Mir

This article is about Mir, the Soviet space station. See Mir (disambiguation) for other meanings.

Mir (Мир, which can mean both world and peace in Russian) was a highly successful Soviet (and later Russian) space station. It was humanity's first permanently inhabited long-term research station in space. Through a number of collaborations, it was made internationally accessible to cosmonauts and astronauts of many different countries. Mir was assembled in orbit by successively connecting several modules, each launched separately from February 19, 1986 to 1996. The station existed until March 23, 2001, at which point it was deliberately de-orbited.

History

Mir was based upon the Salyut series of space stations previously launched by the Soviet Union. It was mainly serviced by Russian-manned Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo ships. It was anticipated that it would also be the destination for flights by the later abandoned Buran space shuttle. The United States had planned to build Space Station Freedom as its counterpart to Mir. In later years, after the end of the cold war, the Shuttle-Mir program combined Russia's Mir capabilities with United States space shuttles. The orbiting Mir provided a large and livable scientific laboratory in outer space. The visiting space shuttles provided transport and supplies, as well as temporary enlargements of living and working areas, creating history's largest spacecraft, with a combined mass of 250 tons. The visiting US shuttles used a modified docking collar originally designed for the Soviet Buran shuttle.

The Mir space station

Inside, the 100-ton Mir looked like 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 crewmembers, but it sometimes supported for up to a month as many as six, including the first Afghan astronaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand. Except for two short periods, Mir was continuously occupied until August 1999.

The journey of the 15-year-old Russian space station ended March 23, 2001, as Mir re-entered the Earth's atmosphere near Nadi, Fiji, and fell into the South Pacific Ocean. Near the end of its life, there were plans for private interests to purchase Mir, possibly for use as the first orbital television/movie studio, but the station was deemed too unstable to be safely used any further. Many in the space community still felt that at least some of Mir was salvageable and that considering the extremely high costs of getting material into orbit, simply disposing of Mir was a seriously wasted opportunity.

In addition to Soviet/Russian cosmonauts, Mir hosted international scientists and U.S. astronauts.

Mir modules

The Mir space station was constructed by connecting several Mir modules, each placed into orbit separately. The Mir Core Module (launched in 1986) provided living quarters and station control. Kvant I (1987) and Kvant II (1989) contained scientific instruments and the crew's shower. Kristall (1990) extended Mir's scientific capabilities. Spektr (1995) served as the living and working space for American astronauts. Priroda (1996) conducted Earth remote sensing. The Docking Module (1996) provided a safe and stable port for the space shuttle.

Before, during and after the Shuttle-Mir Program, Mir was tended and resupplied by manned Soyuz capsules and unmanned Progress vehicles.

Names

Mir and the Moon, two satellites of the Earth

In Russian, Mir (Мир) means "peace," and connotes "community." Kvant (Квант) means "quantum," a name derived from its purpose to provide research in astrophysics by measuring electromagnetic spectra and x-ray emissions. Kristall (Кристалл) means "crystal," and a main purpose of this module is to develop biological and materials production technologies in the space environment. Spektr (Спектр) means "spectrum," so named for its atmospheric sensors. Priroda (Природа) means "nature." Progress (Прогресс) means the same as it does in English. Soyuz (Союз) means "union," so named for the USSR (Sovietskii Soyuz, Советский Союз = Soviet Union) and because the spacecraft was a union of three smaller modules.

International cooperation

This image was recorded by astronauts as the Space Shuttle Atlantis approached the Russian space station prior to docking during the STS-76 mission. Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels, Mir is orbiting about 350 kilometers above New Zealand's South Island and the city of Nelson near Cook Strait.

In June 1992, U.S. president George H. W. Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin agreed to join hands in space exploration: one U.S. astronaut would board Mir, two Russian cosmonauts would board a space shuttle. September 1993 U.S. Vice-president Al Gore and Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin announced plans for a new space station, which would later be called the International Space Station, or ISS. They also agreed that, in preparation for this new project, the U.S. would be largely involved in the Mir project in the years ahead, under the code name Phase One (the ISS being Phase Two). Space shuttles would take part in the transportation of supplies and people to and from the Mir. U.S. astronauts would live in the Mir for many months on end. Thus the U.S. could share and learn from the unique experience that Russia has with long duration space trips.

Starting March 1995 seven U.S. astronauts consecutively spent 28 months on the Mir. During their stay the space station went through rough times and several acute emergencies occurred, notably a large fire on February 23 1997, and a collision with a Progress (unmanned) cargo ship on June 25 of the same year. In both occasions complete evacuation of the Mir (there was a Soyuz escape craft for return to earth) was avoided with a narrow margin. The second disaster left a hole in the Spektr module, which then was sealed off from the rest of the station. Several space walks were needed to restore full power to the Mir (ironically, one of the 'space walks' was inside the Spektr module from which all the air had escaped).

