International Space Station

Zarya, a Russian-built, American-funded module, became the first component of the International Space Station launched into orbit, providing the new station's initial power, propulsion, and storage capability.

STS-88 carried the American-built Unity module aboard Endeavour and joined it to the already-orbiting Zarya, the first assembly operation in the construction of the International Space Station.

Zvezda, launched in July 2000, provided the International Space Station's early living quarters, life support systems, and propulsion, finally enabling the station to support a permanent resident crew.

Expedition 1 sent the International Space Station's first resident crew, American astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, beginning what has become more than two decades of continuous human presence in orbit.

SpaceX's CRS-1 mission delivered the first operational commercial cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station, opening a new era in which private companies, not just national space agencies, kept the station stocked.

SpaceX's Demo-2 mission launched Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard Crew Dragon, the first crewed orbital flight of a commercially developed and operated American spacecraft, ending nearly nine years without domestic crewed launch capability.