Space Stations
Overview
The advent of space stations allowed humans to spend extended periods of time in space. They have provided a wealth of information about the challenges humans will face, and must overcome, if they are to survive outside Earth's life-supporting atmosphere while traveling to distant planets or one day inhabiting other worlds. The Salyut 1, launched in 1971 by the Soviet Union, became the first manned space station. The United States followed two years later with its version, called Skylab. As the end of the twentieth century neared, the United States, Russia (part of the former Soviet Union), Canada, Japan, Brazil, and the 11 nations of the European Space Agency combined efforts to plan construction of the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is scheduled to be completed in 2004.
Background
The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union began when the world's first satellite, Sputnik, went into orbit around Earth on October 5, 1957. The launch date marked the 100th year after the birth of Russian rocketry pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935), who in 1903 proved that a missile could escape Earth's atmosphere using a staged rocket design and liquid propellants. The 185-pound Russian Sputnik—the name means traveler—orbited the planet some 1,400 times during its 96-day mission.
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