In this fascinating and well-written text Peter Bond describes the
development and evolution of space stations. Particular emphasis is
placed on the International Space Station, beginning with the revolution
that began in 1970, when Salyut 1, the world's first space station was
sent into orbit by the Soviet Union. Defeated in the race to the Moon,
the Soviets redirected their efforts towards the conquest of near-Earth
space. In the next three decades, their increasingly large and
sophisticated structures rewrote the history books as cosmonauts
continued to push back all space endurance records. In clear and concise
language the book explains how the human exploitation of low-Earth orbit
is about to change.