The history of space architecture and design naturally begins with the conception of rockets and early missiles, as well as their launch pads, which take the form of complex vertical structures. However, it was through the design of the first space modules intended to host scientific experiments or to accommodate humans in Earth orbit that the concept of space architecture truly materialized in the form of complex orbital structures.
The Soviet space station Mir was the first in history to bring together a series of modules successively assembled to form the first habitable human-made structure in space. At the end of the 1990s, the International Space Station took over, expanding even further in scale and continuing to orbit Earth while carrying out its scientific missions.