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

Both have traveled to the space station before.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

Adapted from Polish author Stanisław Lem’s novel, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky’s slow, hypnotic “Solaris” follows a psychologist sent to a remote space station where the crew is already beginning to unravel.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

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

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

Once the astronauts finally arrive, they will be one of the last crews to live aboard the football field-sized space station.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 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