The ISS

The ISS is short for the ‘International Space Station’. It’s a satellite that goes around Earth, and there are some astronauts who live and work in it. 

 

It’s got the most advanced equipment in space and has cost about 160 billion dollars. It’s the most expensive space project after the Space Shuttle programme. It weighs about 400,000 kilogrammes, and it’s the heaviest and largest man-made satellite that goes around Earth. 

 

It’s about 109 metres long, and ten astronauts can live and work in it. You may think that it’s far away, but it’s actually close to us. It flies at about 350 to 460 kilometres above the ground and travels about 7 kilometres a second.