Soviet space stations were a series of orbital facilities developed by the Soviet Union to support long-duration human spaceflight and scientific research. The most notable among them was Mir, launched in 1986, which operated for 15 years and hosted numerous international missions. These stations allowed astronauts to conduct experiments in microgravity and contributed to our understanding of living and working in space. The first Soviet space station, Salyut 1, was launched in 1971, marking the beginning of a new era in space exploration. Over the years, the Salyut and Almaz programs led to the development of several other stations, including Mir and the later Zarya module, which was part of the International Space Station (ISS) collaboration.