Large space stations orbiting the Earth allow humans to stay in space for long periods of time. After the end of the Apollo program, countries will shift their focus from deep space travel to closer to Earth.
The space station is a stepping stone for space travel. Space stations orbit the Earth in low-Earth orbit and are often used in space for experiments, such as the behavior and reaction of the human body in zero gravity for long periods of time. Many of the experiments conducted on the space station were specifically designed to determine the effects of long-term space travel.
The most famous space station is the International Space Station (ISS), which happens to be one of the two space stations that humans have in orbit. The second space station is China's Tiangong Space Station (TSS), which was launched in 2021 and has since sent more modules to connect to it.
Before the Tiangong space station and the International Space Station, there were 13 more space stations in orbit, although they have now been decommissioned.
The first developed space station was built by the Soviet Union in 1971. Named Salyut 1, it has flown only two manned missions. Soyuz-10 and Soyuz-11 are the only missions to carry people to Salyut 1. Soyuz-10 failed to dock with the space station, and the mission was soon aborted.
Soyuz-11 successfully docked with the space station, and astronauts conducted a 23-day experiment aboard Salyut 1. Unfortunately, at the end of the mission, the Soyuz-11's valves failed to close properly, and the entire crew lost their lives due to air loss.
Between 1971 and 1973, the Soviet Union launched three more space stations, but none of them were manned. In 1973, the United States launched its first space station, Skylab, into low-Earth orbit. Skylab will be a prelude to one day becoming the International Space Station. NASA flew three separate manned missions from May 1973 to February 1974, spending approximately 24 weeks on Skylab.
Since NASA has not yet developed a space shuttle, astronauts will not be able to refuel the space station. In 1979, Skylab crashed into Earth in a decay orbit and disintegrated during re-entry.
After Skylab, the United States will not launch another space station until the start of the construction of the ISS. For the rest of the 20th century, the Soviet Union continued its Salyut program with more space stations. Perhaps the most famous space station launched by the Soviet Union was Mir. Mir was launched by the Soviet Union in 1986 and operated until 2001 (after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was operated by the Russian Federation from 1991 to 2001). When Mir was in orbit, it was the largest artificial satellite. Mir conducted hundreds of experiments on the long-term effects of space travel and determined that humans could maintain a permanent habitat in Earth's orbit.
For most people, the International Space Station (ISS) is probably familiar. The International Space Station has been in orbit for more than 23 years and has been the main habitat for humans in space for decades. The construction of the ISS began in 1998. The ISS is a joint project of several countries, including the United States, Russia, Japan, the European Union, and Canada.
In addition, it has been inhabited since 2000, with about 11 people on board as of 2023. Although the United States and Russia provided most of the funding and technology, each member state provided different forms of technology, and the ISS became one of the greatest examples of international cooperation.
After the decommissioning of the Russian Mir space station, the ISS became the largest man-made object in Earth's orbit and is still expanding. Scientists are constantly developing and adding new modules to the space station, the latest of which was installed in 2021. The life of the ISS has been extended several times and has now received enough funding to continue its operation until 2030. There have been people on the ISS since 2000, making it the longest human presence in space. As of 2022, 251 astronauts from 20 different countries have visited the ISS.
China is the only space power that has not participated in the ISS mission. Because our country develops and concurrently develops its own space station. China's first space station, Tiangong-1, was launched on September 29, 2011. Tiangong-1 continued to operate for two years. The space station remained in orbit after its decommissioning until 2018, when it burned up during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. The main goal of Tiangong-1 is to test China's space capabilities and lead the development of future space stations.
On September 15, 2016, China launched its second space station, Tiangong-2. The main goal of China's second space station is not to create a permanent habitat in space, but to test the technology needed to eventually establish a permanent habitat in space. Tiangong-2 was decommissioned three years later and burned up during re-entry in 2019.
Then, in 2021, China's current Tiangong space station (TSS) was launched. As of 2023, the TSS is fully operational and staffed, marking the establishment of China on track. It began continuous habitation with the crew of Shenzhou-14 in June 2022. In 2022, the construction of the TSS entered a critical stage, with the addition of two laboratory modules: Wentian, launched on July 24, 2022, and Mengtian, launched on October 31, 2022. These modules significantly expand TSS's research capabilities, enabling a wider range of scientific experiments. In 2023, a record of 17 people entered orbit at the same time.
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