Space Stations Facts for Kids – 5 Spectacular Facts About Space Stations

Space stations are really huge! Let’s learn five spectacular space stations facts for kids.

Space Stations Facts for Kids Fact Number 1: There Are Only Two Occupied Space Stations Orbiting Earth

The International Space Station (ISS) and China’s Tiangong Space Station (TSS) are the only two occupied space stations orbiting Earth. TSS is currently under construction and is set to be finished by the end of 2022. The TSS is also in Low-Earth Orbit but it is further away from Earth than the ISS is. The TSS is smaller than the ISS.

Space Stations Facts for Kids Fact Number 2: The ISS Is The Largest Space Station in Low-Earth Orbit

From one end-to-end, the International Space Station is 357 feet, which is about thirteen times as long as a London bus. The ISS is so large you can even see it from Earth. The ISS isn’t owned by one nation.It is actually a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: the United States’ NASA , Russia’s Roscosmos, Japan’s JAXA, the European Space Agency, and Canada’s CSA.

Space Stations Facts for Kids Fact Number 3: The ISS Has Been Continuously Occupied Since November 2000

260 individuals from 20 different countries have visited the ISS since the spacecraft was first occupied in November 2000. The United States accounts for over half of this total with 159 American astronauts occupying the ISS and 55 Russian astronauts. The 46 other individuals came from Canada, Japan, Europe, Kazakhstan, Israel, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Malaysia, South Africa and Brazil. There is a constant crew of seven international astronauts on ISS at all times and a crew changeover happens every six months or so. 

Space Stations Facts for Kids Fact Number 4: Salyut 1 Was The First Space Station in Space

In 1971, the Soviet Union placed Salyut 1 into orbit making it the world’s first space station. In it there was a crew of 3 Russian cosmonauts, Georgi T. Dobrovolski, Vladislav N. Volkov, and Viktor I. Patsayev. Salyut 1 completed a then record-setting 24-day mission. Unfortunately, disaster struck on re-entry to Earth and all three cosmonauts tragically died because space suits were not worn in flight at that time. Salyut 1 paved the way for future space stations.

Space Stations Facts for Kids Fact Number 5: The International Space Station Is Very Fast

The ISS is the fastest space station moving at 17,500 miles per hour. That is about twelve times faster than a Jet Fighter. If you were to break this down into seconds this would be roughly 5 miles per second. Imagine how quickly you could travel the world if you could  go at this speed.

We hope you enjoyed learning more things about space stations as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic these space stations are, you can move on to learn about our Space like: The Universe, Asteroids and Meteors.

Why not subscribe to our LearningMole Library for as little as £1.99 per month to access over 2800 fun educational videos.