space station

noun

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of space station

: a large artificial satellite designed to be occupied for long periods and to serve as a base (as for scientific observation) — called also space platform

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Recent Examples of space station from the Web

Newsweek reported that the space station would complete an orbit every 90 minutes, meaning travelers will get to see 16 sunrises and sunsets every day.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "Space vacations are going for $9.5 million at the first luxury hotel in the stars | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 6 Apr. 2018
China has since launched another similar space station, Tiangong-2, which was placed in orbit in September 2016.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Chinese Space Station Tiangong-1 Burns Up Over the Pacific Ocean," 2 Apr. 2018
Tiangong-1 — or Heavenly Palace 1 — was China's first space station, launched on Sept. 30, 2011.

— d. kwas, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Chinese space station burns up over central South Pacific," 1 Apr. 2018
The space station, China's first, was launched in 2011.

— leada gore, AL.com, "Tiangong-1 crash: Chinese space station crashes back to Earth; did it hit land?," 1 Apr. 2018
Nasa's first space station, Skylab, fell to Earth in an out-of-control reentry in 1979, burning up harmlessly in the process.

— serenitie wang, CNN, "China's Tiangong-1 space lab set to fall to Earth this weekend," 29 Mar. 2018
The Heavenly Palace, also known as Tiangong-1, is the first space station built and launched by China.

— ashley may, USA TODAY, "What you should know about the massive Chinese space station hurling toward Earth," 29 Mar. 2018
The reigning champ in terms of mass was NASA’s Skylab, which, like Taingong-1, was its home country’s first space station.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "China's Falling Space Station Won't Land On Your Head. Probably.," 28 Mar. 2018
Today’s most advanced V.R. video games conjure visually rich space stations (Lone Echo), deserts (Arizona Sunshine), and rock faces (The Climb).

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "Are We Already Living in Virtual Reality?," 26 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'space station.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of space station

1930

SPACE STATION Defined for English Language Learners

space station

noun

Definition of space station for English Language Learners

: a large spacecraft in which people live for long periods of time in order to do research and experiments

SPACE STATION Defined for Kids

space station

noun

Definition of space station for Students

: an artificial satellite designed to stay in orbit permanently and to be occupied by humans for long periods

Learn More about space station

See words that rhyme with space station Spanish Central: Translation of space station Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about space station

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space station

Definition of space station

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Definition of space station for English Language Learners

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