The project to create the International Space Station required the utilization and/or construction of new and existing manufacturing facilities around the world, mostly in the United States and Europe. The agencies overseeing the manufacturing involved NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency. Hundreds of contractors working for the five space agencies were assigned the task of fabricating the modules, trusses, experiments and other hardware elements for the station.

The fact that the project involved the co-operation of sixteen countries working together created engineering challenges that had to be overcome: most notably the differences in language, culture and politics, but also engineering processes, management, measuring standards and communication; to ensure that all elements connect together and function according to plan. The ISS agreement program also called for the station components to be made highly durable and versatile — as it is intended to be used by astronauts indefinitely. A series of new engineering and manufacturing processes and equipment were developed, and shipments of steel, aluminium alloys and other materials were needed for the construction of the space station components.

History and planning The project began as Space Station Freedom, a US only effort, but was long delayed by funding and technical problems. Following the initial 1980's authorization (with an intended ten year construction period) by Ronald Reagan, the Station Freedom concept was designed and renamed in the 1990s to reduce costs and expand international involvement. In 1993, the United States and Russia agreed to merge their separate space station plans into a single facility integrating their respective modules and incorporating contributions from the European Space Agency and Japan. In later months, an international agreement board recruited several more space agencies and companies to collaborate to the project. The International Organization for Standardization played a crucial role in unifying and overcoming different engineering methods (such as measurements and units), languages, standards and techniques to ensure quality, engineering communication and logistical management across all manufacturing activities of the station components.

Engineering designs Engineering diagrams of various elements of the ISS, with annotations of various parts and systems on each module.

Technical schematics

Manufacturing Information and Processes List of factories and manufacturing processes used in the construction and fabrication of the International Space Station modular components:

