Artist's digital concept of the International Space Station (ISS), a gateway to permanent human presence in space, after all assembly is completed in Year 2003. The Station will be powered by almost an acre of solar panels and have a mass of almost one million pounds. Station modules are being provided by the United States, Russia, Japan, and Europe. Canada is providing a mechanical arm and Canada Hand. Sixteen countries are cooperating to provide a multidisciplinary laboratory, technology test bed, and observatory that will provide an unprecedented undertaking in scientific, technological, and international experimentation.

iss070e091704 (Feb. 10, 2024) --- A portion of the Pamir Mountains, a mountain range at the northwest junction of the Himalayas and crossing several Central Asia countries, is pictured from the Interntional Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Uzbekistan.

ISS002-E-7655 (22 June 2001) --- A view of Chalcidice (Khalkidhiki) Peninsula in Northeast Greece was photographed with a digital still camera aboard the Interntational Space Station (ISS).

iss071e010043 (April 18, 2024) --- Expedition 71 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick practices operating the Canadarm2 robotic arm during a proficiency test using the robotics workstation aboard the Interntional Space Station's Destiny laboratory module.

Thomas Turk, an engineer with NASA's Glenn Research Center, waits for more visitors at a mockup of part of Destiny, the U.S. laboratory module that will be attached to the International Space Station (ISS) in Year 2001. Visible behind Turk are engineering models of the three racks that will make up the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) in the module. The mockup is full scale, although Destiny will be twice as long to accomodate six experiment racks along each side. The exhibit was part of the NASA outreach activity at AirVenture 2000 sponsored by the Expeprimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, WI.

The optical bench for the Fluids Integrated Rack section of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is shown extracted for servicing and with the optical bench rotated 90 degrees for access to the rear elements. The FCF will be installed, in phases, in the Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), and will accommodate multiple users for a range of investigations. This is an engineering mockup; the flight hardware is subject to change as designs are refined. The FCF is being developed by the Microgravity Science Division (MSD) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

Christiane Gumera, right, a student at Stanton College Preparatory High School in Jacksonville, AL, examines a protein sample while preparing an experiment for flight on the International Space Station (ISS). Merle Myers, left, a University of California, Irvine, researcher, prepares to quick-freeze protein samples in nitrogen. The proteins are in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be anlyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

The combustion chamber for the Combustion Integrated Rack section of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is shown in its operational configuration. The FCF will be installed, in phases, in the Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), and will accommodate multiple users for a range of investigations. This is an engineering mockup; the flight hardware is subject to change as designs are refined. The FCF is being developed by the Microgravity Science Division (MSD) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-85 flight crew perform a sharp-edge inspection in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery in the space plane's payload bay during Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) activities for that mission. They are (from left, foreground) Mission Specialists Stephen K. Robinson and Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (right). They are accompanied by a United Space Alliance (USA) payload technician. The Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD) payload is one of several that will fly on the STS-85 mission. This payload is designed to test the operational capability of the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEM RMS) Small Fine Arm (SFA). The arm, which will be a part of the JEM element of the Interntional Space Station, will be operated from the orbiter's aft flight deck during the 11-day mission. Other payloads that will be aboard Discovery on this space flight include the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2) Technology Applications and Science-1 (TAS-1) and International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhhiker (IEH-2) experiments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-85 flight crew examine the Manipulator Flight Demonstraton (MFD) payload in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery during Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) activities for that mission. They are (left) Mission Specialists Stephen K. Robinson and Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (right). They are accompanied by a United Space Alliance (USA) payload technician. The MFD is one of several payloads that will fly on the STS-85 mission. This payload is designed to test the operational capability of the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEM RMS) Small Fine Arm (SFA), which can be seen atop its Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure (MPES) carrier that will serve as a platform in the payload bay for the robotic arm experiment. The arm, which will be a part of the JEM element of the Interntional Space Station, will be operated from the orbiter's aft flight deck during the 11-day mission. Other payloads that will be aboard Discovery on this space flight include the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2) Technology Applications and Science-1 (TAS-1) and International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhhiker (IEH-2) experiments.