Liftoff Videos

Every mission, with the videos that tell it

Unity

The Unity module, photographed from the Space Shuttle during STS-88 in December 1998.

Photo: NASA / Public domain (US government work)

Unity, also known as Node 1, was the first American-built component of the International Space Station. Boeing built the aluminium module for NASA, and it links the Russian Orbital Segment to the US Orbital Segment. Space Shuttle Endeavour launched it on STS-88 on 4 December 1998, and two days later it was berthed to the already-launched Zarya module. That was the first connection between pieces of the station. It has six Common Berthing Mechanism locations: forward, aft, port, starboard, zenith and nadir, and it is 4.57 metres in diameter. Destiny and the Quest Joint Airlock attach to it.

Launched
4 December 1998

Data as of 2 November 2026. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Events

Videos on this topic

The videos, in date order

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  1. How Shuttle Missions Built the ISS: Unity, Destiny and Canadarm2

    Jared Owen

  2. How the ISS Will Be Destroyed at Point Nemo in 2030

    The B1M

  3. ISS History: Assembly, Crises and the Plan to Deorbit by 2030

    Classic Aerospace History

  4. Thomas Pesquet’s Mission Alpha: Six Months Aboard the ISS

    Free Documentary – Space

  5. How the ISS Was Assembled: Modules, Gyros, Canadarm2 and Cooling

    Real Engineering

  6. ISS Tour With Nicole Mann and Kjell Lindgren: Modules and Daily Life

    NASA Johnson

  7. ISS Module Tour: Columbus, Kibo, Destiny and Zvezda in POV

    NASA

  8. Cygnus XL Departs the ISS: Release, Burn and Re-entry Plan

    NASA
Play video: Cygnus XL Departs the ISS: Release, Burn and Re-entry Plan

Cygnus XL Departs the ISS: Release, Burn and Re-entry Plan

NASA

Duration 42:07

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Dates are when each video was first published on YouTube.

All the videos

  2. Thomas Pesquet’s Mission Alpha: Six Months Aboard the ISS

    DocumentaryFree Documentary – Space · 51:20

    Mission: Crew-2 (2021)

  3. How the ISS Will Be Destroyed at Point Nemo in 2030

    DocumentaryThe B1M · 32:29

    Mission: International Space Station deorbit

  6. ISS History: Assembly, Crises and the Plan to Deorbit by 2030

    DocumentaryClassic Aerospace History · 1:13:57

  7. Cygnus XL Departs the ISS: Release, Burn and Re-entry Plan

    Launch coverageNASA · 42:07

    Mission: Northrop Grumman CRS-24 (2026)

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