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The International Space Station: Did you Know?
From http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/spacestation/overview/facts.html

When the International Space Station (ISS) is completed:

• The surface of the solar array, which capture sunlight to produce electricity, will be three times larger than the U.S. Senate chambers.


• The space station itself will be larger than a five-bedroom house.


• The ISS will be four times larger than the Russian space station MIR, and five times larger than the U.S. Skylab.


• Systems onboard are controlled by 52 computers.


• The ISS will weigh almost 1 million pounds.


• It will be about the length of a football field, including the end zones.


• Eight miles of wire will connect the electrical systems.


• The ISS crosses the same area of the planet every three days, covering more than 90 percent of the populated Earth.


• One-third of ISS resources are devoted to commercial aspects, which stimulate business here on Earth.


• The ISS program involves more than 100,000 people in a variety of space agencies and at 500 contractor facilities in 37 U.S. states and in 16 foreign countries.


• The Zarya originally provided the station’s power but is now used for its storage capacity and external fuel tanks. Zarya is Russian for “sunrise.”