Upgrading the International Space Station
影像版權: STS-116 Shuttle Crew, NASA
Explanation:
The International Space Station (ISS) will be the largest human-made object ever to orbit the Earth. The station is so large that it could not be launched all at once -- it is being built piecemeal with large sections added continually by flights of the Space Shuttle. To function, the ISS needs trusses to keep it rigid and to route electricity and liquid coolants. These trusses are huge, extending over 15 meters long, and with masses over 10,000 kilograms. Pictured above earlier this month, astronauts Robert L. Curbeam (USA) and Christer Fuglesang (Sweden) work to attach a new truss segment to the ISS and begin to upgrade the power grid.
說明:
國際太空站 (ISS) 將是有史以來環繞 地球的最大人造物體。 此太空站大到什麼程度呢? 大到當它發射時，無法將所有設備一次送上去 -- 所以現在得靠太空梭往返運載組件再 一一組裝起來 。為了能夠運作，ISS 需要支撐架幫它定型以方便電流和液態冷卻劑的輸送。 這些支撐架是很龐大的，長度有15公尺，重量則超過10,000 公斤。上圖是這個月初時，美國太空人 Robert L. Curbeam和瑞典太空人Christer Fuglesang正在為ISS安裝新的支撐架零件使之更強化的情形。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
