Particle.news
Download on the App Store

ISS Marks 25 Years of Continuous Crew Presence, Eyes Commercial Future

Agencies are preparing a controlled retirement near 2030 with commercial stations expected to take over.

Overview

  • Continuous habitation began on November 2, 2000, with Expedition 1 led by William Shepherd alongside Yuri Gidzenko and Sergey Krikalev.
  • Roscosmos counts about 290 visitors from 26 countries, while NASA cites more than 280, including 170 from the United States.
  • The program has flown 125 crewed missions: 71 Soyuz launches, 37 Space Shuttle flights, 16 Crew Dragon missions, and one Boeing Starliner flight.
  • Across 25 years, crews conducted 277 spacewalks—75 from the Russian segment and 202 from the U.S. segment—with 157 individuals from ten countries performing EVAs.
  • Seven are currently aboard via Soyuz and Crew Dragon under a 2022 cross-flight pact, and planning is underway to deorbit the station around 2030 as private outposts advance.