International Space Station Russian space station called OPSEK. The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian "Salyut", "Almaz", and "Mir" stations as well as "Skylab" from the US. The station has been continuously occupied for since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous human presence in low Earth orbit, having surpassed the previous record of held by "Mir". It has been visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations. After the American Space Shuttle programme ended in 2011, Soyuz rockets became the only
International Space Station launched in November 2019, and other Russian modules which are planned to be attached to Nauka afterwards. Those modules would be within their useful lives in 2020 or 2024. The report presents a statement from an unnamed Russian engineer that, based on the experience from "Mir", a 30-year life should be possible, except for micrometeorite damage, because the Russian modules have been built with on-orbit refurbishment in mind. According to the Outer Space Treaty, the United States and Russia are legally responsible for all modules they have launched. In ISS planning, NASA examined options including returning the station to Earth