How the Space Station Works
On 13 October 2026 a SpaceX Dragon lifted off with supplies and the last pair of new roll-out solar wings for the International Space Station. This film explains how the station works: why it stays up and why its crew floats even though gravity there is 90% as strong as on the ground, why thin air drags it down and how it is pushed back up, how it was built in 42 flights, how sunlight powers it, how it turns water into air and recycles 98% of its water, what weightlessness does to bones, and how it will end. Stop its sideways speed, fire a reboost, build it module by module and switch day to night.
Falling around the world
A home in space that never stops falling.
Fast and low
Once around the world every ninety minutes.
Always falling
Gravity is still there. So why float?
A slow leak
Even thin air adds up.
One module at a time
From a speech in 1984 to a crew in 2000.
Forty-two flights
The largest structure ever put together in space.
Wings of light
Everything runs on the Sun, even at night.
Rolled out like a carpet
Ageing wings get a boost.
Air from water
A sealed can has to make its own air.
Yesterday’s water
Almost every drop comes round again.
Bones without weight
Floating is fun. The body pays for it.
Why go at all
Some things only show up without gravity.
Look up
It passes over almost everyone.
The last fall
One day the falling will be allowed to finish.
Still falling
Sideways speed, sunlight and recycling.
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