The Soyuz TM – 31 with the crew consisting of William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev docked for the first time with the International Space Station on November 2 by 20 Years ago. Marking a fundamental historical moment in the race to conquer Space, not only because it was the beginning of an uninterrupted presence of the human being in Space but because from that moment on the ISS has become a large house-laboratory which led to a series of discoveries of undeniable value.

The International Space Station is the most expensive object ever built by man

Over time, the Soyuz TM – 31 module has been added to the Zvezda , all Russian, the Russian-American form Zarya (Alba) with the shortest panels and the all-American module Unity , without panels. Initially the crew took care to get the basic vital systems into operation, a lengthy operation that required the initial crew about 5 months of work.

Subsequently, the ISS began hosting the first Shuttle . On December 2nd, the Endeavor arrived, bringing the first of the 4 huge solar panels that today distinguish the station. In the following months, the Atlantis and the Discovery which, among other things, led to the first crew change.

The International Space Station weighs 400 tons , It is long 73 meters , wide beyond 108 and high 20. It has a habitable volume of over 400 cubic meters and its speed around the Earth is di 27. 600 kilometers per hour . It is the largest object in orbit around the Earth and the most expensive ever built by man (we are talking about more than billions of dollars). Furthermore, it is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between nations, given that they work together USA, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan .

Among the modules on board also the Italian Leonardo which, hosting spare parts and various supplies, allows longer times between refueling missions. The Italian astronauts who have been on board the ISS are Samantha Cristoforetti, Umberto Guidoni, Paolo Nespoli, Luca Parmitano and Roberto Vittori .