Shuttle-Mir

From early 1994 into 1998, seven American astronauts spent nearly 1,000 days living in orbit with Russian cosmonauts on board the space station Mir. American space shuttles rendezvoused ten times with Russia’s space station Mir. Called “Phase 1,” the Shuttle-Mir Program prepared the way for the International Space Station and began an era of cooperation and exploration, rarely seen in human history.

Quick Facts

During its 13 years of human occupancy, Mir hosted 125 cosmonauts and astronauts from 12 countries, including the longest single spaceflight to date.

The collaboration provided a much needed opportunity for both sides to work together, particularly important once the international partnership brought Russia into the ISS Program in 1993.

With all its modules installed, the Mir complex weighed 285,900 pounds and contained 12,400 cubic feet of habitable volume, at the time the largest spacecraft ever assembled.

STS071-S-072 (4 July 1995) — This view of the space shuttle Atlantis still connected to Russia’s Mir Space Station was photographed by the Mir-19 crew on July 4, 1995. Cosmonauts Anatoliy Y. Solovyev and Nikolai M. Budarin, Mir-19 commander and flight engineer, respectively, temporarily undocked the Soyuz spacecraft from the cluster of Mir elements to perform a brief fly-around. They took pictures while the STS-71 crew, with Mir-18’s three crew members aboard, undocked Atlantis for the completion of this leg of the joint activities. Solovyev and Budarin had been taxied to the Mir Space Station by the STS-71 ascent trip of Atlantis.

STS-79 Shuttle/Mir docking to retrieve Astronaut Sharnon Lucid from Mir Space Station; full shot of Mir Space Station taken from Shuttle.
NASA

STS071-104-029 (27 June-7 July 1995) — Cosmonaut Nikolai M. Budarin, Mir-19 flight engineer, is pictured on Russia’s Mir Space Station with two Russian space suits. These are for Intravehicular (IVA) wear and are not the suits designed for Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Budarin remained aboard Mir with cosmonaut Anatoly Y. Solovyev, Mir-19 commander, when the three Mir-18 crewmembers and the five STS-71 astronauts later undocked the space shuttle Atlantis from Mir and returned to Earth.
NASA

Cosmonaut Valeriy V. Polyakov, who boarded Russia’s Mir Space Station on January 8, 1994, looks out Mir’s window during rendezvous operations with the Space Shuttle Discovery. Onboard the Discovery were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, mission commander; Eileen M. Collins, pilot; Bernard A. Harris, Jr., payload commander; mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov. (6 Feb. 1995)
NASA

STS-74 crew members used an IMAX camera to document the Space Shuttle Atlantis' rendezvous and docking with the Mir Space Station. — STS-74 crew members used an IMAX camera to document the Space Shuttle Atlantis’ rendezvous and docking with the Mir Space Station. The 65mm camera system was located in the Atlantis’ cargo bay and provided a unique fish-eye perspective. This image is from footage that was incorporated in a large-format feature film about NASA’s cooperative program with the Russians. NASA flew IMAX camera systems on many Shuttle missions, including the STS-63 Shuttle-Mir rendezvous and STS-71 Shuttle-Mir docking. Film from previous missions was used to create the productions The Dream is Alive, The Blue Planet, and Destiny in Space. (15 Nov 1995)

STS076-713-037 (23 March 1996) — Backdropped against the waters of Cook Strait near New Zealand’s South Island, Russia’s Mir Space Station is seen from the aft flight deck window of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The two spacecraft were in the process of making their third docking in Earth-orbit. With the subsequent delivery of astronaut Shannon W. Lucid to the Mir, the Mir-21 crew grew to three, as the mission specialist quickly becomes a cosmonaut guest researcher. She will spend approximately 140 days on Mir before returning to Earth.

Featured Story

35 Years Ago: Launch of Mir Space Station’s First Module

On Feb. 19, 1986, the Soviet Union launched the first module of the Mir space station. Called the Mir base…

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Missions to Mir

Five NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut squeeze through the tunnel which connects the shirt-sleeve environment of the Space Shuttle Discovery and the SPACEHAB module. SPACEHAB is located in the spacecraft's payload bay. Charles F. Bolden Jr., mission commander, is at upper right. Others, clockwise from the commander, are Ronald M. Sega and N. Jan Davis, mission specialists; Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, payload commander; Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, mission specialist; and Kenneth S. Reightler Jr., pilot.

STS-60

A Cosmonaut Flies on the Shuttle

STS-63

The "near Mir" mission

Ten astronauts and cosmonauts pose in circle inside Spacelab module

STS-71

The first docking with Mir

STS-74

A new docking module

STS-76

Starting a continuous U. S. presence

STS-79

The first U.S. Shuttle-Mir crew exchange

STS-81

The first plants to complete a life cycle in space

STS-84

After the fire

STS-86

The first joint U.S.-Russian extravehicular activity

STS-89

First Docking of Endeavour

STS-91

Closing out Shuttle-Mir

Shuttle-Mir Oral Histories

Read the Shuttle-Mir Program oral history interviews

NASA technical publication

Mir Mission Chronicle:

Written by NASA's Scientific and Technical Information Program Office, this report chronicles dockings, module additions, configuration changes, and major events of Mir Principal Expeditions 17 through 21, November 1994 through August 1996.

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Payload bay view of Androgynous Peripheral Assembly System (APAS) of the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) connected to Mir Space Station's Docking Module.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis Orbiter Docking System (ODS) and the Docking Module (DM) on Russia’s Mir Space Station appear near the center of this frame, as the Atlantis and Mir link in Earth-orbit, at about 160 nautical miles altitude. The STS-76 crew later diminished by one and the Mir-21 crew grew by one, as astronaut Shannon W. Lucid, mission specialist, went aboard the Mir Space Station and became a cosmonaut guest researcher. She is scheduled to return to Earth in about 140 days. (24 March 1996)

NASA