November 2000 - First crew to arrive at ISS. Nasa astronaut Bill Shepherd is the commander

26 July, 2000 - The Russian service module, Zvezda, joins the embryonic ISS more than 18 months late.

6 December, 1998 - The space shuttle docks the Unity module to the orbiting Zarya

20 November, 1998 - The FGB, Zarya, is finally launched on a Proton rocket from Kazakhstan.

December, 1997 - Scheduled launch of Russian-built core module (FGB) postponed.

1994 - President Bill Clinton relaunches the project following the break-up of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Block. He renames it International Space Station Alpha and says it should be a symbol of post-Cold War co-operation.

1984 - US President Ronald Reagan says he wants to build a permanently manned, all-American space station. Space Station Freedom was supposed to be in orbit by 1994.