History of the ISS By Riley-PlattsWC Jan 28, 1984 Ronald Reagan directs NASA to build the ISS Nov 20, 1998 First ISS Segment launches Dec 4, 1998 First U.S.-built component launches Nov 2, 2000 First crew member to reside on station Feb 7, 2001 U.S. Lab Module Added Feb 7, 2001 U.S. Lab module added May 30, 2005 U.S. Lab Module Recognized as Newest U.S. National Laboratory Feb 7, 2008 European Lab Joins the ISS Mar 11, 2008 Japanese Lab Joins the ISS Sep 2, 2010 ISS 10-Year Anniversary 2011 NASA Issues Cooperative Agreement 2011 NASA Selects the ISS National Lab Sep 30, 2013 The First ISS National Lab Research Flight