The International Space Station on 23 May 2010 as seen from the departing Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-132.
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Station statistics | |
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COSPAR ID | 1998-067A |
SATCAT № | 25544 |
Call sign | Alpha, Station |
Crew | Fully crewed: 6 Currently aboard: 6 (Expedition 50) |
Launch | 20 November 1998 |
Launch pad | |
Mass | ≈ 419,455 kg (924,740 lb) |
Length | 72.8 m (239 ft) |
Width | 108.5 m (356 ft) |
Height | ≈ 20 m (66 ft) nadir–zenith, arrays forward–aft (27 November 2009) |
Pressurised volume | 931.57 m3 (32,898 cu ft) (28 May 2016) |
Atmospheric pressure | 101.3 kPa (29.9 inHg; 1.0 atm) |
Perigee | 400.2 km (248.7 mi) AMSL |
Apogee | 409.5 km (254.5 mi) AMSL |
Orbital inclination | 51.64 degrees |
Orbital speed | 7.67 km/s (27,600 km/h; 17,200 mph) |
Orbital period | 92.65 minutes |
Orbits per day | 15.54 rev/day |
Orbit epoch | 30 September 2016, 18:10:52 UTC |
Days in orbit | 18 years, 2 months, 10 days (30 January) |
Days occupied | 16 years, 2 months, 28 days (30 January) |
Number of orbits | 101,081 As of July 2016[update] |
Orbital decay | 2 km/month |
Statistics as of 9 March 2011 (unless noted otherwise) References: |
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Configuration | |
The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest artificial body in orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.
The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars. The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km (205 and 270 mi) by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft. It completes 15.54 orbits per day.
The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz, and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US. The station has been continuously occupied for 16 years and 89 days since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous human presence in low Earth orbit, having surpassed the previous record of 9 years and 357 days held by Mir. The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft: the Russian Soyuz and Progress, the American Dragon and Cygnus, the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, and formerly the Space Shuttle and the European Automated Transfer Vehicle. It has been visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations.