Space Shuttle Endeavour flew STS-88, the first crewed ISS assembly mission.
Launched in December 1998, STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station. Endeavour carried Unity, also called Node 1, the first American-built pressurized module, and joined it to Zarya, the Russian-built module already orbiting Earth. This connection created the station’s initial usable framework.
The six-person crew included commander Robert Cabana, pilot Frederick Sturckow, mission specialists Jerry Ross, Nancy Currie, James Newman, and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. Ross and Newman performed spacewalks to connect power, data, and communications equipment between Unity and Zarya. The mission also deployed several secondary payloads, including a satellite and an IMAX camera.
A frequent mix-up is treating STS-88 as the launch of the first ISS module. Zarya had already been launched independently by a Proton rocket in November 1998. Endeavour’s mission was crucial because it brought Unity and physically linked the Russian and American segments, establishing the station’s multinational architecture.