Construction of the International Space Station began on 20 November 1998 when the American-funded, Russian-built Zarya module was launched into orbit around Earth. Sixteen countries are involved in the project.
The space station has a permanent crew of six astronauts whose primary mission is to carry out research in areas such as life, earth and space sciences. The US laboratory Destiny was added in 2001 followed by the European Columbus and Japanese Kibo labs in 2008.
The size of an American football field, the ISS has taken 13 years to complete at a cost of an estimated $100 billon.
Photo: The ISS as seen from the space shuttle Discovery, 7 March 2011 (NASA)
Bad weather delays the return of the Space Shuttle Atlantis after its mission to install the US Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station in February 2001. The lab is used for experiments in human life science, materials research and commercial applications. John McIntyre reports for BBC News.
NASA astronauts Ken Ham and Piers Sellers discuss their favourite memories of the International Space Station with Patrick Moore. In May 2010 they were part of a Space Shuttle Atlantis crew that went to the International Space Station to install equipment.
Microbes from the seaside village of Beer in Devon survive 18 months in space stuck to the outside of the International Space Station. Pallab Ghosh reports for BBC News.
Peter Snow previews the International Space Station (ISS) in 1998 at the start of the project. This report quotes a predicted amount of time and money for the ISS's construction that proved to be highly optimistic. The ISS has cost around $100 billion and taken 13 years to build.
Astronauts Commander Ken Ham and Mission Specialist Piers Sellers talk to Patrick Moore about the amazing things that can be seen from the International Space Station. In May 2010 they were part of a Space Shuttle Atlantis crew that went there to install equipment.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. It follows the Salyut, Almaz, Skylab and Mir stations as the ninth space station to be inhabited. The ISS is a modular structure whose first component was launched in 1998. Now the largest artificial body in orbit, it can often be seen at the appropriate time with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components. ISS components have been launched by American Space Shuttles as well as Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets. Budget constraints led to the merger of three space station projects with the Japanese Kibō module and Canadian robotics. In 1993 the partially built components for a Soviet/Russian space station Mir-2, the proposed American Freedom, and the proposed European Columbus merged into a single multinational programme.
The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars.
The station has been continuously occupied for 700112000000000000012 years and 7002191000000000000191 days, having exceeded the previous record of almost 10 years (or 3,634 days) held by Mir, in 2010. The station is serviced by Soyuz spacecraft, Progress spacecraft, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, the H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the Dragon spacecraft. It has been visited by astronauts and cosmonauts from 15 different nations.
The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency, JAXA, ESA, and CSA. The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided into two sections, the Russian orbital segment (ROS) and the United States orbital segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations. The ISS is maintained at an orbital altitude of between 330 km (205 mi) and 435 km (270 mi). It completes 15.7 orbits per day. The ISS is funded until 2020, and may operate until 2028. The Russian Federal Space Agency (RSA/RKA) has proposed using ISS to commission modules for a new space station, called OPSEK, before the remainder of the ISS is de-orbited.
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