December 1998

NASA/TP-98-207890

Mir Mission Chronicle

November 1994 - August 1996

Sue McDonald
Since its founding, NASA has been dedicated

to the advancement of aeronautics and space

science. The NASA Scientific and Technical

Information (STI) Program Office plays a key

part in helping NASA maintain this important

role.

The NASA STI Program Office is operated by

Langley Research Center, the lead center for

NASA's scientific and technical information.

The NASA STI Program Office provides

access to the NASA STI Database, the largest

collection of aeronautical and space science

STI in the world. The Program Office is also

NASA's institutional mechanism for disseminating the results of its research and development activities. These results are published by

NASA in the NASA STI Report Series, which

includes the following report types:

• TECHNICAL PUBLICATION. Reports 

of completed research or a major significant phase of research that present the

results of NASA programs and include

extensive data or theoretical analysis.

Includes compilations of significant 

scientific and technical data and information deemed to be of continuing reference

value. NASA's counterpart of peer-reviewed

formal professional papers but has less

stringent limitations on manuscript length

and extent of graphic presentations.

• TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM.

Scientific and technical findings that are

preliminary or of specialized interest, e.g.,

quick release reports, working papers, and

bibliographies that contain minimal annotation. Does not contain extensive analysis.

• CONTRACTOR REPORT. Scientific and

technical findings by NASA-sponsored

contractors and grantees.

• CONFERENCE PUBLICATION.

Collected papers from scientific and technical conferences, symposia, seminars, or

other meetings sponsored or cosponsored

by NASA.

• SPECIAL PUBLICATION. Scientific,

technical, or historical information from

NASA programs, projects, and mission,

often concerned with subjects having substantial public interest.

• TECHNICAL TRANSLATION. Englishlanguage translations of foreign scientific

and technical material pertinent to

NASA's mission.

Specialized services that complement the STI

Program Office's diverse offerings include

creating custom thesauri, building customized

databases, organizing and publishing research

results . . . even providing videos.

For more information about the NASA STI

Program Office, see the following:

• Page at http://www.sti.nasa.gov

• E-mail your question via the Internet to

help@sti.nasa.gov

• Fax your question to the NASA STI Help

Desk at (301) 621-0134

• Telephone the NASA STI Help Desk at

(301) 621-0390

• Write to:

NASA STI Help Desk

NASA Center for AeroSpace Information

7121 Standard Drive

Hanover, MD 21076-1320

The NASA STI Program Office . . . in Profile
NASA/TP-98-207890

Mir Mission Chronicle 

November 1994 - August 1996

Sue McDonald

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Houston, Texas 77058-4406

December 1998
Acknowledgments 

The concept of this document is based on David S. F. Portree's "Mir Hardware Heritage,"

published in 1995. Mr. Portree is currently working on his own followup to "Heritage," to be

published after Mir deorbit. My thanks to Mr. Portree for serving as my consultant during the

writing of this document and as its principal reviewer. Thanks also to Joseph P. Loftus, Jr.,

Nicholas L. Johnson, and Tom Sullivan for their reviews and comments. The icons and 

drawings herein, including the cover drawing, were prepared by Laurie Buchanan of the

Johnson Space Center Graphics Services, who also prepared those for "Mir Hardware

Heritage," with the advice of Mr. Portree.

Available from

NASA Center for Aerospace Information

7121 Standard

Hanover, MD 21076-1320

National Technical Information Service

5285 Port Royal Road

Springfield, VA 22161
iii

Contents

page

Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Mir Principal Expedition 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Mir Principal Expedition 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Mir Principal Expedition 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Mir Principal Expedition 20 and Euromir 95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Mir Principal Expedition 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Appendix: Comparative Chronology of U.S./Russian Human Space Missions . . . . . . . . . . 51

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Boxes

STS-63 Mission Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Spektr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Orbiter Docking System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

STS-71 Mission Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

STS-74 Mission Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Docking Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

STS-76 Mission Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Priroda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Figures

1 Key to Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 The Mir complex at the end of 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

3 The Mir space station, photographed from Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4a Spektr in July, 1995 [drawing] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4b Spektr after installation [photo] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5 Mir space station configuration on May 26, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

6 Orbiter Docking System mounted in the payload bay of Atlantis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

7 First docking of Atlantis with the Mir complex, June 29, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

8 The Mir complex as configured on June 2, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

9a The Russian-designed Docking Module [drawing] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

9b The Docking Module in Atlantis' payload bay [photo] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

10 Mir with new Docking Module installed on Kristall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

11 The Priroda module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

12 The Mir complex on May 7, 1996, with all base block ports occupied . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

v

Acronyms

APAS androgynous peripheral assembly system

APDA androgynous peripheral docking assembly 

APDS androgynous peripheral docking system

CADMOS [CNES mission control center]

CFM Candle Flame in Microgravity

CNES Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales

DM Docking Module

EDLS Enhanced Dyamic Load Sensors

ESA European Space Agency

ESEF European Space Exposure Facility

EVA extravehicular activity

GSC grab sample container

IMU inertial measurement unit

MCSA Mir Cooperative Solar Array

MEEP Mir Environmental Effects Payload

MIM Microgravity Isolation Mount

MIPS Mir interface-to-payload systems

MIRAS Mir Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer

MOMS Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NIVR Dutch National Institute for Aerospace Programs

ODS Orbiter Docking System

OLiPSE Optizon Liquid Phase Sintering Experiment

OMS orbital maneuvering system

OSVS Orbiter space vision system

PASDE Photogrammetric Appendage Structural Dynamics Experiment

PLSS portable life support system

POSA Anticipatory Postural Activity

QUELD Queen’s University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion

RCS reaction control system

RMS remote manipulator system

RSA Russian Space Agency
vi

SAFER simplified aid for EVA rescue

SAMS Space Acceleration Measurement System

SAR synthetic aperture radar

SPK Stredstvo Peredvizheniy Kosmonatov [cosmonaut maneuvering unit]

SSAS Solid Sorbent Air Sampler

STS- Space Transportation System [designation for U.S. Space shuttle missions]

TDRS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite

TEPC Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter

TI terminal [phase] initiation

TSuP Tsentr Upravleniya Polyotami [Russian flight control center]
1

Introduction

This document chronicles dockings, module additions, configuration changes, and major events

of Mir Principal Expeditions 17 through 21, November 1994 through August 1996. It provides

a follow-up to David S. F. Portree's "Mir Hardware Heritage" (NASA RP-1357), which described

the history of Soviet/Russian space stations, beginning with precursor space modules and continuing through the mid-November 1994 configuration of the Mir space station complex. 

Although Mir has hosted international crews since its early days, increasing focus was placed

on international cooperation beginning in 1995. In the period covered by this document, a

series of joint missions with the United States began as part of International Space Station

Phase I. The first was the rendezvous of the Space Shuttle Discovery with Mir in February

1995, followed in March by the first mission (Mir 18) in which a U.S. astronaut, Norm Thagard,

launched on a Soyuz-TM vehicle and served as a Mir crew member. In June of the same year,

during U.S. mission STS-71, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with Mir for the first time. It

brought with it the Mir 19 crew of two and took the Mir 18 crew of three home to Earth; during

this docking the ten members of the combined crews set a record for humans aboard a single

space complex. Mir 20 hosted European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter for

Euromir 95 and was visited by Atlantis again on mission STS-74. During Mir 21, Atlantis

docked with Mir a third time (STS-76), bringing the second U.S. astronaut to serve as a Mir

crew member, Shannon Lucid. In August, while Lucid was still aboard, Mir 21 hosted French

cosmonaut-researcher Claudie Andre-Deshays and her Cassiopee scientific experiments. 

The three new modules added to Mir during this period also reflected the trend of international

cooperation:

• Spektr, a habitable science module added in May 1995, bore an international complement of

instruments for Earth observation and sampling and analysis of Earth's atmosphere and the

orbital environment. 

• The Docking Module, built by Russia with U.S. cooperation, was added to Kristall during

the November 1995 (STS-74) Atlantis docking to eliminate the need to move Kristall to the

-X port each time Atlantis docked with the station. 

• Priroda, the last permanent habitable module, with experiments designed by 12 nations to

gather data on the Earth and its atmosphere, was added in April 1996. 

In addition to the three Atlantis dockings and the initial dockings of Priroda and Spektr, seven

Progress-M and four Soyuz-TM dockings occurred between November 1994 and August 1996.

