Mir

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Mir space station
)

Mir
AMSL
Apoapsis altitude374 km (216 nmi) AMSL
Orbital inclination51.6 degrees
Orbital speed7.7 km/s
(27,700 km/h, 17,200 mph)
Orbital period91.9 minutes
Orbits per day15.7
Days in orbit5,511 (15 years and 32 days)
Days occupied4,592
No. of orbits86,331
Statistics as of 23 March 2001
(unless noted otherwise)
References:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][unreliable source?][11][unreliable source?][12]
Configuration
The main components of Mir shown as a line diagram, with each module highlighted in a different colour
Station elements as of May 1996

Mir (

microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space
.

Mir was the first continuously inhabited long-term research station in orbit and held the record for the longest continuous human presence in space at 3,644 days, until it was surpassed by the ISS on 23 October 2010.[13] It holds the record for the longest single human spaceflight, with Valeri Polyakov spending 437 days and 18 hours on the station between 1994 and 1995. Mir was occupied for a total of twelve and a half years out of its fifteen-year lifespan, having the capacity to support a resident crew of three, or larger crews for short visits.

Following the success of the

Proton rockets were used to launch all of its components except for the docking module, which was installed by US Space Shuttle mission STS-74 in 1995. When complete, the station consisted of seven pressurised modules and several unpressurised components. Power was provided by several photovoltaic arrays attached directly to the modules. The station was maintained at an orbit between 296 km (184 mi) and 421 km (262 mi) altitude and travelled at an average speed of 27,700 km/h (17,200 mph), completing 15.7 orbits per day.[6][page needed][7][page needed][8]

The station was launched as part of the Soviet Union's

Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA). As a result, most of the station's occupants were Soviet; through international collaborations such as the Interkosmos, Euromir and Shuttle–Mir programmes, the station was made accessible to space travellers from several Asian, European and North American nations. Mir was deorbited in March 2001 after funding was cut off. The cost of the Mir programme was estimated by former RKA General Director Yuri Koptev in 2001 as $4.2 billion over its lifetime (including development, assembly and orbital operation).[14]

Origins

Mir was authorised by a 17 February 1976 decree, to design an improved model of the

Salyut DOS-17K space stations. Four Salyut space stations had been launched since 1971, with three more being launched during Mir's development. It was planned that the station's core module (DOS-7 and the backup DOS-8) would be equipped with a total of four docking ports; two at either end of the station as with the Salyut stations, and an additional two ports on either side of a docking sphere at the front of the station to enable further modules to expand the station's capabilities. By August 1978, this had evolved to the final configuration of one aft port and five ports in a spherical compartment at the forward end of the station.[15][failed verification][unreliable source?
]

It was originally planned that the ports would connect to 7.5-tonne (8.3-short-ton) modules derived from the

]

By early 1984, work on Mir had halted while all resources were being put into the Buran programme in order to prepare the Buran spacecraft for flight testing. Funding resumed in early 1984 when Valentin Glushko was ordered by the Central Committee's Secretary for Space and Defence to orbit Mir by early 1986, in time for the 27th Communist Party Congress.[15][failed verification][unreliable source?]

It was clear that the planned processing flow could not be followed and still meet the 1986 launch date. It was decided on

Khrunichev. In October, the base block was rolled outside its cleanroom to carry out communications tests. The first launch attempt on 16 February 1986 was scrubbed when the spacecraft communications failed, but the second launch attempt, on 19 February 1986 at 21:28:23 UTC, was successful, meeting the political deadline.[15][failed verification][unreliable source?
]

Station structure

Assembly

A diagram showing the Konus drogue and module movements around Mir's docking node[16]

The orbital assembly of Mir began on 19 February 1986 with the launch of the Proton-K rocket. Four of the six modules which were later added (Kvant-2 in 1989, Kristall in 1990, Spektr in 1995 and Priroda in 1996) followed the same sequence to be added to the main Mir complex. Firstly, the module would be launched independently on its own Proton-K and chase the station automatically. It would then dock to the forward docking port on the core module's docking node, then extend its Lyappa arm to mate with a fixture on the node's exterior. The arm would then lift the module away from the forward docking port and rotate it on to the radial port where it was to mate, before lowering it to dock. The node was equipped with only two Konus drogues, which were required for dockings. This meant that, prior to the arrival of each new module, the node would have to be depressurised to allow spacewalking cosmonauts to manually relocate the drogue to the next port to be occupied.[6][page needed][17][page needed]

The other two expansion modules,

Orbiter Docking System. Atlantis then docked, via the module, to Kristall, then left the module behind when it undocked later in the mission.[17]: 248–249 [18] Various other external components, including three truss structures, several experiments and other unpressurised elements were also mounted to the exterior of the station by cosmonauts conducting a total of eighty spacewalks over the course of the station's history.[17][page needed
]

The station's assembly marked the beginning of the third generation of space station design, being the first to consist of more than one primary spacecraft (thus opening a new era in space architecture). First generation stations such as Salyut 1 and Skylab had monolithic designs, consisting of one module with no resupply capability; the second generation stations Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 comprised a monolithic station with two ports to allow consumables to be replenished by cargo spacecraft such as Progress. The capability of Mir to be expanded with add-on modules meant that each could be designed with a specific purpose in mind (for instance, the core module functioned largely as living quarters), thus eliminating the need to install all the station's equipment in one module.[17][page needed]

Pressurised modules

In its completed configuration, the space station consisted of seven different modules, each launched into orbit separately over a period of ten years by either Proton-K rockets or Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Module Expedition Launch date Launch system Nation Isolated view Station view
Mir Core Module
(Core Module)
N/A 19 February 1986 Proton-K Soviet Union
The base block for the entire Mir complex, the core module, or DOS-7, provided the main living quarters for resident crews and contained environmental systems, early attitude control systems and the station's main engines. The module was based on hardware developed as part of the
Salyut programme, and consisted of a stepped-cylinder main compartment and a spherical 'node' module, which served as an airlock and provided ports to which four of the station's expansion modules were berthed and to which a Soyuz or Progress spacecraft could dock. The module's aft port served as the berthing location for Kvant-1.[19][page needed
]
Kvant-1
(Astrophysics Module)
EO-2 31 March 1987 Proton-K Soviet Union
The first expansion module to be launched, Kvant-1 consisted of two pressurised working compartments and one unpressurised experiment compartment. Scientific equipment included an
Elektron oxygen generator and a Vozdukh carbon dioxide scrubber.[19][page needed
]
Kvant-2
(Augmentation Module)
EO-5 26 November 1989 Proton-K Soviet Union
The first
gyrodynes to augment those already located in Kvant-1. Scientific equipment included a high-resolution camera, spectrometers, X-ray sensors, the Volna 2 fluid flow experiment, and the Inkubator-2 unit, which was used for hatching and raising quail.[19][page needed
]
Kristall
(Technology Module)
EO-6 31 May 1990 Proton-K Soviet Union
Kristall, the fourth module, consisted of two main sections. The first was largely used for materials processing (via various processing furnaces), astronomical observations, and a biotechnology experiment utilising the Aniur electrophoresis unit. The second section was a docking compartment which featured two
Shuttle-Mir programme. The docking compartment also contained the Priroda 5 camera used for Earth resources experiments. Kristall also carried six control moment gyroscopes (CMGs, or "gyrodynes") for attitude control to augment those already on the station, and two collapsible solar arrays.[19][page needed
]
Spektr
(Power Module)
EO-18
20 May 1995 Proton-K Russia
Spektr was the first of the three modules launched during the Shuttle-Mir programme; it served as the living quarters for American astronauts and housed NASA-sponsored experiments. The module was designed for remote observation of Earth's environment and contained atmospheric and surface research equipment. It featured four solar arrays which generated approximately half of the station's electrical power. The module also had a science airlock to expose experiments to the vacuum of space selectively. Spektr was rendered unusable following the collision with Progress M-34 in 1997 which damaged the module, exposing it to the vacuum of space.[17][page needed]
Docking Module
EO-20
15 November 1995 Space Shuttle Atlantis
(STS-74)
US
The docking module was designed to help simplify
APAS-89 docking ports, one attached to the distal port of Kristall with the other available for shuttle docking.[17]
: 247–249 
Priroda
(Earth Sensing Module)
EO-21 26 April 1996 Proton-K Russia
The seventh and final Mir module, Priroda's primary purpose was to conduct Earth resource experiments through remote sensing and to develop and verify remote sensing methods. The module's experiments were provided by twelve different nations, and covered microwave, visible, near infrared, and infrared spectral regions using both passive and active sounding methods. The module possessed both pressurised and unpressurised segments, and featured a large, externally mounted
synthetic aperture radar dish.[17]
: 251–253 

Unpressurised elements

The Travers radar antenna, Sofora girder, VDU thruster block, SPK unit and a Strela crane, alongside Kvant-2 and Priroda

In addition to the pressurised modules, Mir featured several external components. The largest component was the Sofora girder, a large scaffolding-like structure consisting of 20 segments which, when assembled, projected 14 metres from its mount on Kvant-1. A self-contained thruster block, the VDU (Vynosnaya Dvigatyelnaya Ustanovka), was mounted on the end of Sofora and was used to augment the roll-control thrusters on the core module. The VDU's increased distance from Mir's axis allowed an 85% decrease in fuel consumption, reducing the amount of propellant required to orient the station.[17][page needed] A second girder, Rapana, was mounted aft of Sofora on Kvant-1. This girder, a small prototype of a structure intended to be used on Mir-2 to hold large parabolic dishes away from the main station structure, was 5 metres long and used as a mounting point for externally mounted exposure experiments.[17][page needed]

To assist in moving objects around the exterior of the station during

EVAs, Mir featured two Strela cargo cranes mounted to the sides of the core module, used for moving spacewalking cosmonauts and parts. The cranes consisted of telescopic poles assembled in sections which measured around 1.8 metres (6 ft) when collapsed, but when extended using a hand crank were 14 metres (46 ft) long, meaning that all of the station's modules could be accessed during spacewalks.[20]

Each module was fitted with external components specific to the experiments that were carried out within that module, the most obvious being the Travers antenna mounted to Priroda. This

cosmonaut manoeuvring unit, or Ikar, was mated. This backpack was designed to assist cosmonauts in moving around the station and the planned Buran in a manner similar to the US Manned Maneuvering Unit, but it was only used once, during EO-5.[17][page needed
]

In addition to module-specific equipment, Kvant-2, Kristall, Spektr and Priroda were each equipped with one Lyappa arm, a robotic arm which, after the module had docked to the core module's forward port, grappled one of two fixtures positioned on the core module's docking node. The arriving module's docking probe was then retracted, and the arm raised the module so that it could be pivoted 90° for docking to one of the four radial docking ports.[19][page needed]

Power supply

The four solar arrays on Spektr

Ah capacity, were then used to power the station until the arrays recovered their maximum output on the day side of Earth.[17]

The solar arrays themselves were launched and installed over a period of eleven years, more slowly than originally planned, with the station continually suffering from a shortage of power as a result. The first two arrays, each 38 m2 (409 ft2) in area, were launched on the core module, and together provided a total of 9 kW of power. A third,

dorsal panel was launched on Kvant-1 and mounted on the core module in 1987, providing a further 2 kW from a 22 m2 (237 ft2) area.[17] Kvant-2, launched in 1989, provided two 10 m (32.8 ft) long panels which supplied 3.5 kW each, whilst Kristall was launched with two collapsible, 15 m (49.2 ft) long arrays (providing 4 kW each) which were intended to be moved to Kvant-1 and installed on mounts which were attached during a spacewalk by the EO-8 crew in 1991.[17][19]

This relocation was begun in 1995, when the panels were retracted and the left panel installed on Kvant-1. By this time all the arrays had degraded and were supplying much less power. To rectify this, Spektr (launched in 1995), which had initially been designed to carry two arrays, was modified to hold four, providing a total of 126 m2 (1360 ft2) of array with a 16 kW supply.[17] Two further arrays were flown to the station on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-74, carried on the docking module. The first of these, the Mir cooperative solar array, consisted of American photovoltaic cells mounted on a Russian frame. It was installed on the unoccupied mount on Kvant-1 in May 1996 and was connected to the socket that had previously been occupied by the core module's dorsal panel, which was by this point barely supplying 1 kW.[17] The other panel, originally intended to be launched on Priroda, replaced the Kristall panel on Kvant-1 in November 1997, completing the station's electrical system.[17]

Orbit control

Graph showing the changing altitude of Mir from 19 February 1986 until 21 March 2001

Mir was maintained in a near circular orbit with an average perigee of 354 km (220 mi) and an average apogee of 374 km (232 mi), travelling at an average speed of 27,700 km/h (17,200 mph) and completing 15.7 orbits per day.

atmospheric drag, it needed to be boosted to a higher altitude several times each year. This boost was generally performed by Progress resupply vessels, although during the Shuttle-Mir programme the task was performed by US Space Shuttles, and, prior to the arrival of Kvant-1, the engines on the core module could also accomplish the task.[17]

