The International Space Station (ISS) represents the unprecedented cooperative efforts of 16 nations to undertake one of the largest and most complex scientific projects ever. The completed version of the ISS will be four times larger that the former Russian space station Mir and easily visible from Earth with the naked eye. Its massive interior space will be able to support a six-person crew that will conduct research and experiments that will help send humans back to the Moon, to Mars, and beyond.
This is Johnson Space Center’s 1984 “roof” concept for a space station. The “roof” was covered with solar array cells that were to generate about 120 kilowatts of electricity. Within the V-shaped beams there would be five modules for living, laboratory space, and external areas for instruments and other facilities. (84-HC-17)
The origins of ISS date back to the 1980s, when NASA drew up plans for an expandable station constructed of pressurized modules. President Ronald Reagan gave the proposal, then named Space Station Freedom, his seal of approval during the 1984 State of the Union Address. The program faltered in the following years, however, with numerous design changes and increasing cost outlooks. In the late 1980s, members of Congress threatened to kill the program, and in 1993, continued funding for the program was approved by a one-vote margin.
This three-radial-module space station concept was intended to utilize Apollo hardware to deploy the station and to transfer crews to and from orbit. (GPN-2003-00103)
The original concept for the outpost included three separate orbital facilities—one crewed component and two platforms for experiments and planetary observation. The proposal would be a modular station that could be expanded as time went on and as needs required. Due to budget constraints, the design was continuously scaled back as the European Space Agency (ESA), Canada, and Japan agreed to collaborate with NASA on the project.
In 1994, a decade after Reagan’s approval of the project, the Station received renewed interest from NASA, which reworked the design through the input of a number of private aerospace companies. President Bill Clinton also argued for increased international participation on the project, bringing the Russians firmly on board along with the members of the ESA, Canada, and Japan, resulting in the current ISS. Brazil was later brought into the program, expanding the number of members working to build a truly international space station. Clinton also saw that the final Station design would not include a modular expansion capability, thus limiting the Station’s size and future budget requirements.
Russia launched the Functional Cargo Block (FGB), the first component of the ISS, in November 1998. The following month, the Space Shuttle Endeavour began assembly by adding Node 1, a core element of the Station that connects several different modules. The ISS was uninhabited until November 2000, when the first crew arrived at the Station aboard a Russian Soyuz vehicle. Expedition 1 included NASA astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, all of whom spent 136 days in orbit aboard the ISS.
While the Russian Soyuz and Progress vehicles made frequent resupply missions to the space-based outpost, the American Space Shuttle was established as the workhorse of the program. Not only are the Shuttle missions responsible for transporting the major components of the ISS into orbit, but they also carry the astronauts who actually put the massive modules, trusses, and solar arrays together more than 200 miles (321.8 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. Following the initial assembly mission, STS missions continued to put the ISS together with several flights in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
In February 2003, the program became jeopardized when STS-107 (Columbia) burned up while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. As NASA worked to identify and correct the problem that caused the loss of Columbia,construction on the ISS came to a halt as the Shuttle fleet was grounded. The Station’s crew was reduced to two and Soyuz and Progress became the only means of transporting passengers and supplies to the Station.
Shuttle flights resumed in July 2005 with the launch of STS-114. With the Space Shuttle program back on track by summer 2006, the crew complement was raised back to three and NASA picked up a regular construction schedule. The Shuttle’s return to flight also brought with it another change: the Vision for Space Exploration. President George W. Bush unveiled this initiative in January 2004 following months of careful planning of America’s new space policy direction.The plan calls for the completion of the ISS and the retirement of the Shuttle by 2010, followed by a human mission to the Moon by 2020 and an eventual crewed mission to Mars. With a little less than 50 percent of the Station completed in 2006, NASA plans an aggressive schedule to finish construction on time so that the outpost will be ready to support research for NASA’s next missions.
Starboard side view of the International Space Station as it appeared beginning 29 November 2004, represented by a computer-generated scene. (JSC2004-E-51834)
When completed, the ISS will be the largest manufactured object to orbit Earth. It will have a mass of 419,580 kilograms (925,000 pounds), more than twice its mass of 185,976 kilograms (410,000 pounds) as of June 2006,and a length of about two and a half football fields. The final structure will run on only 110 kilowatts of power, which is less than the typical electrical output of a wind turbine with moderate winds.
Bibliography
NASA Sources
Kitmacher, Gary. Reference Guide to the International Space Station (NASA SP-2006-557).
