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.

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. Docking occurred at 11:06 p.m. (CST) on Feb. 9, 2010, delivering the Tranquility node and its Cupola.

Expedition 73

Expedition 73 began on April 19, 2025, and ends in November. The crew will welcome the Axiom Mission-4 crew and the SpaceX Crew-11 mission while continuing to conduct advanced space…

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Spot the Station

The Spot the Station mobile app is an official NASA app that helps users track and receive notifications for International Space Station viewings as it passes over their respective location. It also provides real-time tracking, flyover schedules, and alerts.

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The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking. NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Ricky Arnold and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev executed a fly around of the orbiting laboratory to take pictures of the station before returning home after spending 197 days in space. The station will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first element Zarya in November 2018.

NASA/Roscosmos

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. Earlier the STS-126 and Expedition 18 crews concluded 11 days, 16 hours and 46 minutes of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 8:47 a.m. (CST) on Nov. 28, 2008.

NASA

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.

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).

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