Attitude control was maintained by a combination of two mechanisms; in order to hold a set attitude, a system of twelve control moment gyroscopes (CMGs, or "gyrodynes") rotating at 10,000 rpm kept the station oriented, six CMGs being located in each of the Kvant-1 and Kvant-2 modules.[19][21] When the attitude of the station needed to be changed, the gyrodynes were disengaged, thrusters (including those mounted directly to the modules, and the VDU thruster used for roll control mounted to the Sofora girder) were used to attain the new attitude and the CMGs were reengaged.[21] This was done fairly regularly depending on experimental needs; for instance, Earth or astronomical observations required that the instrument recording images be continuously aimed at the target, and so the station was oriented to make this possible.[17] Conversely, materials processing experiments required the minimisation of movement on board the station, and so Mir would be oriented in a gravity gradient attitude for stability.[17] Prior to the arrival of the modules containing these gyrodynes, the station's attitude was controlled using thrusters located on the core module alone, and, in an emergency, the thrusters on docked Soyuz spacecraft could be used to maintain the station's orientation.[17][22][page needed]

Communications

EVAs. UHF was also employed by other spacecraft that docked to or undocked from the station, such as Soyuz, Progress, and the Space Shuttle, in order to receive commands from the TsUP and Mir crew members via the TORU system.[17]

Microgravity

At Mir's orbital altitude, the force of Earth's gravity was 88% of sea level gravity. While the constant free fall of the station offered a perceived sensation of

microgravity. This state of perceived weightlessness was not perfect, being disturbed by five separate effects:[23]

Life support

Mir's

Elektron system generated oxygen electrolytically, venting hydrogen to space. Bottled oxygen and solid fuel oxygen generation (SFOG) canisters, a system known as Vika, provided backup. Carbon dioxide was removed from the air by the Vozdukh system.[17] Other byproducts of human metabolism, such as methane from the intestines and ammonia from sweat, were removed by activated charcoal
filters. Similar systems are presently used on the ISS.

The atmosphere on Mir was similar to

psi); the same as at sea level on Earth.[17] An Earth-like atmosphere offers benefits for crew comfort.[citation needed
]

International cooperation

Reinhold Ewald (right) and Vasily Tsibliyev in the core module during Ewald's visit to Mir
Scale model replica of the MIR Space Station at the Euro Space Center Belgium

Interkosmos

Interkosmos (Russian: ИнтерКосмос) was a Soviet Union space exploration programme which allowed members from countries allied with the Soviet Union to participate in crewed and uncrewed space exploration missions. Participation was also made available to governments of countries such as France and India.

Only the last three of the programme's fourteen missions consisted of an expedition to Mir but none resulted in an extended stay in the station:

European involvement

Various European astronauts visited Mir as part of several cooperative programmes:[28]

Shuttle–Mir program

The seven NASA astronauts who carried out long-duration missions on Mir

In the early 1980s, NASA planned to launch a modular space station called

post-Soviet economic chaos in Russia also led to the cancellation of Mir-2, though only after its base block, DOS-8, had been constructed.[17] Similar budgetary difficulties were faced by other nations with space station projects, which prompted the US government to negotiate with European states, Russia, Japan, and Canada in the early 1990s to begin a collaborative project.[17] In June 1992, American president George H. W. Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin agreed to cooperate on space exploration. The resulting Agreement between the United States of America and the Russian Federation Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes called for a short joint space programme with one American astronaut deployed to the Russian space station Mir and two Russian cosmonauts deployed to a Space Shuttle.[17]

In September 1993, US Vice President

Russian Federal Space Agency
(Roskosmos). The project prepared the way for further cooperative space ventures, specifically, "Phase Two" of the joint project, the construction of the ISS. The programme was announced in 1993; the first mission started in 1994, and the project continued until its scheduled completion in 1998. Eleven Space Shuttle missions, a joint Soyuz flight, and almost 1000 cumulative days in space for US astronauts occurred over the course of seven long-duration expeditions.

Other visitors

Life on board

Time exposure of Mir passing over Earth's surface, May 1997.
A video tour of Mir from September 1996, during STS-79
A view of the interior of the core module's docking node, showing the crowded nature of the station.

Inside, the 130-tonne (140-short-ton) Mir resembled a cramped labyrinth, crowded with hoses, cables and scientific instruments—as well as articles of everyday life, such as photos, children's drawings, books and a guitar. It commonly housed three crew members, but was capable of supporting as many as six for up to a month. The station was designed to remain in orbit for around five years; it remained in orbit for fifteen.[34] As a result, NASA astronaut John Blaha reported that, with the exception of Priroda and Spektr, which were added late in the station's life, Mir did look used, which is to be expected given it had been lived in for ten to eleven years without being brought home and cleaned.[35]

Crew schedule

The time zone used on board Mir was Moscow Time (UTC+03). The windows were covered during night hours to give the impression of darkness because the station experienced 16 sunrises and sunsets a day. A typical day for the crew began with a wake-up at 08:00, followed by two hours of personal hygiene and breakfast. Work was conducted from 10:00 until 13:00, followed by an hour of exercise and an hour's lunch break. Three more hours of work and another hour of exercise followed lunch, and the crews began preparing for their evening meal at about 19:00. The cosmonauts were free to do as they wished in the evening, and largely worked to their own pace during the day.[17]

In their spare time, crews were able to catch up with work, observe the Earth below, respond to letters, drawings and other items brought from Earth (and give them an official stamp to show they had been aboard Mir), or make use of the station's ham radio.

amateur radio operators on Earth to communicate with the cosmonauts.[36] The station was also equipped with a supply of books and films for the crew to read and watch.[22]

NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger related how life on board Mir was structured and lived according to the detailed itineraries provided by ground control. Every second on board was accounted for and all activities were timetabled. After working some time on Mir, Linenger came to feel that the order in which his activities were allocated did not represent the most logical or efficient order possible for these activities. He decided to perform his tasks in an order that he felt enabled him to work more efficiently, be less fatigued, and suffer less from stress. Linenger noted that his comrades on Mir did not "improvise" in this way, and as a medical doctor he observed the effects of stress on his comrades that he believed was the outcome of following an itinerary without making modifications to it. Despite this, he commented that his comrades performed all their tasks in a supremely professional manner.[37][page needed]

Astronaut Shannon Lucid, who set the record for longest stay in space by a woman while aboard Mir (surpassed by Sunita Williams 11 years later on the ISS), also commented about working aboard Mir saying "I think going to work on a daily basis on Mir is very similar to going to work on a daily basis on an outstation in Antarctica. The big difference with going to work here is the isolation, because you really are isolated. You don't have a lot of support from the ground. You really are on your own."[35]

Exercise

Shannon Lucid exercises on a treadmill during her stay aboard Mir.

