Skylab |
Salyut 7 |
Mir |
ISS |
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Skylab
Skylab was the first space station launched by the U.S. (1973-1979). Skylab was 36 meters (four stories) long and almost seven meters across (about 20 feet). Although Skylab stayed in orbit until 1979, the last of three crews left the station in February of 1974. Skylab accomplished a great deal, showing that people could live and work in space for months at a time and make important scientific discoveries, particularly in solar physics (the study of our Sun). From the space colonization point of view, however, the most important Skylab result may have been home movies of astronauts playing in the weightlessness (click here for online videos). Weightless recreation is a major feature of space colonies. Skylab was pretty big, big enough for gymnastics. None of the astronauts were particularly good gymnasts, but in 0g that's not really a problem. The Skylab home movies show three men running around the ~20 meter circumference of the station, going upside down, doing flips, hand springs, multiple-twists and all kinds of moves they would never try on Earth. One of the fun things about space colonization is that almost anyone, even those with fairly severe physical disabilities, will be able to do this.Skylab lives on the web at Kennedy Space Flight Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center.
Salyut
The first space station was not Skylab. It was Salyut I, launched by the Soviet Union in April 1971. Salyut 1 had a short career; it re-entered the atmosphere and burned up in October of that same year. However, Salyut 1 was followed by Salyut 2-7, although some failed before a crew could reach them. Nevertheless, the Soviets didn't give up, and continued until Salyut 7 was launched in 1982 and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in 1991. Like Skylab, the Salyuts consisted of one pressurized module, but the Salyut stations were much smaller than Skylab. However, the Soviets developed a low-cost system of manned and unmanned resupply spacecraft, including automatic docking, and learned a great deal about operating space stations. One particular incident deserves mention. In February 1985, while Salyut 7 was flying unmanned, ground control accidentally cut off communication with the spacecraft which was left without any ground control and effectively disabled. In June 1985 a rescue crew was sent to Salyut 7. After a manual docking, they found the station without lights, power, heat or working communication equipment. All the water had frozen. The crew, however, was able to bring the station back from the dead and into operational status Ultimately, Salyut 7 was visited by 10 crews totaling 22 cosmonauts, including missions of over 200 days, paving the way for the next big improvement in space stations.For more information on the Salyut space stations see Encyclopia Astronautica and the Russian Space Web.
Mir
The next big thing in space stations was the Soviet Mir. The big innovations was to launch several modules over a period of years, and dock them together to form a larger station than could be orbited in a single launch. Mir, therefore, looked like a several tin cans stuck together with wings. The Mir was still around when the Cold War ended, and the American space shuttle made several trips to dock with Mir so American and Russian astronauts and cosmonauts (Russian/Soviet astronauts) could work together. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian space budget was drastically cut. To bring in cash, the Russians agreed to launch the first space tourist, Dennis Tito, to the Mir near the end of its life. Mr. Tito is reputed to have paid $20 million for the privelege. Before he could go however, the Russians de-orbited the Mir. They couldn't afford to operate the Mir and work on the new International Space Station they were building with the Americans at the same time. Instead of visiting the 10 year-old Mir, Mr. Tito flew to the brand new International Space Station. His glowing accounts of the visit played an important role in establishing space tourism as a potentially profitable business.For more information on the Salyut space stations see the Mir articles in the Encyclopia Astronautica and the Russian Space Web.