How many screws did they need to make the ISS?
Answer
Dear Glenn,
how many screws are in the ISS, that is perhaps something no one has ever wondered. It won’t be easy to know exactly, because the different parts of the ISS are made in different countries. Of course this is done according to very strict technical agreements, because the different pieces have to fit and work together in many ways, but I don’t think the exact number of screws is really important there.
Some more concrete information: an Apollo spaceship with which they went to the moon contained a few million parts, a shuttle a few tens of millions. The ISS is about three times as heavy as a shuttle, so it will also contain several tens of millions of parts, if we really start counting everything from the smallest screws, I have not been able to find a number for that anywhere.
Answered by
prof.dr. Paul Hellings
Department of Mathematics, Fac. IIW, KU Leuven
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
.