国际太空站(International Space Station (ISS))
泰半由美国和俄罗斯在地球轨道建造的太空站，由多国联合提供协助与元件。计画开始是美国单独奋斗的成果，因为经费与技术的问题而延宕许久。最早在1980年代雷根总统命名为「自由号」，1990年代重新设计，降低成本并扩大国际参与，并於此时重新命名。轨道建设开始於1998年下半年，俄罗斯控制舱「曙光号」和美国的「同心号」连接节点发射升空，由太空梭的太空人在轨道上串连起来。在2000年中，居住与控制中心的「星」舱加入，当年稍後国际太空站接受第一批常驻的乘员，两名俄罗斯人和一名美国人。紧接着将其他的元件加入太空站，整个计画需要组装综合实验室和居住空间，交错在绵长的构架支撑四片大型太阳动力阵列。太空站最後至少有十六个国家参与，包括加拿大、日本、巴西以及欧洲太空总署十一个会员国。国际太空站早期的作业集中在无重力环境下长期生命科学与材料科学研究，希望至少在21世纪最初的四分之一世纪，作为人类在地球轨道活动的基础。
English version：
International Space Station (ISS)
Space station built in earth orbit largely by the U.S. and Russia, with assistance andcomponents from a multinational consortium. The project, which began solely as an American effort, was long delayed by fundingand technical problems. Originally called Freedom in the 1980s by Pres. Ronald Reagan, it was redesigned in the 1990s to reduce costs and expand international involvement, at which time it was renamed. In-orbit construction started in late 1998 with the launches of the Russian control module Zarya and the U.S.-built Unity connecting node, which were linked in orbit by space shuttle astronauts. In mid-2000 the module Zvezda, a habitat and control center, was added, and later in the year the ISS received its first resident crew, comprising two Russians and an American. Other elements were subsequently joined to the station, with the overall plan calling for the assembly of a complex of laboratories and habitats crossed by a long truss supporting four large solar power arrays. The station would ultimately involve at least 16 countries, including Canada, Japan, Brazil, and 11 members of the European Space Agency. Much of the early work aboard the ISS would focus onlong-term life-sciences and material-sciences research in the weightless environment, and it was expected to serve as the basis for human operations in earth orbit for at least the first quarter of the 21st century.
