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Where is the International Space Station right now?  ISS Tracking [image courtesy of NASA] ISS Overview 
Following are excerpts taken from Wikipedia articles about the Space Station. Current on-orbit configuration of the ISS following the mission of the STS-116, launched in December 2006. [image courtesy of NASA] A Product of Five International Agencies
The International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility currently being assembled in orbit around the Earth. It is a joint project between five space agencies: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, United States), the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos, Russian Federation), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, Japan), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA, Canada) and the European Space Agency (ESA, Europe).A Presence in Space
The ISS has been continuously inhabited since the first resident crew entered the station on November 2, 2000, thereby providing a permanent human presence in space. The station is serviced primarily by Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft and by U.S. Space Shuttle orbiters. At present the station has a capacity for a crew of three. One Module at a Time
A total of 10 main pressurized modules (Zarya, Zvezda, Destiny, Unity Module -also called Node 1-, Node 2, Node 3, Columbus, Kibo, MLM and the RM) are currently scheduled to be part of the ISS by its completion date in 2010.About the Window Observational Research Facility  Graph of Window Pane Transmittance Crystal Clear Window
Windows and viewing ports aboard spacecraft have historically not had to support high quality scientific observations. The U.S. Laboratory Window onboard the ISS has been designed to be as optically transparent as possible across a wide spectral range, as shown at right.A Home For AgCam
The Window Observational Research Facility, or WORF, is a modified standard equipment rack that will fit over and around the U.S. Laboratory Window. From within it's enclosed, internal volume, scientific instruments such as AgCam will be able to view the Earth from a solid, mechanical mounting location. As shown below, the WORF also provides standardized power and data interfaces, air or water cooling as needed, fire detection and suppression, and isolation from the crew compartment environment. |