April 19, 1971: Soviets Put First Space Station Into Orbit | WIRED April 19, 1971: Soviets Put First Space Station Into Orbit subscribe 6 months for $5 - plus a FREE Portable Phone Charger. On Twitter 11 hours Slack has started rolling out threaded messaging, which allows users to connect related messages in a given chatroom bit.ly/2joimKu Author: Tony Long. Tony Long Date of Publication: 04.19.11. Time of Publication: 7:00 am. 7:00 am April 19, 1971: Soviets Put First Space Station Into Orbit 1971: Salyut 1, the first operational space station, is launched. As they often were during the space race, the Soviets were out in front of NASA in concept and launch. But just as often, they were bedeviled by technical glitches and failures, and so it was with Salyut 1. Beaten to the moon by the Americans, the Soviet space program turned its attention to the deployment of a working space station , which had been on the drawing boards since 1964.

Salyut 1 was essentially a lash-up, its components assembled from spacecraft originally designed for other purposes. The April launch went smoothly and Salyut 1 entered orbit, but it was all downhill after that. The crew of Soyuz 10 , intended to be the first cosmonauts to take occupancy of Salyut 1, couldn’t enter the space station because of a docking mechanism problem. The crew of Salyut 1: The First Space Station Salyut 1: The First Space Station By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | July 26, 2012 01:37pm ET MORE Diagram of the Soviet Salyut 1 space station (left), with a Soyuz spacecraft ready to dock. Credit: NASA This is part of a Space.com series of articles on the Greatest Moments in Flight, the breakthrough events that paved the way for human spaceflight and its next steps: asteroid mining and bases on the moon and Mars. Despite an array of problems, the first space station, Salyut 1, made important progress toward living and working in space long-term and paved the way for future space stations.

Launched by the Soviet Union in 1971, the port orbited the Earth almost 3,000 times during its 175 days in space before it was intentionally crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Shaped like a cylinder, Salyut 1 bore three pressurized compartments for astronauts and one unpressurized area containing the engines and control equipment. The station was about 65 feet (20 meters) long and 13 feet (4 meters) in diameter at its widest point. Two double sets of solar panels extended like wings on the exterior of the compartments at either end. Visiting the space station Salyut 1 launched unmanned from the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. Two days later, Soyuz 10 lifted off, carrying a crew of three toward the space station with the intention of remaining in space for 30 days. The cosmonauts attempted to dock with Salyut 1, but although they were able to lock onto the station, a problem with the hatch kept them from being able to enter it. They returned home early and unsuccessful.

During the re-entry process, a problem rendered the air supply of Soyuz 10 toxic, and one of the cosmonauts slipped into unconsciousness. All three survived with no long-term effects. On June 6, Soyuz 11 transported cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Vokov, and Viktor Patsayev to Salyut 1, where after three hours, they successfully docked with the station. They remained on board for 383 orbits in the course of just over three weeks, setting a new space endurance record. On June 16, smoke from a control panel caused the crew to consider abandoning the station, but the unit was switched off and the problem averted. The crew of the Soyuz 11, shown here during practice, was killed during their return to Earth from a 22-day visit to the Salyut 1. Credit: NASA On June 29, the crew transferred back to the Soyuz 11 and began the return to Earth. Disaster struck when a ventilation valve was jolted open during the re-entry, depressurizing the interior of the ship.

Cosmonauts at the time did not wear suits while in flight, so all three men were tragically killed . As a result, several changes were made to the Soviet policy, but they could not be implemented while Salyut 1 remained in orbit. No further trips were made to the station. On October 11, 1971, the engines on Salyut 1 fired for the last time, bringing the space station into a lower orbit that would result in its eventual plunge into the Pacific Ocean. But despite its early death, Salyut 1 set the stage for stations to come after. The Soviets continued to put short-term stations into space for several years until they felt they were ready for a long-term project. Mir and the ISS In 1986, the Soviet Union launched the first components of the space station Mir, which was assembled in orbit over the course of a decade. Considerably larger than Salyut 1, Mir was just over 60 feet (19 meters) long and 100 feet (31 meters) wide.

It weighed in at 285,940 pounds (129,700 kilograms), more than seven times more massive than the world's first space station. Mir orbited the Earth more than 86,000 times over the course of fifteen years, and was occupied more than 80 percent of its time in space. The space station had the capacity to support a crew of three, with occasional short-term visitors. Valeri Polyakov spent 437 days 18 hours aboard Mir, setting the record for the longest single human space flight. Mir returned to Earth on March 23, 2001, crashing into the South Pacific Ocean. Pieces of the ninth inhabited space port, the International Space Station , or ISS, were first launched in 1998. A joint project between five space agencies — the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, and the European Space Agency — the port has been visited by astronauts from more than 15 countries. At almost 240 feet (72.8 meters) long and 356 feet (108.5 meters) wide, the ISS weighs just under twice the mass of Mir.

In 2010, it broke Mir's record of days in flight, and remains there today, serving as a laboratory and observatory in space. [ Infographic: The International Space Station Inside and Out ] Although the first space station in flight, Salyut 1, was marred by problems, it set the stage for larger and more permanent residencies that would provide greater opportunities to endure the rigors and challenges of life off-planet. —Nola Taylor Redd Space Station | The Station | Russian Space History russian space history Prelude to Space Stations (1903-1964) Soviet engineers began work on large rockets in the 1930s. In May 1955, work began on the Baikonur launch site in central Asia. In August-1957, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile lifted off from Baikonur on a test flight, followed by the launch of Sputnik I, the world's first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin lifted off from Baikonur in the Vostok I capsule, becoming the first human in space.

