All About The International Space Station

Earth's view from International Space Station

International Space Station is the biggest object ever flown in space and flies about 320 kilometres above the Earth.

ISS is partnership between 5 space agencies

ISS is a partnership between European countries (represented by ESA), the United States (NASA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and Russia (Roscosmos).

It took 10 years to assemble space station

15 countries including the US, Russia, Japan, and Canada took 10 years and more than 30 missions to assemble the ISS.

Construction of ISS began in 1990s

The main construction of ISS was completed between 1998 and 2011 and has been continuously occupied since 2000.

Astronaut doing a spacewalk outside ISS

Astronauts and cosmonauts regularly conduct spacewalks for ISS's construction, maintenance and upgrades.

ISS orbits around Earth

The ISS travels around the Earth at an average speed of 27,700 km/h and completes 16 orbits in 24 hours.

ISS weighs 460 tons

The permanently crewed platform is 356 feet (109 meters) end-to-end, approximately the size of a football field, and weighs about 460 tons.

Eight spaceships can be connected to ISS

Eight spaceships can be connected to the International Space Station at once. A spacecraft can arrive at the ISS as soon as four hours after launching from Earth.

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