Mir: introduction

The last and biggest of the Soviet space stations was Mir (Mir means “Peace”).

Mir was launched by Proton booster on 20 February 1986. The first module was the base unit which contained the command centre and the living quarters. The Kvant astrophysics laboratory was added in 1987, while another module, Kvant 2, was added in November 1989; Kvant 2 included a new toilet and shower. The Kristall module followed six months later.

On 21 December 1987 the Soviet cosmonauts, Colonel Vladimir Titov and Muso Manarov, began a record endurance flight of 366 days aboard Mir and their Soyuz TM‑4. At that time the space station only consisted of the base unit and the Kvant astrophysics module. The two cosmonauts returned on 21 December 1988.

When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 Russia inherited most of the Soviet Space program, parts of which were located in other states of the former Soviet Union – for example, the automatic docking system was made in the Ukraine. Having to buy or lease facilities and equipment added to the financial difficulties of supporting their space program.

They had to cancel many projects, including their own version of the space shuttle, the “Buran” and their fleet of communications vessels was laid up. Consequently they could not maintain continuous communications with their space stations.

In June 1992 US President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin agreed to a pioneering space‑co‑operation agreement. One American astronaut would fly aboard the Mir space station; two Russian cosmonauts would fly aboard the US space shuttle.

In September 1993 US Vice‑President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin announced plans for Russia to help the US build a new International Space Station. As part of this agreement, NASA agreed to pay the Russian Space Agency $400 million to send five (later seven) astronauts to live aboard the Mir space station.

George Abbey was the NASA Director of Flight Operations involved in the development of the idea of merging the US and Russian Space Station programs. The program which was agreed was in three phases:

Phase One was a form of dress rehearsal consisting of seven four‑and‑a‑half‑month missions aboard the aging Russian space station Mir running from 1995 until mid 1998.

Phase Two would begin late in 1998 when the US and Russia would launch and lift the modules and components of a new International Space Station (ISS) requiring 43 separate missions, all assembled by EVA.

Phase Three would be the actual operation of the International Space Station (ISS).