The International Space Station (ISS) serves as a floating science laboratory, deep space observatory, and high-tech Earth observation station. With 15 partner nations and five space agencies, the ISS is the largest international peacetime project in history. The first module, Zarya (Dawn), was launched by the Russians in November 1998. The last construction flight was the delivery of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during mission STS-134.

The station consists of 15 pressurized modules, an integrated truss structure, and solar arrays. The Russians launched two more modules, Nauka (Science) and Uzlovoy (Nodal), in 2014. The ISS’s expected lifetime ends in 2020.

Dimensions:

•Length: 356 ft / 108.5 m

•Width: 240 ft / 73 m

•Mass: 925,059 lb / 419,600 kg