# Manufacture of the International Space Station

The project to create the International Space Station required the utilization and/or construction of new and existing manufacturing facilities around the world, mostly in the United States and Europe. The agencies overseeing the manufacturing involved NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency. Hundreds of contractors working for the five space agencies were assigned the task of fabricating the modules, trusses, experiments and other hardware elements for the station.
The fact that the project involved the co-operation of sixteen countries working together created engineering challenges that had to be overcome: most notably the differences in language, culture and politics, but also engineering processes, management, measuring standards and communication; to ensure that all elements connect together and function according to plan. The ISS agreement program also called for the station components to be made highly durable and versatile — as it is intended to be used by astronauts indefinitely. A series of new engineering and manufacturing processes and equipment were developed, and shipments of steel, aluminium alloys and other materials were needed for the construction of the space station components.

## History and planning

The project began as Space Station Freedom, a US only effort, but was long delayed by funding and technical problems. Following the initial 1980's authorization (with an intended ten year construction period) by Ronald Reagan, the Station Freedom concept was designed and renamed in the 1990s to reduce costs and expand international involvement. In 1993, the United States and Russia agreed to merge their separate space station plans into a single facility integrating their respective modules and incorporating contributions from the European Space Agency and Japan. In later months, an international agreement board recruited several more space agencies and companies to collaborate to the project. The International Organization for Standardization played a crucial role in unifying and overcoming different engineering methods (such as measurements and units), languages, standards and techniques to ensure quality, engineering communication and logistical management across all manufacturing activities of the station components.

## Engineering designs

Engineering diagrams of various elements of the ISS, with annotations of various parts and systems on each module.

### Technical schematics

* Technical blueprint of components
* Exploded view of truss sections
* Z1 Truss design
* S0 Truss design
* P1 / S1 Truss design
* P3/4 / S3/4 Truss design
* P5 / S5 Truss design
* P6 / S6 Truss design
* Radiator panels
* External Stowage Platform 1
* Destiny lab
* Quest airlock (plan view)
* Quest airlock (isometric view)
* Node 1
* Node 2
* Cupola
* Columbus
* Pirs
* Poisk
* Rassvet
* Japanese Experiment Module
* Typical ISS rack
* Pressurized Mating Adapters
* Zvezda Service Module
* Zarya FGB

