentally, Scott Kelly is the only astronaut to spend multiple extended periods onboard the ISS. He is currently involved in an ongoing study which investigates the effects of zero-gravity on human body.

The ISS is currently occupied by Russians Alexey Ovchinin, Oleg Skripochka and Yuri Malenchenko along with NASA’s Jeff Williams and Tim Kopra, as well as European Space Agency’s Briton Tim Peake. Speaking about the milestone from the station in a video posted by NASA, U.S. flight engineer Jeff Williams said the following.

“This is a significant milestone and is a tribute to this international partnership made up of the European Space Agency, of Russia, Canada, Japan and the United States.”

Adding to the praises for the ISS, Maxim Matyushin, the head of Russian mission control had this to say.

“The ISS as a vivid example of real and effective international cooperation to carry out really large breakthrough projects that are crucial for the whole of civilization.”

After the first module was successfully placed into the orbit in November 1998, American astronaut Bill Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko became the first crew to ever reside in space. Since the year 2000, the ISS has always remained occupied by a team of astronauts. From a humble two-module spacecraft, the ISS has burgeoned to a mammoth that currently sports 15 different modules, including a unique inflatable habitat called BEAM. The ISS currently spans the length and width of a football pitch.

100,000 orbits! That's 2.6 billion miles or about the distance of 10 round trips to Mars. ?https://t.co/8raC3Ffzbn

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) May 16, 2016

Considering various additions to the ISS, the spacecraft is currently worth about $100 billion. However, its actual worth and importance to mankind simply can’t be measured in dollars. Hundreds of experiments, which would be simply impossible to conduct here on Earth, have been successfully carried out onboard the ISS.

Since the American space shuttles were permanently grounded, Russia is the only country with the technology and capability to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. Most of the space launches, including cargo, supplies and astronauts, take place from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. However, private space exploration companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX have been rapidly developing reusable rockets to ferry shuttles.

Despite the immensely important contributions, the ISS is expected to remain operational only until 2024, reports The Guardian. Its fate thereafter might be similar to space debris that falls and burns up in upper atmosphere upon re-entry.

[Photo by NASA]