The space station is located in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of approximately 410 km (250 mi), a type of orbit usually termed low Earth orbit (the actual height varies over time by several kilometers due to atmospheric drag and reboosts). International Space Station mockup at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. (launched in multiple flights between 2000–2009)

The truss and original solar panels are also a large part of the station.

Japanese Experiment Module, also known as Kibō (launched in multiple flights between 2008–2009).

Columbus orbital facility (launched 7 February 2008).

Harmony Module (launched 23 October 2007, also known as Node 2).

Destiny Laboratory Module (launched 7 February 2001).

Unity Module (launched 4 December 1998, also known as Node 1).

Other assembly flights consisted of modules lifted by the Falcon 9, Russian Proton rocket or, in the case of Pirs and Poisk, the Soyuz-U rocket. As of 2020, 36 Space Shuttle flights delivered ISS elements. Building the complete station required more than 40 assembly flights.

The ISS has a pressurized volume of approximately 1,000 cubic metres (35,000 cu ft), a mass of approximately 410,000 kilograms (900,000 lb), approximately 100 kilowatts of power output, a truss 108.4 metres (356 ft) long, modules 74 metres (243 ft) long, and a crew of seven. This bare 2-module core of the ISS remained uncrewed for the next one and a half years, until in July 2000 the Russian module Zvezda was launched by a Proton rocket, allowing a maximum crew of three astronauts or cosmonauts to be on the ISS permanently.

The STS-88 Space Shuttle mission followed two weeks after Zarya was launched, bringing Unity, the first of three node modules, and connecting it to Zarya. Zarya, the first ISS module, was launched by a Proton rocket on 20 November 1998. The process of assembling the International Space Station (ISS) has been under way since the 1990s. leadership in commercial space, fostering science and innovation in microgravity and inspiring the next generation.Animation of the assembly of the International Space Station Vision: To be the Center of Excellence advancing U.S. We stimulate demand, incubate in-space business ventures, provide access for and awareness of fundamental science and technological innovation, and promote science literacy of the future workforce. We leverage our core competencies, facilitate public-private partnerships, and utilize the platform capabilities and unique operating environment of the space station. taxpayer and to foster a scalable and sustainable low Earth orbit economy. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit Mission: We manage the International Space Station National Laboratory as a public service in order to benefit the U.S. (CASIS) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc.

government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. About the International Space Station National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth.

International space station 2021