Soyuz-TM 20, Soyuz-TM 21, and Progress-M 32 were each undocked and redocked once. Six

relocations of Kristall, Spektr, and Priroda brought the total number of dockings for the period

to 23. Using the icon concept developed for "Mir Hardware Heritage," each configuration is

depicted at the left of the narrative description of mission events. A key to the individual icons

is given in figure 1. 
2

Figure 2. The Mir complex at the end of 1994. Shown left to right are Soyuz-TM 20,

the Mir base block, Kvant, and Progress-M 25. Shown vertically, top to bottom, are

Kvant 2 and Kristall. This was still the station’s configuration at the time of the Space

Shuttle Discovery rendezvous on February 6, 1995.

Figure 1. Key to Icons

Sp

Mir base 

block

Kristall Soyuz-TM Kvant Spektr

K2

Progress-M Kvant 2 Priroda Space Shuttle

Orbiter

Docking

Module
3

Commander Alexandr Viktorenko

Flight Engineer Yelena Kondakova

Cosmonaut Researcher Valeri Polyakov

Crew code name: Vityaz

Launched and landed in Soyuz-TM 20, 

October 3, 1994 - March 22, 1995 

169 days in space

Mir Principal Expedition 17 

Principal Expedition 17 

Highlights: Mir 17 hosted the first ESA

mission aboard Mir, Euromir 94, which ended

November 4. Another international milestone

was the rendezvous of the Space Shuttle

Atlantis on its mission STS-63 with Mir. A

new human spaceflight duration record was

established by Polyakov with his 438-day stay

on the station. 

Background: In mid-November of 1994 (at the close of D.S.F. Portree’s “Mir Hardware

Heritage”), the Mir space station complex, shown in figure 2, included these modules:

• The Kvant astrophysics module (added April 9, 1987)

• The Kvant 2 augmentation module (added December 6, 1989)

• The Kristall technology module (added June 10, 1990)

• Soyuz-TM 20, which on October 6, 1994, had delivered two members of the Mir Principal

Expedition 17 crew, Commander Alexandr Viktorenko and Flight Engineer Yelena Kondakova,

and Euromir 94 astronaut Ulf Merbold. They joined Valeri Polyakov, a station resident since

the beginning of Principal Expedition 15 in January 1994. 

• Progress-M 25, a cargo resupply ship which had docked with the complex on November 13,

1994, to deliver water, fuel, food, and materials for repairs, including parts for the CSK-1

materials processing furnace. 

November 13, 1994 - 

February 6, 1995

Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 20 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 25 

Kristall

November activities. After completion of the Euromir 94 

experiment program and departure of ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold

on November 4, the cosmonauts continued with medical and

health studies. Progress-M 25 arrived on the 13th. The crew

unloaded its cargo, then installed new equipment and oversaw

the refueling of the base block tanks. The base block completed

its 50,000th Earth orbit on November 18. 

A busy end to 1994. Throughout December, the crew’s work

included physiological, medical, and astrophysical studies, as

well as measurement of noise intensity in the station’s habitable

areas. Using the French Nausica apparatus, they measured radiation levels in low Earth orbit. They took data on micrometeorite

fluxes along the velocity vector of the station as part of an experiment to determine the effects of the orbital environment on

materials and equipment mounted on the exterior of the

complex.1 
4

New communications relay satellite. The Luch-1 geostationary

satellite was launched from Baikonur on December 16, 1994, as

an additional relay station for Mir and TsUP communications, to

become operational in 1995. 

Experiments continue as new year in space begins. The Mir 17

crew continued astrophysical experiments using the Roentgen

Observatory and Maria-2 equipment, technological research

using the Gallar furnace, and biotechnical research using the

Maksat experiments to study the effect of spaceflight on various

biological cultures.2

Polyakov breaks spaceflight record. On January 9, Polyakov

had been aboard the station 366 consecutive days, surpassing

the 365-day record set by Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov

on Mir from December 21, 1987, through December 21, 1988.3

Adding his previous 242-day Mir mission, Polyakov now had

the distinction of having spent more time in space than any

other person—a total of 607 days. 