The cooperation between the U.S. and Russia proved far from easy. Distrust, lack of coordination, language problems, different views of each others' responsibilities and divergent interests caused many problems. After the disasters, the U.S. Congress and NASA considered whether the U.S. should abandon the program out of concern for astronauts' safety. NASA administrator Daniel S. Goldin decided to continue the program. In June 1998, the final U.S. Mir astronaut Andy Thomas left the station aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

The story of Phase One is described in great detail by Bryan Burrough in his book Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir (1998).

The Mir space station was originally planned to be followed by a Mir 2, and elements of that project, including the core module (now called Zvezda) which was labeled as "Mir-2" for quite some time in the factory, are now an integral part of the International Space Station.

Mir Expeditions

Mir spacewalks

The table lists extra-vehicular activity at the Soviet space station Mir.

See also: List of spacewalks.

Visiting spacecraft and crews

(Launched crews. Spacecraft launch and landing dates listed.)

• Soyuz T-15 - March 13 - July 16, 1986 - Also visited Salyut 7
  • Leonid Kizim
  • Vladimir Solovyev

• Soyuz TM-2 - February 5 - July 30, 1987
  • Yuri Romanenko
  • Aleksandr Laveykin

• Soyuz TM-3 - July 22 - December 29, 1987 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Alexander Viktorenko
  • Aleksandr Aleksandrov
  • Muhammed Faris - Syria

• Soyuz TM-4 - December 21, 1987 - June 17, 1988
  • Vladimir Titov
  • Musa Manarov
  • Anatoli Levchenko

• Soyuz TM-5 - June 7 - September 7, 1988 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Anatoly Solovyev
  • Viktor Savinykh
  • Aleksandr Panayatov Aleksandrov - Bulgaria

• Soyuz TM-6 - August 29 - December 21, 1988 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Vladimir Lyakhov
  • Valeri Polyakov
  • Abdul Ahad Mohmand - Afghanistan

• Soyuz TM-7 - November 26, 1988 - April 27, 1989 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Alexander A. Volkov
  • Sergei Krikalev
  • Jean-Loup Chrétien - France

• Soyuz TM-8 - September 5, 1989 - February 19, 1990
  • Alexander Viktorenko
  • Aleksandr Serebrov

• Soyuz TM-9 - February 11 - August 9, 1990
  • Anatoly Solovyev
  • Aleksandr Balandin

• Soyuz TM-10 - August 1 - December 10, 1990
  • Gennadi Manakov
  • Gennady Strekalov

• Soyuz TM-11 - December 2, 1990 - May 26, 1991 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Viktor Afanasyev
  • Musa Manarov
  • Toyohiro Akiyama - Japan

• Soyuz TM-12 - May 18 - October 10, 1991 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Anatoly Artsebarsky
  • Sergei Krikalev
  • Helen Sharman - United Kingdom

• Soyuz TM-13 - October 2, 1991 - March 25, 1992 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Alexander A. Volkov
  • Toktar Aubakirov- Kazakhstan
  • Franz Viehböck - Austria

• Soyuz TM-14 - March 17 - August 10, 1992 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Alexander Viktorenko
  • Alexander Kaleri
  • Klaus-Dietrich Flade - Germany

• Soyuz TM-15 - July 27, 1992 - February 1, 1993 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Anatoly Solovyev
  • Sergei Avdeyev
  • Michel Tognini - France

• Soyuz TM-16 - January 24 - July 22, 1993
  • Gennadi Manakov
  • Alexander Poleshchuk

• Soyuz TM-17 - July 1, 1993 - January 14, 1994 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Vasili Tsibliyev
  • Aleksandr Serebrov
  • Jean-Pierre Haigneré - France

• Soyuz TM-18 - July 1, 1994 - November 4, 1994
  • Viktor Afanasyev
  • Yury Usachev
  • Valeri Polyakov

• Soyuz TM-19 - January 7 - April 11, 1994
  • Yuri Malenchenko
  • Talgat Musabayev

• Soyuz TM-20 - October 3, 1994 - March 22, 1995 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Alexander Viktorenko
  • Elena Kondakova
  • Ulf Merbold - ESA (Germany)

• Soyuz TM-21 - March 14 - September 11, 1995 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Vladimir Dezhurov
  • Gennady Strekalov
  • Norman Thagard - U.S.A.

