The International Space Station: A Complete Guide for 2026
The ISS has been continuously occupied for 25+ years. Here's everything you need to know about the station, its science, and its planned retirement.
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since November 2, 2000 — over 25 years of uninterrupted human presence in space. It's the largest artificial structure in orbit, visible to the naked eye from Earth, and has hosted over 270 people from 21 countries.
Station Specifications
- Mass: ~420,000 kg (925,000 lbs)
- Length: 109 m (357 ft) — larger than a football field
- Orbital altitude: ~408 km (253 miles)
- Orbital speed: 28,000 km/h (17,500 mph) — one orbit every 90 minutes
- Pressurized volume: 916 cubic meters — roughly equal to a Boeing 747
- Solar array area: 2,500 square meters — generates 75-90 kW of electricity
- Cost: Approximately $150 billion total (construction + operations over 25+ years)
Science on the ISS
The ISS has hosted over 3,000 scientific experiments across:
- Biology: How microgravity affects the human body, cellular biology, plant growth
- Materials science: Crystal growth, alloy development, and manufacturing processes impossible in gravity
- Earth observation: Monitoring climate, weather, and natural disasters from a unique vantage point
- Technology: Testing equipment for future deep space missions (life support, radiation shielding, communications)
- Pharmaceuticals: Drug development benefiting from microgravity protein crystallization
Planned Retirement
NASA plans to deorbit the ISS around 2030-2031. SpaceX has been awarded a ~$843M contract to build and operate the US Deorbit Vehicle that will guide the station into a controlled reentry over the South Pacific Ocean (the "spacecraft cemetery" near Point Nemo). Commercial space stations from Axiom, Vast, and others are being developed to replace ISS capabilities.
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