We know so little about the cosmos, about how many unknown secrets it holds. No one can even approximately comprehend the secrets of the universe. Although gradually humanity is moving towards this. Since ancient times, people have wanted to understand what is happening in space, what objects, besides our planet, are in the solar system, how to unravel the secrets they hold. The many mysteries that the distant world hides have led to the fact that scientists began to think about how a person can go into space to study it.
So the first orbital station appeared. And behind it are many other, more complex and multifunctional research facilities aimed at conquering outer space.
What is an orbital station?
This is an extremely complex facility designed to send researchers and scientists into space to conduct experiments. It is located in Earth orbit, from where it is convenient for scientists to observe the atmosphere and surface of the planet, and to conduct other research. Artificial satellites have similar goals, but they are controlled from the Earth, that is, there is no crew there.
Periodically, crew members at the orbital station are replaced by new ones, but this happens extremely rarely due to the cost of transportation in space. In addition, ships are periodically sent there to move the necessary equipment, material support and provisions for astronauts.
Which countries have their own orbital station
As noted above, creating and testing installations of this complexity is a very long and costly process. It requires not only serious funds, but also scientists capable of coping with such tasks. Therefore, only major world powers can afford to develop, launch and maintain such devices.
US, Europe (ESA), Japan, China and Russia have orbital stations. At the end of the twentieth century, the above states united to create the International Space Station. Some other developed countries are also participating.
Mir Station
One of the most successful projects for the construction of space equipment is the Mir station made in the USSR. It was launched in 1986 (before that, design and construction had been carried out for more than ten years) and continued to function until 2001. Orbital station "Mir" was created literally piece by piece. Despite the fact that the date of its launch is considered to be 1986, then only the first part was launched, over the past ten years, six more blocks have been sent into orbit. For many years, the Mir orbital station was put into operation, the flooding of which took placemuch later than scheduled.
Provisions and other consumables were delivered to the orbital station using Progress transport ships. During the existence of the Mir, four such ships were created. To transmit data from the station to Earth, there were also special installations - ballistic missiles called "Rainbow". In total, more than a hundred astronauts visited the station during the period of its existence. The longest stay was Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov.
Flooding
In the 90s of the last century, multiple problems began at the station, and it was decided to stop research. This is due to the fact that it lasted much longer than the estimated period, originally it was supposed to work for about ten years. In the year of the sinking of the Mir orbital station (2001), it was decided to send it to the South Pacific.
Causes of flooding
In January 2001, Russia decided to flood the station. The enterprise became unprofitable, the constant need for repairs, too expensive maintenance and accidents took their toll. Several projects for its refurbishment were also proposed. The Mir orbital station was of value to Tehran, which was interested in tracking movements and missile launches. In addition, questions were raised about a significant reduction in jobs that would have to be eliminated. Despite this, in 2001 (the year the Mir orbital station was sunk), she wasliquidated.
International Space Station
The ISS orbital station is a complex created by several states. To varying degrees, fifteen countries are developing it. For the first time, the creation of such a project was discussed back in 1984, when the US government, together with several other states (Canada, Japan), decided to create a super-powerful orbital station. After the start of development, when a complex called Freedom was being prepared, it became clear that spending on the space program was too high for the state budget. Therefore, the Americans decided to seek support from other countries.
First of all, of course, they turned to a country that already had experience in conquering outer space - the USSR, where there were similar problems: lack of funding, too expensive projects. Therefore, the cooperation of several states turned out to be quite a reasonable solution.
Agreement and launch
In 1992, an agreement was signed between the United States and Russia on the joint exploration of outer space. Since that time, countries have been organizing joint expeditions and exchanging experience. Six years later, the first element of the ISS was sent into space. Today it consists of many modules, to which it is planned to gradually connect more.
ISS modules
The ISS includes three research modules. This is the American laboratory Destiny, which was established in 2001.year, the Columbus Center, founded by European researchers in 2008, and Kibo, a Japanese module delivered into orbit in the same year. The Japanese research module was the last to be installed on the ISS. It was sent into orbit in parts, where it was mounted.
Russia does not have its own full-fledged research module. But there are similar devices - "Search" and "Dawn". These are small research modules, which are slightly less developed in their functions compared to devices in other countries, but not much inferior to them. In addition, a multifunctional station called Nauka is currently being developed in Russia. It is scheduled to be launched in 2017.
Salute
The Salyut orbital station is a long-term project of the USSR. In total there were several such stations, all of them were manned and intended for the implementation of the civilian DOS program. This first Russian orbital station was launched into Earth orbit in 1975 using a Proton rocket.
In the 1960s, the first developments of the orbital station were created. By this time, the Proton rocket already existed for transportation. Since the creation of such a complex device was new to the scientific minds of the USSR, the work was extremely slow. A number of problems arose in the process. Therefore, it was decided to use the developments created for the Soyuz. All "Salutes" were very similar in design. The main and largest compartment wasworking.
Tiangong-1
The Chinese orbital station was launched quite recently - in 2011. So far, it has not been developed to the end, its construction will continue until 2020. As a result, it is planned to build a very powerful station. In translation, the word "tiangong" means "heavenly chamber". The weight of the device is approximately 8500 kg. Today the station consists of two compartments.
With the Chinese space industry planning to launch next-generation stations soon, Tiangong-1's mission is extremely simple. The main goals of the program are to work out docking with Shenzhou-type spacecraft, which are now delivering cargo to the station, debug existing modules and devices, modify them if necessary, and also create normal conditions for astronauts to stay in orbit for a long time. The next Chinese-made stations will already have a wider range of purposes and capabilities.
Skylab
The only American orbital station was launched into orbit in 1973. It was aimed at conducting research on a variety of aspects. Skylab carried out technological, astrophysical and biological research. There were three long expeditions at this station, it existed until 1979, after which it collapsed.
Skylab and Tiangong had similar tasks. Since space exploration was just beginning then, the Skylab crew had to investigate how the process was going.human adaptation in space, and conduct some scientific experiments.
The first Skylab expedition lasted only 28 days. The first cosmonauts repaired some damaged parts and practically did not have time to conduct research. During the second expedition, which lasted for 59 days, a heat-insulating screen was installed and the hydroscopes were replaced. The third expedition aboard Skylab lasted 84 days, a number of studies were carried out.
After the completion of three expeditions, several options were proposed on how to proceed with the station, but due to the impossibility of transporting it to a more distant orbit, it was decided to destroy Skylab. Which is what happened in 1979. Some fragments of the station have been preserved and are now exhibited in museums.
Genesis
In addition to the above, there are currently two more uncrewed stations in orbit - the inflatable Genesis I and Genesis II, which were created by a private space tourism company. They were launched in 2006 and 2007 respectively. These stations are not aimed at space exploration. Their main distinguishing ability is that, once in orbit in a folded form, they, unfolding, begin to increase significantly in size.
The second model of the module is better equipped with the necessary sensors, as well as 22 surveillance cameras. According to a project organized by a company thatcreated a ship, anyone could send a small item on the second module for 295 US dollars. There is also a bingo machine on board the Genesis II.
Results
Many boys wanted to become astronauts as children, although few of them understood how difficult and dangerous the profession was. In the USSR, the space industry aroused pride in every patriot. The achievements of Soviet scientists in this area are incredible. They are very important and remarkable, since these researchers were pioneers in their field, they had to create everything on their own. The first orbital space stations were a breakthrough. They opened a new era of conquest of the Universe. Many astronauts who have been sent into low Earth orbit have managed to reach incredible heights and contribute to space exploration by discovering its secrets.
