NASA Johnson Commemorates 25 Years of International Space Station Achievements

For the 25 years that the International Space Station has orbited the Earth, it has served as a testament to humanity's collective spirit of exploration, and to the scientific and technological breakthroughs that are possible when nations collaborate.  

Through this global endeavor, 273 people from 21 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from people in 108 countries and areas. It is also home to academic programs encouraging youth to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These programs aim to inspire the next generation of explorers and enable future space exploration missions. 

NASA’s Johnson Space Center workforce takes great pride in this sustained global undertaking and its major contributions to the station’s ongoing operations and achievements. 

In addition to fostering international camaraderie, the space station continues to function as a state-of-the-art laboratory, supporting research that has produced advancements in a range of fields. These advancements are revolutionizing industries back on Earth, including healthcare, communication, transportation, and education.  

Designed and built by engineers thousands of miles apart and never joined together on Earth, the first two modules of the space station, Zarya and Unity, fit perfectly together when connected in space on Dec. 6, 1998.   

Michael Rodriggs serves as a senior software engineer for the agency’s Human Landing Systems program, the commercial transportation system that will take astronauts to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program. One of his favorite station memories is being on console for the launch of Roscosmos' Zarya module on Nov. 20, 1998, and when the STS-88 crew captured Zarya and mated it with the Unity Node inside the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s payload bay. 

Rodriggs was also on the Onboard Data Interfaces and Network (ODIN) console during assembly of the U.S. Laboratory, Destiny, the primary research laboratory for U.S. payloads that supports a range of experiments and studies contributing to health, safety, and quality of life for people all over the world.  

“I had been a part of the U.S. Laboratory assembly procedure development and testing process for many years, and seeing it work so well was incredible,” he said. “We were trained and ready to execute any malfunction procedures, but none were needed!” 

Rob Navias, who leads public affairs activities involving launches and landings of U.S. astronauts and international partner crew members, believes the launch of Zarya symbolized the beginning of a massive engineering and international diplomacy endeavor that continues today. 

“The space station has endured three decades of operations in the harsh environment of space with only a few problems,” said Navias. His favorite station milestone is traveling to Moscow and Kazakhstan for the Soyuz launch and landing operations and working with Russia in the complex technical endeavor of the orbital outpost. 

Mark Garcia shares the space station’s contributions with the world by posting station news on social media and writing many of the daily blog posts. “I love learning and writing about the ever-changing and constantly advancing science experiments benefiting humans on Earth and in space,” said Garcia. Spacewalks, Earth views (especially cities illuminated at night), and groundbreaking advancements in areas such as cancer research and DNA analysis are what he finds most exciting about the orbiting laboratory. 

James Hartsfield played a leading role in communicating historic moments of human exploration as the primary public affairs officer for the International Space Station Program at Johnson from 1997 to 2001. He shared the excitement of the unprecedented project with the public, including the first shuttle mission to the space station, STS-88, and Expedition 1, the first long-duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.  

“There had never been anything to match the daring, daunting nature of the space station until possibly now with the Artemis mission,” said Hartsfield.  

A memorable moment for Hartsfield was witnessing the completion of space station assembly. “The fact that it was achieved and that operations of the orbiting laboratory have been as smooth as they have been technically means that NASA and its partners made the impossible possible,” he said. “The first giant leap came way before the space station, but it has been a continuous series of leaps for a quarter century and counting now in what the world can do when we choose to work together.” 

Andrea Dunn is a public affairs officer and internal communications lead at Johnson. Among her memories of the space station, one stands out - watching the momentous mating of Unity and Zarya at the Houston pub, Boondoggles.  

Dunn recalls, “As the modules grew closer to each other, you could feel the silent energy build - the kind that was heavy with anticipation, hope, and dreams. When the final shuttle thrusters fired and Bob Cabana completed the docking of Unity, the silence was broken with an eruption of cheers. Years of hard work had come to fruition.” Dunn states she will never forget that evening filled with energy, passion, and pride.  

Equally awe-inspiring to Dunn is the research conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory that benefits the health and welfare of people on Earth and the international cooperation that underpins 25 years of space station operations. She shares, “Many astronauts point out there are no borders in space. We need that perspective more than ever today.”