How Many Space Stations Are in Orbit Right Now?
As of 2026, there are two crewed space stations in orbit around Earth: the International Space Station (ISS) and China's Tiangong. That is it. Only two places in orbit where humans live and work.
Between them, these stations host roughly 10 people at any given time. The ISS carries a crew of six to seven, and Tiangong supports three taikonauts. Both stations maintain continuous human presence year-round, with crew rotations happening every five to six months. Together, they represent an unbroken chain of human habitation in space that stretches back to November 2, 2000, when the first ISS expedition crew opened the station's hatches.
That picture is about to change. The ISS is scheduled for deorbit in the early 2030s, and several commercial stations are in development to take its place. But right now, in 2026, these two stations are the only orbital outposts where humans call space home.
International Space Station (ISS)
The ISS (NORAD ID 25544) is the largest structure humans have ever built in space. It orbits at an altitude of roughly 420 kilometers, inclined 51.6 degrees to the equator, completing one lap around the Earth every 90 minutes. Its mass is approximately 420,000 kilograms. If you stood on a football field and looked up, that is about the footprint of this station overhead.
Construction began in 1998 with the launch of the Zarya control module from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Over the next decade, more than 40 assembly flights added modules, trusses, and solar arrays. The station has been continuously crewed since November 2000, making it the longest uninterrupted human presence in space. That record grows every single day.
The station consists of 16 pressurized modules contributed by five space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). The American segment includes modules like Destiny (the primary research lab), Harmony (the main docking node), and the Cupola, a seven-windowed observation dome that has produced some of the most iconic photographs of Earth ever taken. The Russian segment includes Zvezda (the service module that provides life support and crew quarters) and Nauka (a multipurpose laboratory added in 2021).
Power comes from eight solar array wings that span 73 meters tip to tip. These arrays generate enough electricity to power about 40 average homes. The station's crew of six to seven members conducts hundreds of experiments each year in biology, physics, materials science, and Earth observation. Crew members arrive and depart aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon capsules and Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
The ISS is scheduled for deorbit around 2030 to 2031. NASA has contracted SpaceX to build the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, which will guide the station into a controlled reentry over an uninhabited stretch of the Pacific Ocean. Until then, it remains the flagship of international cooperation in space.
Tiangong
Tiangong (NORAD ID 48274) is China's national space station, and it represents one of the most significant achievements in human spaceflight this decade. The station was completed in 2022 with the addition of its third and final module, giving it a distinctive T-shaped configuration. It orbits at approximately 390 kilometers altitude with an inclination of 42.0 degrees.
The station comprises three modules. Tianhe is the core module, launched in April 2021. It provides life support, crew quarters, and the main control center. Wentian, the first laboratory module, arrived in July 2022 and includes a backup life support system, an airlock for spacewalks, and a small robotic arm. Mengtian, the second laboratory module, docked in October 2022 and is optimized for microgravity research and Earth observation experiments.
With a total mass of roughly 66,000 kilograms, Tiangong is significantly smaller than the ISS. But it is a fully capable research platform designed for a crew of three taikonauts at a time. The station is operated by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) and was built entirely by China, independent of the ISS partnership. Crew and cargo arrive aboard Shenzhou crewed spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo vehicles, both launched from the Jiuquan and Wenchang launch centers.
Tiangong is designed for an operational life of 10 or more years, and China has discussed plans for expanding the station with additional modules in the future. For a detailed look at its design, experiments, and crew operations, see our full Tiangong space station guide.
ISS vs. Tiangong: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Specification | ISS | Tiangong |
|---|---|---|
| NORAD ID | 25544 | 48274 |
| Mass | ~420,000 kg | ~66,000 kg |
| Crew size | 6 to 7 | 3 |
| Orbital altitude | ~420 km | ~390 km |
| Inclination | 51.6° | 42.0° |
| Pressurized modules | 16 | 3 |
| Year completed | 2011 (assembly complete) | 2022 |
| First crewed | 2000 | 2021 |
| Operating agency | NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, CSA | CMSA |
Historical Space Stations
Salyut Program (1971 to 1991)
The Soviet Salyut program launched the first space stations in history. Salyut 1, which reached orbit in April 1971, was the very first crewed space station. The program produced seven stations over two decades, evolving from simple single-module outposts to more sophisticated long-duration platforms. The later Salyut stations (Salyut 6 and 7) could receive multiple visiting crews and cargo ships, establishing the basic operational patterns that all subsequent stations would follow. Salyut proved that humans could live and work in orbit for months at a time, and the biomedical data gathered during those missions shaped every long-duration spaceflight program that came after.
