space station

American  

noun

1. an orbiting manned structure that can be used for a variety of purposes, as to assemble or service satellites, refuel spacecraft, etc.

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space station British  

noun

1. Also called: space platform.   space laboratory.  any large manned artificial satellite designed to orbit the earth during a long period of time thus providing a base for scientific and medical research in space and a construction site, launch pad, and docking arrangements for spacecraft

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space station Cultural  

1. A structure being assembled in space by an international partnership led by NASA. The space station will be a permanent habitat at which scientific and technological work can be carried out. Building a space station is considered the next step in the development and exploration of space, although there is controversy concerning its cost and the value of the research that will be carried out there.

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Other Word Forms

• space-station
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of space station

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

There’s a sci-fi podcast called “Wolf 359,” about a crew of a space station circling a red dwarf star.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

Throughout the 2010s, American astronauts reached the space station by hitching rides on Russian Soyuz rockets, until a burgeoning private-sector spaceflight industry stepped in.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Last year, he slashed the budget at numerous science agencies, including NASA, which shifted the agency’s priorities around Artemis, and killed the planned lunar Gateway space station that was supposed to orbit the moon.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026

Further Artemis missions will assemble Gateway, a small space station circling the Moon.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

And it taught the world how to build an international space station.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson