Salyut 1

Salyut 1 was the first space station launched by any nation, placed into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. It was the first of the Salyut series developed in response to the American Apollo program Moon landings, intended to demonstrate a permanent human presence in orbit. The station only crew to board it, Soyuz 11, spent 23 days aboard in June 1971 but died during reentry when their capsule depressurized, and Salyut 1 itself was deliberately deorbited that October after roughly six months in space.