Every Space Station Ever Built, and the One Scheduled for Fiery Reentry

"Since the International Space Station came to fruition in 2000, there hasn't been a single day when we didn't have human beings up in space. But in fact, there are two operating facilities in orbit, with the other being China's Tiangong Space Station. One of them is due to crash. We've collected data from NASA and public media sources about previous, current, and future planned space stations, including some that will be operated by private corporations."

"The first space station was the Soviet Union's Salyut 1, launched in 1971 and lasting only 175 days. Over the next two years, the USSR attempted to launch three other stations but the first failed to achieve orbit and the other two lasted less than two weeks. In the 26-year period from 1975-2001, the Soviets launched 5 more Salyut stations, and their final one, Mir. Mir spent 5,511 days in orbit and hosted 125 crew and visitors."

Human presence in space has been continuous since 2000 aboard the International Space Station. Two crewed space stations currently operate in orbit: the International Space Station and China's Tiangong Space Station. The International Space Station is scheduled for a controlled reentry over the Pacific in 2031. There have been roughly eleven previous crewed space stations operated by the United States, the Soviet Union, or China. The Soviet Union launched the first space station, Salyut 1, in 1971; it lasted 175 days. The Mir station spent 5,511 days in orbit and hosted 125 crew and visitors before controlled reentry in 2001. Eleven additional stations have been proposed, including some planned by private corporations.

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