When was international space station launched

The docking took place about p. On arrival, the crew took inventory, conducted standard leak checks and pressurized the space between the spacecraft in preparation for opening the hatch to the space station about two hours later.

A live NASA video feed from the station showed the new arrivals floating headfirst through a padded passageway from their capsule into the orbiting outpost. Endeavor's second-in-command, Marshburn - a medical doctor and former NASA flight surgeon - has logged two previous spaceflights to the space station and four spacewalks.

Maurer, a materials science engineer, was making his debut spaceflight, as were Chari, a U. Air Force combat jet and test pilot, and Barron, a U. Its debut success for the Soviet Salyut program paved the way for the future of space exploration, allowing astronauts to spend extended periods of time in space and conduct the scientific experiments and make the observations that have shaped human history, as well as breaking numerous space records , all ratified by the FAI.

Following the US success of the Apollo missions, the Salyut 1 space station program was born of a Soviet desire to advance space exploration. It was launched two years ahead of the US Skylab space station. Launched on top of a Proton Booster rocket, Salyut 1 was a 20 metre 66 foot long vessel with several sections, three of which were pressurised and two accessible to cosmonauts.

The space station was comprised of a transfer compartment with docking system to allow internal crew transfer, a main compartment around 4 metres long with control stations, 20 portholes and coloured zones to aid orientation under weightlessness, and the Orion 1 Space Observatory to conduct ultraviolet spectroscopy of stars. Bad weather also contributed to their flight delays. It was also drizzling on Wednesday night when the four astronauts said goodbye to their families for six months — with everyone huddling under umbrellas — but it cleared up by launch time.

The list of space travellers ranges from those who have barely scratched space — like actor William Shatner last month — to US and Russian astronauts who have spent a year or more in orbit. One of the four chutes opened more than a minute late, a problem seen in testing and well within safety limits, but was still being examined, officials said.

The year-old was a finalist when he first applied to be an astronaut. Encouraged, he left his research job at a medical company and joined the space agency as an engineer, and made the astronaut cut in A test pilot from Cedar Falls, Iowa, Chari accumulated more than 2, hours in fighter jets, including combat missions in Iraq.

Also on board is Dr Thomas Marshburn, 61, who will be the oldest person to live on board the space station and perform a spacewalk. This is his third trip to the space station. Kayla Barron, 34, a Navy lieutenant commander from Richland, Washington is also on board.