A year later, Soviet engineers described a space station comprised of modules launched separately and brought together in orbit. A quarter-century later, in 1987, this concept became reality when the Kvant module was added to the Mir core station. - back to the top - First-Generation Stations (1964-1977) First-generation space stations had one docking port and could not be resupplied or refueled. The stations were launched unmanned and later occupied by crews. There were two types: Almaz military stations and Salyut civilian stations. To confuse Western observers the Soviets called both kinds Salyut. The Almaz military station program was the first approved. When proposed in 1964, it had three parts: the Almaz military surveillance space station, Transport Logistics Spacecraft for delivering soldier-cosmonauts and cargo, and Proton rockets for launching both. All of these spacecraft were built, but none was used as originally planned. Soviet engineers completed several Almaz station hulls by 1970. The Soviet leadership ordered Almaz hulls transferred to a crash program to launch a civilian space station.

Work on the Transport Logistics Spacecraft was deferred, and the Soyuz spacecraft originally built for the Soviet manned Moon program was reapplied to ferry crews to space stations. Salyut 1, the first space station in history, reached orbit unmanned atop a Proton rocket on April 19, 1971. The early first-generation stations were plagued by failures. The crew of Soyuz 10, the first spacecraft sent to Salyut 1, was unable to enter the station because of a docking mechanism problem. The Soyuz 11 crew lived aboard Salyut I for three weeks, but died during return to the Earth because the air escaped from their Soyuz spacecraft. Then, three first-generation stations failed to reach orbit or broke up in orbit before crews could reach them. The second failed station was Salyut 2, the first Almaz military station to fly. The Soviets recovered rapidly from these failures. Salyut 3, Salyut 4, and Salyut 5 supported a total of five crews. In addition to military surveillance and scientific and industrial experiments, the cosmonauts performed engineering tests to help develop the second-generation space stations.

- back to the top - Second Generation Stations (1977-1985) With the second-generation stations, the Soviet space station program evolved from short-duration to long-duration stays. Like the first-generation stations, they were launched unmanned and their crews arrived later in Soyuz spacecraft. Second-generation stations had two docking ports. This permitted refueling and resupply by automated Progress freighters derived from Soyuz. Progress docked automatically at the aft port, and was then opened and unloaded by cosmonauts on the station. Transfer of fuel to the station took place automatically under supervision from the ground. A second docking port also meant long-duration resident crews could receive visitors. Visiting crews often included cosmonaut-researchers from Soviet bloc countries or countries sympathetic to the Soviet Union. Vladimir Remck of Czechoslovakia, the first space traveler not from the U.S. or the Soviet Union, visted Salyut 6 in 1978. Visiting crews relieved the monotony of a long stay in space. They often traded their Soyuz spacecraft for the one already docked at the station because Soyuz only had a limited lifteime in orbit.

Lifetime was gradually extended from 60-90 days for the Soyuz Ferry to more than 180 days for the Soyuz-TM. Third-Generation Station: Mir (1986-present) Mir was the first permanent space station. The station has been in orbit for 13 years, and staffed continuously for the past 9 years. The complex weighs more than 100 tons and consists of the Mir core, Kvant, Kvant 2, Kristall, Spektr, Priroda and Docking modules. Mir measures more than 107 feet long with docked Progress-M and Soyuz-TM spacecraft, and is about 90 feet wide across its modules. Space Exploration | National Archives Career Development Resource Center Space Exploration Information about the United States space flight programs, including NASA missions and the astronauts who participate in the efforts to explore Earths galaxy. Contents: 1957 October 4 - The Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into space. November 3 - The Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 was launched with a dog named Laika on board. Laika did not survive the voyage.

1958 January 31 - Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into orbit on January 31, 1958. It was designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology. The satellite was sent aloft from Cape Canaveral in Florida by the Jupiter C rocket that was designed, built, and launched by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) under the direction of Dr. Wernher Von Braun. 1960 August 19 - The Soviet craft Sputnik 5 was launched, carrying the dogs Strelka and Belka. They became the first living beings to survive a trip into space. 1961 April 12 - Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. May 5 - Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space. May 25 - President Kennedy challenged the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. 1962 February 20 - Astronaut John Glenn became the first American in orbit.

June 16 - Valentina Nikolayeva Tereshkova became the first woman in space. 1965 March 18 - While tethered to his spacecraft, cosmonaut Alexi Leonov became the first man to walk in space. June 3 - Astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space. July 14 - The spacecraft Mariner 4 transmitted the first pictures of Mars. 1966 February 3 - The Russian spacecraft Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to land on the moon. June 2 - Surveyor 1 became the first American spacecraft to land on the moon. 1967 January 27 - Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in an accidental fire in a command module on the launch pad. April 24 - Cosmonaut Vladimir M. Komarov was killed in a crash when the parachute on his Soyuz 1 spacecraft failed to deploy. October 18 - A descent capsule from the Soviet probe Venera 4 collected data about the atmosphere of Venus.

