Why in News? 

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the second Indian in space and the first to reach the ISS as Axiom-4’s Crew Dragon pilot launched on Wednesday. 

International Space Station (ISS)  

The International Space Station 

• The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest human-made object in space, launched on 20 November 1998.  
• Orbiting about 400 km above Earth, it travels at a speed of 28,000 km/h, completing one orbit every 90 minutes.  
• It functions as a space laboratory and habitat for astronauts and has been continuously occupied since 2011. 
• Its main goals are to advance scientific research in microgravity and to promote international space cooperation.  
• The first module, Zarya, was launched in 1998 and the station was fully assembled by 2011. It is expected to operate until 2030. 

Other Global Space Station Efforts 

• China: Operates its own space station Tiangong (since 2022), hosting up to 3 astronauts at 450 km altitude. 
• India: Plans to launch the Bhartiya Antriksh Station by 2035, in a 400 km orbit, weighing 20 tonnes, with missions lasting up to 15–20 days. 
• Other countries: Japan and the UAE are also planning future space station