The most significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness are

cardiovascular system, decreased production of red blood cells, balance disorders, and a weakening of the immune system. Lesser symptoms include loss of body mass, nasal congestion, sleep disturbance, excess flatulence, and puffiness of the face. These effects begin to reverse quickly upon return to the Earth.[38][page needed
]

To prevent some of these effects, the station was equipped with two treadmills (in the core module and Kvant-2) and a stationary bicycle (in the core module); each cosmonaut was to cycle the equivalent of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) and run the equivalent of 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) per day.[17] Cosmonauts used bungee cords to strap themselves to the treadmill. Researchers believe that exercise is a good countermeasure for the bone and muscle density loss that occurs in low-gravity situations.[39]

Hygiene

One of the space toilets used aboard Mir

There were two

Elektron system.[17]

Mir featured a shower, the Bania, located in Kvant-2. It was an improvement on the units installed in previous

Salyut stations, but proved difficult to use due to the time required to set up, use, and stow. The shower, which featured a plastic curtain and fan to collect water via an airflow, was later converted into a steam room; it eventually had its plumbing removed and the space was reused. When the shower was unavailable, crew members washed using wet wipes, with soap dispensed from a toothpaste tube-like container, or using a washbasin equipped with a plastic hood, located in the core module. Crews were also provided with rinse-less shampoo and edible toothpaste to save water.[17]

On a 1998 visit to Mir, bacteria and larger organisms were found to have proliferated in water globules formed from moisture that had condensed behind service panels.[40]

Sleeping in space

Yury Usachov
in his Kayutka

The station provided two permanent crew quarters, the Kayutkas, phonebox-sized booths set towards the rear of the core module, each featuring a tethered sleeping bag, a fold-out desk, a porthole, and storage for personal effects. Visiting crews had no allocated sleep module, instead attaching a sleeping bag to an available space on a wall; US astronauts installed themselves within

Progress spacecraft caused the depressurisation of that module.[17] It was important that crew accommodations be well ventilated; otherwise, astronauts could wake up oxygen-deprived and gasping for air, because a bubble of their own exhaled carbon dioxide had formed around their heads.[41]

Food and drink

Most of the food eaten by station crews was frozen, refrigerated or canned. Meals were prepared by the cosmonauts, with the help of a

cognac and vodka for special occasions.[22]

Microbiological environmental hazards

In the 1990s ninety species of micro-organisms were found inside Mir, four years after the station's launch. By the time of its decommission in 2001, the number of known different micro-organisms had grown to 140. As space stations get older, the problems with contamination get worse.[citation needed] Molds that develop aboard space stations can produce acids that degrade metal, glass and rubber.[42] The molds in Mir were found growing behind panels and inside air-conditioning equipment. The molds also caused a foul smell, which was often cited as visitors' strongest impression.[43] Researchers in 2018 reported, after detecting the presence on the International Space Station (ISS) of five Enterobacter bugandensis bacterial strains, none pathogenic to humans, that microorganisms on ISS should be carefully monitored to continue ensuring a medically healthy environment for the astronauts.[44][45]

Some biologists were concerned about the mutant fungi being a major microbiological hazard for humans, and reaching Earth in the splashdown, after having been in an isolated environment for 15 years.[43]

Station operations

Expeditions

Mir was visited by a total of 28 long-duration or "principal" crews, each of which was given a sequential expedition number formatted as EO-X. Expeditions varied in length (from the 72-day flight of the crew of

surpassed by the ISS).[17]

Early existence

The core module with Kvant-1 and Soyuz TM-3

Due to pressure to launch the station on schedule, mission planners were left without Soyuz spacecraft or modules to launch to the station at first. It was decided to launch Soyuz T-15 on a dual mission to both Mir and Salyut 7.[15][unreliable source?]

Progress spacecraft launched after their arrival, Progress 25 and Progress 26.[47]

On 5 May 1986, they undocked from Mir for a day-long journey to Salyut 7. They spent 51 days there and gathered 400 kg of scientific material from Salyut 7 for return to Mir. While Soyuz T-15 was at Salyut 7, the uncrewed

Soyuz TM model. Soyuz T-15 redocked with Mir on 26 June and delivered the experiments and 20 instruments, including a multichannel spectrometer. The EO-1 crew spent their last 20 days on Mir conducting Earth observations before returning to Earth on 16 July 1986, leaving the new station unoccupied.[48][unreliable source?
]

The second expedition to Mir, EO-2, launched on Soyuz TM-2 on 5 February 1987. During their stay, the Kvant-1 module, launched on 30 March 1987, arrived. It was the first experimental version of a planned series of '37K' modules scheduled to be launched to Mir on Buran. Kvant-1 was originally planned to dock with Salyut 7; due to technical problems during its development, it was reassigned to Mir. The module carried the first set of six gyroscopes for attitude control. The module also carried instruments for X-ray and ultraviolet astrophysical observations.[19]

The initial rendezvous of the Kvant-1 module with Mir on 5 April 1987 was troubled by the failure of the onboard control system. After the failure of the second attempt to dock, the resident cosmonauts, Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Laveykin, conducted an EVA to fix the problem. They found a trash bag which had been left in orbit after the departure of one of the previous cargo ships and was now located between the module and the station, which prevented the docking. After removing the bag, docking was completed on 12 April.[49][unreliable source?][50]

The Soyuz TM-2 launch was the beginning of a string of 6 Soyuz launches and three long-duration crews between 5 February 1987 and 27 April 1989. This period also saw the first international visitors,

Abdul Ahad Mohmand (Afghanistan) and Jean-Loup Chrétien (France). With the departure of EO-4 on Soyuz TM-7 on 27 April 1989 the station was again left unoccupied.[17]

Third start

The launch of

TKS spacecraft from the Almaz programme.[51][unreliable source?
]

Mir following the arrival of Kvant-2 in 1989

After a 40-day delay caused by faulty computer chips, Kvant-2 was launched on 26 November 1989. After problems deploying the craft's solar array and with the automated docking systems on both Kvant-2 and Mir, the new module was docked manually on 6 December. Kvant-2 added a second set of control moment gyroscopes (CMGs, or "gyrodynes") to Mir, and brought the new life support systems for recycling water and generating oxygen, reducing dependence on ground resupply. The module featured a large airlock with a one-metre hatch. A special backpack unit (known as Ikar), an equivalent of the US Manned Maneuvering Unit, was located inside Kvant-2's airlock.[51][52]

Soyuz TM-9 launched EO-6 crew members Anatoly Solovyev and Aleksandr Balandin on 11 February 1990. While docking, the EO-5 crew noted that three thermal blankets on the ferry were loose, potentially creating problems on reentry, but it was decided that they would be manageable. Their stay on board Mir saw the addition of the Kristall module, launched 31 May 1990. The first docking attempt on 6 June was aborted due to an attitude control thruster failure. Kristall arrived at the front port on 10 June and was relocated to the lateral port opposite Kvant-2 the next day, restoring the equilibrium of the complex. Due to the delay in the docking of Kristall, EO-6 was extended by 10 days to permit the activation of the module's systems and to accommodate an EVA to repair the loose thermal blankets on Soyuz TM-9.[53][unreliable source?]

