![This mosaic depicts the International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/International-Space-Station-in-2021.jpg?w=1536)
International Space Station
Years in Orbit
Astronauts Visited
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
About the International Space Station
The station was designed between 1984 and 1993. Elements of the station were in construction throughout the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe beginning in the late 1980s.
The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launch and flight operations, training, engineering, and development facilities, communications networks, and the international scientific research community.
Read More about About the International Space Station![Backdropped by Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space, the International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an STS-130 crew member as space shuttle Endeavour and the station approach each other during rendezvous and docking activities](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/s130e006575/s130e006575~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1311&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
Expedition 71
Expedition 71 began on April 5, 2024 and ends in September 2024. This crew will explore neuro-degenerative diseases and therapies, space botany, space-caused fluid shifts, and algae-based life support systems.
Learn More![](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/iss071-s-002.jpg?w=1536)
Space Station Daily Blog Update
Daily updates from the orbiting laboratory
Read the Daily Blog![NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins in a spacesuit outside of the International Space Station during a spacewalk.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/11572307115-1194957269-o.jpg?w=1024)
Station Assembly Elements
Explore the International Space Station.
We are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further.
Read More on Assembly Elements![The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss056e201248/iss056e201248~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
International Cooperation
The International Space Station Program’s greatest accomplishment is as much a human achievement as it is a technological one—how best to plan, coordinate, and monitor the varied activities of many organizations and operations.
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the space station. The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.
![Backdropped by a cloud-covered part of Earth, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Endeavour as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation on Nov. 28, 2008.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/s126e014823/s126e014823~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1311&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
Facts and Figures
Explore quick facts about the International Space Station.
Learn more about the international collaboration, missions, research, and technology that make the space station a unique place.
Read More![Astronaut David A. Wolf rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm during a spacewalk.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/0302381-large.jpeg?w=1024)
Station Visitors
Over 260 individuals representing 20 countries and five International Partners have visited the International Space Station.
Learn more about the people from around the world who have visited the station.
Read More on Station Visitors![Astronaut Christopher Cassidy waves during a spacewalk on the International Space Station.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss020e023362/iss020e023362~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1314&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
Station Record Holders
NASA astronauts often spend extended periods of time aboard the International Space Station.
NASA tracks and publishes the single spaceflight record holders (the most days spent in space on a single mission) and the cumulative days in space record holders (combined time in space over an astronaut’s career).
Read More![Astronaut Susan Helms works outside the International Space Station while attached to the Canadarm robotic arm on the Space Shuttle Discovery during a spacewalks.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/0302488/0302488~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1270&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about the orbital complex.
Launched in 1998 and involving the U.S., Russia, Canada, Japan, and the participating countries of the European Space Agency — the International Space Station is one of the most complex international collaborations ever attempted.
View FAQs![NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli services microbe samples for DNA sequencing aboard the International Space Station.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/untitled-design-2.png?w=1024)
Latest News
Learn More and Get Involved
Media
![Spacewalker Woody Hoburg rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/52970170188-fe81d2d320-c.jpg?w=300)
![NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann is pictured in her Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, during her second spacewalk](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/iss068e045241.jpg?w=300)
![Astronaut Clay Anderson, Expedition 15 flight engineer, waves to the camera while participating in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction continues on the International Space Station. During the 7-hour 41-minute spacewalk, Anderson and cosmonaut Fyodor N. Yurchikhin (out of frame), commander representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, installed a television camera stanchion, reconfigured a power supply for an antenna assembly, and performed several get-ahead tasks. Also, while riding on the end of the Canadarm2, Anderson jettisoned the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS) by shoving it opposite of the station's direction of travel. The station's robotic arm end effector is at left.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/iss015-e-18958.jpg?w=300)
![The International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/51710869257-bf526c49bb-c.jpg?w=300)
![This mosaic depicts the International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/jsc2021e064215_alt/jsc2021e064215_alt~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1173&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
![Photo of exterior view of the International Space Station, taken by NASA astronaut Ron Garan during a spacewalk conducted on July 12, 2011. The photo shows the space station with a Fisheye Camera and the curvature of Earth below.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss028e016138/iss028e016138~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1275&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
![The ISS pictured above the Nile Delta.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/51814547213-0c8e217a3a-c.jpg?w=300)
![The space station orbits above Queensland, Australia.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss069e010174/iss069e010174~large.jpg?w=1078&h=1920&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
![The ISS pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/51814546773-87375876c8-k.jpg?w=300)
![Astronaut Susan J. Helms works while holding onto a rigid umbilical and with her feet anchored to the remote manipulator system (RMS) robot arm on the Space Shuttle Discovery. This extravehicular activity (EVA), on which Helms was joined by astronaut James S. Voss (out of frame), was the first of two scheduled STS-102 space walks. The pair, destined to become members of the Expedition Two crew aboard the station later in the mission, rode aboard Discovery into orbit and at the time of this EVA were still regarded as STS-102 mission specialists.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sts102-314-003.jpg?w=300)
To view more images, visit the Space Station Gallery.
Space Station Videos
A YouTube playlist containing a variety of videos about the International Space Station.
Watch More Videos about Space Station Videos![Against the black backdrop of the vacuum of space, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, entirely shielded by a spacesuit, works on maintenance outside the International Space Station. Using a wrench-type tool in his hands, he makes adjustments to a white outer layer of the orbiting laboratory.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/iss063e052643large.jpg?w=1920)