The International Space Station was designed to provide a homey outpost for space travelers floating hundreds of miles above Earth. Investigating the effects of aging in space. The future station also promises a fast Web connection, DVD players, a shower and a gym selection including a cycling machine, a treadmill and possibly a rowing machine. But for the first permanent crew, due to arrive at the station on Thursday for a four-month stay, the station's now spartan offerings will make the mission feel more like camping. The Expedition 1 team launched in a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakstan early this morning.
Every item has a lot of calories.
It'll be like backpacking. Not only will the first permanent crew be eating only dehydrated and canned food, they'll also be limited to sponge bathes and they'll be bagging and stowing waste from their suction-operated toilet until a Russian rocket arrives Nov. 18 to resupply the station and take out the trash. Instead of three rooms, the crew will be limited to two until the space shuttle Endeavor arrives with electricity-generating solar panels in early December. The third room will be sealed off to preserve energy. The two rooms they will use happen to be the noisiest so the astronauts are taking earplugs.