Kristall contained furnaces for use in producing crystals under microgravity conditions (hence the choice of name for the module). The module was also equipped with biotechnology research equipment, including a small greenhouse for plant cultivation experiments which was equipped with a source of light and a feeding system, in addition to equipment for astronomical observations. The most obvious features of the module were the two Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS-89) docking ports designed to be compatible with the Buran spacecraft. Although they were never used in a Buran docking, they were useful later during the Shuttle-Mir programme, providing a berthing location for US Space Shuttles.[54]

The EO-7 relief crew arrived aboard Soyuz TM-10 on 3 August 1990. The new crew arrived at Mir with quail for Kvant-2's cages, one of which laid an egg en route to the station. It was returned to Earth, along with 130 kg of experiment results and industrial products, in Soyuz TM-9.[53] Two more expeditions, EO-8 and EO-9, continued the work of their predecessors whilst tensions grew back on Earth.

Post-Soviet period

A view of Mir from Soyuz TM-17 on 3 July 1993 showing ongoing docking operations at the station

The

Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) was unable to finance the unlaunched Spektr and Priroda modules, instead putting them into storage and ending Mir's second expansion.[55][unreliable source?][56][unreliable source?][57][unreliable source?
]

The first human mission flown from an independent

APAS-89 docking system rather than the usual probe-and-drogue, enabling it to dock to Kristall and test the port which would later be used by US Space Shuttles. The spacecraft also enabled controllers to obtain data on the dynamics of docking a spacecraft to a space station off the station's longitudinal axis, in addition to data on the structural integrity of this configuration via a test called Rezonans conducted on 28 January. Soyuz TM-15, meanwhile, departed with the EO-12 crew on 1 February.[46][page needed
]

Throughout the period following the collapse of the USSR, crews on Mir experienced occasional reminders of the

Kurs docking systems, manufactured in Kyiv – the Russians' attempts to reduce their dependence on Kurs would later lead to accidents during TORU tests in 1997. Various Progress spacecraft had parts of their cargoes missing, either because the consumable in question had been unavailable, or because the ground crews at Baikonur had looted them. The problems became particularly obvious during the launch of the EO-14 crew aboard Soyuz TM-17 in July; shortly before launch there was a black-out at the pad, and the power supply to the nearby city of Leninsk failed an hour after launch.[17][46][page needed] Nevertheless, the spacecraft launched on time and arrived at the station two days later. All of Mir's ports were occupied, and so Soyuz TM-17 had to station-keep 200 metres away from the station for half an hour before docking while Progress M-18 vacated the core module's front port and departed.[46][page needed
]

The EO-13 crew departed on 22 July, and soon after Mir passed through the annual Perseid meteor shower, during which the station was hit by several particles. A spacewalk was conducted on 28 September to inspect the station's hull, but no serious damage was reported. Soyuz TM-18 arrived on 10 January 1994 carrying the EO-15 crew (including Valeri Polyakov, who was to remain on Mir for 14 months), and Soyuz TM-17 left on 14 January. The undocking was unusual in that the spacecraft was to pass along Kristall in order to obtain photographs of the APAS to assist in the training of space shuttle pilots. Due to an error in setting up the control system, the spacecraft struck the station a glancing blow during the manoeuvre, scratching the exterior of Kristall.[46][page needed]

On 3 February 1994, Mir veteran Sergei Krikalev became the first Russian cosmonaut to launch on a US spacecraft, flying on Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-60.[58]

The launch of Soyuz TM-19, carrying the EO-16 crew, was delayed due to the unavailability of a payload fairing for the booster that was to carry it, but the spacecraft eventually left Earth on 1 July 1994 and docked two days later. They stayed only four months to allow the Soyuz schedule to line up with the planned Space Shuttle manifest, and so Polyakov greeted a second resident crew in October, prior to the undocking of Soyuz TM-19, when the EO-17 crew arrived in Soyuz TM-20.[46][page needed]

Shuttle–Mir

Space Shuttle Atlantis docked to Mir on STS-71.

The 3 February launch of

EO-20 crew were launched on 3 September, followed in November by the arrival of the docking module during STS-74.[18][59][65][66]

The two-man EO-21 crew was launched on 21 February 1996 aboard Soyuz TM-23 and were soon joined by US crew member Shannon Lucid, who was brought to the station by Atlantis during STS-76. This mission saw the first joint US spacewalk on Mir take place deploying the Mir Environmental Effects Payload package on the docking module.[67] Lucid became the first American to carry out a long-duration mission aboard Mir with her 188-day mission, which set the US single spaceflight record. During Lucid's time aboard Mir, Priroda, the station's final module, arrived as did French visitor Claudie Haigneré flying the Cassiopée mission. The flight aboard Soyuz TM-24 also delivered the EO-22 crew of Valery Korzun and Aleksandr Kaleri.[17][59][68]

Lucid's stay aboard Mir ended with the flight of Atlantis on

Vasili Tsibliyev, flying EO-23. All three crew members of EO-23 performed a "fly-around" in Soyuz TM-25 spacecraft.[17] Linenger and his Russian crewmates Vasili Tsibliyev and Aleksandr Lazutkin faced several difficulties during the mission, including the most severe fire aboard an orbiting spacecraft (caused by a malfunctioning Vika), failures of various systems, a near collision with Progress M-33 during a long-distance TORU test and a total loss of station electrical power. The power failure also caused a loss of attitude control, which led to an uncontrolled "tumble" through space.[17][22][page needed][37][page needed][59]

Damaged solar arrays on the Mir Spektr module following a collision with Progress M-34 in September 1997.