1968 September 15 - The Soviet spacecraft Zond 5 was launched and later became the first spacecraft to orbit the moon and return to Earth. December 21 - Apollo 8 was launched, and later her crewmembers became the first men to orbit the moon. 1969 July 20 - Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men on the moon. 1970 April 11 - Apollo 13 was launched. September 12 - The Soviet craft Luna 16 was launched and became the first automatic spacecraft to return soil samples of the moon. November 17 - The Soviet automatic robot Lunokhod 1 landed on the moon with Luna 17. December 15 - The Soviet Venera 7 became the first probe to land on Venus. 1971 April 19 - The Soviet space station Salyut 1 was launched. July 30 - The moon rover was driven on the moon for the first time. November 13 - The Mariner 9 probe became the first craft to orbit another world - Mars.

1972 December 11 - Eugene Cernan and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt became the last men to walk on the moon. 1973 May 14 - The U.S. launched its first space station, Skylab. 1975 July 17 - The American Apollo 18 and Soviet Soyuz 19 dock in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. 1976 September - The American probe Viking 2 discovered water frost on the Martian surface. 1977 August and September - Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched. (Voyager 2 was launched before Voyager 1, but Voyager 1 was on a faster trajectory.) 1979 March and August - Voyagers 1 and 2 began transmitting images of Jupiter and her moons. September - The U.S. probe Pioneer 11 reached Saturn and began transmitting images. 1980 November 13 - Voyager 1 reached Saturn and began transmitting images. 1981 April 12 - Columbia became the first Space Shuttle to be launched. August 26 - Voyager 2 reached Saturn and began transmitting images.

1983 April 4 - The second Space Shuttle, Challenger, was launched. June 19 - Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on Challengers second mission. August 30 - Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space. 1984 February 3 - Astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first man to take an untethered space walk. August 30 - The third Space Shuttle, Discovery, was launched. October - Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space. 1985 October 3 - Atlantis, the fourth Space Shuttle, was launched. 1986 January 24 - Voyager 2 began transmitting images from Uranus. January 28 - The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded seconds after liftoff. February 20 - The core section of the Space Station Mir was launched. 1989 August - Voyager 2 began transmitting images from Neptune. 1990 August 10 - The Magellan spacecraft began mapping the surface of Venus using radar equipment. August 24 - The Space Shuttle Discovery deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. 1992 May 7 - The Space Shuttle Endeavor was launched on her maiden voyage.

September 12 - Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman in space. 1993 December - The Space Shuttle Endeavor made the first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope. 1994 February 3 - Sergei Krikalev became the first Russian cosmonaut to fly on a Space Shuttle. 1995 February 2 - Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle pilot. December - The Galileo probe began transmitting data on Jupiter. 1997 July 4 - The Mars Pathfinder arrived on Mars and later began transmitting images. 1998 October 29 - John Glenn became the oldest man in space. 1999 July 23 - Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle Commander. 2000 February 14 - The U.S. Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft began transmitting images of the asteroid Eros. 2001 February 12 - NEAR landed on the surface of Eros. April 28 - American Dennis Tito became the first tourist in space after paying the Russian space program $20,000,000.

2003 February 1 - The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry into the Earths atmosphere. February 13 - An investigative panel found that superheated air almost certainly seeped through a breach in space shuttle Columbias left wing and possibly its wheel compartment during the crafts fiery descent, resulting in the deaths of all seven astronauts. August 25 - NASA launched the largest-diameter infrared telescope ever in space, the Spitzer Space Telescope. September 21 - NASAs Galileo mission ended a 14-year exploration of the solar systems largest planet and its moons with the spacecraft crashing by design into Jupiter at 108,000 mph. 2004 January 14 - President Bush proposed a new space program that would send humans back to the moon by 2015 and establish a base to Mars and beyond. July 1 - The Cassini spacecraft sent back photographs of Saturns shimmering rings. 2005 July 3 - A NASA spacecraft collided with a comet half the size of Manhattan, creating a brilliant cosmic smashup designed to help scientists study the building blocks of life on earth.

July 26 - Space Shuttle Discovery was launched with seven astronauts aboard; this was Americas first manned space shot since the 2003 Columbia disaster. 2006 January 15 - NASA spacecraft Stardust returned safely to Earth in a desert near Salt Lake City with the first dust ever collected from a comet. 2007 August 4 - NASA launched its Phoenix Mars Lander. August 8 - Space Shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven blasted off with teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan aboard as a crewmember. Morgan was the first teacher in space since the Challenger disaster in 1986. 2008 January 14 - The NASA space probe Messenger skimmed 124 miles above Mercury. May 25 - NASAs Phoenix Mars Lander landed safely and began sending images home after a 10-month, 422 million-mile journey. Scientists later reported that Phoenix discovered chunks of ice. 2009 March 6 - The NASA spacecraft Kepler was launched. Its mission is to search for planets outside our solar system, in a distant area of the Milky Way.

June 18 - NASA launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, also known as LCROSS. The mission is to confirm the presence or absence of ice on the moon. On November 13, 2009, NASA scientists announced the discovery of a "significant amount" of ice in a crater near the moons South Pole. 2010 October 10 - Virgin Galactic, a private company, announced the successful first manned glide flight of the VSS Enterprise. This vehicle is a suborbital plane designed to take private citizens on suborbital space flights. October 11 - President Barack Obama signed legislation focusing NASAs efforts on exploring Mars and the asteroids. December 8 - A private company named SpaceX launched a spacecraft into orbit and returned it to earth safely. It was the first non-government organization to accomplish this. 2011 July 8 - The space shuttle Atlantis became the last American space shuttle to be launched into space. Mission STS-135 and its 4-member crew brought much-needed supplies and equipment to the International Space Station (ISS). July 16 - NASA's Dawn spacecraft became the first man made craft to orbit an asteroid.