Test of Kurs automatic docking system. The crew entered

Soyuz-TM 20 on January 11 to conduct a test of the Kurs

docking system. During its docking on October 6, the Soyuz

vehicle began to yaw during final approach to the forward 

port, necessitating a manual docking. Progress-M 24 had also

experienced docking problems at this port in August.4 To 

analyze reasons for these anomalies, Viktorenko undocked the

Soyuz and moved away from the station to a distance of 160 m.

The Kurs was then activated, and the Soyuz was guided to a

successful redocking within 26 min of the undocking. Results 

of the tests showed that system deviations during approach were

only 0.5°, considered within acceptable limits.5

Habitability problems. With instructions from the Russian

Mission Control Center, (TsUP), the crew worked on technical

problems with the heating system, drinking water, pressure 

control, and a water leak in the Kristall module. On January 23,

Viktorenko adjusted the station’s attitude so that the Kristall

solar panels could deliver maximum energy for onboard power.

In addition, the crew took images of the earthquake site in

Kobe, Japan.6

Discovery launch. Originally scheduled for February 2, the

STS-63 launch was delayed by a failure in inertial measurement

unit (IMU) #2. Although the Orbiter can fly with only one of its

three IMUs operational, the failed unit was replaced and launch

was rescheduled for 24 hr later. On February 3, at 12:22 a.m.

EST, Discovery was successfully launched with its crew of six,

including cosmonaut Titov. Nine hr later, at an altitude of 190

nmi, Commander Wetherbee placed Discovery on an intercept

course with Mir, some 7000 nmi behind the station.7

November 13, 1994 - 

February 6, 1995

Continued

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
5

Discovery thruster problems. Two reaction control system

(RCS) thruster problems occurred during launch: the failure of

L2D and a leak in R1U. The redundancy of Orbiter thruster

systems and the tendency of leaks to clear once thrusters are

warmed up seemed assurances of Discovery’s ability to comply

with the flight rule that all its aft thrusters must be operational

before it moves within 300 m of Mir. However, the slow R1U

leak persisted despite the positioning of Discovery so that the

sun would warm the leaking jet. Then on February 4 another

leak was detected, this time in forward RCS thruster F1F.8

STS-63 Mission Highlights

February 3-10, 1995 

Commander James D. Wetherbee

Pilot Eileen M. Collins 

Pilot Michael Foale

Mission Specialist Janice E. Voss 

Mission Specialist Bernard A. Harris, Jr.

Cosmonaut Vladimir Titov

STS-63 was the first of the series of joint U.S.-Russian 

missions planned as part of Phase I of the International

Space Station. The primary STS-63 mission objective was to

rendezvous with and fly around Mir at a distance of 10 m to

verify flight techniques, communications, and navigation

aid sensor interfaces in preparation for the STS-71 docking

of Atlantis with Mir in May. Also, NASA cooperated with

the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems to study

radiobiological effects and sensory motor performance.9 In

keeping with the theme of cooperation, Russian cosmonaut

Vladimir Titov was aboard as a member of the STS-63 crew.

Titov was the second cosmonaut to fly with an STS crew.

Sergei Krikalev had flown on Discovery, launched exactly a

year before for STS-60.10 For the STS-63 mission, Discovery,

on its 20th flight, carried nine payloads, among them the

Spacehab module with its 20 assorted experiments and the

Spartan-204 free-flying retrievable astronomy platform.

November 13, 1994 - 

February 6, 1995

Concluded

Flight team cooperation. The concern of both U.S. and

Russian ground control about the leaks inspired close cooperation

between the two teams. By February 5 the Discovery crew had

stopped the F1F leak by allowing pressure to build up in the

manifold and then commanding the thruster to fire, thus clearing

out residual fuel in the thruster. However, the same procedure

did not work on the R1U thruster. As Discovery continued to

draw closer to Mir, the two ground control teams reached an

Principal Expedition 17 
6

agreement on proceeding with the rendezvous despite the leak. In

the agreement, the right RCS manifold providing fuel to R1U

would be closed before Discovery came within 300 m (984 ft) of

Mir; the crew would back out to 122 m (400 ft) and hold position

if any further RCS thruster capability was lost; and Discovery

would go no closer to Mir than 10 m (32.8 ft) in any event.11,12

Vladimir A. Solovyov, director of TsUP, later said that the 

historic Mir/Discovery rendezvous showed both nations that

“The realities of the Shuttle-Mir program are more complicated

than we had thought.”13

Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 20 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 25

