Results for “who owns the international space station” · retrieved September 22, 2026
The International Space Station is owned by five international partners: the United States, Russia, the European Partner, Japan, and Canada, who each own the specific modules and equipment they provided.
Answer details
Individual Ownership of Elements
Under the 1998 Intergovernmental Agreement, each partner retains ownership of the flight elements and equipment it contributes to the station.
Jurisdiction and Control
Partners maintain national jurisdiction and control over the elements they register and over their own personnel on the station.
Operational Partnership
The station is operated by five space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada).
Management Structure
While ownership is distributed, the United States holds a lead role in the overall management and coordination of the integrated station.
Sources 8
About this answerESA - International Space Station legal framework
Who owns the International Space Station?...The Intergovernmental Agreement allows the Space Station Partners States to extend their national jurisdiction in outer space, so the elements they provide (e.g. laboratories) are assimilated to the territories of the Partners States....The basic rule is that 'each partner shall retain jurisdiction and control over the elements it registers and over personnel in or on the Space Station who are its na
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International Space Station Frequently Asked Questions - NASA
Who operates the International Space Station?...Five partner agencies – CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and the State Space Corporation “Roscosmos” – operate the International Space Station, with each partner responsible for managing and controlling the hardware it provides. The station was designed to be interdependent a
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International Space Station Cooperation - NASA
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the ISS. The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken....Operating the space station is even more complicated than other space flight endeavors because it is an...program. Each partner has the primary responsibility to manage a
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Among the Government of Canada, Governments of Member States of the European Space Agency, the Government of Japan, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the Government of the USA Concerning Cooperation on the Civil International Space Statio
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA...GOVERNMENTS...MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY, TH...3 GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN, THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF...NING COOPERATION...THE CIVIL INTERNATIONAL...The Government of Canada (heremafter also “Canada”), The Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kmgdom of Denmark, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Italian Repubhc, the Kmgdom of the Netherlands, the K
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International Space Station Facts and Figures
Five space agencies including NASA, Roscosmos, ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), have contributed to the station’s assembly....* An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the International Space Station. Learn more about visitors to the space station by country.
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The Legal Framework for the International Space Station
8 for Japan...Political dimension of Cooperation: Article 1 of IGA ¾ IGA establishes a long-term international cooperative framework on the basis of genuine partnership for the design, development, operation, and utilization of a permanently inhabited civil international Space Station for peaceful purposes, in accordance with international law;...the United States and Russia will produce elements serving as the foundatio n of...ISS; the European
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TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTS SERIES 12927
AGREEMENT AMONG THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, GOVERNMENTS OF MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY, THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN, THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONCERNING COOPERATION ON THE CIVIL INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION...2. The Partners will join their efforts, under the lead role of the United States for overall management and coordination, to create an integrated international Spac
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International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) [c] is a space station in low Earth orbit (LEO). It is the product of the International Space Station program and is operated by five partner space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). [13] It is the first space station built, maintained and crewed through international cooperation and the largest human spacecraft ever constructed. [14] [15] It is a
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