November 26 - NASA launched Curiosity, the biggest, best equipped robot ever sent to explore another planet. It will reach Mars in 2012. 2012 May 22 - SpaceX, a commercial space company, launched its Dragon C2+ mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). August - NASAâs Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977, entered interstellar space. August 6 - NASA's Curiosity rover successfully landed on Mars. As large as a car, it carried an array of advanced new instruments and experiments. 2013 September 7 - NASA launched the unmanned LADEE spacecraft from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. It was the U.S. space agency's third lunar probe in five years. December 24 - NASA astronauts wrapped up successful repairs at the International Space Station after a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk to fix an equipment cooling system.

Space Station Evolution: 6 Amazing Orbital Outposts Space Station Evolution: 6 Amazing Orbital Outposts By Tom Chao, SPACE.com Producer | May 12, 2013 10:15am ET MORE Credit: NASA Human Outposts in Space Space stations provide habitats for humans in space on longer-duration missions. These stations do not possess abilities to launch or land, being designed for use in space only. Several space stations have orbited the Earth since 1971, with two currently active at the time of this writing. FIRST STOP: Soviet Union's Salyut Stations 2 of 8 Credit: NASA Salyut 1 — Salyut 5 (Soviet Union) Launched by the Soviet Union in 1971, the Salyut 1 space station orbited the Earth almost 3,000 times during its 175 days in space before intentionally crashing into the Pacific Ocean. The station stretched about 65 feet (20 meters) long and 13 feet (4 meters) in diameter at its widest point.

Tragedy struck the station's mission when the second crew to visit, aboard Soyuz 11, experienced depressurization during their return to Earth, killing all three cosmonauts. The station did not host any further visitors. The Soviet Union then attempted to orbit stations DOS-2, Salyut 2 and Cosmos 557, but failed. Salyut 3 experienced some flaws, while Salyut 4 and Salyut 5 completed their missions successfully. NEXT: Salyut 6 and 7 3 of 8 Credit: NASA Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 (Soviet Union) Both of these stations represented a second generation of the Salyut program. A new design possessed two docking ports, allowing refueling and resupply from uncrewed Progress cargo ships. Durations of stays increased, and crews could receive visitors. A Salyut 6 crew stayed for 185 days, the longest duration at that time, beating the 84-day record of the last Skylab crew. Salyut 6 launched in 1977 and deorbited in 1982.

Salyut 7 launched in 1982 and deorbited in 1991. [ Top 10 Russian and Soviet Space Missions ] NEXT: Skylab, NASA's 1st Space Station 4 of 8 Credit: NASA Skylab (United States) The United States launched its first space station, Skylab , in 1973. The mission experienced severe problems almost immediately, as on launch a meteorite shield tore off, ripping away a solar array and preventing the other from operating. The decrease in power represented a great obstacle. The first crew that arrived 11 days later had to confront many frustrating challenges. Having overcome the initial difficulties, three three-person crews visited the station.[ Photos: Skylab, the 1st U.S. Space Station ] The third crew set a record of 84 days in space, but not without complaint about overwork, which led to tensions and finally compromise with ground controllers. Skylab deorbited on July 11, 1979, well ahead of schedule because of high solar activity, with some spacecraft parts accidentally impacting Western Australia.

Notably, the impending re-entry of Skylab produced a huge media reaction, and inspired a hilarious rant by John Belushi on the Saturday Night Live television show. [ See photos of Skylab debris in Australia ] NEXT: Mir, Russia's Long-Lived Outpost 5 of 8 Credit: NASA Mir (Soviet Union/Russia) Russia's Mir space station (the name means "peace" or "world") operated more than 15 years in low Earth orbit. Possessing a modular design, its first module launched in 1986. Amazingly, the first cosmonauts to visit the station first flew to Salyut-7 to repair it, then they flew to Mir for its opening. Six additional modules were added over the course of a decade. During that time the Soviet Union dissolved. (The cosmonaut aboard Mir at the time, Sergei Krikalev, is sometimes known as "the last Soviet citizen" as a result.) The long-lived Mir hosted every record-setting visitor in long-duration spaceflight. Physician Valeri Polyakov lived aboard Mir for a bit over 437 days, still the record.

[ Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records ] During the Shuttle-Mir Program (1994-1998), even American astronauts visited the station. As the station aged, it developed numerous problems including an infamous onboard fire. Planning for the International Space Station eventually overtook Mir's resources, and it deorbited in 2001. Concerns about space debris again alarmed many, but the pieces of Mir fell harmlessly into the southern Pacific Ocean. NEXT: Tiangong 1, China's 1st Space Lab 6 of 8 Credit: China Central Television Tiangong 1 (China) The newest space station, China's Tiangong 1 ("Heavenly Palace"), consists of a single-module design launched on Sept. 29, 2011. The space lab measures 34 feet (10.4 meters) long and 11 feet (3.35 meters) wide. So far the station has hosted two spacecraft, Shenzhou 8 , an uncrewed ship, and Shenzhou 9, which carried the first three crewmembers to visit the station, including China's first female taikonaut.

