Space Station Celebrates 12 Years Of Operation

In this photo, Expedition 1 crew members (from left to right) Commander Bill Shepherd, and Flight Engineers Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev pose with a model of their home away from home (Nov. 2, 2000). Image Credit: NASA

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The International Space Station (ISS) officially opened for business twelve years ago today, marking a milestone in international efforts to expand life beyond Earth.

Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev (Expedition 1) made history on November 2, 2000 when their Russian Soyuz capsule docked with the orbiting lab, making them the first crew to live and work on the space station.

From the moment the crew entered the space station, there have been people living and working in orbit ever since. The crew has been operational inside the laboratory now for 4,383 days, and counting.

The space station is a collaborative effort of five space agencies, representing 15 nations. Construction on the station first began in November, 1998, when the Zarya module was delivered.

Like satellites, the orbiting laboratory can be spotted in the night sky, without the use of any specialized equipment.

Over the past 12 years, the station has seen many records broken, including the record of being continuously occupied. Russias Mir space station held the previous record after it had been in operation for 10 years.

Sergei Krikalev holds the record for the most time spent in space, lasting a total of 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes. Commander Michael Fincke is the U.S. space endurance record holder, with a total of 382 days.

The space station has also hosted the first space tourists, which are people who pay their own way to get into space. So far, the ISS has hosted seven space tourists, reaching the station via Russias Soyuz crafts.

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Space Station Celebrates 12 Years Of Operation