Astronomy Picture of the Day . Construction of International Space Station Begins . ... Credit: STS-88 Shuttle Crew , NASA Explanation: Move over Mir , here comes the International Space Station . In December 1998, the crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour started construction by joining the U.S.-built Unity node with the Russian-built Zarya module. ... Publications with keywords: international space station - space station - space - space shuttle . ... Space Station Over the Ionian Sea . ...