A major milestone in human spaceflight was marked on November two when the International Space Station completed twenty five years of uninterrupted human presence. What began as a small structure has grown into a centre for global cooperation, scientific breakthroughs, technology testing, and preparations for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The journey began with the arrival of the first crew on November two, two thousand. NASA astronaut William M. Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri P. Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev reached the station two days after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Their mission focused on activating life support systems, establishing communications, and working with three visiting space shuttle crews to continue building the station. They returned to Earth in March two thousand one aboard the space shuttle Discovery, handing over operations to the Expedition two crew.
Spacewalks have played a crucial role in assembling and maintaining the station. More than two hundred seventy have taken place, supporting repairs, upgrades, scientific tasks, and testing tools for future exploration. In January twenty twenty five, crew members collected samples to study whether microorganisms had exited the station vents and survived in open space. Several historic spacewalks have also taken place, including the first by a woman at the station in May nineteen ninety nine, the first joint United States and Russian spacewalk in September two thousand, and the first all female spacewalk in October twenty nineteen.
The station saw its first commercial crew members on May thirty one, two thousand twenty when Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley arrived as part of a test flight. Their sixty two day stay supported experiments, spacewalks, and outreach activities. Their mission, which completed one thousand twenty four Earth orbits, helped pave the way for regular commercial crew flights.
Long duration missions have expanded scientific understanding. On September twenty seven, twenty twenty three, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio returned after spending three hundred seventy one days on the station, the longest single spaceflight by a United States astronaut. His work supported studies on diet, exercise, mental health, plant growth, and spacecraft design.
The International Space Station stands as a global partnership between NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA. Over twenty five years, at least two hundred ninety visitors from twenty six countries have lived or worked aboard the laboratory, including participants from private astronaut missions. The station continues to support research, advance technology, and strengthen international cooperation as countries prepare for future missions beyond low Earth orbit.
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