Hall, Rex (ed.). The International Space Station: From Imagination to Reality. British Interplanetary Society, London, 2002.
———. The International Space Station: From Imagination to Reality, Volume 2. British Interplanetary Society, London, 2005.
Harland, David, and John E. Catchpole. Creating the International Space Station. Springer-Praxis, 2002.
Launius, Roger D. Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars. Smithsonian Books,Washington, 2003.
McCurdy, Howard E. The Space Station Decision. Incremental Politics and Technological Choice (New Series in NASA History). The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2000.
Expedition 1
31 October 2000–21 March 2001
Docking: 2 November 2000; Undocking: 18 March 2001
Crew: William M. “Bill” Shepherd (ISS Cdr), Yuri P. Gidzenko (Soyuz Cdr), RSA (Russia), Sergei K. Krikalev (Flight Engineer), RSA (Russia)
Expedition 1 marked the first crew to inhabit the ISS. Upon docking with the Zvezda service module, the crew began setting up basic functions for the Station, including food preparation systems, sleeping quarters, and communication with mission controllers and NASA. In addition to conducting extensive press and documentary interviews, Expedition 1 also set up the computer systems required to run the Station. Along with logistical tasks, the crew also conducted experiments monitoring the environment of the ISS and investigating crew health and nutrition issues.
Crew portrait of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 1. From left to right are flight engineer Sergei Krikalev, commander Bill Shepherd, and Soyuz commander Yuri Gidzenko. (ISS01-S-002)
Crew: Yury V. Usachev (ISS Cdr), RSA (Russia), James S. Voss (Flight Engineer), Susan J. Helms (Flight Engineer)
Expedition 2 saw increased construction of the ISS during a series of four Space Shuttle missions and one Soyuz mission to the outpost. During the crew’s time in space, astronauts added the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), similar to the Space Shuttle’s robotic arm. ISS crew members used the SSRMS to install a new airlock. The arm would be used on future missions to assist with the construction of the Station. Expedition 2 crew members also conducted an expanded number of science experiments compared to the previous crew, studying topics ranging from protein crystal growth to the ability of plants to survive in space.
The ISS prepares for docking with Atlantis during the STS-104 mission while the Expedition 2 crew operates the Station. (STS104-E-5027)
Expedition 3
10 August–17 December 2001
Docking: 12 August 2001; Undocking: 15 December 2001
Crew: Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. (ISS Cdr), Vladimir N. Dezhurov (Soyuz Cdr), RSA (Russia), Mikhail V. Tyurin (Flight Engineer), RSA (Russia)
During the course of four spacewalks, the Expedition 3 crew continued with the on-orbit construction and maintenance of the ISS. Three spacewalks were dedicated to the installation of the Pirs Russian Docking Compartment, which allows the ISS to join with other spacecraft and provides egress for ISS crew spacewalks. One other extra vehicular activity was dedicated to repairing an obstruction that prevented a Progress supply ship from mating with the Station. Expedition 3 was in space during the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, and crew members took photos of the devastation at the World Trade Center site.
Cosmonaut Vladimir Dezhurov, Expedition 3 flight engineer, floats in the pressurized adapter of the Functional Cargo Block on the International Space Station. (ISS003-E-6852)
Expedition 3 commander Frank Culbertson receives a haircut from Mikhail Tyurin in the Zvezda Service Module on the ISS. Culbertson is holding a vacuum device to collect the clippings. (ISS003-E-5896)
Crew: Yuriy I. Onufriyenko (ISS Cdr), RSA (Russia), Daniel W. Bursch (Flight Engineer), Carl E. Walz (Flight Engineer)
During the fourth crew stay on the ISS, flight engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch broke the U.S. spaceflight endurance record of 188 days by spending 231 and then 227 total days in space. This record has since been broken. Expedition 4 saw the addition of one truss section, and each of the three crew members conducted spacewalks to perform modification and minor installation on the exterior of the ISS.
Moments prior to the undocking of Space Shuttle Atlantis from the ISS, an Expedition 4 crew member took this digital still photograph from a window in the Pirs Docking Compartment. Visible in this image are the Soyuz spacecraft, Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS)/Canadarm 2, and Pressurized Mating Adapter 3. (ISS004-E-10071)
Crew: Valery G. Korzun (ISS Cdr), RSA (Russia), Peggy Whitson (Flight Engineer), Sergei Y. Treschev (Flight Engineer), RSC Energia (Russia)
Expedition 5 crew members inhabited the ISS during a time of relatively few additions to the Station—only two truss sections were installed. The crew conducted two spacewalks to install several minor components on the outside of the Station; however, they made up for a lull in construction with more than 30 experiments. Crew members conducted research projects to study latent virus shedding in space, zeolite crystal growth, and liver cell functions.
