The International Space Station (ISS) spans just under 360 feet (≈110 m) and weighs about 925,335 lb (≈419,000 kg). Constructed over 42 assembly flights, roughly 218 feet (≈66.5 m) of its length is pressurized for human use. The habitable modules provide more interior room than a typical six-bedroom house and include six sleeping quarters, two toilets, a gym, and a 360° cupola for Earth views. Much of the station's bulk comes from external systems like solar arrays, while linked modules form a tube-like living and working environment in microgravity.
How Big Is the International Space Station? Inside Its Size, Structure, and Living Space
The International Space Station (ISS) spans just under 360 feet (≈110 m) and weighs about 925,335 lb (≈419,000 kg). Constructed over 42 assembly flights, roughly 218 feet (≈66.5 m) of its length is pressurized for human use. The habitable modules provide more interior room than a typical six-bedroom house and include six sleeping quarters, two toilets, a gym, and a 360° cupola for Earth views. Much of the station's bulk comes from external systems like solar arrays, while linked modules form a tube-like living and working environment in microgravity.
22:56, 03.11.2025Science
How big is the International Space Station?
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest crewed outpost ever built in low Earth orbit. Continuously inhabited since 2000, it supports a wide range of scientific research while serving as a unique home and workplace for international crews. For people on the ground, picturing life aboard can be difficult — the ISS is larger than a typical six-bedroom house and is arranged more like interconnected tubes and modules than conventional rooms.
Overall size and mass
Length: just under 360 feet (≈110 m) from end to end — roughly the length of a U.S. professional football field (end zone to end zone).
Mass: about 925,335 lb (≈419,000 kg), approximately the equivalent of two and one-third empty Boeing 747 jets.
How the station was built
NASA records show the ISS was assembled over 42 assembly flights, with major modules and trusses launched and joined in orbit. Many of those modules are comparable in size to standalone satellites; for example, the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory module measures roughly 42 feet (≈13 m) across. The ISS is best understood as many large spacecraft and structural elements linked together into a single complex.
Habitable space and layout
Although the station's total footprint is large, a significant portion is non-habitable equipment such as solar arrays, radiators, and structural trusses. About 218 feet (≈66.5 m) of the station is pressurized and safe for crew movement — the area where people live and work in microgravity. When combined across laboratories and living modules, the interior volume offers more usable room than a typical six-bedroom house.
- Living amenities: six private sleeping quarters, two toilets, an exercise gym, and a 360° cupola that provides panoramic views of Earth and space.
- Work areas: multiple laboratories and research racks for life sciences, physics, Earth observation, technology demonstrations, and more.
- Safety and design: modules are connected by pressurized passages and docking ports; open flames are prohibited because of the microgravity environment and fire safety concerns.
What it's like inside
Astronauts often compare the ISS interior to the cabin of a Boeing 747 — compact and engineered — but without a single floor. In microgravity, crew members float and use handholds, footholds, or restraints to stay in place; passageways feel more like tubes and tunnels than conventional hallways.
Though much of the station's mass is mechanical hardware and solar arrays, the interconnected pressurized modules create a surprisingly spacious and functional environment for long-duration human spaceflight.
Sources: NASA assembly records and publicly available ISS specifications.