Mike Foale once commanded the International Space Station, a model for peace in space. Now nations want stations of their own. Why? And what’s it like to live off Earth?
“To put something up on the old shuttle cost about $US50,000 a kilogram. Nowadays, you’re sitting around $US2000.”
The emergence of the private sector has revolutionised space access and turbocharged research, he says. “To put something up on the old shuttle cost about From left, ISS flight engineers from Roscosmos, NASA and Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency before their return to Earth in March.On his last trip from the ISS, a cosmonaut friend congratulated Foale. “‘You’ve now spent a year in space,’ he told me. I said, ‘Really?’ See, the Russians care. They keep statistics.”
On station, it’s never quite dark with the glow of our blue planet below. Sleeping bags are tethered to walls. But water is so costly to get into space, it’s strictly rationed. That means no showers; astronauts use wet towels and rinseless soap to stay clean.
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