Building the ISS - Sure Beats Working for a Living

Ha! Just kidding… The astronauts who worked together to build the International Space Station while in orbit around the planet had one of the most dangerous and difficult jobs on (or off) Earth.

… Yet this guy makes building the ISS look pretty fun!

Since the first parts of the ISS were launched into space in 1998, there have been more than 120 missions to add components, deliver cargo, or perform maintenance on the station.

As of June 5, 2011, ISS and space shuttle crew members had installed 159 components while building the station, which took more than 1,000 hours of extra-vehicular activity (EVA) to complete.

Each component required its own individual spacewalk for installation and 127 of them originated from the ISS while the other 32 were launched from docked Space Shuttles.

One of my favourite aspects of the International Space Station is how international it really is. During the more than 11 1/2 years that it’s been populated, the station has received crew members from 5 different space agencies representing 15 different nations.

Building the ISS has truly been a team effort.