Mission accomplished! The role of systems engineering & integration in the International Space Station program

The International Space Station is among the largest and most complex international cooperative science and technology projects ever undertaken. Completed in 2010, the approximately 500 metric ton, permanently crewed, full-service space platform remains safely operating today as a testament to what great nations can do through peaceful cooperation. At the turn of the 21st century, industrialized nations are forming partnerships to design and build complex, technological assets for which no nation alone can bear the cost, or the risk. By partnering together, the cost is shared, the risk distributed, and the benefits accrue to all.