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The ISS is a miracle of international cooperation that most people take for granted. It started as just two modules floating together in 1998 — Russia's Zarya and America's Unity, linked in orbit like a handshake between superpowers.

Over the next 13 years, piece by piece, the station grew. Japan sent its Kibō lab. Europe contributed Columbus. Canada built the robotic arm that assembles pieces while floating in the void. Each module was built on a different continent, by different engineers, in different languages — and they all had to fit perfectly together in space.

When assembled, the station spans 109 meters tip to tip, weighs as much as 320 cars, and travels at 28,000 km/h. It has now hosted over 270 people from 20 countries. The total cost sits at roughly $150 billion, making it the most expensive structure ever built.