Picture Provided by NASA

     In the night sky overhead sails mankind’s greatest accomplishment, the space station. Many nations have been a part of the history, tragedies and improvements to the space stations over the past three decades.

     The first space station was sent up in 1971 by the Russians. They called it Salyut 1. The first crew to stay on Salyut 1 for 24 days was the Soyuz 11 crew. Unfortunately they died in a tragic accident when the valve in their ship let all the air out. Finally Skylab 1 was sent up into space by the United States in 1973. But the space station was damaged during lift off. A crew was launched 10 days later to repair the damage that was caused during launch. It took 112 days in space for the crew to fix the problem and conduct their research. Skylab 1 was then abandoned after its third mission due to problems on the station. In time solar flares damaged it further till it burnt up falling into the Earths’ atmosphere in 1979. The Russians launched Mir in 1986 as a permanent home in space. Over a period of time Mir was damaged by fire and a crash into it by a supply ship. On November 16, 2000 the Russian Space Agency agreed to bring Mir back to Earth. In February 2001, Mir will slowly start to burn up as it enters the atmosphere and debris will fall into the Pacific Ocean. In 1984, the United States along with 16 other countries combined their talents to build a permanent Space Station. The International Space Station began its orbit in 1998.

Picture Provided by NASA

     Space stations are intended for people to conduct business, do scientific experiments and bring them closer to the planets and stars. At this time astronauts are conducting research on micro gravity science, life science, earth science, space science, engineering research and development, and commercial product development.

     Space stations have changed over the years. In the beginning the space stations were 45 feet long and held three main compartments that housed dining and recreational areas, food and water storage, a toilet, control station, and scientific equipment. Today they have living quarters such as individual crew cabins, toilet and showers, a kitchen, and trash storage.

     Space stations continue to improve in design and functions. Scientists have found different ways of designing Space Stations, working together to enhance the technology in the stations.