A third mission, Shenzhou 10, is planned for sometime between June and August of 2013. [ See photos of China's Tiangong 1 space lab ] As Tiangong 1 is largely considered a prototype for a larger station, it is expected to be deorbited in 2013 after two years of operation. NEXT: International Space Station Credit: NASA International Space Station (15 Countries) The International Space Station (ISS) represents one of humanity's greatest achievements, being the most complex engineering project in history and the largest human structure in space, coming at a cost of $100 billion dollars. Fifteen countries in five different space agencies, including NASA, Russia's Federal Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, cooperated to create this flying space laboratory. [ See the ISS from the Inside Out (Infographic) ] Built in sections, the station began in 1998 with the launch of Russia's Zarya's module. Today it spans the area of an American football field, possessing numerous pressurized and unpressurized modules.

[ Rare Photos: Space Shuttle at Space Station ] Humans have continuously occupied the International Space Station since Nov. 2, 2000. In that time, 204 individuals have visited it. As of July 2012, 125 vehicles have launched to the space station since the launch of the first module: 81 Russian vehicles, 37 space shuttle missions, the U.S. SpaceX Dragon commercial vehicle (several missions), three European and three Japanese vehicles. The first crews consisted of three-person teams, dropping to two after the Columbia shuttle disaster, but as of 2009, six people can stay aboard the station at one time. Two Russian Soyuz modules remain docked to the station for crew departures. The ISS receives commands from mission control centers in Houston or Moscow. The station has funding to operate through 2020, though it may remain capable of usefulness through 2028.

[ Video Show: See Inside the International Space Station ] 8 of 8 1971-1980 - Space Exploration Timeline on Sea and Sky April 19, 1971 First Space Station The Salyut 1 space station is launched by the Soviet Union and become the first space station in orbit. It remains in orbit until May 28, 1973. June 6, 1971 First Occupation of Space Station Soyuz 11 carried Cosmonauts G.T. Dobrovolsky, V.N. Volkov, and V.I. Patsayev to Salyut 1, the first manned occupancy of an orbital station. Tragically, on June 29, the Cosmonauts died upon Soyuz 11's reentry. July 30, 1971 First Lunar Rover Mission Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin drive the first moon rover while exploring the Moon's surface. The next year, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt drives a similar rover.

November 13, 1971 First Spacecraft to Orbit Another Planet American space probe Mariner 9 is launched May 30, 1971. Six months later it arrives at the planet Mars and becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Over the next year, it maps 100 percent of the Martian surface. 1972 December, 1972 First Black Hole Candidate Astronomers designate Cignus X-1 as the first probable black hole This binary star system emits strong bursts as X-rays as matter is crushed out of existence by the black hole. 1973 May 14, 1973 First U.S. Space Station The United States launches Skylab, the first U.S. space station. It will be occupied by three crews and over the next few years will be an important arena for a number of scientific experiments. May 25, 1973 First Skylab Crew The United States launches Skylab 2, carrying the first crew to visit the Skylab station. The three-member crew repairs damage sustained by Skylab station during its launch. They spend 28 days in space, setting a new space duration record for American astronauts.

1975 July 17, 1975 First International Space Rendezvous American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock in what is the first international spacecraft rendezvous. Known as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, this important mission proved that U.S. and Russian crews could work together successfully in space. October, 1975 First Surface Images of Venus The Soviet Venera 9 and Venera 10 spacecraft land successfully on Venus send the first pictures of the Venusian surface to Earth. The also take measurements of the planet's atmosphere before being destroyed by the intense heat and pressure. 1976 July 20, 1976 First Surface Images of Mars The first pictures of the surface of Mars are sent back to Earth by Viking 1, the first U.S. spacecraft to successfully land a on another planet. The pictures reveal a rocky, desolate landscape that shows no signs of life. September, 1976 Discovery of Water Frost on Mars Following the success of Viking 1, the Viking 2 spacecraft lands on Mars on the Plain of Utopia. It discovers and photographs water frost and sends back stunning images of the Martian surface.

1977 August-September, 1977 Launch of Historic Voyager Missions The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft leave Earth on an epic tour of the Solar System. They will soon meet with Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980. 1978 December, 1978 U.S. Probes Arrive at Venus Two U.S. Pioneer spacecraft reach the planet Venus. One drops four probes into the atmosphere, while the other maps the surface. 1979 March 5, 1979 Voyager 1 Arrives at Jupiter The U.S. Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, arrives at Jupiter and begins sending back amazing images of the giant planet and its moons. July 9, 1979 Voyager 2 Arrives at Jupiter The U.S. Voyager 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977, arrives at Jupiter and begins sending back images of Jupiter and its moons. September 1, 1979 First Images of Saturn The U.S.

space probe Pioneer 11 reaches Saturn, flying within 13,000 miles and taking the first close-up photographs of the planet. 1980 Space Stations Space Stations Feedback on Space Stations By Trista L. Pollard 1 The ultimate space dream may be only a few years away. NASA and other major space agencies around the world have been working on the International Space Station (ISS). A space station or space platform is an artificial earth satellite that is placed into orbit with a crew. Think of it as a laboratory floating in space. Once on a space station, scientists can make astronomical observations, process zero gravity materials, and assemble, refuel, and repair satellites. Space stations can also be used as platforms for weapons. 2 In April 1971, the Soviet Union (Russia) launched the world's first space station called Salyut 1. Soyuz 10, a Russian spacecraft, docked at this station; however, its crew did not enter the station. The Soyuz 11, launched two months later, docked at the station and its cosmonauts (Russian astronauts) entered the station. They remained on the station for 22 days.

