Editing International Space Station (section)

==History==

The International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility currently being assembled in outer space, the on-orbit construction of which began in 1998. The space station is in a Low Earth Orbit and can be seen from Earth with the naked eye; it orbits at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) above the surface of the Earth, and travels at an average speed of 27,700 kilometres (17,210 mi) per hour, completing 15.7 orbits per day.

The space station is a joint project among the space agencies of the United States (NASA), Russia (RKA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and eleven European countries (ESA). The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB, Brazil) participates through a separate contract with NASA. The Italian Space Agency similarly has separate contracts for various activities not done in the framework of ESA's ISS works (where Italy also fully participates). China has reportedly expressed interest in the project, especially if it is able to work with the RKA, though it is not currently involved. To mark the level of cooperation that the project is fostering between nations, in 2001, the station received the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.

The ISS is a continuation of several other previously planned space stations; Russia's Mir 2, the US Space Station Freedom, the European Columbus laboratory and the Japanese Kibō laboratory. The projected completion date is 2011, with the station remaining in operation at least until 2016. As of 2008, the ISS is larger than any previous space station.

The ISS has been continuously staffed since the first resident crew, Expedition 1, entered the station on November 2, 2000, thereby providing a permanent human presence in space. The crew of Expedition 18 are currently aboard. At present the station has a capacity for a crew of three, however, in order to fulfil an active research program, beginning with Expedition 19, it will be staffed by a resident crew of six. Early crew members all came from the Russian and US space programs, until German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter joined the Expedition 13 crew in July 2006, becoming the first crew member from another space agency. The station has, however, been visited by astronauts from 16 countries, and was the destination of the first five space tourists.

The station is serviced primarily by Russian Soyuz & Progress spacecraft and US Space Shuttle orbiters. On March 9 2008, the European Space Agency ESA launched an Ariane 5 with the first Automated Transfer Vehicle, Jules Verne, toward the ISS carrying over 8,000 kilograms of cargo. Several other servicing vehicles are also in various stages of planning.

[[Category: Space Stations and Starbases]]