International Space Station (Civ5)/Civilopedia

Constructed from prefabricated modules launched individually, the International Space Station is a habitable, low-Earth-orbit satellite. It arose from the 1993 merger into a single multinational program of three national initiatives to establish a permanent orbital platform for research and exploration: the Soviet "Mir-2," the American "Freedom," and the European Union's "Columbus." To date, astronauts from 15 countries have lived and worked on the station. Supplies and crew members have ferried to the platform by American space shuttles and Russian Soyuz rockets; these are scheduled to be replaced by the Russian Progress, European ATV, Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the American SpaceX corporation's Dragon. The International Space Station is the largest artificial body in orbit, and can be seen with the naked eye from Earth under the appropriate conditions.