Russia launched and orbited five more Salyut space stations successfully. Crewmembers were rotated so that the station could be maintained for long periods. Today these space stations no longer orbit the earth because they have decayed. 3 In May 1973, the United States launched and orbited the Skylab. This was the U.S.'s only true space station. There were three three-person crews. The last crew remained on board for 84 days, which was a record for living in space at that time. On the Skylab, astronauts conducted biomedical studies on weightlessness and used photographs of the earth to monitor volcanoes and earthquake faults. Astronauts also studied comets and asteroids and studied how metals were affected in weightless environments. In July 1974, the Skylab fell to earth. Debris or pieces from the space station were found in parts of Australia and the Indian Ocean.

Paragraphs 4 to 6: For the complete story with questions: click here for printable Weekly Reading Books space station Encyclopedia > Science and Technology > Astronomy and Space Exploration > Space Exploration space station space station or space platform, artificial earth satellite, usually manned, that is placed in a fixed orbit and can serve as a base for astronomical observations; zero-gravity materials processing; satellite assembly, refueling, and repair; or, possibly, as weapons platforms. The first space station was the Soviet Salyut 1, launched in Apr., 1971. The Soyuz 10 spacecraft docked with this station, but the crew did not enter it; two months later the cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz 11 spacecraft docked and entered Salyut 1, remaining aboard for 22 days. By 1982 five more Salyut space stations had been orbited successfully, two of them for military purposes. By rotating the crews regularly, the Soviets were able to staff the stations for extended periods. All the Salyut space stations have decayed and are no longer in orbit. During this period the United States launched its only true space station.

Called Skylab, it was placed in orbit in May, 1973. Skylab housed three three-person crews, the last remaining aboard for 84 days, which at that time was a record for continuous residency in space. Among the tasks accomplished by the Skylab astronauts were biomedical studies to evaluate the effects of weightlessness, photographing the earth to monitor volcanoes and earthquake faults, astronomical observations of optical sources (including extensive studies of Comet Kohoutek), and materials-processing activities such as brazing and welding (to see how they were affected by the lack of gravity). Skylab fell to earth in July, 1974, showering debris over uninhabited parts of Australia and the Indian Ocean. The Soviet Union launched the core module of the Mir space station in Feb., 1986. It was enlarged several times so that it could accommodate a crew of up to six cosmonauts. The Mir program was enhanced by having international teams conduct experiments at the station; Afghanistan, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Syria and the United States, in addition to Russia and other nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union, participated.

In 1995, Mir cosmonaut Valery Polyakov set an endurance record of nearly 439 days in space, eclipsing the previous record of 326 days set in 1987 by Yuri Romanenko (also while on Mir ). In Aug., 1999, its extended 13-year mission concluded, Mir was abandoned. During its lifetime, it orbited the earth 86,331 times and was home to 104 people, including 42 Russian cosmonauts and 7 American astronauts. In Mar., 2001, Mir fell to earth, the largest spacecraft (143 tons/130 metric tons) ever to decay, showering an estimated 1,500 fragments of 44 lb (20 kg) or more over an uninhabited area 120 mi (193 km) wide by 3,600 mi (5795 km) long in the South Pacific.

The United States, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Russia, and 11 members of the European Space Agency (ESA)—Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom—are developing a space station that is being assembled in space. Each partner is contributing a portion of the complex, called the International Space Station (ISS). The first element, Zarya (the control module), was orbited by a Russian Proton rocket in Nov., 1998. A month later the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour initiated the first assembly sequence of the ISS, linking the Unity module, a passageway that connects living and work areas of the station, to Zarya. In July, 2000, the Russian-built Zvezda service module was mated with the two existing components. The first permanent crew—two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut—began living aboard the ISS in Nov., 2000; it now supports a crew of up to seven.

When planned construction is completed, the ISS will be 290 ft (88.5 m) long, have a wingspan of 396 ft (120.7 m), and be 143 ft (43.5 m) tall. Its mass will be nearly a million pounds (454,000 kg). The plan involves more than 40 space flights by at least three space vehicles (the space shuttle, the Russian Soyuz rocket, and the Russian Proton rocket) to deliver the various ISS components to earth orbit. Assembly of the more than 100 components has utilized a combination of human spacewalks and robot technologies. Components added since 2000 include the Destiny Laboratory (2001, United States), Pirs Docking Compartment (2001, Russia), and Columbus laboratory (2008, ESA). The station's fourth and final set of solar panels was erected in 2009. The ISS has been resupplied by European, Russian, and U.S. spaceflights. See P. Bizony, Island in the Sky: The ISS (1996); D. M.

Harland, The Mir Space Station: Precursor to Space Colonization (1997); M. D. Cole, International Space Station: A Space Mission (1999). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: Space Exploration Marianne J. Dyson | History of Space Stations Contact The History of Space Stations Author Note: this chapter was originally written for Space Station Science , but was cut to make room for more photos and activities. I've posted it here for people interested in the history of space stations. I'd like to thank NASA space station scientist Dr. Jack Bacon, and Skylab astronaut Dr. Joseph Kerwin for their help in reviewing the original chapter for technical accuracy. Golden Kite Award Winner For more details on space station history, check out my history reference book, Space and Astronmy: Decade by Decade at a library near you. Building on What we Know The Soviet Union launched the world's first space station, Salyut 1, on April 19, 1971. Since then, we have learned a lot about living in space.

