MaterialChick

The International Space Station (ISS) has been continually inhabited since the first crew arrived in November 2000. More than 200 representatives from 15 countries have visited the ISS since then.

The ISS acts as a bridge in many ways. More than 100,000 people, working for space agencies and contractors in 16 countries, had to bridge linguistic, cultural and technological barriers to build ISS. The ISS also required a bridge between multiple disciplines in the sciences, technology and the arts. As it orbits approximately 240 miles above Earth, ISS is a bridge between Earth and space. Even as relations between partner nations falter, ISS remains a bridge, continuing to conduct research projects which have included projects designed by professionals and students from 68 countries.

My quilt is based on a photo taken from Space Shuttle Discovery after Discovery undocked from ISS. On this its final space voyage, Discovery provided a transportation bridge between Earth and ISS.