Task 2. The years to come. part 2.
Here we are again with the Years to Come. Now I'd like to tell you about and to show you the pictures of an exciting new project which is the result of cooperation of scientists, engineers, technicians from virtually all over the world.
Towards the end of 90s, a bright new celestial body will appear in the night sky like an immerse shining star, fully visible from 38 degrees north or south of the equator.
It will be a space station, Freedom. The idea for Freedom originated in the USA, but 11 other nations haveagreed to contribute a few of the station's many parts.
The space station is not going to be launched into orbit in one piece, the thousands of parts which make up Freedom are going to be assembled directly in space.
20 Trips by the shuttle and two rockets will be needed to deliver Freedom, piece by piece, into a low orbit around the Earth.
Then, 250 miles above the Earth, construction crews are going to bolt together the space station's many components.
The first batch of parts is going to be launched in 1995. By the end of 1996, the first crew of 8 is goingto enter the living module to begin what NASA hopes will be a continuous human presence in space.
The station has been designed to remain occupied and operational for up to 30 years, a whole generation ofliving in space.
Considering that the first man-made object reached orbit just 30 years ago, that will be quite an accomplishment.
The design of a space station must combine the excitement of space with the necessity for safety and comfort.
Freedom will be the best solution to date and will also be the most complex computerized house ever built, either on earth or in space.
There will be accommodation for 8 people and each crew member will have his or her own room, a shower, a toilet, exercise equipment, a washing machine, a pantry and a sick bay.
Add a television, video, phone and computer to each of the 8 private sleeping rooms, then top it off with the best view on Earth.
Is this some wild new luxury house of the future? Exactly, life on board will also be brightened by a planto fill 20% of the larder with fresh refrigerated fruit, vegetable and dairy products.
Behind every space station lies the dream that is the least 120 years old, a colony in space. Freedom is not going to be that colony, for it will always depend on the earth for the supplies.
But it is going to be the place where scientists discover how to establish healthy and productive human habitation in space.
When new technology is developed to make it less risky, we will see more civilians in space.
So an 18-year-old can look forward to visiting the space by his or her 68 birthday in 2050.
And that's the end of this week's programme. Tune in next week for another edition of the Years to Come.
The Years to Come is a Channel 5 production, and this is Mal Carrington.