Many of the procedures and systems on the current space station reflect this history. The first space station crew, Nikolai Rukavishnikov, Vladimir Shatalov, and Alexei Yelisyev, arrived at the Salyut 1 three days after its launch. But they couldn't get in. Something was wrong with the hatch. Running low on supplies, they had to leave after 6 hours. [Ref. 1] You can be sure that later hatch designs were easier to open. The second crew, Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, got in okay and stayed for 24 days. They were the first people to spend that long in space. But on June 30, 1971, tragedy struck. The ground team sent to greet the returning heroes opened the hatch of their spaceship to a terrible sight. The three men were dead. A valve had opened by mistake in space and let all the air out of the ship. With no space suits to provide air, the cosmonauts died before reaching the ground. [Ref. 2] Now, all cosmonauts wear suits for launch and landing.

The world's second space station, Salyut 2, launched in April of 1973. It had been in space less than two weeks when the engine exploded. The space station tumbled out of control and crashed to Earth in May. Luckily, there were no cosmonauts onboard. The next space station was a secret one called Cosmos 557. Its main job was to provide spy photos of the ground as it flew overhead. But before a crew got there, it too went out of control. It burned up in May of 1973. [Ref. 1] The Soviets then designed more reliable engines. That same month, the United States launched its first space station. This was Skylab, an orbital workshop for three people. To save money, the Americans used leftover Apollo boosters, called Saturn V's, for their space station. The Saturn V's were gigantic, so Skylab ended up three and a half times bigger than a Salyut. [Ref. 3] Skylab's first crew, Charles Conrad, Joseph Kerwin, and Paul Weitz, showed the value of having human problem-solvers in orbit.

During a rough ride to orbit (the crew rode up separately), Skylab was damaged. It was short of power and unable to get rid of its heat. Unless the crew could fix things quickly, the space station was doomed. A NASA technician with a reputation as a 'fix-it' man, started thumbing through the yellow pages. He found what he was looking for — fishing poles that would telescope down to 18 inches. Using the poles as ribs, NASA engineers designed a collapsible nylon umbrella to shade the station from the sun. The crew took it with them when they launched a few days later. Like a parasol out a car window, they popped it out an 8x8 inch scientific airlock. [Ref. 4] The station was then cool enough to function. Further demonstrating the importance of having humans on the job, they did a spacewalk to free a solar array to restore power. Skylab was fixed. [Ref. 5] The next crew (July - August 1973) set a record of 58 days in space -- the first time the United States had a crew in space longer than the Soviets.

One of the astronauts was Alan Bean, the first person to both walk on the Moon and live on a space station. The other crew members were Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma. The third crew of Skylab (Carr, Gibson, Pogue) were in orbit and away from their families for 84 days. (Count 84 days back on your calendar. If you had been in space, what holidays would you have celebrated there?) A mission this long was a new challenge for the ground team as well as the crew. For example, Skylab crews brought back 175,000 pictures of the sun and about 40 miles (64 km) of electronic data tape to process. [Ref. 3] The current space station uses real-time computerized data sets and digital cameras whose images can be automatically processed by the space station control center. Also, astronauts returning from these long missions were too weak to stand, let alone escape if there had been a landing emergency. As a result, exercise equipment became a requirement of all long space missions. The United States abandoned Skylab in February 1974. There simply was no way to get there.

(The last Apollo ship was used for the Apollo-Soyuz mission and the space shuttle was not ready until 1981.) The current space station is reached by space shuttles as well as Russian rockets. The Soviets launched Salyut 3 in June of 1974, Salyut 4 in December 1974, and Salyut 5 in June of 1976. [Ref. 1] Because of the new rule to wear space suits, crews were limited to two men each until a new design in 1979. They tried to break the American's record of time in space, but technical problems kept them from it until Salyut 6. A limiting factor on time in orbit was how much supplies the crew could bring with them. The Soviets solved this problem by designing Salyut 6 with two docking ports. One was always occupied by their return/escape ship. The other was used for visiting ships. Supplies were unloaded from unmanned cargo ships. Then the rocket was used to 'take out the trash,' solving another problem of long missions. Sometimes the extra port was used for manned ships.

The first visitor to a space station was Vladimir Remek of Czechoslovakia who visited Salyut 6 in 1978. [Ref. 6] Salyut 7, launched in 1982, had lots of problems. The radios broke, the power failed, and the water pipes leaked. The Soviets added new solar panels and chemical batteries and fixed the water pipes. [Ref. 1] However, there was one problem they could not solve. The sun was in a cycle of increased activity. This caused the Earth's atmosphere to get hotter and expand. Like steam lifting the lid off of a pan on the stove, the expanding atmosphere ran into Salyut 7. The Soviets boosted it to a higher orbit. But like an old car, it used a lot of fuel. After operating far longer than any previous station, it was abandoned in 1986. It fell to Earth over Argentina in 1991. [Ref. 6] The next space station was called Mir which means 'peace' in Russian. This space station was launched in February 1986. Unlike the Salyuts, it was designed for expansion.

