I NTERNATIONAL S PACE S TATION (ISS) Visualization

O BJECTIVES Develop an awareness of International Space Station and its mission Develop modeling, animation and rendering skills Develop teamwork skills Develop and analyze a storyboard. Explore space related careers Apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Explore careers in space and technical visualization. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. Model a space station facility. Create visualizations using basic design skills, graphing, image processing, 2D and 3D modeling, animation and simulation. Create and deliver multimedia presentations.

ISS H ISTORY 1972, Nixon administration approved the development of the reusable Space Shuttle as a main direction for the US manned space program. 1984, President Reagan gave official green light to the ambitious project, which envisioned permanently manned space station by , NASA came up with three options known as A, B, and C, however none of them would meet the projected budget restrictions. At the time, Russian Space Agency proposed NASA to merge Freedom and Mir-2 projects. The Mir-2 and Freedom design would allow early presence of the crew onboard, while the use of Progress cargo ships would provide much cheaper sustainability for the station, compared to the use of the Space Shuttle.Progress cargo ships On Sept. 2 Russia and the US signed an agreement to merge Freedom and Mir-2 projects.

ISS O VERVIEW The International Space Station is a large, inhabited Earth satellite that more than 15 nations are building in space. The first part of the station was launched in 1998, and the first full-time crew -- one American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts -- occupied the station in The International Space Station orbits Earth at an altitude of about 250 miles (400 kilometers). Solar panels supply more than 100 kilowatts of electric power to the station.

S OLAR A RRAYS ISS’s electrical power system (EPS) use eight photovoltaic solar arrays to convert sunlight to electricity The eight solar arrays are 112 ft long by 39 ft wide The solar arrays are mounted on a "blanket" that can be folded like an accordion for delivery to space Gimbals are used to rotate the arrays so that they face the Sun to provide maximum power to the Space Station Arrays generate 110 kW (kilowatts) total power, about as much as 55 houses would typically use

B ACKGROUND – ISS I NTERIOR FLY THROUGH Video 9:44 minutes long

ISS A SSEMBLY PROCESS Video eature=channel eature=channel 1:54 minute long

R ESOURCES NASA ISS Website Interactive Reference Guide Google SketchUp Storyboarding Information Autodesk Game Show Reel – a video demonstration of the games using Autodesk products for development entertainment/games entertainment/games NASA Engineers discuss what they do in video interviews No Boundaries toolkit for STEM careers