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Space Stations: A Brief History
Salyut 1, launched in April 1971 by the Soviet Union, was the first space station. Three cosmonauts travelled by spacecraft to Salyut 1, and lived in it for 24 days. Sadly, these cosmonauts died during their return to Earth.
Skylab was the first United States space station, which was launched into space in 1973. A crew of three astronauts performed many scientific experiments while living in the space station, including studying the effects of weightlessness on the human body, observing comets, and repairing damage to the space station. When it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in 1979, Skylab disintegrated.
The reusable space shuttle was invented to provide a better and less expensive
way of travelling to space stations. The first shuttle flight
took place on 12 April 1981. Since then, space shuttle astronauts
have been trained to build a permanent space station, and have
practised on their space missions.
The Russian space station
Mir, which means 'peace',
was launched in 1986. Two cosmonauts crewed Mir. Together with
American astronauts who visited in a space shuttle, they practised
for the construction of an international space station. By 1999,
Mir was close to the end of its useful life.
Go here to read more about space stations
http://www.spacetoday.org/SpaceStations.html
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/spacestation/
The International Space Station
In cooperation with the Russian cosmonauts, American astronauts
began work on a permanent space station in 1998. It is to be called
the International Space station, because fifteen nations will
take part in the program. It will have permanent accommodation
for six, and short-term accommodation for up to fifteen when a
space shuttle visits. It will take about five years to complete.
The purpose of the ISS is to make it possible for long term exploration of space and to allow research into how humans cope living and working off the planet. This research is needed for future human exploration of space. New materials and technology will be tested. The International Space Station is the largest space project so far undertaken and will be the biggest structure ever to orbit the Earth. It is a research facility 400km above the Earth jointly operated by the space agencies of 16 countries: Belgium It was assembled piece by piece in space, starting with a Russian module put into orbit in November, 1998. The first crew arrived two years later. Over fifty missions will be required to assemble the entire thing. Completion is scheduled for 2010. The expected life of the International Space Station is ten years. Astronauts have been on the ISS continuously since November 2000. The long-term crews arrive and leave on U.S. Shuttles or Russian Soyuz craft. Each two- or three-person crew stays on board for up to six months, carrying out experiments and doing maintenance work on the station. On completion it will weigh about 450 tonnes and be large enough to cover a football field. The cabin space similar in size to that of a Jumbo jet, and it will house six or seven astronauts at a time. Each ATV will take five days to reach and dock with the ISS, remaining in place for six months. While docked, its engine will fire periodically to keep the ISS at a safe height above Earth’s atmosphere. At the end of its time at the ISS, the ATV will loaded with up to 6.3 tonnes of rubbish, will undock and leave, after which it will burn up in the atmosphere. Find out more about the International Space Station here: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/home/index.html Updated © [2008] kidcyber
From the International Space Station (ISS), pieces of which were built in fifteen countries, scientists will conduct research and experiments that are impossible to conduct on Earth.
Brazil
Canada
Denmark
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
The Netherlands
Norway
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The United Kingdom
The United States
The International Space Station must receive regular supplies from Earth, and resupply vehicles are used. Until now, the U.S. Shuttle and Russian unmanned Progress ships have brought all the food, water, air and spare parts that the crews need. However, in March 2008, a new supply vehicle called the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), was launched.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/nowinspace/Crew_14_on_ISS.html
If you use any part of this in your own work, acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Thomas, R. & Sydenham, S. Space Stations
[Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2001)