Behind The Wings

S07E02 Building The International Space Station

The International Space Station came together piece by piece in orbit, rather than being launched as a single structure. Module after module was carried into space and joined during carefully planned missions. Astronauts and cosmonauts performed numerous spacewalks to connect new components, routing power and life-support systems as they went. Over many years, this incremental approach transformed separate launches into one continuously inhabited laboratory, demonstrating how international cooperation and orbital construction can build something far larger than any single rocket could carry.