The International Space Station marked its 10th anniversary of continuous human occupation on Nov. 2, 2010. Since Expedition 1, which launched Oct. 31, 2000, and docked Nov. 2, the space station has been visited by 204 individuals.
At the time of the anniversary, the station’s odometer read more than 1.5 billion statute miles (the equivalent of eight round trips to the Sun), over the course of 57,361 orbits around the Earth.
The International Space Station is not only an orbiting laboratory, but also a space port for a variety of international spacecraft. As of June 2013, there have been:
- 89 Russian launches
- 37 Space Shuttle launches
- 1 test flight and 2 operational flights by SpaceX Dragon
- 3 Japanese HTVs
- 3 European ATVs
International Space Station Tour
A total of 168 spacewalks have been conducted in support of space station assembly totaling more than 1,061 hours, or more than 44 days.
The space station, including its large solar arrays, spans the area of a U.S. football field, including the end zones, and weighs 924,739 pounds. The complex now has more livable room than a conventional five-bedroom house, and has two bathrooms, a gymnasium and a 360-degree bay window.
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