orbital station
Circling research facility
An orbital station is a large artificial structure designed to remain in orbit around a planet or moon, serving as a habitation or workspace for crew members over extended periods.
The International Space Station is the most prominent example.
In science fiction, orbital stations often appear as massive facilities for commerce, military operations, or transit hubs: The freighter docked at the orbital station above Mars.
- ISSOrbiting multinational research facility
- moduleIndependent functional component
- crew quartersOnboard personnel accommodations
- astronautSpacecraft crew member
- dockingConnecting to a port
docking port · airlock · microgravity · capsule · escape pod · solar panels · cosmonaut · hatch · cupola · tether · spacewalk · rendezvous · space junk · flotation · viewport · pressurized · Mir · cargo
orbital stationground station
Surface facility receiving spacecraft signals
underground bunker · submarine base · deep-sea habitat · mission control
orbital stationdeep space probe
Unmanned interplanetary spacecraft
lunar lander · Mars rover · exploration ship · reentry vehicle
orbital stationsatellite
Orbiting celestial body
communications satellite · weather satellite · spy satellite · space debris
orbital, station, orbit, orbits, orbited, orbiting, orbiter, orbiters, stations