International Space Station

A depiction of the assembled space station

LAUNCH DATE: July 1998

COST: U.S. portion -- $2.1 billion. Total cost -- $10 billion.

OVERVIEW: The International Space Station is the largest international scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken. A joint effort of 15 nations, the space station will be a permanent laboratory and a testing site for the technologies of the future and a laboratory for research on new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, and medical research.

When completed, the space station will be 356 feet across and 290 feet long. It will weigh about 950,000 pounds. Up to seven people will live on the station. Russia is scheduled to launch the first section in June 1998, a 20-ton module known as the functional cargo block. Assembly of the stations is scheduled to begin in November 1998 and will be completed in June 2002 . Once built, the station will be in orbit 220 statute miles above the Earth and circle the globe at an inclination of 51.6 degrees to the equator.

The space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled for a launch in July 1998 to carry Node 1 and two mating adapters into orbit, the first U.S.-built components of the station. Endeavour will rendezvous with the functional cargo block and two shuttle crew members will conduct three spacewalks to connect power and data transmission cables on the station.

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NASA link: International Space Station

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Main Story | Glenn Returns to Space | International Space Station
Mars Surveyor 98 | Stardust | Deep Space 1 & 2

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