• STS-71 Atlantis - June 27 - July 7, 1995
  • Robert L. Gibson - U.S.A.
  • Charles J. Precourt - U.S.A.
  • Ellen S. Baker - U.S.A.
  • Bonnie J. Dunbar - U.S.A.
  • Gregory J. Harbaugh - U.S.A.
  • Anatoly Solovyev
  • Nikolai Budarin

• Soyuz TM-22 - September 3, 1995 - February 29, 1996 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Yuri Gidzenko
  • Sergei Avdeyev
  • Thomas Reiter - ESA (Germany)

• STS-74 Atlantis - November 12 - 20, 1995
  • Kenneth D. Cameron - U.S.A.
  • James D. Halsell - U.S.A.
  • Jerry L. Ross - U.S.A.
  • William S. McArthur Jr. - U.S.A.
  • Chris A. Hadfield - Canada

• Soyuz TM-23 - February 21 - September 2, 1996
  • Yuri Onufrienko
  • Yury Usachev

• STS-76 Atlantis - March 22 - 31, 1996
  • Kevin P. Chilton - U.S.A.
  • Richard A. Searfoss - U.S.A.
  • Linda M. Godwin - U.S.A.
  • Michael R. Clifford - U.S.A.
  • Ronald M. Sega - U.S.A.
  • Shannon W. Lucid - U.S.A.

• Soyuz TM-24 - August 17, 1996 - March 2, 1997 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Valery Korzun
  • Alexandr Kaleri
  • Claudie Haigneré - France

• STS-79 Atlantis - September 16 - 26, 1996
  • William F. Readdy - U.S.A.
  • Terrence W. Wilcutt - U.S.A.
  • Thomas D. Akers - U.S.A.
  • Jay Apt - U.S.A.
  • Carl E. Walz - U.S.A.
  • John E. Blaha - U.S.A.

• STS-81 Atlantis - January 12 - 22, 1997
  • Michael A. Baker - U.S.A.
  • Brent W. Jett - U.S.A.
  • John M. Grunsfeld - U.S.A.
  • Marsha S. Ivins - U.S.A.
  • Peter J.K. Wisoff - U.S.A.
  • Jerry M. Linenger - U.S.A.

• Soyuz TM-25 - February 10 - August 14, 1997 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Vasili Tsibliyev
  • Aleksandr Lazutkin
  • Reinhold Ewald - ESA (Germany)

• STS-84 Atlantis - May 15 - 24, 1997
  • Charles J. Precourt - U.S.A.
  • Eileen M. Collins - U.S.A.
  • C. Michael Foale - U.S.A.
  • Carlos I. Noriega - U.S.A.
  • Edward T. Lu - U.S.A.
  • Jean-Francois Clervoy - ESA
  • Elena V. Kondakova

• Soyuz TM-26 - August 5, 1997 - February 19, 1998
  • Anatoly Solovyev
  • Pavel Vinogradov

• STS-86 Atlantis - September 25 - October 6, 1997
  • James D. Wetherbee - U.S.A.
  • Michael J. Bloomfield - U.S.A.
  • Scott E. Parazynski - U.S.A.
  • Wendy B. Lawrence - U.S.A.
  • David A. Wolf - U.S.A.
  • Jean-Loup Chrétien - CNES
  • Vladimir G. Titov

• STS-89 Endeavour - January 22 - 31, 1998
  • Terrence W. Wilcutt - U.S.A.
  • Joe F. Edwards, Jr. - U.S.A.
  • Bonnie J. Dunbar - U.S.A.
  • Michael P. Anderson - U.S.A.
  • James F. Reilly, II - U.S.A.
  • Andrew S. W. Thomas - U.S.A.
  • Salizhan Shakirovich Sharipov

• Soyuz TM-27 - January 29 - August 25, 1998 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Talgat Musabayev
  • Nikolai Budarin
  • Léopold Eyharts - France

• STS-91 Discovery - June 2 - 12, 1998
  • Charles J. Precourt - U.S.A.
  • Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie - U.S.A.
  • Wendy B. Lawrence - U.S.A.
  • Franklin R. Chang-Diaz - U.S.A.
  • Janet L. Kavandi - U.S.A.
  • Valery Victorovitch Ryumin

• Soyuz TM-28 - August 13, 1998 - February 28, 1999
  • Gennady Padalka
  • Sergei Avdeyev
  • Yuri Baturin

• Soyuz TM-29 - February 20 - August 28, 1999 - Intercosmos Flight
  • Viktor Afanasyev
  • Jean-Pierre Haigneré - France
  • Ivan Bella - Slovakia

• Soyuz TM-30 - April 4 - June 16, 2000
  • Sergei Zalyotin
  • Alexandr Kaleri

See also

• Space station for statistics of occupied space stations
• Salyut
• Skylab
• International Space Station
• Rendering of Mir in Orbiter space flight simulator

External links

• http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir.html Site contains detailed diagrams, pictures and background info.
• http://www.astronautix.com/craft/mirodule.htm Site describes the Mir-Shuttle Docking Module
• Mir Hardware Heritage - NASA report (PDF format)
• Mir Mission Chronicle - NASA report (PDF format)
• Mir-Shuttle:Phase 1 Program Joint Report (PDF format)
• Soviet Space Stations as Analogs - NASA report (PDF format)