International+Space+Station

**__THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION__


 * [|The International Space Station (ISS)] began on-orbit construction in 1998. It has been scheduled to be complete in 2011. The ISS program will continue until about 2015.
 * The people that go there are usually flight engineers.** **[|ISS VISITORS]**[[image:183311main_jsc2007e038131_small.jpg width="238" height="177" caption="flight engineers http://kickdefella.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/183311main_jsc2007e038131_small.jpg"]]
 * The ISS tests new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, and conducts medical research.
 * The ISS travels about 17,000 mph around the Earth. It completes an orbit every 90 minutes, this causes about 16 [|sunrises] and 16 [|sunsets] each day.
 * The ISS has about 50 countries working together for research and helping to keep it running.
 * The ISS is a permanent laboratory where gravity, temperature, and pressure can be manipulated that can't be done in ground based laboratories.

__FUNDING__


 * The average space shuttle costs $1.7 BILLION.
 * Just launching a shuttle cost about $450 MILLION.
 * The government estimated the cost of the ISS to be $35 BILLION, but now it's roughly $100 BILLION !

[|What is a million? Billion? Trillion?]

**

//General Government-$304 billion//

//-Interest on debt (20%) -Treasury -Government personnel -Justice Department -State Department -Homeland Security (15%) -International affairs (That's about $152 billion) __** -Judaical -Legislative -other general government//
 * __-NASA (50%)