ISS Live Now

The International Space Station, or ISS for short, is primarily a laboratory for carrying out experiments in microgravity conditions. The heart of the station consists of three modules containing all the essentials for conducting scientific experiments:

the Destiny module, built by NASA and Boeing and operated by the United States;

the Columbus module, produced and managed by ESA, the European space agency;

the Kibo module, made by JAXA, the Japanese space agency.

Inside each of these modules there are system devices, necessary for the management of the station and the survival of the astronauts, and technological equipment for carrying out scientific experiments of all kinds, mainly concerning physics, chemistry, biology and medicine.

• Duration of construction: 1998–2011
• Participating Nations: 15 (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Holland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, United Kingdom and United States)
• Space agencies involved: 5 (NASA, ESA, JAXA, CSA, Roscosmos)
• Pressurized sections length: 51 m
• Total length: 58.5 m
• Total height: 30.5 m
• Total extension of the solar panels from tip to tip: 72.8 m
• Integrated length of the truss: 109 m
• Total mass (with two Soyuz aircraft docked at the ISS): 417.289 kg
• Average operating altitude: 407 km
• Inclination: 51.6 degrees with respect to the equator
• Internal atmospheric pressure: 101.36 kilopascals
• Pressurized volume: 982.6 m³
• Living volume: 407.8 m³
• Crew members: 6
• Electricity generated: 84–120 kW of usable power
• Total useful area of the solar panels: 3.022 m²
• Total value as of 2015 of the contract signed by NASA with Boeing for the management of the ISS: 16.2 billion dollars
• On-board computer for ISS control: 52
• Lines of code for flight software produced by Boeing: 7.5 million
• Number of recorded signals necessary to govern the ISS (pressure, temperature, valve position, etc.): 400,000
• Number of missions needed to complete construction: 41