What was the name of Russia's first permanently manned space station, launched in 1988?
International Space Station Note that the "Unity" node joins directly to the "Destiny" laboratory. For clarity, they are shown apart. The ISS follows "Salyut" and "Almaz" series, "Skylab", and "Mir" as the 11th space station launched, as the "Genesis" prototypes were never intended to be manned. Other examples of modular station projects include the Soviet/Russian "Mir" and the planned Russian OPSEK and Chinese space station. First generation space stations, such as early "Salyuts" and NASA's "Skylab" were not designed for re-supply. Generally, each crew had to depart the station to free the only docking port for the next crew to arrive, "Skylab" had
Politics of the International Space Station has its own contemporary manned space programme, Project 921, and has carried out co-operation and exchanges with countries such as Russia and Germany in manned and unmanned space projects. China launched its first experimental space station, Tiangong 1, in September 2011, and has officially initiated the permanently manned Chinese space station project. In 2007, Chinese vice-minister of science and technology Li Xueyong said that China would like to participate in the ISS. In 2010, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain stated his agency was ready to propose to the other 4 partners that China be invited to join the partnership, but that