Truss length109 m
1,453Index finger lengths
54.5Cattail heights
2.2 millionPlant cells
Photo by NASA on Unsplash
International Space Station (ISS)
The largest structure ever built in space/Spacecraft
The ISS is a habitable artificial satellite the size of a football field that has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It orbits Earth every 90 minutes at about 7,660 m/s, meaning the crew sees 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. Built by five space agencies and 15 countries at a cost exceeding $150 billion, it is the most expensive single object ever constructed by humans.
Measurements
Total mass420,000 kg
84Ship anchors
21,042Curling stones
5,000Nicolas Cages
Orbital velocity7,660 m/s
851Falling raindrops
3,064Jogging humans
About 27,600 km/h
Pressurized volume916 m³
1.9 millionRed Solo cups
27.8Shipping container volumes
15,552Beer kegs
Solar array area2,500 m²
543,478Credit cards
625 billionthsRhode Islands
43.3 billionthsLake Michigan surfaces
Solar array power output240,000 W
128Hair dryers
282Toasters
240 kW peak
Orbital altitude408,000 m
6,693Hockey rink lengths
3.2 hundredthsEarth diameters
About 408 km
Module length (end to end)73 m
1,327Pink erasers
15.9 quadrillionIron nuclei
9.7 billionCell membranes