It has taken a huge effort to bring the International Space Station (ISS) programme together. Many years of ups and downs, changes in partnerships, redesigns and other impacts have influenced the programme. But, finally, with the signature of the Intergovernmental Agreement on 29 January 1998 by 15 countries and the associated Memoranda of Understanding on the same day by the five Partner space agencies, the legal foundations were established. This article describes the achievements so far, and ESA's plans for the future.