New modules were docked and moved to ports using a robot arm. Two modules were added to the Mir core before 1990, and four more by 1996. Improved engines were able to keep this biggest-ever station from being dragged down like the Salyuts. This capability plus continued use of supply ships allowed Mir cosmonauts to become the first humans ever to spend more than a year in orbit. [Ref. 2] After the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia decided not to replace the aging Mir. Instead they joined the United States, Canada, Japan, and ten European countries as partners in the International Space Station program. Mir became a place to test new station procedures and equipment. In March of 1995, American Dr. Norman Thagard spent 3 months on Mir with two Russian cosmonauts. [Ref. 7] The mixing of cultures had some unexpected results. Doctors decided that Dr. Thagard had lost weight in part because he didn't care for pickled perch, a standard item on the Russian menu. This prompted both countries to add more variety to their menus.

The next year, Shannon Lucid set a world duration record (188 days) for women in space, apparently satisfied with space station food. Five more Americans gained valuable experience by living on the Mir between 1996 and 1998. These were John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, Michael Foale, David Wolf, and Andy Thomas. A dangerous fire erupted during Dr. Linenger's flight in February, 1997. The crew donned oxygen masks as the station filled with smoke. They put the fire out without any long-term damage. Because of shift schedules, NASA wasn't told of the accident until the next day. As a result, ground communications were improved. In June 1997, a Progress supply ship crashed into the Mir. Air rushed out of a hole in the Spektr science module where Michael Foale spent most of his time. The crew cut power cables and sealed the hatch, plunging the station into darkness. Only their quick actions prevented a total loss of the station and an emergency crew return. Weeks later, Foale and Anatoly Solovyev did a space walk to regain power. [Ref. 8] This proved the wisdom of having modular designs.

Even though the Spektr module was permanently damaged, the rest of the station kept working. The first piece of the International Space Station - named Zarya for sunrise in Russian - was launched unmanned from Kazakstan in November, 1998. A few weeks later, the crew of space shuttle flight STS-88 arrived to connect the second piece, Unity. However, because of financial woes in Russia, the critical third module, Zvezda (meaning star), was delayed, and then delayed again. The delays cost NASA millions of dollars. Politicians called the partnership between the U.S. and Russia a mistake. Yet the U.S. did not have a booster powerful enough to keep a large space station in orbit. And Russia couldn't afford to build and maintain a station alone. The partners needed each other. Zvezda finally launched successfully in July of 2000. Several space shuttle flights quickly followed to provide equipment. Then the first Expedition crew rode a Soyuz rocket to their new home, arriving in November, 2000. American Bill Shepard and Russians Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev christened the new station, Alpha, though its official name remained International Space Station.

The second Expedition crew, Russian Yuri Usachev, and Americans Jim Voss and Susan Helms, replaced the first crew in March of 2001. Meanwhile, time ran out for Mir. Efforts to raise enough money to maintain it failed. After 15 years in orbit, the abandoned Mir met a fiery end over the Pacific Ocean on March 23, 2001. [Ref. 9] We have certainly learned a lot since the days of Salyut 1. Some of the lessons have been costly and painful. But we continue to explore because history has taught us we can only achieve if we keep trying. References 1. Space Age, 1993; 2. Interview with Dr. Jack Bacon (NASA-JSC), 3-16-96; 3. "Space Exploration," Microsoft (R) Encarta. c. 1994 Microsoft & Funk & Wagnall's Corp.; 4. 5-30-73 LA Times newspaper; 5. Dr. Joseph Kerwin, phone interview, 6-97; 6. "North Texas Spacecraft," March 16, 1996; 7.

"NASA Space News Roundup," NASA JSC, 1995. 8. "NASA Space News Roundup," NASA JSC, June 5, 1998. 9. 3-01. space station | Britannica.com Space station astronomy Space station, an artificial structure placed in orbit and having the pressurized enclosure, power, supplies, and environmental systems necessary to support human habitation for extended periods. Depending on its configuration, a space station can serve as a base for a variety of activities. These include observations of the Sun and other astronomical objects, study of Earth ’s resources and environment , military reconnaissance, and long-term investigations of the behaviour of materials and biological systems—including human physiology and biochemistry —in a state of weightlessness , or microgravity . Video of Earth as seen from the International Space Station. Science in Seconds ( (A Britannica Publishing Partner) The International Space Station photographed against the Rio Negro, Argentina, from the shuttle … NASA Small space stations are launched fully assembled, but larger stations are sent up in modules and assembled in orbit. To make the most efficient use of its carrier vehicle’s capacity, a space station is launched vacant, and its crew members—and sometimes additional equipment—follow in separate vehicles.

A space station’s operation, therefore, requires a transportation system to ferry crews and hardware and to replenish the propellant, air, water, food, and such other items as are consumed during routine operations. Space stations use large panels of solar cells and banks of storage batteries as their source of electrical power. They also employ geostationary relay satellites for continuous communication with mission controllers on the ground and satellite-based positioning systems for navigation. space exploration: Space stations Since 1971, 11 space stations launched into a low orbit around Earth have been occupied for varying lengths of time. In chronological order they are Salyut 1, Skylab , Salyuts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, Mir , the International Space Station , and Tiangong 1 and 2. Space stations (1971 onward)

Question: Launched by the Soviet Union in April 1971, what was the name of the first space station?
Answer: SALYUT 1