International Space Agency
 | |
| Owner | 9 Member states
|
|---|---|
| Established | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Magnolia Bend, Louisiana, USA |
| Primary spaceport | Kennedy Space Center Mid-Pacific Launch Center Vandenberg Air Force Base |
| Administrator(s) | Arthur Monroe Ian Rubin Harrison Whitford |
| Budget | US$73.5 billion (2012) |
| Website | www.isa.int |
The International Space Agency (ISA), established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 9 member states acting in cooperation. Headquartered in Magnolia Bend, Louisiana, ISA has a staff of more than 40,000 with an annual budget of about $75 billion in 2010.
ISA's space flight program includes human spaceflight, mainly through its Space Shuttle program, the launch and operations of unmanned exploration missions to other planets, the Moon and Mars, Earth observations, science, telecommunication as well as maintaining a major spaceport, the Mid-Pacific Launch Center at Gagarin Island and designing launch vehicles. The main European launch vehicles, the RDA space shuttle, and Jupiter series of launchers are operated in conjunction with NASA, with ISA sharing in the costs of launching and further developing these launch vehicles.
ISA science missions are based at McGregor Space Center in Magnolia Bend, which also houses the International Space Training Facility (ISTF) that trains astronauts for future missions. ISA Mission Control is in Geneva, Switzerland, with Space Shuttle missions currently controlled from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Contents
History
Goals and aims
Member countries and structure
Budget
Leadership
Facilities
Launch facilities
Landing sites
Tourism and museum facilities
Aircraft
Launch vehicle fleet
Jupiter launchers
Space Shuttles
| American Orbiters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Name | First launch | Launch site | Notes |
| OV-107 | Terra Nova | March 4, 2009 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-7 | First Space Shuttle launched into polar orbit. |
| OV-108 | Constitution | June 30, 2009 | Vandenberg AFB, SLC-7 | First American Orbiter launched on an unmanned test flight. |
| OV-109 | Patriot | October 7, 2009 | KSC, LC-39C | First ISA Space Shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral; First ISA Orbiter to dock with the ISS. |
| OV-110 | Liberty | NET April 20, 2010 | KSC, LC-39C | |
| OV-111 | Intrepid | NET July 16, 2010 | KSC, LC-39C | |
| OV-112 | Horizon | KSC, LC-39E | ||
| OV-113 | Endurance | KSC, LC-39E | Final orbiter constructed. | |
| Russian Orbiters | ||||
| Number | Name | First launch | Launch site | Notes |
| OK-2K1 | Baikal | December 10, 2009 | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Pad 110 | First next generation Russian orbiter |
| OK-2K2 | Sokol | TBD | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Pad 110 | |
A final American space shuttle, named Union, was commissioned, but was cancelled during construction. The exterior was completed and the vehicle is now on display at the Lafayette Air and Space Museum. A third Russian orbiter, likely named Kasatka, was cancelled prior to assembly.
Missions
