The International Space station is the largest ever of its kind, but it is not the firstThe International Space station is the largest ever of its kind, but it is not the first.
By the 1960s, both the United States and the Soviet Union were already considering plans to build their own stations.
The U.S version -- named Skylab -- cost around $3 billion and was launched in May 1973.
But problems quickly arose. Soon after launch, the station's protective shield tore off, taking two solar panels with it.
Still, Skylab would host three Apollo crews who spent a total of 171 days in orbit.
According to NASA historian Roger D. Launius -- author of, "Frontiers of Space Exploration," which deals with the station's history -- NASA was "delighted" with the knowledge it gained from having astronauts live in the station.
In all, Skylab hosted around 300 technical and scientific experiments.
The station eventually fell back to Earth in July 1979. Debris from Skylab landed on a relatively unpopulated section of western Australia.
The Russian plan was for a military station called Salyut, which was launched in April 1971.
The station supported five crews who performed military tasks, such as surveillance, as well as engineering, scientific and industrial experiments.
After the Salyut was abandoned in 1986, Russia began operating today's most well-known space station: Mir.
For thirteen years, Mir has served as a "permanent" orbiting space station.
Still in orbit, it is empty, and
its fate is uncertain.If there's a future for Mir, it may be as a movie set or a hotel, but not as the planet's only home-away-from-home.
A more dramatic end to the Mir saga is also being planned: a fiery return through Earth's atmosphere. But Russia may still send another crew to the station.
The project that is now known as the International Space Station (ISS) was first discussed in the early 1980s when the U.S. was looking at the possibilities of an orbiting launch platform.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced that he would work with NASA to build a permanent space station within a decade. It was to be called Freedom.
But almost immediately, the station took on an international flair as Europe, Japan and Canada signed on in 1985 to build parts. Later, Russia accepted an invitation to join.
The station developed more slowly than Reagan had hoped and, as the years went on, its scope and cost were pared.
advertisement
