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The International Space Station (ISS) Program’s greatest accomplishment
is as much a human achievement as it is a technological one—how best
to plan, coordinate, and monitor the varied activities of the Program’s
many organizations.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates

the elements of the ISS. The principals are the space agencies of the United
States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most
politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

(continued on the next page)

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artners

The ISS Program’s greatest accomplishment
is as much a human achievement as it is
a technological one—how best to plan,
coordinate, and monitor the varied activities
of the Program’s many organizations.

An  international  partnership  of  governments
and  their  contractors  provides  and  operates
the elements of the ISS. The principals are the
space  agencies  of  the  United  States,  Russia,
Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been
the most politically complex space exploration
program ever undertaken. It involves multiple
aerospace corporations and nearly every space
agency  across  the  globe  working  together  as
program  partners.  The  various  communities
often  have  differing  priorities  and  are
competing for the same resources.

The  ISS  Program  integrates  international
flight  crews;  multiple  launch  vehicles;
globally  distributed  launch,  operations,
training,  engineering,  and  development
facilities; communications networks; and the
international scientific research community.
Elements launched from different countries
and continents are not mated together until
they  reach  orbit,  and  some  elements  that
have  been  launched  later  in  the  assembly
sequence  were  not  yet  built  when  the  first

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

United States

Canadian Space Agency

European Space Agency

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Russian Federal Space Agency

(continued from the previous page)

The ISS Program brings together international flight crews; multiple launch vehicles;

globally distributed launch, operations, training, engineering, and development facilities;
communications networks; and the international scientific research community. Elements
launched from different countries and continents are not mated together until they reach
orbit, and some elements that have been launched later in the assembly sequence were not
yet built when the first elements were placed in orbit.

Operating the ISS is even more complicated than other space flight endeavors because

it is an international program. Each ISS partner has the primary responsibility to manage
and run the hardware it provides. But the various elements provided by the ISS partners are
not independent, and over time they must be operated as an integrated system.

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Payload Operations Center (POC)

Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.

CSA Headquarters,

Mobile Servicing

System (MSS) Control

and Training

Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Canada

ISS Training

ISS Program Management

ISS Mission Control

Houston, Texas, U.S.

Shuttle Launch Control

Kennedy Space Center, Florida, U.S.

Ariane Launch Control

Kourou, French Guiana

Columbus Control Center

Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

ATV Control Center

Toulouse, France

Russian Launch Control

Baikonur Cosmodrome,

Baikonur, Kazakhstan

ISS Mission Control

Korolev, Russia

JEM/HTV Control Center

and Crew Training

Tsukuba, Japan

H-II Launch Control

Tanegashima, Japan

NASA Headquarters

Washington, DC, U.S.

Module Development

Torino, Italy

ESA European Space Research

and Technology Centre (ESTEC)

Noordwijk, Netherlands

Gagarin Cosmonaut

Training Center (GCTC)

Star City, Russia

Glenn Telescience Support Center

Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

ESA Headquarters

Paris, France

Roscosmos Headquarters

Moscow, Russia

JAXA Headquarters

Tokyo, Japan

Ames Telescience

Support Center

Moffett Field, California, U.S.

European

Astronaut Centre

Cologne, Germany

ISS Operations and

Management

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United States of America

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

nASA hEAdqUARTERS (hq)

nASA headquarters, in Washington, dC, exercises management over

the nASA field Centers, establishes management policies, and analyzes

all phases of the ISS Program.

JOhnSOn SPACE CEnTER (JSC)

Johnson Space Center, in Texas, directs the ISS Program. Mission

Control manages activities aboard the U.S. segment of the ISS. JSC is

the primary Center for spacecraft design, development, and mission

integration. JSC is also the primary location for crew training.

KEnnEdy SPACE CEnTER (KSC)

Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, prepares the ISS modules and Space

Shuttle orbiters for each mission, coordinates each countdown, and

manages Space Shuttle launch and post-landing operations.

MARShAll SPACE FlIghT CEnTER (MSFC)

Marshall Space Flight Center’s Payload Operation Center (POC) is the

ground control center for experiments and payloads being operated on

the ISS. MSFC has also overseen development of most U.S. modules

and the ISS EClSS system.

TElESCIEnCE SUPPORT CEnTERS (TSCs)

Telescience Support Centers around the country are equipped to conduct

science operations on board the ISS. These TSCs are located at Marshall

Space Flight Center in huntsville, Alabama; Ames Research Center

(ARC) in Moffett Field, California; glenn Research Center (gRC) in

Cleveland, Ohio; and Johnson Space Center in houston, Texas

dESIgn, dEvElOPMEnT, TESTIng, EvAlUATIOn, And
InTEgRATIOn (ddTE&I)

Boeing is nASA’s prime ISS contractor. It oversees the development,

testing, and preparation for launch of the ISS elements.

http://www.nasa.gov

Canada

Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

MOBIlE SERvICIng SySTEM (MSS) OPERATIOnS
COMPlEx (MOC)

The MSS Operations Complex in longueuil, quebec,

provides the resources, equipment, and expertise needed

for the engineering and monitoring of the Mobile Servicing

System as well as for crew training.

