Heller 80444 International Space Station Kit

The International Space Station (ISS) is the first space station in history, created from the very beginning by many countries. Its first elements were launched into orbit and connected to each other in space in 1998, and the first permanent crew settled there in 2000. Currently, the ISS has 16 modules, and the target number is 17. At present, the total mass of the station is approx. 418 tons, and the volume of usable space is 837 m3. The average temperature at the station is around 27 degrees Celsius. The ISS station was created as a result of the merger of plans to build space stations: Russian Mir-2, American Freedom and European Columbus. Its construction was divided into three stages. The first focused on the preparation of modules and their delivery to the Mir-1 station (1995-1998). In the period 1998-2001, most of the modules were installed and the initial operation of the ISS started. In the years 2001-2011, stage III took place, i.e. the completion of the assembly of most of the modules and the start of normal, permanent operation with a 6-person crew.