## Manufacturing Information and Processes

List of factories and manufacturing processes used in the construction and fabrication of the International Space Station modular components:
| Space Station component | Overseeing agency and contractor(s) | Manufacturing facility | Materials used | Manufacturing date | Mass (kg) | Manufacturing Processes |
| Zarya (FGB) | NASA, Roscosmos Khartron corporation | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | Steel Aluminum Kevlar Ceramic blanket | 1994 | 19,323 | Shielded metal arc welding Sheet metal cold rolling Electroforming |
| Unity (Node 1), PMA-1 & PMA-2 | NASA Boeing ArcelorMittal USA AK Steel | Marshall Space Flight Center | Steel Kevlar | June 6, 1997 | 11,612 | Hot rolling Cold rolling Computer-aided welding |
| Zvezda (Service Module) | Roscosmos RKK Energia | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | Steel Aluminum Kevlar Ceramic blanket | February 1985 | 19,051 | Sheet metal cold rolling Electroforming |
| Z1 Truss & PMA-3 | NASA Boeing | Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout Building | Steel Sheet metal aluminum | 1999 | 8,755 (Z1) | Hot rolling Extrusion Submerged arc welding |
| P6 Truss & Solar Arrays | NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing Alcoa | Michoud Assembly Facility Marshall Space Flight Center | Truss Steel Aluminum Solar Arrays Crystalline silicon Shape-memory alloy Copper indium gallium diselenide Nylon Polyethylene terephthalate | 1999/2000 | 15,824 | Hot rolling Aluminum extrusion Investment Casting Photovoltaic assembly |
| Destiny (US Laboratory) | NASA Boeing | Marshall Space Flight Center Michoud Assembly Facility | Steel Aluminum Kevlar | December 12, 1997 | 14,515 | Sheet roll bending Computer-Aided welding |
| External Stowage Platform-1 | NASA Airbus DS Space Systems | Goddard Space Flight Center | Steel | 2000 | 5,760 | Hot rolling Automated welding and cutting |
| Canadarm2 (SSRMS) | Canadian Space Agency NASA | MDA Space Missions, Brampton Ontario David Florida Laboratory | Titanium | 2000/01 | 4,899 | Seamless rolling Milling Robotic assembly |
| Quest (Joint Airlock) | NASA Boeing | Marshall Space Flight Center | Aluminum Steel | 2000 | 6,064 | Cold rolling Friction welding |
| Pirs (Docking Compartment & Airlock) | RKK Energia | Korolyov, Moscow Oblast | Steel Aluminum Titanium | 1998 | 3,580 | Shielded metal arc welding Sheet metal roll forming Electroforming |
| S0 Truss | NASA Boeing ArcelorMittal USA AK Steel | Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout Building Boeing factories in Huntington Beach, California | Stainless steel Titanium Copper | 1998/2000 | 13,970 | Hot rolling Investment casting Forging TIG Welding |
| Mobile Base System | NASA Northrop Grumman MD Robotics | Northrop Grumman factory in Carpinteria, CA | Stainless Steel Titanium | 2001 | 1,450 | TIG Welding Hot rolling |
| S1 Truss and Radiators | NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing | Michoud Assembly Facility | Stainless steel Sheet metal titanium | June 2002 | 14,120 | Hot rolling Investment casting Forging TIG Welding Friction welding |
| P1 Truss and Radiators | NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing | Michoud Assembly Facility | Stainless steel Sheet metal titanium | July 2002 | 13.748 | same as S1 Truss |
| ESP-2 | NASA Airbus DS Space Systems | Goddard Space Flight Center | Steel Titanium | October 2005 | 2,676 | Punch cutting Hot rolling Automated welding |
| P3/P4 Truss & Solar Arrays | NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing | Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout Building | Truss Stainless steel Titanium Solar Arrays Crystalline silicon Shape-memory alloy Copper indium gallium diselenide Nylon Polyethylene terephthalate | 2005/06 | 15,900 | Hot rolling Aluminum extrusion Investment Casting Photovoltaic assembly |
| P5 Truss | NASA Boeing | Operations and Checkout Building | Anodized steel | February 2007 | 1,818 | Roll forming Anodizing |
| S3/S4 Truss & Solar Arrays | NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing | Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout Building | Same as P3/P4 trusses | May 12, 2005 | 15,900 | Same as P3/P4 trusses |
| S5 Truss and ESP-3 | NASA Airbus Boeing | Operations and Checkout Building Goddard Space Flight Center | Steel (some anodized) | 2007 | 13.795 | Same as P5 and ESP-1 and 2 |
| Harmony (Node 2) Relocation of P6 Truss | European Space Agency, Italian Space Agency Thales Alenia Space | Thales Alenia Space factory in Turin, Italy | Stainless steel (outer cladding) 6061 Aluminum alloy (for hull) | May 2003 | 14,288 | Roll bending Metal inert gas welding |