Linenger was succeeded by

Elena Kondakova. Foale's increment proceeded fairly normally until 25 June when during the second test of the Progress manual docking system, TORU, Progress M-34 collided with solar arrays on the Spektr module and crashed into the module's outer shell, puncturing the module and causing depressurisation on the station. Only quick actions on the part of the crew, cutting cables leading to the module and closing Spektr's hatch, prevented the crews having to abandon the station in Soyuz TM-25. Their efforts stabilised the station's air pressure, whilst the pressure in Spektr, containing many of Foale's experiments and personal effects, dropped to a vacuum.[22][page needed][59] In an effort to restore some of the power and systems lost following the isolation of Spektr and to attempt to locate the leak, EO-24 commander Anatoly Solovyev and flight engineer Pavel Vinogradov carried out a risky salvage operation later in the flight, entering the empty module during a so-called "intra-vehicular activity" or "IVA" spacewalk and inspecting the condition of hardware and running cables through a special hatch from Spektr's systems to the rest of the station. Following these first investigations, Foale and Solovyev conducted a 6-hour EVA outside Spektr to inspect the damage.[59][71]

After these incidents, the US Congress and NASA considered whether to abandon the programme out of concern for the astronauts' safety, but NASA administrator Daniel Goldin decided to continue.[37][page needed] The next flight to Mir, STS-86, carried David Wolf aboard Atlantis. During the orbiter's stay, Titov and Parazynski conducted a spacewalk to affix a cap to the docking module for a future attempt by crew members to seal the leak in Spektr's hull.[59][72] Wolf spent 119 days aboard Mir with the EO-24 crew and was replaced during STS-89 with Andy Thomas, who carried out the last US expedition on Mir.[59][73] The EO-25 crew arrived in Soyuz TM-27 in January 1998 before Thomas returned to Earth on the final Shuttle–Mir mission, STS-91.[59][74][75]

Final days and deorbit

South Pacific
on 23 March 2001.

Following the 8 June 1998 departure of Discovery, the EO-25 crew of

Sergei Avdeyev arrived on 15 August in Soyuz TM-28, alongside physicist Yuri Baturin, who departed with the EO-25 crew on 25 August in Soyuz TM-27. The crew carried out two spacewalks, one inside Spektr to reseat some power cables and another outside to set up experiments delivered by Progress M-40, which also carried a large amount of propellant to begin alterations to Mir's orbit in preparation for the station's decommissioning. 20 November 1998 saw the launch of Zarya, the first module of the ISS, but delays to the new station's service module Zvezda had led to calls for Mir to be kept in orbit past 1999. Roscosmos confirmed that it would not fund Mir past the set deorbit date.[17]

The crew of

Viktor Afanasyev and Jean-Pierre Haigneré, arrived in Soyuz TM-29 on 22 February 1999 alongside Ivan Bella, who returned to Earth with Padalka in Soyuz TM-28. The crew carried out three EVAs to retrieve experiments and deploy a prototype communications antenna on Sofora. On 1 June it was announced that the deorbit of the station would be delayed by six months to allow time to seek alternative funding to keep the station operating. The rest of the expedition was spent preparing the station for its deorbit; a special analog computer was installed and each of the modules, starting with the docking module, was mothballed in turn and sealed off. The crew loaded their results into Soyuz TM-29 and departed Mir on 28 August 1999, ending a run of continuous occupation, which had lasted for eight days short of ten years.[17] The station's control moment gyroscopes (CMGs, or "gyrodynes") and main computer were shut down on 7 September, leaving Progress M-42 to control Mir and refine the station's orbital decay rate.[17]

Near the end of its life, there were plans for private interests to purchase Mir, possibly for use as the first orbital

Sergei Zalyotin and Aleksandr Kaleri, to the station for two months to do repair work with the hope of proving that the station could be made safe. This was to be the last crewed mission to Mir—while Russia was optimistic about Mir's future, its commitments to the ISS project left no funding to support the aging station.[17][76]

Mir's deorbit was carried out in three stages. The first stage involved waiting for

South Pacific Ocean around 06:00 UTC.[77][78]

Visiting spacecraft

Soyuz TM-24 docked with Mir as seen from the Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-79

Mir was primarily supported by the Russian

Kurs systems, whilst the core module's forward port featured only the newer Kurs.[17]

Soyuz spacecraft provided personnel access to and from the station allowing for crew rotations and cargo return, and also functioned as a lifeboat for the station, allowing for a relatively quick return to Earth in the event of an emergency.[46][page needed][79] Two models of Soyuz flew to Mir; Soyuz T-15 was the only Igla-equipped Soyuz-T to visit the station, whilst all other flights used the newer, Kurs-equipped Soyuz-TM. A total of 31 (30 crewed, 1 uncrewed) Soyuz spacecraft flew to the station over a fourteen-year period.[46][page needed]

The uncrewed Progress cargo vehicles were only used to resupply the station, carrying a variety of cargoes including water, fuel, food and experimental equipment. The spacecraft were not equipped with reentry shielding and so, unlike their Soyuz counterparts, were incapable of surviving reentry.[80] As a result, when its cargo had been unloaded, each Progress was refilled with rubbish, spent equipment and other waste which was destroyed, along with the Progress itself, on reentry.[46][page needed] In order to facilitate cargo return, ten Progress flights carried Raduga capsules, which could return around 150 kg of experimental results to Earth automatically.[46] Mir was visited by three separate models of Progress; the original 7K-TG variant equipped with Igla (18 flights), the Progress-M model equipped with Kurs (43 flights), and the modified Progress-M1 version (3 flights), which together flew a total of 64 resupply missions.[46] Whilst the Progress spacecraft usually docked automatically without incident, the station was equipped with a remote manual docking system, TORU, in case problems were encountered during the automatic approaches. With TORU, cosmonauts could guide the spacecraft safely in to dock (with the exception of the catastrophic docking of Progress M-34, when the long-range use of the system resulted in the spacecraft striking the station, damaging Spektr and causing decompression).[17]: 265 

In addition to the routine Soyuz and Progress flights, it was anticipated that Mir would also be the destination for flights by the Soviet Buran space shuttle, which was intended to deliver extra modules (based on the same "37K" bus as Kvant-1) and provide a much improved cargo return service to the station. Kristall carried two Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS-89) docking ports designed to be compatible with the shuttle. One port was to be used for Buran; the other for the planned Pulsar X-2 telescope, also to be delivered by Buran.[17][54] The cancellation of the Buran programme meant these capabilities were not realised until the 1990s when the ports were used instead by US Space Shuttles as part of the Shuttle-Mir programme (after testing by the specially modified Soyuz TM-16 in 1993). Initially, visiting Space Shuttle orbiters docked directly to Kristall, but this required the relocation of the module to ensure sufficient distance between the shuttle and Mir's solar arrays.[17] To eliminate the need to move the module and retract solar arrays for clearance issues, a Mir Docking Module was later added to the end of Kristall.[81] The shuttles provided crew rotation of the American astronauts on station and carried cargo to and from the station, performing some of the largest transfers of cargo of the time. With a space shuttle docked to Mir, the temporary enlargements of living and working areas amounted to a complex that was the largest spacecraft in history at that time, with a combined mass of 250 tonnes (280 short tons).[17]

Mission control centre

RKA Mission Control Center (2007)

Mir and its resupply missions were controlled from the Russian

RKK Energia plant. Referred to by its acronym ЦУП ("TsUP"), or simply as 'Moscow', the facility could process data from up to ten spacecraft in three separate control rooms, although each control room was dedicated to a single programme; one to Mir; one to Soyuz; and one to the Soviet space shuttle Buran (which was later converted for use with the ISS).[82][83] The facility is now used to control the Russian Orbital Segment of the ISS.[82] The flight control team were assigned roles similar to the system used by NASA at their mission control centre in Houston, including:[83]

  • The Flight Director, who provided policy guidance and communicated with the mission management team;
  • The Flight Shift Director, who was responsible for real-time decisions within a set of flight rules;
  • The Mission Deputy Shift Manager (MDSM) for the MCC was responsible for the control room's consoles, computers and peripherals;
  • The MDSM for Ground Control was responsible for communications;
  • The MDSM for Crew Training was similar to NASA's 'capcom,' or capsule communicator; usually someone who had served as the Mir crew's lead trainer.

