Three humans left the Earth on October 31, 2000. Their spacecraft launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Two days later, the craft arrived at a science laboratory high over the planet. The three astronauts boarded the Space Station (ISS) on November 2, 2000. People have now been living and working on the ISS for 25 straight years.
Of course, the same astronauts aren’t still on the ISS. That first crew included American Bill Shepherd, plus Russians Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. As part of Expedition 1, they stayed aboard the ISS for 136 days. Before they returned to Earth, another crew had joined. Teams have handed over control of the station for 25 years. We’re now up to Expedition 73!
Astronauts began building the ISS in 1998. Over time, they added more parts to the station. Now it is 357 feet (109 m) long — as big as a football field. That makes it the largest spacecraft in history. Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev helped it grow. They installed solar panels to add power to the station.
Newer crews helped improve the ISS. For example, astronauts attached a special observatory to the station in 2010. The Cupola had seven windows. That let astronauts look down on Earth about 240 miles (400 km) below.
More than 280 men and women from 23 countries have been inside the ISS. And they’ve done much more than just look out windows. They’ve conducted thousands of science experiments. That has helped scientists find ways to clean our air and water. The ISS also allowed astronomers to make huge discoveries.
Some paid to go to the ISS. In June 2025, people from India, Hungary, and Poland spent more than $65 million to visit the space station. Peggy Whitson joined them on the trip. Whitson was the first female commander of the ISS in 2007. She spent more time on the ISS than any other American. As Whitson explained, “Space brings people together.”
The ISS was not the first (or only) space station. NASA launched Skylab in the 1970s. Russia had one called Mir. And China began using its space station — Tiangong — in 2021. But the ISS, true to its name, was international. Canada, Japan, and countries from Europe built the station with Russia and the United States.
Every second, the ISS travels another 5 miles (8 km). Yet it won’t keep flying forever. “There’s going to come a day when the ISS is going to end,” admitted former NASA leader Jim Bridenstine. The station will likely run until 2030. After that, the empty ISS will burn up over the ocean.
Until then, people will keep living and working inside the ISS. And scientists are now building a new space station called Axiom. It will someday replace the ISS.
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated November 3, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
