Launched into orbit in 1998 the International Space Station, or ISS, as it is commonly known, has been flying through our outer atmosphere for over 11 years. This wouldn’t have been possible without the stainless steel alloy cladding that encapsulates the entire space station and forms the basis of the Integrated Truss Structure (ITS).
The ITS structure is formed from a linear arrangement of connected ‘trusses’ to which various components are mounted such as logistics carriers solar panels and other equipment. The ITS creates a bus communication and data transfer architecture for the space station and is around 110metres of stainless steel and aluminium.
The ISS orbits the earth every 92 minutes, at an incredible 17,150 miles per hour!
The ISS first took long terms residents in November 2000 and has been inhabited continuously for the last 10 years, forming the base for a wide range of cutting edge space-related research projects during that time.
Pictured left: A close-up view of a section of the International Space Station.
Maybe one day we’ll see one of our Stainless Steel Worktops installed on the ISS… until then here’s a bad Star Trek joke….
Q: How many ears does Captain Kirk have?
A: Three. A left ear, a right ear, and a final frontier!