International Space Station


Low Earth Orbit Government Founded: Nov. 20, 1998 Mass: 419.7 T Volume: 931m^3
Status - Active
Details

The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in November 2000. It has been inhabited continuously since that date. The last pressurised module was fitted in 2011, and an experimental inflatable space habitat was added in 2016. The station is expected to operate until 2030. Development and assembly of the station continues, with several new elements scheduled for launch in 2019. The ISS is the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised habitation modules, structural trusses, solar arrays, radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.

Live ISS Tracking



A dark screen may mean the ISS is on the dark side of the Earth.

Expedition 69



Sergey Prokopyev

Commander

Dmitriy Petelin

Flight Engineer

Francisco Rubio

Flight Engineer

Jasmin Moghbeli

Flight Engineer

Konstantin Borisov

Flight Engineer

Loral O'Hara

Flight Engineer

Nikolai Chub

Flight Engineer

Andreas Mogensen

Flight Engineer

Satoshi Furukawa

Flight Engineer

Oleg Kononenko

Flight Engineer

Agencies


Canadian Space Agency

Government
None
CSA 1990

The Canadian Space Agency was established by the Canadian Space Agency Act which received Royal Assent on May 10, 1990. The Canadian space program is administered by the Canadian Space Agency. Canada has contributed technology, expertise and personnel to the world space effort, especially in collaboration with ESA and NASA. In addition to its astronauts and satellites, some of the most notable Canadian technological contributions to space exploration include the Canadarm on the Space Shuttle and Canadarm2 on the International Space Station.

European Space Agency

Multinational
Director General: Josef Aschbacher
ESA 1975

The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,000 employees. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Government
Administrator: Hiroshi Yamakawa
JAXA 2003

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan's national aero-space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and the launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions, such as asteroid exploration and possible manned exploration of the Moon. JAXA launch their Epsilon vehicle from the Uchinoura Space Center and their H-II vehicles from the Tanegashima Space Center.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Government
Administrator: Bill Nelson
NASA 1958

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)

Government
Administrator: Yuri Borisov
RFSA 1992

The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.




Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week ago
Soyuz MS-24
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Soyuz MS-24 carried two cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in K…


Firefly Alpha
Success
1 week ago
FLTA003 (VICTUS NOX)
Space Launch Complex 2W - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Third flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying a payload for the US Department of Defense.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 7-2
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Atlas V 551
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
NROL-107 (Silent Barker)
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Classified space situational awareness (SSA) payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).


Long March 6A
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Yaogan 40
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese reconnaissance satellites of unknown purposes, officially reported as for "Electromagnetic environment probing" purposes.