Right now in 2021, there is only one space station that is fully operational. It is known as International Space Station. The Space Station is there for scientific research. There was another space station called Tiangon-2, sent by China, which has ended its mission in 2019. To know more continue reading this article. (China launched "Zhurong" on Mars)
Space Station
So what is a Space Station? Well, it is an artificial structure placed in the earth’s orbit. It is designed with the necessary support for human habitation including supplies, power, and pressurized compartments so that human can live there for a longer period.
A space station can serve various activities depending on its design and configurations. Primarily it is used as a base for research. It is also used in observing the sun, moon and other interstellar and astronomical objects, study earth resources and the environment. National or military space stations could be used in reconnaissance missions. How human and other biological systems work in a state of microgravity and weightlessness.
International Space Station
In the 1980s US President Ronald Regan took the initiative to build a base in space. NASA was given responsibility for the Space Station Project. Firstly, the US, Europe and Japan started the project. Later in 1993 Russia was invited because of their extensive knowledge in orbital space operations. Lastly, Canada was included too. So there are five agencies linked with International Space Station (ISS); NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. Finally, on November 20, 1998, the ISS was launched.
The orbit height of the station is 408km above the ground level with a speed of 7.66km/s. This is the largest man-made structure ever put in space. Its total mass is 419700kg which is five times bigger than the U.S. station skylab and four times larger than the Russian Space Station. Around 150 USD was spent to build this artificial structure.
There are sixteen (16) different pressurized modules. Among them four modules are for Russia, nine modules for the USA, two for Japan and the rest is for European Union. The International Space Station is still operational in 2021.
Purpose of International Space Station
The main purpose of the ISS is to study the earth and astronomical object as well as human biology in a state of microgravity and weightlessness which also means dealing with radiation and what is the effect of space in our life.
Journey to the International Space Station
“How astronauts visit the space station?” To go there space shuttle was widely used but nowadays space shuttle is not in operation and its era is officially ended. Except for the space shuttle, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft was also used in astronaut transportation which is still in operation. But in 2020, Space X successfully completed a crewed mission to ISS meaning there will be a competition in the transportation and in turn it will reduce the cost. For now, it is planned to run the station till 2024.
Tiangong-2
Tiangong-2 is a space laboratory sent by China that was officially operational till 2019. After that year, it has been declared as an “end”. That means Tiangong-2 has been officially ended its mission in space.
Specification:
Length: 10.4 meters
Width: 3.35 meter (at its widest point)
Weight: 8.6 metric tons
Launch Date: September 15, 2016
Mission End: July 2019
After the official decommission of Tiangong-2, it was going through controlled destruction. Most of it was burnt when it entered the earth atmosphere and the remaining particles fell near Point Nemo (it is the most remote and inaccessible place on earth). Now, China is working on its new space station Tianhe. Chinese authority expects that it will be able to accommodate three astronauts by 2022.
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