International Space Station (ISS)
Estación Espacial Internacional (ISS)
- Date
- 1998 · confidence high
- Place
- Baikonur (Zarya module, 1998) and Kennedy Space Center (Unity); low Earth orbit
- Credited to
- NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and CSA; permanently inhabited since November 2000
- Field
- Movement
What it is
The largest structure built in space, assembled by sixteen countries and inhabited without interruption since 2000. It is the microgravity laboratory and the symbol of international scientific cooperation.
Retirement is planned for around 2030.
What it led to
- Microgravity research (medicine, materials) and a permanent human presence
- The commercialisation of low Earth orbit (SpaceX, private stations)
- Assembly lessons for lunar bases
Built on
- First orbital docking (Gemini 8)16 de marzo de 1966
- Soyuz spacecraft1967
- Space station (Salyut 1 and Skylab)1971-1973
- Apollo-Soyuz: first docking between craft of two countries17 de julio de 1975
- Canadarm: the Space Shuttle's robotic arm13 de noviembre de 1981
- Space Shuttle1981
- Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU): untethered spacewalk7 de febrero de 1984
- Mir modular space station1986
- Mir station
Made possible
- Dennis Tito: first paying space tourist aboard the ISS28 de abril - 6 de mayo de 2001
- Commercial crewed spacecraft (Crew Dragon)2020
- commercial stations
- 3D printing in orbit