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Space Station Marking 20 Years of People Living in Orbit

Associated Press

   CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. - [1]The International Space Station was a
   cramped, humid, puny three rooms when the first crew moved in. Twenty
   years and 241 visitors later, the complex has a lookout tower, three
   toilets, six sleeping compartments and 12 rooms, depending on how you
   count.

   Monday marks two decades of a steady stream of people living there.

   Astronauts from 19 countries have floated through the space station
   hatches, including many repeat visitors who arrived on shuttles for
   short-term construction work, and several tourists who paid their own
   way.

   The first crew -- American Bill Shepherd and Russians Sergei Krikalev
   and Yuri Gidzenko -- blasted off from Kazakhstan on Oct. 31, 2000. Two
   days later, they swung open the space station doors, clasping their
   hands in unity.

References

   1. https://www.nasa.gov/

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