Launch of International Space Station

The construction of the International Space Station began with the launch of Zarya, a Russian-built module financed by the United States, from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Two weeks later the US shuttle Endeavour carried up the Unity node and joined it to Zarya, starting the assembly of what would become the largest structure ever built in space. The first long-term crew arrived in November 2000, and people have lived aboard continuously ever since. The project is a partnership of the American, Russian, European, Japanese and Canadian space agencies, and the station is about the size of a football field. It serves as a laboratory for research in microgravity, biology and materials, and it is planned to be retired and brought down in a controlled way around 2030.

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