Unused equipment

Three command and control modules were constructed for the Mir program. One was used in space; one remained in a Moscow warehouse as a source of repair parts if needed,[84] and the third was sold to an educational and entertainment complex in the US in 1997. Tommy Bartlett Exploratory purchased the unit and had it shipped to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, where it became the centrepiece of the complex's Space Exploration wing.[85]

Safety aspects

Ageing systems and atmosphere

In the later years of the programme, particularly during the Shuttle-Mir programme, Mir suffered from various systems failures. It had been designed for five years of use, but eventually flew for fifteen, and in the 1990s was showing its age, with frequent computer crashes, loss of power, uncontrolled tumbles through space and leaking pipes.

Jerry Linenger in his book about his time on the facility says that the cooling system had developed tiny leaks too small and numerous to be repaired, that permitted the constant release of coolant. He says that it was especially noticeable after he had made a spacewalk and become used to the bottled air in his spacesuit. When he returned to the station and again began breathing the air inside Mir, he was shocked by the intensity of the smell and worried about the possible negative health effects of breathing such contaminated air.[37][page needed
]

Various breakdowns of the Elektron oxygen-generating system were a concern; they led crews to become increasingly reliant on the backup Vika solid-fuel oxygen generator (SFOG) systems, which led to a fire during the handover between EO-22 and EO-23.[17][22][page needed] (see also ISS ECLSS)

Accidents

A charred panel in Kvant-1 following the Vika fire

Several accidents occurred which threatened the station's safety, such as the glancing collision between Kristall and Soyuz TM-17 during proximity operations in January 1994. The three most alarming incidents occurred during EO-23. The first was on 23 February 1997 during the handover period from EO-22 to EO-23, when a malfunction occurred in the backup Vika system, a chemical oxygen generator later known as solid-fuel oxygen generator (SFOG). The Vika malfunction led to a fire which burned for around 90 seconds (according to official sources at the TsUP; astronaut Jerry Linenger insists the fire burned for around 14 minutes), and produced large amounts of toxic smoke that filled the station for around 45 minutes. This forced the crew to don respirators, but some of the respirator masks initially worn were broken. Some of the fire extinguishers mounted on the walls of the newer modules were immovable.[22][page needed][37][page needed]

STS 86

The other two accidents concerned testing of the station's

Kurs automatic docking system from Progress spacecraft. Due to malfunctioning equipment, both tests failed, with Progress M-33 narrowly missing the station and Progress M-34 striking Spektr and puncturing the module, causing the station to depressurise and leading to Spektr being permanently sealed off. This in turn led to a power crisis aboard Mir as the module's solar arrays produced a large proportion of the station's electrical supply, causing the station to power down and begin to drift, requiring weeks of work to rectify before work could continue as normal.[17][22][page needed
]

Radiation and orbital debris

Space debris in low Earth orbit

Without the protection of the Earth's atmosphere, cosmonauts were exposed to higher levels of

Mir EO-18 expedition, producing an equivalent dose of 14.75 cSv, or 1133 µSv per day.[86][87] This daily dose is approximately that received from natural background radiation on Earth in two years.[88] The radiation environment of the station was not uniform; closer proximity to the station's hull led to an increased radiation dose, and the strength of radiation shielding varied between modules; Kvant-2's being better than the core module, for instance.[89]

The increased radiation levels pose a higher risk of crews developing cancer, and can cause damage to the

immunity experienced by cosmonauts. Over time, in theory, lowered immunity results in the spread of infection between crew members, especially in such confined areas. To avoid this only healthy people were permitted aboard. Radiation has also been linked to a higher incidence of cataracts in cosmonauts. Protective shielding and protective drugs may lower the risks to an acceptable level, but data is scarce and longer-term exposure will result in greater risks.[38][page needed
]

At the low altitudes at which Mir orbited there is a variety of

puncture their spacesuits, causing them to depressurise.[94] Meteor showers in particular posed a risk, and, during such storms, the crews slept in their Soyuz ferries to facilitate an emergency evacuation should Mir be damaged.[17]

See also

  • Skylab, a defunct predecessor space station
  • Out of the Present, 1995 documentary
  • Orphans of Apollo, a 2008 documentary film which describes how a band of entrepreneurs tried to privatize the space station Mir and the resulting story of MirCorp.

