ISS construction. Astronauts James S. Voss (upper) and Jeffrey N. Williams handling the boom of the Russian crane (Strela) as they install it on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). They are orbiting 350 kilometres above Earth. The two astronauts and the rest of the crew did other repairs and additions to the ISS, including work on the interior. The Space Shuttle Atlantis flew this mission, STS-101 (19th-29th May 2000). The ISS is a joint effort between NASA, the European Space Agency, the Russian space agency, Canada, Japan and Brazil. It will be over 100 metres in length and is scheduled for completion in 2004.