Crew: Kenneth D. Bowersox (ISS Cdr), Donald Pettit (Flight Engineer), Nikolai M. Budarin (Flight Engineer), RSC Energia (Russia)
During Expedition 6’s time in space, Columbia broke apart during reentry, grounding all Shuttle missions and forcing the Station to rely on Russian vehicles. Despite the halt in the delivery of new Station components from the Space Shuttle, the crew conducted two spacewalks to outfit the exterior trusses and prepared them for future installation missions. Due to the inoperability of the Space Shuttle fleet, Expedition 6 returned aboard Soyuz, marking the first time that U.S. astronauts returned to Earth in that Russian vehicle.
Expedition 7
25 April–27 October 2003
Docking: 28 April 2003; Undocking: 27 October 2003
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-2
Crew: Yuri I. Malenchenko (ISS Cdr), RSA (Russia), Edward T. Lu (Flight Engineer)
Expedition 7 marked the first two-person crew to inhabit the Station. This change resulted from the ongoing grounding of the Shuttle fleet and investigation into the Columbia accident. Yuri Malenchenko and Ed Lu also did not see any one else during close to 200 days in space, until the arrival of Expedition 8. The crew became focused on Station operations and experiments and conducted no EVAs.
The Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft, docked to the Functional Cargo Block’s nadir port on the ISS, was photographed by an Expedition 7 crew member. The blackness of space and Earth’s horizon provide the backdrop for the scene. (ISS007-E-05454)
Expedition 8
18 October 2003–29 April 2004
Docking: 20 October 2003; Undocking: 29 April 2004
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-3
Crew: C. Michael Foale (ISS Cdr), Alexander Y. Kaleri (Flight Engineer), RSC Energia (Russia), Pedro Duque (Flight Engineer, launched with Expedition 8 and returned with Expedition 7), ESA (Spain)
Expedition 8 launched with three crew members, though only two of them were actually headed to spend a significant amount of time on the Station. Spanish flight engineer Pedro Duque launched with Expedition 8 but returned with the Expedition 7 crew. This began a trend that continued until the Station crew complement returned to three. While aboard the ISS, Mike Foale and Alexander Kaleri continued to maintain the Station as the Columbia investigation continued. The crew’s only spacewalk was cut short when Kaleri’s Russian Orlan spacesuit malfunctioned.
Two days after launching from Kazakhstan, the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft, carrying the two Expedition 8 crew members, astronaut C. Michael Foale (American commander and NASA ISS science officer) and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri (flight engineer and Soyuz commander), along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque, docked with the International Space Station on 20 October 2003. (ISS007-E-17748)
Expedition 9
18 April–23 October 2004
Docking: 21 April 2004; Undocking: 23 October 2004
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-4
Crew: Gennady I. Padalka (ISS Cdr), RSA (Russia), E. Michael Fincke (Flight Engineer), André Kuipers (Flight Engineer, launched with Expedition 9 and returned with Expedition 8), ESA (the Netherlands)
With the Space Shuttle fleet still out of service, the crew of Expedition 9 continued to focus on Station operations and scientific research. The crew’s first spacewalk ended early due to a pressure problem in Mike Fincke’s suit, but was rescheduled. Gennady Padalka and Fincke conducted three additional EVAs, replacing exterior Station parts; preparing the Station for the arrival of the first ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), to be launched on top of an Ariane 5 rocket; and installing additional communications antennas.
Expedition 10
13 October 2004–24 April 2005
Docking: 15 October 2004; Undocking: 24 April 2005
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-5
Crew: Leroy Chiao (ISS Cdr), Salizhan S. Sharipov (Flight Engineer), RSA (Russia), Yuri G. Shargin (Flight Engineer, launched with Expedition 10, returned with Expedition 9), RSA (Russia)
Mission planners delayed the launch of the 10th crewed expedition to the ISS by five days after an explosive bolt on the Soyuz vehicle detonated during launch preparation. Following the delay, the mission ran smoothly, with the crew completing the installation of the Universal Work Platform outside the Station and installing navigational and communications equipment to facilitate the arrival of the first Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ship. During the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Leroy Chiao became the first astronaut to vote in space, making his choice through an electronic ballot sent to the Station.