| Columbus (European Laboratory) | European Space Agency EADS Astrium Space Transportation | European Space Research and Technology Centre EADS factory in Bremen, Germany | Stainless steel Kevlar aluminium | April 2006 | 12,800 | Roll bending Hot and cold rolling Metal inert gas welding |
| Dextre | Canadian Space Agency MacDonald Dettwiler | MacDonald Dettwiler (now MDA Space Missions) factory in Brampton Ontario | Titanium Stainless steel Kevlar fabric | 2004 | 1,734 | CNC milling Tube beading Robotic assembly |
| Japanese Logistics Module (ELM-PS) | JAXA | Tsukuba Space Center | Stainless steel Titanium Aluminum Kevlar | April 2, 2007 | 8,386 | Deep drawing Roll bending Metal inert gas welding Friction welding |
| Japanese Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) JEM Robotic Arm (JEM-RMS) | JAXA (formerly NASDA) Institute of Space and Astronautical Science | Tsukuba Space Center | Stainless steel Titanium Aluminum Kevlar | November 2005 | 15,900 (JEM-PM) | Deep drawing Roll bending Metal inert gas welding |
| S6 Truss & Solar Arrays | NASA Lockheed Martin | Michoud Assembly Facility | same as P4/S4 truss and solar arrays | 2006/07 | 15,900 | same as P4/S4 truss and solar arrays |
| Japanese Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) | JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science | Tsukuba Space Center | Stainless Steel Titanium Aluminum Ceramic fabric Kevlar | May 28, 2003 | 4,100 | Laser cutting Press brake bending TIG welding Brazing |
| Poisk (MRM-2) | Roscosmos RKK Energia | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | Aluminum alloy Steel Ceramic fabric Kevlar | 2008/09 | 3,670 | same as Pirs |
| ExPRESS Logistics Carriers 1 & 2 | NASA Brazilian Space Agency Goddard Space Flight Center Johnson Space Center | All three contracting facilities | Stainless steel Carbon steel Kevlar Aluminum alloy | 2008/09 | 6,277 | Punch cutting Roll forming Robotic welding |
| Tranquility (Node 3) | NASA, European Space Agency Italian Space Agency Thales Alenia Space Tata Steel Europe | Cannes Mandelieu Space Center | Stainless steel | April 2005 | 12,247 | Roll bending Metal inert gas welding Stamp forming |
| Cupola | NASA, European Space Agency Alenia Spazio Tata Steel Europe Thales Alenia Space | Cannes Mandelieu Space Center Turin factory in Italy | Forged Aluminum Stainless steel Anodized steel silica and borosilicate bulletproof glass | 2003/07 | 1,800 | Forging Laser cutting CNC milling Glass fusing |
| Rassvet (MRM-1) | Roscosmos, NASA RKK Energia Astrotech Corporation | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Space Station Processing Facility Astrotech factory at KSC | Aluminum alloy Sheet metal stainless steel Ceramic and Kevlar fabric | July 2009 | 5,075 | Brazing Roll bending Forging CNC milling |
| Leonardo (PMM) | Italian Space Agency, NASA | Thales Alenia Space Turin factory in Italy Cannes Mandelieu Space Center | Stainless steel | 2000/01 | 9,896 | Roll bending Brazing TIG welding |
| EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 3 | NASA | Goddard Space Flight Center Michoud Assembly Facility | Steel Titanium | 2010/11 | 6,637 | Same as ELC 1 & 2 |
| EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 | NASA | Goddard Space Flight Center | Steel Titanium | 2010/11 | 6,731 | Same as ELC 1 & 2 |
| Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer | CERN United States Department of Energy | CERN, Geneva Switzerland | Stainless steel Spectrometer materials and instruments | August 2010 | 6,731 | Spectrometer development and assembly Investment casting |
| Bigelow Expandable Activity Module | NASA Bigelow Aerospace Sierra Nevada Corporation | Bigelow Aerospace factory in Las Vegas, Nevada | Vinyl polymer foam Kevlar Metalized mylar | March 12, 2015 | 3.2 | Composite lamination |
| Nanoracks Bishop Airlock | NanoRacks Boeing | Thales Alenia Space factory Space Station Processing Facility | Stainless steel Aluminium alloy Composite materials | 2017-20 | 325 kg | Milling Roll bending MIG welding |
| Nauka (MLM) European Robotic Arm | Roscosmos | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | Same as Zarya | 2005/18 | 20,300 | Same as Zarya, with additions |
| Prichal | Roscosmos RKK Energia | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | Same as Poisk | 2017/20 | 3,890 | Same as Poisk |
| Roll Out Solar Arrays | NASA Boeing Redwire Deployable Space Systems | Deployable Space Systems, Inc. (DSSI) Space Station Processing Facility | Crystalline silicon Shape-memory alloy Copper indium gallium diselenide Nylon Polyethylene terephthalate | 2014-present | 1,002 | Hot rolling Aluminum extrusion Investment Casting Photovoltaic assembly |
Decommissioned Components are shown in gray.

