TRACKER-1ALPHA
48.8566°N / 2.3522°E
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Space stations·NASA / ESA / JAXA / Roscosmos / CSA

Station ISS

ActiveLaunched in 1998·LEO — 408 km

The largest object ever assembled in space. A permanent orbital laboratory for 25 years.

Main objectives
  • Maintain a crewed orbital laboratory for microgravity research.
  • Test technologies and protocols for deep-space exploration.
  • Sustain international cooperation and commercial crewed flights.
Did you know?

It orbits Earth 16 times a day at 28,000 km/h. The crew witnesses 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every 24 hours.

Timeline

Nov 20, 1998
Zarya launch

First module (Russia).

Nov 02, 2000
First permanent crew

Expedition 1.

May 29, 2011
Assembly complete
Station ISS
Photo of Station ISS
Mission data
StatusActive
PositionLEO — 408 km
Launched in1998
TargetLow Earth orbit
Budget150B USD

Specifications

Mass420 t
Length109 m
Crew capacity7
Orbital velocity28,000 km/h

Mission milestones

[03]
  • Milestone
    Crew Dragon capsule swap
    Crew-10 / Crew-9 rotation: maintaining continuous human presence aboard.
    Mar 14, 2025
  • Milestone
    Starliner returns uncrewed
    Boeing CST-100 Starliner begins a safe return; the crew remains aboard the ISS via Crew Dragon.
    Sep 07, 2024
  • Milestone
    First crewed Crew Dragon mission
    SpaceX Demo-2 brings 2 astronauts to the ISS: the dawn of the commercial crewed era.
    May 30, 2020

Official sources

NASA ISS↗