International Space Station
The International Space Station (or ISS) is a Space Station jointly being constructed by NASA and the Russian Space Agency, along with Canada, Japan, Brazil, and the ESA, in an effort to send astronauts into space for long durations and conduct experiments in space. Construction began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed in 2011. Our International Space Station category is for questions related to the International Space Station and its operations.
Asked in Space Travel and Exploration, Space Shuttle, Challenger and Columbia Disasters, International Space Station
What are the names of the two space shuttles that malfunctioned and disintegrated each causing personal tragedy and a significant setback to the American space program?

The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch on
January 28, 1986. The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon
re-entry on February 1, 2003. There were seven astronauts on each
shuttle, and all perished during these events. The breakup of the
space shuttle Challenger was caused by the failure of two O- rings
in one of the solid rocket boosters (SRB's) to properly seal. There
had been problems with the seal on other missions, but it is
thought that the decision to launch in near-freezing temperatures
contributed to the failure, making the seal rigid and unable to
seal properly. This led to a catastrophic chain of events. Hot
gases escaped from the SRB, followed by a flame, damaging the clamp
securing the SRB, and burning through the external fuel tank
causing the tank to disintegrate. The forces created caused the
orbiter to disintegrate (it did not explode) before the debris
crashed into the ocean. The Columbia Space Shuttle disintegrated
upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003. The
Columbia sustained damage to its thermal protection system during
launch. NASA suspected damage to the shuttle while they were still
in orbit, but decided the foam would not have caused enough damage
to endanger the shuttle. The damage allowed hot gases to penetrate
and destroy the internal wing structure, causing the shuttle break
up upon re-entry.
Asked in Space Shuttle, International Space Station, NASA
Why a space shuttle take off vertically?

Because if it took off horizontally, it would continue to circle
the earth, hitting all those people in the boats that are watching
the take-off, then continue until it came to a land mass and
possibly strike buildings, vehicles, people...until it exploded
into a fireball of great magnitude. So, to avoid this, NASA decided
to have the shuttles take off vertically.
< It takes off vertically to reach less dense air ( less drag
and aerodynamic heating ), and then begins a pitch maneuver to
increase its tangential ( to the Earth) velocity; which eventually
leads to a continuous orbit about the Earth. This procedure reduces
the necessary on board mass of propellant on the spacecraft. The
shuttle is essentially in free fall around the Earth ( imagine a
cannon being fired at such a speed that it as it falls, the
curvature of the Earth decreases in a proportional manner).>
Asked in International Space Station
When will the international space station fly over Seattle WA?

1. Gotoheavens-above.com and click database and select your
location
2. Now in home page, click "ISS" to see a table of ISS
timings
Note direction and timings and look at the sky at exact time and
you will definitely catch a good glimpse of it.
The more the negative value of "MAG" in the the table
implies more Brightness
Asked in International Space Station
Can you see the orbit of the ISS?

It is possible to see the ISS pass overhead. There are websites
that will tell you when it can be seen from your location, some of
which are listed below. This only happens in any part of the world
about every two months, but it will then happen regularly for about
10 days to two weeks, so you would get lots of chances to see it.
It looks like a bright moving star, taking a few minutes to pass
over.
Asked in International Space Station, International Space Agencies
How does the International Space Station make oxygen?

I found this article at Space.com (see link in related links) I
hope is helps.
"Built by Russian engineers, the Elektron device aboard the
space station uses electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen,
which is dumped overboard, and oxygen. The 1,500-pound
(680-kilogram) OGS rack works in much the same way, and will be
able to provide 12 pounds of breathable oxygen daily under normal
operations, NASA officials said."
Asked in Earth Sciences, Space Travel and Exploration, International Space Station
Why are space stations important for scientific research?

Space stations are not important for scientific research. They
are important for space exploration, that is in order to put humans
on Mars. However, instruments like the Hubble space telescope are
much more important for scientific research as they enable us to
look into unknown regions of space. As such they improve our
understanding of the universe. Of similar importance are particle
accelerators like the LHC at CERN in Switzerland which probe matter
at the smallest scale and thus help us understand fundamental
questions of particle physics for example the origin of mass.