Cupola, the best view ever from space!
International Space Station: the future is already here
27,700 kilometers per hour, 15 orbits per day, altitude 400 km, over 400 metric tons, as large as a football field, more than 1,200 cubic meters of habitable space… These eloquent figures provide just a hint of the reality of the most complex construction ever seen in space.
Thanks to a suite of sophisticated instruments, the Space Station allows scientists to work in microgravity, to conduct medical, physical, biological research, to develop new materials and test technologies.
The ISS holds a special place in the hearts of Thales Alenia Space’s engineers. The company has provided fully half of the pressurized volume on the ISS, including Nodes 2 and 3, the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM), the Multipurpose Logistics Modules (MPLM) and the Cupola, the Columbus lab structure, and the cargo modules for the ATV resupply vessels. Thales Alenia Space also builds, on behalf of Northrop Grumman, the pressurized cargo modules (PCM) for the Cygnus resupply vessels.
Copyrights for the 2 photos of La Cupola: © ESA/NASA