The International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in low Earth orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled for completion by late 2011. The station is expected to remain in operation until at least 2015, and likely 2020. With a greater mass than that of any previous space station, the ISS can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, and is by far the largest artificial satellite that has ever orbited Earth. The station serves as a research laboratory that has a microgravity environment in which crews conduct experiments and observations in various biological, chemical and physical sciences. The ISS is operated by Expedition crews of 6 astronauts and cosmonauts, with the station programme maintaining an uninterrupted human presence in space since the launch of Expedition 1 on 31 October 2000, a total of 9 years and 357 days, taking the record for the longest unbroken human presence in space from the Mir programme today, 23 October 2010. The ISS project began in 1994 with the Shuttle-Mir programme, and the first module of the station, Zarya, was launched in 1998 by Russia. Assembly continues, as pressurised modules and other components are launched by American space shuttles, Russian Proton rockets and Russian Soyuz rockets. The station currently consists of 14 pressurised modules and an extensive integrated truss structure.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

425:

Valentinian III became Emperor of the Western Roman Empire at the age of six. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinian_III

1642:

The Battle of Edgehill, the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians, was fought to an inconclusive result near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Edgehill

1739:

Great Britain declared war on Spain, starting the War of Jenkins' Ear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Jenkins%27_Ear

1956:

The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956

1972:

Operation Linebacker, a US bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ended after five months. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Linebacker

1983:

Lebanese Civil War: Suicide bombers destroyed two barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. servicemen and 58 French paratroopers of the international peacekeeping force. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

tandoor (n): A cylindrical clay oven used, in Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisine, to make flat bread, or to bake meat http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tandoor

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Once the curtain is raised, the actor ceases to belong to himself. He belongs to his character, to his author, to his public. He must do the impossible to identify himself with the first, not to betray the second, and not to disappoint the third. And to this end the actor must forget his personality and throw aside his joys and sorrows. He must present the public with the reality of a being who for him is only a fiction. With his own eyes, he must shed the tears of the other. With his own voice, he must groan the anguish of the other. His own heart beats as if it would burst, for it is the other's heart that beats in his heart. And when he retires from a tragic or dramatic scene, if he has properly rendered his character, he must be panting and exhausted. --Sarah Bernhardt http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sarah_Bernhardt