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Credit & Copyright: NASA's   
Johnson Space Center  
 
Explanation:
It is the largest and most sophisticated object ever built off the Earth.   
  
It has taken numerous spaceflights and over a decade to   
construct.  
  
The International  
Space Station   
(ISS) is currently the   
premiere habitat for humans in Earth orbit, and an amalgamation  
of sophisticated orbiting laboratories that have examined everything from the formation  
of   
new materials and  
medicines created in   
microgravity -- to the limitations of the human body -- to the   
composition of the universe.  
  
This month, the   
ISS is   
celebrating 15 years of continuous human habitation.  
  
The ISS has been visited by astronauts from 15 countries,  
so far, and has   
international  
partners led by   
NASA (USA),   
Roscosmos (Russia),   
CSA (Canada),   
JAXA (Japan), and   
ESA (Europe).   
  
The featured animation   
shows the piece-by-piece construction of the   
ISS from 1998 to 2011.   
  
Spanning the length of a football field, the   
ISS can be   
seen as an unusually   
bright spot drifting slowly overhead by anyone who knows   
when and where to look.  
  
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: ISS - space shuttle
Publications with words: ISS - space shuttle
See also: