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The views from this five-bedroom, two-bathroom home are, well, out of this world.

And for the past decade, not a day has passed when someone hasn't been able to gaze out at Earth streaming by 220 miles below.

Tuesday marks 10 years of humans permanently living and working aboard the International Space Station.

That will break the record of uninterrupted human presence in Earth orbit, eight days short of 10 years, by Mir, a Russian complex in orbit from 1986 to 2001.

"Once you realize what you're doing, then you're astonished by the fact that here you are, one of six people in space," said astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, who lived for 188 days on the ISS. "It can make you emotional at times."

The station's first resident crew -- two Russians and an American -- opened the outpost for business Nov. 2, 2000, beginning human operations that continued despite system failures, the post-Columbia grounding of NASA's shuttle fleet and an old-fashioned malady, homesickness.

Three months into Expedition 1's four-month mission, NASA realized they had to make some adjustments: More time was allowed for speaking to loved ones back home, and the crew was encouraged to watch movies and listen to music they liked.

"That's what it's really like to live in space," said KSC Director Robert Cabana, who has flown into space four times on the shuttle but admits he regrets never having completed a long-duration flight aboard the station. "The shuttle is phenomenal, but those space station crews . . . ."

Sixty-four people have boarded the outpost for long-duration stays. In total, 196 explorers have visited -- not including seven space tourists, all buying seats onboard the Russian Soyuz.

Crews conduct scientific research -- the main purpose of the station -- but also have to be handy enough to repair everything from a malfunctioning toilet to a broken solar panel.