Can we build the Space Station on the ground then fly it to the space?
Answer:
Theoretically it wouldn't take any more energy to lift the same mass into space all at once as separately..
However if the station was built-up with empty spaces inside rather than in separate pieces then the volume is greater so the air resistance would be more with the larger volume.
Practically the size of the rockets or space shuttle available at present restrict the weight that can be lifted at one time.
It is much more difficult to build it on earth, because we are at the bottom of a "gravity well". It is very diffcult to move heavy objects out of the earth's atmosphere against the pull of gravity. Remember the first rockets that had three separate booster sections just to launch a timy capsule? And how about the launching of the space shuttle (dwarfed on top of the booster rocket that holds the fuel). Also, moving through the atmosphere produces a lot of friction, which causes heating (remember the problems with the space shuttle losing the tiles?). So, rather than dealing with all these problems, it would be much easier to build it in space.
It is built on the ground in sections; then they orbit the big sections and connect them up. There is no rocket big enough to lift it all at once. and its deployed condition, intended for zero g, is not strong enough to withstand launch.
The ISS, currently spans 240 feet and would weigh 470,000 pounds if on earth, and has 15000 cubic feet of habitable volume.
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