Salizhan Sharipov, Expedition 10 flight engineer, is reflected in a water bubble floating inside the ISS. (ISS010-E-13645)
Expedition 11
14 April–10 October 2005
Docking: 16 April 2005; Undocking: 10 October 2005
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-6
Crew: Sergei K. Krikalev (ISS Cdr), RSA (Russia), John L. Phillips (Flight Engineer), Roberto Vittori (Flight Engineer, launched with Expedition 11, returned with Expedition 10), ESA (Italy)
Expedition 11 sent Sergei Krikalev, a space veteran, back to the Station for a second tour of duty. On 16 August 2005, Krikalev broke the previous 748-day record for most time spent in space by a human.The crew conducted one spacewalk, removing experiment containers, installing a television camera on the Zvezda Service Module, and removing two exterior panels. While the Space Shuttle returned to flight with STS-114 in late July, Discovery and its crew did not make a visit to the ISS.
While orbiting Earth aboard the ISS at a speed of 5 miles a second, astronaut John Phillips, NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer on Expedition 11, testifies via video screen before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, chaired by Representative Ken Calvert (R-California). (JSC2005-E-22365)
Expedition 12
30 September 2005–8 April 2006
Docking: 3 October 2005; Undocking: 8 April 2006
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-7
Crew: William S. “Bill” McArthur (ISS Cdr), Valery I. Tokarev (Flight Engineer), RSA (Russia)
Instead of the brief third crew member visit during two-person Station operations, American entrepreneur and space tourist Gregory Olsen joined the Expedition 12 crew as they launched to the Station aboard Soyuz. Olsen returned with the Expedition 11 crew after a brief stay aboard the ISS. Both Expedition 12 crew members participated in two EVAs, installing a new camera, conducting minor repairs, and jettisoning an old Orlan spacesuit and a nonfunctional instrument.
A Soyuz rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, with Expedition 12 commander William McArthur, Jr., flight engineer and Soyuz commander Valery Tokarev, and U.S. spaceflight participant Gregory Olsen aboard. (jsc2005e40271)
Expedition 13
29 March–28 September 2006
Docking: 31 March 2006; Undocking: 28 September 2006
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-8
Crew: Pavel V. Vinogradov (ISS Cdr), RSC Energia (Russia), Jeffrey N. Williams (Flight Engineer), Thomas Reiter (Flight Engineer, arrived at the ISS on 6 July 2006 aboard Discovery on STS-121), ESA (Germany), Marco Pontes (Flight Engineer, launched with Expedition 13, returned with Expedition 12), Brazilian Space Agency (Brazil)
Though launched with only two crew members, Expedition 13 received a third astronaut from STS-121, the first Shuttle mission to the ISS following the Columbia accident. Though the Station’s crew complement was returned to three, Discovery did not deliver any new major components to the orbital outpost during its trip there. The 13th ISS crew conducted two spacewalks to conduct repairs and maintenance and the installation of an electric potential measurement device.
Expedition 13 science officer Jeffrey Williams floats outside the ISS during a spacewalk. (ISS013-E-63440)
An Expedition 13 crew member aboard the International Space Station took this digital still image of Space Shuttle Atlantis as the Shuttle, carrying a crew of six, approached the orbital outpost. (ISS013-E-79714)
Expedition 14
18 September 2006–21 April 2007 Docking: 20 September 2006
Launch and return aboard SoyuzTMA-9
Crew: Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (ISS Cdr), Mikhail V.Tyurin (Flight Engineer), RSA (Russia), Thomas Reiter (Flight Engineer, remained on the Station from Expedition 13, returned on Atlantis on STS-116 in December 2006), ESA (Germany); Sunita L. Williams (Flight Engineer, replaced Thomas Reiter after arriving on STS-116, returned on Atlantis on STS-117)
Thomas Reiter remained on board the ISS for Expedition 14 and was joined by two additional crew members. A second space tourist to ISS, American business woman Anousheh Ansari, launched with Expedition 14 and returned to Earth with the former crew. Expedition 14 crew members continued construction on the Station with an operational Shuttle fleet. On Expedition 14’s first spacewalk, which involved installing experiments and equipment, Mikhail Tyurin hit a golf ball from the Pirs docking compartment.