Skylab (1973 to 1979)
Skylab was NASA's first and (until the ISS) only space station. Built from a converted Saturn V upper stage, it was launched in May 1973 and hosted three crews over the course of about nine months of occupied operations. Skylab was remarkably large for its era, with more interior volume than the ISS would have in its early years. Its crews conducted solar observations, Earth resources experiments, and medical studies on the effects of long-duration spaceflight. Skylab reentered the atmosphere in 1979, scattering debris across Western Australia. It remains one of the most productive scientific platforms NASA ever operated, relative to its short operational life.
Mir (1986 to 2001)
Mir was the Soviet Union's (and later Russia's) legendary modular space station. Assembled in orbit between 1986 and 1996, it was the first station built from multiple separately launched modules, a design approach that directly influenced the ISS. Mir hosted cosmonauts for record-breaking stays, including Valeri Polyakov's 437-day mission, which remains the longest single spaceflight in history. In the 1990s, Mir became a platform for international cooperation when NASA astronauts began visiting and living aboard as part of the Shuttle-Mir program. That collaboration laid the groundwork for the ISS partnership. Mir was deorbited in a controlled reentry over the Pacific Ocean in March 2001, just months after the ISS began permanent crewed operations.
What Is Coming Next
With the ISS approaching the end of its operational life, a new generation of commercial space stations is under development. NASA has invested in several private companies to build successors, with most targeting operational readiness between 2028 and 2030.
Axiom Station
Axiom Space is taking a phased approach. The company plans to attach its first commercial module (Axiom Hab 1) to the ISS, giving it access to existing life support and power systems while it builds out additional segments. Over time, more Axiom modules will be added. When the ISS is eventually deorbited, the Axiom segment will detach and become a free-flying commercial station. This is the most incremental path of any of the planned stations, and Axiom has already conducted multiple private astronaut missions to the ISS to build operational experience.
Orbital Reef
Orbital Reef is a partnership between Blue Origin and Sierra Space, with support from Boeing and other contractors. The concept is a mixed-use commercial station designed to serve research, manufacturing, tourism, and media production. Blue Origin is providing the core module and utility systems, while Sierra Space is contributing its LIFE habitat module and Dream Chaser cargo vehicle. The station is designed to support up to 10 people and aims to be operational by the late 2020s.
Starlab
Starlab, developed by Voyager Space in partnership with Airbus, takes a different approach: a single large module launched on a single rocket, rather than assembled in orbit over multiple flights. The station is designed for a crew of four and will focus on research and manufacturing in microgravity. Airbus brings decades of experience from building Columbus, the European laboratory module on the ISS. Starlab is targeting a launch around 2028.
All three of these programs are still in development, and timelines in the space industry frequently shift. But the direction is clear: the era of a single multinational government station is giving way to a future with multiple commercial platforms in low Earth orbit.
How to Track Both Active Stations
Both the ISS and Tiangong are visible to the naked eye. They appear as bright, steady points of light moving across the sky, far faster than any airplane and without the blinking navigation lights. The ISS is one of the brightest objects in the night sky (rivaling Venus on a good pass), and Tiangong, while dimmer, is still clearly visible under decent conditions.
The best times to spot either station are during the hour or two after sunset and before sunrise. At those times, the station is in direct sunlight while you are in darkness on the ground, which makes it stand out sharply against the sky. A typical overhead pass lasts about four to six minutes.
I track both stations with Skytrail, which gives me real-time positions, upcoming pass times, and the full crew roster for each station. It is the single best way to keep tabs on every crewed outpost in orbit. It covers both the ISS and Tiangong in one place, so you do not need separate tools for each station. For a step-by-step guide to spotting these stations from your backyard, see our post on how to see the space station.
Track every station: Skytrail is the only app I have found that tracks both active space stations with full crew information, real-time orbital positions, and pass predictions for your location. If you want one app to follow everything happening in human spaceflight, this is the one.