## Transportation

Once manufactured or fabricated sufficiently, most of the space station elements were transported by aircraft (usually the Airbus Beluga or the Antonov An-124) to the Kennedy Space Center Space Station Processing Facility for final manufacturing stages, checks and launch processing. Some elements arrived by ship at Port Canaveral.
Each module for aircraft transport was safely housed in a custom-designed shipping container with foam insulation and an outer shell of sheet metal, to protect it from damage and the elements. At their respective European, Russian and Japanese factories, the modules were transported to their nearest airport by road in their containers, loaded into the cargo aircraft and were flown to Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility for unloading and final transfers to the SSPF and or the Operations and Checkout Building in the KSC industrial area. The American and Canadian-built components such as the US lab, Node 1, Quest airlock, truss and solar array segments, and the Canadarm-2 were either flown by the Aero Spacelines Super Guppy to KSC, or transported by road and rail.
After final stages of manufacturing, systems testing and launch checkout, all ISS components are loaded into a payload transfer container in the shape of the Space Shuttle payload bay. This container safely carries the component in its launch configuration until it is hoisted vertically at the launch pad gantry for transfer to the Space Shuttle orbiter for launch and in-orbit assembly of the International Space Station.
* Columbus entering the SSPF loading yard for launch processing
* Airbus Beluga loading
* Unloading the Columbus module in its container at the shuttle landing facility
* Transportation container
* Antonov An-124 arrives at KSC with the Kibo module from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
* The Rassvet module in its container at KSC being unloaded from the Antonov 124 inbound from Khrunichev
* Node 3 being hoisted by cranes before loading onto truck
* ISS payload transfer container
* The US laboratory module being moved vertically from the payload transfer container to the Space Shuttle orbiter inside its installation structure

## Pre-launch processing and last stages of manufacturing

With the exception of all but one Russian-built module — Rassvet, all ISS components end up here at either one or both of these buildings at Kennedy Space Center.

### Space Station Processing Facility

At the SSPF, ISS modules, trusses and solar arrays are prepped and made ready for launch. In this iconic building are two large 100,000 class clean work environment areas. Workers and engineers wear full non-contaminant clothing while working. Modules receive cleaning and polishing, and some areas are temporarily disassembled for the installation of cables, electrical systems and plumbing. Steel truss parts and module panels are assembled together with screws, bolts and connectors, some with insulation. In another area, shipments of spare materials are available for installation. International Standard Payload Rack frames are assembled and welded together, allowing the installation of instruments, machines and science experiment boxes to be fitted. Once racks are fully assembled, they are hoisted by a special manually operated robotic crane and carefully maneuvered into place inside the space station modules. Each rack weighs from 700 to 1,100 kg, and connect inside the module on special mounts with screws and latches.
Cargo bags for MPLM modules were filled with their cargo such as food packages, science experiments and other miscellaneous items on-site in the SSPF, and were loaded into the module by the same robotic crane and strapped in securely.
* Overview of the SSPF factory floor filled with space station modules
* ExPRESS logistics carrier assembly
* Workers in protective clothing inspect and clean the interior of Node 3
* ISPR rack configuration in a typical module
* Robotic crane arm loading cargo bags in an MPLM
* Workers fitting and inspecting the rack mounts
* Workers loading rack covers
* Leonardo MPLM in its housing jig
* Checking and testing the antenna
* Columbus being hoisted to a manufacturing weigh stand
* A rack being fitted in the Destiny laboratory
* A worker assembles parts for the Japanese Experiment Module and its robotic arm

### Operations and Checkout Building

Adjacent to the Space Station Processing Facility, the Operations and Checkout Building's spacecraft workshop is used for testing of the space station modules in a vacuum chamber to check for leaks which can be repaired on-site. Additionally, systems checking on various electrical elements and machines is conducted. Similar processing operations to the SSPF are conducted in this building if the SSPF area is full, or certain stages of preparation can only be done in the O&C.
* Quest airlock arriving at KSC on its way to the O&C building
* US lab
* US lab unloaded from its container
* US lab loading into vacuum chamber for testing
* Overhead crane hoisting the US lab
* S0 Truss