space station

American  

noun

• space stations
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• space-station
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• space stations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of space station

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

space station

The SpaceX Crew-12 mission launched on Feb. 13, and the crew docked with the space station a day later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Scientists were surprised that microbes like these could endure exposure on the exterior of the space station.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

India plans to send astronauts into space next year, an orbiter to Venus by 2028 and build its own space station by 2035.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Eight years later, the Dragon spacecraft carried its first astronaut to the ISS, beating other aerospace companies like Boeing to becoming the main American transport to the space station.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

I felt as if I had been beamed from earth onto an inter- galactic space station.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd