International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station assembled and maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), CSA (Canada), and their contractors. ISS is the largest space station ever built. Its primary purpose is performing microgravity and space environment experiments.
"ISS" redirects here. For other uses, see ISS (disambiguation).Station statistics
1998-067A
25544
Alpha, Station
- Expedition
- Expedition: 71[1]
- Maximum: 8
- Currently aboard: 7
(Soyuz MS-24, Soyuz MS-25, Crew-8[2][1]) - Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos)[1]
- Non-expedition
- Visitors: 0[1]
20 November 1998
- Baikonur, Site 1/5, Site 200/39,
Site 31/6 and Site 81/23 - Kennedy, LC-39 and CCSFS, SLC-40
450,000 kg (990,000 lb)[3]
109 m (358 ft) (overall length), 94 m (310 ft) (truss length)[4]
73 m (239 ft) (solar array length)[4]
1,005.0 m3 (35,491 cu ft)[4]
422 km (262.2 mi) AMSL[5]
51.64°[5]
7.66 km/s[5] 27,600 km/h; 17,100 mph
92.9 minutes[6]
15.5[5]
16 August 16:19:30[7]
25 years, 5 months, 5 days
(25 April 2024)
23 years, 5 months, 23 days
(25 April 2024)
141,117 as of August 2023[7]
2 km/month
Operationally the station is divided into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment assembled by Roscosmos and the US Orbital Segment assembled by NASA, JAXA, ESA and CSA. A striking feature of the ISS is the Integrated Truss Structure, which connects the large solar panels and radiators to the pressurized modules. The pressurized modules are specialized for research, habitation, storage, spacecraft control and airlock functions. Visiting spacecraft dock to the station via its eight docking and berthing ports. The ISS maintains an orbit with an average altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi)[11] and circles the Earth in roughly 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day.[12]
The ISS programme combines two prior plans to construct crewed Earth-orbiting stations: Space Station Freedom planned by the United States, and the Mir-2 station planned by the Soviet Union. The first ISS module was launched in 1998. Major modules have been launched by Proton and Soyuz rockets and by the Space Shuttle launch system. The first long-term residents, Expedition 1, arrived on 2 November 2000. Since then the station has been continuously occupied for 23 years and 175 days, the longest continuous human presence in space. As of March 2024, 279 individuals from 22 countries have visited the space station.[13] The ISS is expected to have additional modules (the Axiom Orbital Segment, for example) before being de-orbited by a dedicated NASA spacecraft in January 2031.
Overview blueprint of components
Diagram structure of International Space Station after installation of iROSA solar arrays (as of 2023)
A 7-gram object (shown in centre) shot at 7 km/s (23,000 ft/s), the orbital velocity of the ISS, made this 15 cm (5.9 in) crater in a solid block of aluminium
Example of risk management: A NASA model showing areas at high risk from impact for the International Space Station
(1997–2007)
Brazil
Canada
Belgium
Japan
Russia
United States
Cost[edit]
The ISS has been described as the most expensive single item ever constructed.[445] As of 2010, the total cost was US$150 billion. This includes NASA's budget of $58.7 billion ($89.73 billion in 2021 dollars) for the station from 1985 to 2015, Russia's $12 billion, Europe's $5 billion, Japan's $5 billion, Canada's $2 billion, and the cost of 36 shuttle flights to build the station, estimated at $1.4 billion each, or $50.4 billion in total. Assuming 20,000 person-days of use from 2000 to 2015 by two- to six-person crews, each person-day would cost $7.5 million, less than half the inflation-adjusted $19.6 million ($5.5 million before inflation) per person-day of Skylab.[446]
In film[edit]
Beside numerous documentaries such as the IMAX documentaries Space Station 3D from 2002,[447] or A Beautiful Planet from 2016,[448] and films like Apogee of Fear (2012)[449] and Yolki 5 (2016)[450][451] the ISS is the subject of feature films such as The Day After Tomorrow (2004),[452] Love (2011),[453] together with the Chinese station Tiangong 1 in Gravity (2013),[454] Life (2017),[455] and I.S.S. (2023).[456]
In 2022, the movie The Challenge (Doctor's House Call) was filmed aboard the ISS, and was notable for being the first feature film in which both professional actors and director worked together in space.[457]
This article incorporates from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
public domain material
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