NASA
As the crew of Shuttle Discovery mission STS-119 departed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, they were able to view and image the fruits of their labor in adding the fourth and final truss segment and set of solar arrays. While there are still a few modules and other equipment to add, the ISS now really does resemble the illustrations we've seen over the years. The extra power provided by the new solar arrays will also enable expansion of the ISS crew size from three to six and enable much more scientific research to be conducted aboard the station.
Meanwhile, on Thursday the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft was launched with the Expedition 19 crew and "space tourist" Charles Simonyi, a billionaire taking his second ride to the ISS as a paying participant. He will be the last "tourist" to go to the ISS, at least for the foreseeable future, as the expansion to crew size of six leaves no room for extra passengers. However, these pioneering spaceflight participants, starting with Dennis Tito in 2001, have paved the way and given credibility to an emerging private spaceflight industry that will enable many more people too go into space.
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