GWR 2023 High Res Blad PDF Half Page ver - Flipbook - Page 3
SPACE
LARGEST ROOM IN SPACE
Launched on 14 May 1973, NASA’s Skylab was the USA’s
first space station and the largest single habitable
volume launched into space. Its main body consisted of
a converted third-stage booster from a Saturn V rocket
launcher. This cylindrical space station had a total
internal volume of 238.3 m³ (8,419 cu ft), giving
a habitable volume of 173 m³ (6,112 cu ft).
FIRST MUSIC VIDEO FILMED IN SPACE
On 12 May 2013, during his last mission on the ISS,
Commander Chris Hadfield (CAN) posted a video to
YouTube of himself singing David Bowie’s “Space
Oddity”. Bowie later told Hadfield it was the most
poignant cover of the song ever performed.
MOST PEOPLE IN SPACE AT THE SAME TIME
For a few minutes on 11 Dec 2021, the human population of
space numbered 19. It comprised six people in a Blue Origin
New Shepard capsule, three in the Chinese Tiangong space
station (pictured) and 10 in the ISS. This beats the previous
record space population of 14, set on 20 Jul 2021 (during
the first Blue Origin flight, see p.19), and equalled between
15 and 17 Sep during the Inspiration4 mission (see opposite).
LONGEST SINGLE SPACEFLIGHT
Russian doctor Valeriy Poliyakov (below) spent
437 days 17 hr 58 min 31 sec in space. He was launched
to the Mir space station on board Soyuz TM18 on 8 Jan
1994, and returned to Earth on 22 Mar 1995.
The longest single spaceflight by a woman is
328 days 13 hr 58 min 12 sec, set by NASA astronaut
Christina Koch (USA) between 14 Mar 2019 and 6 Feb
2020. Remarkably, this was Koch’s debut mission.
FASTEST TIME TO
COMPLETE A MARATHON
IN ORBIT (MALE)
Tim Peake (UK) ran a 3-hr
35-min 21-sec marathon
on a treadmill inside the
ISS on 24 Apr 2016.
On 16 Apr 2007, NASA
astronaut Sunita Williams
(USA) achieved the female
record – 4 hr 24 min – as
an official entrant of the
111th Boston Marathon.
FIRST SHOWER IN SPACE
Skylab’s comparatively
large interior volume
(see above left) could
accommodate a space
shower. Users stood
inside a ring on the floor
and lifted a circular
curtain attached to the
ceiling. A hose would then
spray 2.8 litres (6 pints)
of water per use. This
was collected afterwards
using a vacuum system.
MOST TOILETS
IN A SPACE STATION
With the arrival of Russia’s
Nauka module on 29 Jul
2021, the ISS boasted three
toilets. In 2020, the toilet in
the US section was replaced
by the Universal Waste
Management System.
This unit was designed
to be quieter, more
hygienic and – most
importantly – easier for
female astronauts and
cosmonauts to use.
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