Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 43 2010

ISS backdropped by the Earth

The International Space Station (ISS) is an internationally developed research facility in low Earth orbit. With a greater cross-sectional area than that of any previous space station, the ISS can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, and is by far the largest artificial satellite that has ever orbited Earth.The station has been inhabited without interruption since the launch of Expedition 1 on 31 October 2000, the longest uninterrupted human presence in space. (more...)