Space Station component Overseeing agency and contractor(s) Manufacturingfacility Materialsused Manufacturing date Mass(kg) Manufacturing Processes Factory view Zarya (FGB) NASA, Roscosmos Khartron corporation Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Steel Aluminum Kevlar Ceramic blanket 1994 19,323Shielded metal arc welding Sheet metal cold rolling Electroforming Unity (Node 1), PMA-1 & PMA-2 NASA Boeing ArcelorMittal USA AK Steel Marshall Space Flight Center Steel Kevlar June 6, 1997 11,612 Hot rolling Cold rolling Computer-aided welding Zvezda (Service Module) Roscosmos RKK Energia Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Steel Aluminum Kevlar Ceramic blanket February 1985 19,051 Sheet metal cold rolling Electroforming Z1 Truss & PMA-3 NASA Boeing Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout BuildingSteel Sheet metal aluminum 1999 8,755 (Z1) Hot rolling Extrusion Submerged arc welding P6 Truss & Solar Arrays NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing Alcoa Michoud Assembly Facility Marshall Space Flight Center Truss Steel Aluminum Solar Arrays Crystalline silicon Shape-memory alloy Copper indium gallium diselenide Nylon Polyethylene terephthalate1999/2000 15,824 Hot rolling Aluminum extrusion Investment Casting Photovoltaic assembly Destiny (US Laboratory) NASA Boeing Marshall Space Flight Center Michoud Assembly Facility Steel Aluminum Kevlar December 12, 1997 14,515 Sheet roll bending Computer-Aided welding External Stowage Platform-1 NASA Airbus DS Space Systems Goddard Space Flight CenterNASA.gov Techs_working_on_ELC_1019.jpg Steel 2000 5,760 Hot rolling Automated welding and cutting Canadarm2 (SSRMS) Canadian Space Agency NASAMDA Space Missions, Brampton Ontario David Florida Laboratory Titanium 2000/01 4,899 Seamless rolling Milling Robotic assembly Quest (Joint Airlock) NASA Boeing Marshall Space Flight Center Aluminum Steel 2000 6,064 Cold rolling Friction welding Pirs (Docking Compartment & Airlock) RKK Energia Korolyov, Moscow Oblast Steel Aluminum Titanium 1998 3,580 Shielded metal arc welding Sheet metal roll forming Electroforming S0 Truss NASA Boeing ArcelorMittal USA AK Steel Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout Building Boeing factories in Huntington Beach, CaliforniaStainless steel Titanium Copper 1998/2000 13,970 Hot rolling Investment casting Forging TIG Welding Mobile Base System NASA Northrop Grumman MD Robotics Northrop Grumman factory in Carpinteria, CA Stainless Steel Titanium 2001 1,450TIG Welding Hot rolling S1 Truss and Radiators NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing Michoud Assembly Facility Stainless steel Sheet metal titanium June 2002 14,120 Hot rolling Investment casting Forging TIG Welding Friction welding P1 Truss and Radiators NASA Lockheed Martin BoeingMichoud Assembly FacilityStainless steel Sheet metal titanium July 2002 13.748 same as S1 Truss ESP-2 NASA Airbus DS Space Systems Goddard Space Flight Center Steel Titanium October 2005 2,676 Punch cutting Hot rolling Automated welding P3/P4 Truss & Solar Arrays NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout Building Truss Stainless steel Titanium Solar Arrays Crystalline silicon Shape-memory alloy Copper indium gallium diselenide Nylon Polyethylene terephthalate2005/06 15,900 Hot rolling Aluminum extrusion Investment Casting Photovoltaic assembly P5 Truss NASA Boeing Operations and Checkout Building Anodized steel February 2007 1,818 Roll forming Anodizing S3/S4 Truss & Solar Arrays NASA Lockheed Martin Boeing Michoud Assembly Facility Operations and Checkout Building Same as P3/P4 trusses May 12, 2005 15,900 Same as P3/P4 trusses S5 Truss and ESP-3 NASA Airbus Boeing Operations and Checkout Building Goddard Space Flight Center Steel (some anodized) 2007 13.795 Same as P5 and ESP-1 and 2 Harmony (Node 2) Relocation of P6 Truss European Space Agency, Italian Space Agency Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space factory in Turin, Italy Stainless steel (outer cladding) 6061 Aluminum alloy (for hull) May 2003 14,288 Roll bending Metal inert gas welding Columbus (European Laboratory) European Space Agency EADS Astrium Space Transportation European Space Research and Technology Centre EADS factory in Bremen, GermanyStainless steel Kevlar aluminium April 2006 12,800 Roll bending Hot and cold rolling Metal inert gas welding Dextre Canadian Space Agency MacDonald Dettwiler MacDonald Dettwiler (now MDA Space Missions) factory in Brampton Ontario Titanium Stainless steel Kevlar fabric 2004 1,734 CNC milling Tube beading Robotic assembly Japanese Logistics Module (ELM-PS) JAXA Tsukuba Space Center Stainless steel Titanium Aluminum Kevlar April 2, 2007 8,386 Deep drawing Roll bending Metal inert gas welding Friction welding Japanese Pressurized Module (JEM-PM)JEM Robotic Arm (JEM-RMS) JAXA (formerly NASDA) Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Tsukuba Space Center Stainless steel Titanium Aluminum Kevlar November 2005 15,900 (JEM-PM) Deep drawing Roll bending Metal inert gas welding S6 Truss & Solar Arrays NASA Lockheed Martin Michoud Assembly Facility same as P4/S4 truss and solar arrays 2006/07 15,900 same as P4/S4 truss and solar arrays Japanese Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Tsukuba Space Center Stainless Steel Titanium Aluminum Ceramic fabric Kevlar May 28, 2003 4,100 Laser cutting Press brake bending TIG welding Brazing Poisk (MRM-2) Roscosmos RKK Energia Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Aluminum alloy Steel Ceramic fabric Kevlar 2008/09 3,670 same as Pirs ExPRESS Logistics Carriers 1 & 2 NASA Brazilian Space Agency Goddard Space Flight Center Johnson Space Center All three contracting facilities Stainless steel Carbon steel Kevlar Aluminum alloy 2008/09 6,277Punch cutting Roll forming Robotic welding Tranquility (Node 3) NASA, European Space Agency Italian Space Agency Thales Alenia Space Tata Steel Europe Cannes Mandelieu Space Center Stainless steel April 2005 12,247 Roll bending Metal inert gas welding Stamp forming Cupola NASA, European Space Agency Alenia Spazio Tata Steel Europe Thales Alenia Space Cannes Mandelieu Space Center Turin factory in Italy Forged Aluminum Stainless steel Anodized steel silica and borosilicate bulletproof glass 2003/07 1,800 Forging Laser cutting CNC milling Glass fusing Rassvet (MRM-1) Roscosmos, NASA RKK Energia Astrotech Corporation Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Space Station Processing Facility Astrotech factory at KSC Aluminum alloy Sheet metal stainless steel Ceramic and Kevlar fabricJuly 2009 5,075 Brazing Roll bending Forging CNC milling Leonardo (PMM) Italian Space Agency, NASA Thales Alenia Space Turin factory in Italy Cannes Mandelieu Space Center Stainless steel 2000/01 9,896 Roll bending Brazing TIG welding EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 3 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Michoud Assembly Facility Steel Titanium 2010/11 6,637 Same as ELC 1 & 2 EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Steel Titanium 2010/11 6,731 Same as ELC 1 & 2 Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer CERN United States Department of Energy CERN, Geneva Switzerland Stainless steel Spectrometer materials and instruments August 2010 6,731 Spectrometer development and assembly Investment casting Bigelow Expandable Activity Module NASA Bigelow Aerospace Sierra Nevada Corporation Bigelow Aerospace factory in Las Vegas, NevadaNASA.gov New Expandable Addition on Space Station to Gather Critical Data for Future Space Habitat Systems 2015 Vinyl polymer foam Kevlar Metalized mylar March 12, 2015 3.2 Composite lamination Nanoracks Bishop AirlockNanoRacks Boeing Thales Alenia Space factory Space Station Processing Facility Stainless steel Aluminium alloy Composite materials 2017-20 325 kg Milling Roll bending MIG welding Nauka (MLM)European Robotic Arm Roscosmos Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Same as Zarya 2005/18 20,300 Same as Zarya, with additions Prichal Roscosmos RKK EnergiaKhrunichev State Research and Production Space Center Same as Poisk 2017/20 3,890 Same as Poisk Roll Out Solar Arrays NASA Boeing Redwire Deployable Space SystemsDeployable Space Systems, Inc. (DSSI) Space Station Processing Facility Crystalline silicon Shape-memory alloy Copper indium gallium diselenide Nylon Polyethylene terephthalate 2014-present 1,002 Hot rolling Aluminum extrusion Investment Casting Photovoltaic assembly Decommissioned Components are shown in gray.

Transportation

Once manufactured or fabricated sufficiently, most of the space station elements were transported by aircraft (usually the Airbus Beluga or the Antonov An-124) to the Kennedy Space Center Space Station Processing Facility for final manufacturing stages, checks and launch processing. Some elements arrived by ship at Port Canaveral.NASA.govNASA.gov