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Space History Photo: Space Station Model

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space history, NASA, international space station
An inflatable model for a space station that was designed in 1961. (Image credit: NASA.)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, a model of an inflatable space station concept with a solar power system collector in 1961. It was 24 feet in diameter with internal fabric bulkhead which could be separately pressurized in an emergency.

[Far Out Space Station Concepts by NASA (Gallery)]

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the U.S. government agency in charge of the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Founded in 1958, NASA is a civilian space agency aimed at exploring the universe with space telescopes,  satellites, robotic spacecraft, astronauts and more. The space agency has 10 major centers based across the U.S. and launches robotic and crewed missions from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. It's astronaut corps is based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. To follow NASA's latest mission, follow the space agency on Twitter or any other social channel, of visit: nasa.gov.