References

  1. ^ "Mir-Orbit Data". Heavens-Above.com. 23 March 2001. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  2. ^ "Mir FAQ – Facts and history". European Space Agency. 21 February 2001. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Mir Space Station – Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. 23 March 2001. Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  4. ^ "NASA – NSSDC – Spacecraft – Details – Mir". NASA. 23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Soviet/Russian space programmes Q&A". NASASpaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  6. ^ ]
  7. ^ ]
  8. ^ a b c "Orbital period of a planet". CalcTool. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  9. ^ "Mir Space Station Observing". Satobs.org. 28 March 2001. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  10. ^ Mark Wade (4 September 2010). "Baikonur LC200/39". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.[unreliable source?]
  11. ^ Mark Wade (4 September 2010). "Baikonur LC81/23". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.[unreliable source?]
  12. ^ Macatangay, A.V. & Perry, J.L. (22 January 2007). Cabin Air Quality On Board Mir and the International Space Station—A Comparison (PDF) (Report). Johnson Space Center & Marshall Spaceflight Center: NASA. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013.
  13. ^ a b Jackman, Frank (29 October 2010). "ISS Passing Old Russian Mir In Crewed Time". Aviation Week.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Patrick E. Tyler (24 March 2001). "Russians Find Pride, and Regret, in Mir's Splashdown". New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Mark Wade. "Mir complex". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2020.[unreliable source?]
  16. from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  17. ^ ]
  18. ^ a b Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-74 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i David S. F. Portree (March 1995). Mir Hardware Heritage. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.[page needed]
  20. from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  21. ^ a b c DeLombard R.; Ryaboukha S.; Hrovat K.; Moskowitz M. (June 1996). Further Analysis of the Microgravity Environment on Mir Space Station during Mir-16 (Report). NASA. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009.
  22. ^ ]
  23. ^ "European Users Guide to Low Gravity Platforms" (PDF). European Space Agency. 6 December 2005. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  24. ^ Craig Freudenrich (20 November 2000). "How Space Stations Work". Howstuffworks. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  25. ^ Mark Wade. "Soyuz TM-3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.[unreliable source?]
  26. ^ Mark Wade. "Mir EP-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.[unreliable source?]
  27. ^ Mark Wade. "Mir EP-3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.[unreliable source?]
  28. ^ "European Manned Spaceflight Patches" (PDF). ESA. 29 October 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  29. ^ Donna Heivilin (21 June 1994). "Space Station: Impact of the Expanded Russian Role on Funding and Research" (PDF). Government Accountability Office. pp. 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2006.
  30. ^ Kim Dismukes (4 April 2004). "Shuttle–Mir History/Background/How "Phase 1" Started". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  31. ^ "Biography of Chris Hadfield". Canadian Space Agency. Government of Canada. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020. In November 1995 Hadfield served as Mission Specialist 1 on STS-74, NASA's second space shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir... the only Canadian to ever board Mir.
  32. ^ "No Mir flight for British businessman". BBC News. 27 May 1999. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  33. ^ Polly Sprenger (26 May 1999). "UK Businessman Booted Off Mir". Wired. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  34. ^ Fred Guterl (1 January 1998). "One Thing After Another". Discover. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  35. ^
    Public Broadcasting Service. Archived
    from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  36. ^ "Astronaut Hams". Archived from the original on 30 December 2006.
  37. ^ ]
  38. ^ ]
  39. ^ Amiko Kauderer (19 August 2009). "Do Tread on Me". NASA. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  40. ^ Bell, Trudy E. (11 May 2007). "Preventing "Sick" Spaceships – Science Mission Directorate". science.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 14 May 2017.
  41. ^ "Daily life". ESA. 19 July 2004. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  42. ^ Trudy E. Bell (2007). "Preventing "Sick" Spaceships". Archived from the original on 14 May 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  43. ^ a b "Mutant fungus from space". BBC. 8 March 2001. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  44. EurekAlert!. Archived
    from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  45. .
  46. ^ ]
  47. ^ Alexander Anikeev. "Spacecraft "Soyuz-T15"". Manned Astronautics. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  48. ^ Mark Wade. "Mir EO-1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.[unreliable source?]
  49. ^ Mark Wade. "Mir EO-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.[unreliable source?]
  50. ^ Anatoly Zak. "Spacecraft: Manned: Mir: Kvant-1 Module". RussianSpaceweb.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  51. ^ a b Mark Wade. "Mir EO-5". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.[unreliable source?]
  52. ^ Anatoly Zak. "Spacecraft: Manned: Mir: Kvant-2 Module". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  53. ^ a b Mark Wade. "Mir EO-6". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 11 April 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2007.[unreliable source?]
  54. ^ a b Anatoly Zak (25 May 2010). "Spacecraft: Manned: Mir: Kristall Module". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  55. ^ Mark Wade. "Mir EO-10". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2007.[unreliable source?]
  56. ^ Mark Wade. "Spektr". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2007.[unreliable source?]
  57. ^ Mark Wade. "Priroda". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 10 April 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2007.[unreliable source?]
  58. ^ "STS-60 Mission Summary". NASA. 29 June 2001. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  59. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Shuttle–Mir History/Shuttle Flights and Mir Increments". NASA. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  60. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-63 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  61. ^ Kathy Sawyer (29 January 1995). "US & Russia Find Common Ground in Space – Nations Overcome Hurdles in Ambitious Partnership". Washington Post. NewsBank. p. a1.
  62. .
  63. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-71 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  64. ^ Nick Nuttall (29 June 1995). "Shuttle homes in for Mir docking". The Times. NewsBank.
  65. ^ "CSA – STS-74 – Daily Reports". Canadian Space Agency. 30 October 1999. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  66. ^ William Harwood (15 November 1995). "Space Shuttle docks with Mir – Atlantis uses manoeuvres similar to those needed for construction". Washington Post. NewsBank. p. a3.
  67. ^ William Harwood (28 March 1996). "Shuttle becomes hard-hat area; spacewalking astronauts practice tasks necessary to build station". Washington Post. NewsBank. p. a3.
  68. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-76 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  69. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-79 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  70. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-81 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  71. ^ David Hoffman (22 August 1997). "Crucial Mir spacewalk carries high hopes – continued Western support could hinge on mission's success". Washington Post. pp. a1.
  72. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-86 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  73. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-89 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  74. ^ Jim Dumoulin (29 June 2001). "STS-91 Mission Summary". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  75. ^ William Harwood (13 June 1998). "Final American returns from Mir". Washington Post. NewsBank. p. a12.
  76. ^ "Mir Destroyed in Fiery Descent". CNN. 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  77. ^ "The Final Days of Mir". The Aerospace Corporation. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  78. ^ "Mir Space Station Reentry Page". Space Online. Archived from the original on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  79. ^ Kim Dismukes (4 March 2004). "Shuttle–Mir History/Spacecraft/Mir Space Station/Soyuz". NASA. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  80. ^ Kim Dismukes (4 March 2004). "Shuttle–Mir History/Spacecraft/Mir Space Station/Progress Detailed Description". NASA. Archived from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  81. ^ Mark Wade. "Mir Docking Module". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  82. ^ a b Yuri Karash (14 August 2000). "Russia's Mission Control: Keeping ISS Aloft". Space.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  83. ^ a b "Shuttle-Mir Background – Mission Control Center – Moscow". NASA. 4 April 2004. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  84. ^ Air & Space/Smithsonian, October/November 1997, p. 17 'Mir Lands in Wisconsin"
  85. ^ "Russian Space Station MIR". Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  86. JSTOR 3579712
    .
  87. .
  88. ^ Report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation to the General Assembly (PDF) (Report). 26 July 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  89. PMID 11770528
    . Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  90. ^ "Space Debris Basics | The Aerospace Corporation". www.aerospace.org. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  91. .
  92. .
  93. ^ Henry Nahra (24–29 April 1989). "Effect of Micrometeoroid and Space Debris Impacts on the Space Station Freedom Solar Array Surfaces" (PDF). NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  94. ^ Leonard David (7 January 2002). "Space Junk and ISS: A Threatening Problem". Space.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2011.

External links

Preceded by Mir
1986–2001
Succeeded by
Mir-2 as the ROS in the ISS