Back when the space race was at its peak, Russia was kicking some serious American butt. Even if, in the end, the U.S. managed to get ahead by putting humans on the Moon, it was the Russians who first ...

When you think about space stations, which ones come to mind first? You might think Skylab, the International Space Station (ISS), or maybe Russia’s Mir. But before any of those took to the heavens, ...

1971: Salyut 1, the first operational space station, is launched. As they often were during the space race, the Soviets were out in front of NASA in concept and launch. But just as often, they were ...

The world’s first space station, Salyut 1 was launched on 19 April 1971. It spent only 175 days in orbit before it burned up in the atmosphere. It was visited twice, but the first crew couldn’t enter ...

On 19 April 1971, 50 years ago, the world’s first space station – Salyut 1 – was launched. Its debut success for the Soviet Salyut program paved the way for the future of space exploration, allowing ...

“Now humans have a home in space.” Fifty years ago, the Soviet Union put into orbit the first space station in history for long-term human habitation - the ‘Salyut-1’. 1. It was developed from another ...

When the Space Race kicked off in earnest in the 1950s, in some ways it was hard to pin down where sci-fi began and reality ended. As the first artificial satellites began zipping around the Earth, ...

A cosmonaut since 1973, Ryumin logged a total of 371 days in space. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Russian cosmonaut Valery ...

1971: Salyut 1, the first operational space station, is launched. As they often were during the space race, the Russians were out in front of NASA in concept and launch. But just as often, they were ...