The International Space Station (ISS) has consistently showcased the heights of collaborative human effort, yet it has seen revisions. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
The International Space Station (ISS) stands as a major triumph of human endeavour and teamwork, a structure erected by a consortium of nations expanding the frontiers of human experience.
Launched in November 2000, for over 25 years, the ISS has embodied what humankind can accomplish through united action.
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However, akin to any technology, it’s capable of undergoing upgrades and refinements, and indeed, such upgrades and refinements have occurred; though not all enhancements have been purely mechanical.
Over the preceding couple of years, the £80bn plus ISS has accommodated the planet’s most sophisticated coffee brewing system.
Branded as the ISSPresso, the mechanism was devised to create coffee under zero-gravity settings for astronauts stationed on the orbiting platform.
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Fabricated by Lavazza Coffee and Argotec, the 20kg ISSPresso apparatus was engineered to endure 400 bar of pressure and dispense premium espresso into a sealed plastic sachet.
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As per the Guardian, a primary advocate behind the development of the machine was Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, who voiced dissatisfaction regarding the coffee quality aboard the £109Bn space station after only a week there.
Consequently, a caffeine-fueled pursuit resulted in the creation and setup of the ISSpresso machine on the space station, reaching its peak with Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti becoming the first individual to consume an espresso while aboard the ISS in 2015.
Following a two-year operational period, the equipment was returned to Earth through a SpaceX mission, but its influence has since endured as a further testament to what people can achieve collectively.
In a declaration commemorating the station’s 25th anniversary, NASA underscored the ISS’s importance as a symbol of global collaboration.
They stated: “No less than 290 individuals representing 26 nations, and the five international partners have been aboard the orbiting facility during its 25 years of sustained human occupancy.
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“These missions support scientific, outreach, and commercial endeavors. They also serve to illustrate the need for upcoming commercial space stations and constitute a vital element of NASA’s blueprint for facilitating a vigorous and competitive commercial economy within low Earth orbit.”
Concerning the ISS itself; there are escalating inquiries surrounding its replacement upon reaching its projected end-of-life in 2030.