A few weeks ago, Washington Post posted a long picture-filled article about the current and future operations of the International Space Station. The reader gets to know about the project’s challenges, triumphs, and hazards, and about a near-drowning accident (yes, it is possible drown in space). Link >>>
Anyhow, the ISS is an essential workshop for developing technology and acquiring know-how for manned missions to other parts of the solar system. The astronautical heroism of my youth has been replaced by more mundane toils on an permanent basis. I am however convinced that investments in it will pay off in ten or twenty years when the first manned spacecraft set out for the asteroid belt or Mars.
The tools of the trade
The Dream Forge 