The
Soviets successfully launched the first space station, Salyut
1 (left), into orbit on April 19 of 1971. Sadly, the Soyuz 11
crew who spent 21 days christening the station as operational
died during re-entry when their ship depressurized. This station
was to be the first of a number of small space stations developed
and successfully deployed into orbit. The first space station
to gain some girth and endure a greater longevity of usefulness
would be the Mir space station. The first piece of Mir was launched
into space on February 20 of 1986. The station would take a take
a total of ten years to complete with the ninth and final piece
reaching the station in 1996. The Americans played their part
in the construction by aiding in the delivery of two of the pieces.
The first piece delivered in 1995 was known as Spektr. It was
a Russian module originally designed to carry out military experiments
and was now redesigned to employ scientific experiments. Also
in 1995, the shuttle would carry a docking compartment to the
station that allowed easier docking of the shuttle without the
need to reconfigure the station. Before the Soviets stopped funding
for Mir in 1999, which was largely due to the damage that occurred
from a docking accident with an unmanned craft, Valery Polyakor
would sp
end
1 1/2 years in space. Accomplishing this feat in 1994, this is
now the longest duration spent in space by a human being. Another
contributing factor to the decommissioning of the Mir is the construction
of the International Space Station. The first piece was launched
into space on November 20 of 1998. This station is in the tradition
of the Mir, being manned continuously by a three-man crew performing
a variety of scientific experiments, but boasts the joint cooperation
of many countries in space. At right, the space shuttle Atlantis
docks with Mir.
source:
http://pantransit.reptiles.org
