Imagine the following. With precision movements, a crane swings a huge building block into position. Workers climb onto the structure and use power tools to bolt the pieces together. In this case, the construction workers are astronauts, the cranes are a new generation of space robotics and the skyscraper taking shape is the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS has several core components, without which it could not function. These include:

• Cylindrical modules, which are the main building blocks of the station (i.e. habitat module, laboratory or scientific modules).
• A bridge-like linear structure called a truss that acts as the attachment point to various modules. These include the Canadian Mobile Servicing System, the photovoltaic arrays (provides electricity) and radiators (used to control the temperatures of the ISS).
• Nodes, which are the connections between the modules of the ISS.

Part 1: Design the space station

• Begin by cutting out the various space station elements from the Space Station Parts sheets.
• As you cut out the parts, begin placing them onto your open file folder. The goal is to slide and place the parts around on the folder to make a complete space station (i.e. each space station must have at least one of each element).
• Your model must pass “inspection” before you can glue their space stations in place.

Part 2: Build the space station

• Discuss the challenge at hand: teams will not have unlimited access to building material because space station components are costly. As in the case of NASA and the ISS Partner Nations, teams must think carefully how to plan and construct an efficiently built space station within a given budget.
• Scouters will allocate 1500 Space Dollars to each team, along with one copy of the Materials Price List and one copy of the Design a Space Station Budget Worksheet.
• Work from the Materials Price List to select materials with which to construct your space station. You cannot use more than the 1500 Space Dollars they’ve been given.
• Draw a design and plan your team’s budget using the Design a Space Station Budget Worksheet.
• Before construction can begin, budgets must be approved by Scouters. Upon approval, teams may proceed to the Space Station Store to purchase their parts and begin construction of their space station.