SPACE STATIOn REMOTE MAnIPUlATOR SySTEM
(SSRMS) dESIgn And dEvElOPMEnT

The SSRMS was designed and developed by Macdonald,

dettwiler and Associates, ltd., in Brampton, Ontario.

http://www.space.gc.ca

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Europe

European Space Agency (ESA)

EUROPEAn SPACE RESEARCh And TEChnOlOgy
CEnTRE (ESTEC)

The European Space Research and Technology Centre, the largest site and

the technical heart of the ESA, is in noordwijk, in the netherlands. Most

ESA projects are developed here by more than 2,000 specialists.

COlUMBUS COnTROl CEnTRE (COl-CC) And AUTOMATEd
TRAnSFER vEhIClE COnTROl CEnTRE (ATv-CC)

Two ground control centers are responsible for controlling and operating

the European contribution to the ISS program. These are the Columbus

Control Centre and the Automated Transfer vehicle Control Centre.

The COl-CC, located at the german Aerospace Center (dlR), in

Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, germany, will control and operate the

Columbus Research laboratory and coordinate European experiments

(payload) operations. The ATv-CC, located in Toulouse, France, on the

premises of the French space agency Centre national d’Etudes Spatiales

(CnES), will control and operate the ATvs.

gUIAnA SPACE CEnTRE (gSC)

Europe’s Spaceport is situated in the northeast of South America in French

guiana. Initially created by CnES, it is jointly funded and used by both the

French space agency and ESA as the launch site for the Ariane 5 vehicle.

EUROPEAn ASTROnAUT CEnTRE (EAC)

The European Astronaut Centre of the European Space Agency is situated

in Cologne, germany. It was established in 1990 and is the home base of the

13 European astronauts who are members of the European Astronaut Corps.

USER CEnTERS

User Support and Operation Centers (USOCs) are based in national

centers distributed throughout Europe. These centers are responsible for

the use and implementation of European payloads aboard the ISS.

http://www.esa.int

Japan

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

In addition to the JAxA headquarters in Tokyo and other field

centers throughout the country, Tsukuba Space Center and

Tanegashima launch Facility are JAxA’s primary ISS facilities.

TSUKUBA SPACE CEnTER (TKSC)

JAxA’s Tsukuba Space Center is located in Tsukuba Science

City. As part of the International Space Station project, the

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) “Kibo” is developed and

tested at TKSC. JAxA is preparing the Kibo Control Centre

for support of the JEM once it is launched. Astronaut training

for JEM will be conducted at JAxA.

TAnEgAShIMA SPACE CEnTER (TnSC)

The Tanegashima Space Center is the largest space-development

facility in Japan and is located in the south of Kagoshima

Prefecture, along the southeast coast of Tanegashima. The Osaki

Range is onsite for J-I and h-IIA launch vehicles. There are

also related developmental facilities for test firings of liquid-

and solid-fuel rocket engines.

http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html

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Russia

Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency

Roscosmos oversees all Russian human

space flight activities.

MOSCOW MISSIOn COnTROl (TSUP)

Moscow Mission Control is the primary Russian facility for the control

of human space flight. It is located in Korolev, outside of Moscow.

gAgARIn COSMOnAUT TRAInIng CEnTER (gCTC)

The gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, at Zvezdny gorodok (Star

City), provides full-size trainers and simulators of all Russian ISS mod-

ules, a water pool used for spacewalk training, centrifuges to simulate

g-forces during liftoff, and a planetarium used for celestial navigation.

S.P. KOROlEv ROCKET And SPACE CORPORATIOn EnERgIA
(RSC EnERgIA)

RSC Energia, in Korolev, outside of Moscow, integrates spacecraft

hardware and manages the ISS Program implementation for the

Russian segment.

KhRUnIChEv STATE RESEARCh And PROdUCTIOn SPACE CEnTER
(KhRUnIChEv)

Khrunichev, in Moscow, is the prime contractor for the Functional Cargo

Block, Service Module, and Proton launch vehicles.

SCIEnCE PROdUCTIOn EnTERPRISE ZvEZdA

Science Production Enterprise Zvezda, in Tomolino, near Moscow, is the

primary developer of the Russian Orlan and Sokol spacesuits that are used

for the ISS.

BAIKOnUR COSMOdROME

The Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, is the chief launch center

for both piloted and unpiloted space vehicles. It supports the Soyuz and

Proton launch vehicles and plays an essential role in the deployment and

operation of the International Space Station.

InSTITUTE FOR BIOMEdICAl PROBlEMS (IBMP)

The Institute for Biomedical Problems, outside Moscow, conducts scien-

tific research and develops hardware for the protection of crew health.

http://www.roscosmos.ru