Kristall 

Discovery

Rendezvous at last. As Discovery’s crew began their early

morning preparations for the rendezvous, two flight options

were still being considered: one would put Discovery about

10 m (32.8 ft) from Mir at its closest point; in the other, it

would approach no closer than 122 m (400 ft). Between 8 a.m.

and 9 a.m. EST, the crew fired Discovery’s engines twice to

decrease the rate at which the Orbiter was overtaking Mir. By

12:59 p.m. EST, when Discovery was about 518 m (1700 ft)

from Mir, the Mir crew could see Wetherbee waving from his

window. At 1:22 p.m. EST, Discovery matched the velocity

vector of Mir and linked up orbits at 128 m (422 ft). During the

hour that it stayed in this position, the crews downlinked video

of each other. Vladimir Titov used a handset for ham radio

communications with his countrymen.14

Closest approach. At 2:23 p.m. EST, over the Pacific Ocean

at an altitude of 213 nmi, Wetherbee and pilot Eileen Collins

brought Discovery within 11 m (36 ft) of Mir, where it remained

stable for 10 min in a position opposite the docking port of

Kristall. Wetherbee said, “As we bring our ships closer together,

we bring our nations closer together.” Viktorenko congratulated

Wetherbee on a flawless approach.15

Discovery fly-around. After the close encounter, Discovery

backed out to 400 ft and began fly-around operations. “It was

like dancing in the cosmos,” reported Wetherbee. He and his

crew collected data for the May docking of Atlantis with the

station and took more than 400 photographs of Mir to be used in

orbital debris effects studies.16 Figure 3 is a view of the station

from Discovery. 

DIS

February 6-8, 1995

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
7

Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 20 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 25

Kristall 

Rendezvous complete. At 4:13 p.m. EST on February 8,

Discovery initiated a burn to depart to its own orbit (214 nmi x

207 nmi), where it was by 6:23 p.m. EST. According to

Viktorenko, Discovery’s thruster firings had not affected Mir’s

solar arrays.17 The two crews resumed their separate tasks,

which for Discovery included release of the Spartan 204 satellite

and an EVA by astronauts Bernard Harris and Michael Foale in

which Harris manually manipulated the satellite to gain experience with handling of large objects in space.18 On the Mir

complex, Polyakov trained at the controls of Soyuz-TM 20 as

part of emergency preparedness. He also spoke with the astronauts by radio, congratulating them on their successful EVA.19 

STS-63 mission ends. About 850 nmi from Discovery, Mir

performed an on-orbit maneuver on February 10 that enabled

the Orbiter crew to see the station like a small flashing star near

the horizon. At 6:51 a.m. EST, Discovery touched down at

Kennedy Space Center, completing its 20th flight.

Progress-M 26 launch. On February 15, Progress-M 26 was

launched from Baikonur with a large cargo of supplies for the

station and its occupants: water, food, oxygen, medical goods,

fuel, oxidizers, and materials for repair of onboard systems. It

also carried hardware and software for experiments by American

astronaut Norm Thagard during his upcoming stint on Mir.20

Figure 3. The Mir space

station, photographed from

the Space Shuttle Discovery

during February 6, 1995,

rendezvous operations. 

February 8-16, 1995

Principal Expedition 17 
8

Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 20 - Mir - Kvant 

Kristall 

Progress-M 25 undocks. To make room for its successor,

Progress-M 25 left the Kvant docking port on February 16 for a

destructive reentry over the Pacific, east of New Zealand. 

Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 20 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 26

Kristall 

No docking problems for this Progress-M. On February 17,

Progress-M 26 docked successfully under control of the Kurs

system. The crew had to remove obstructing cargo before they

could enter the module and begin unloading the supplies.21 

Ninth anniversary of Mir launch. The Mir 17 crew celebrated

the ninth anniversary of the Mir base block launch on

February 19. Throughout the remainder of the month and the

early part of March, they continued with astrophysics experiments. They also prepared for their departure from Mir and

the arrival of the Mir Principal Expedition 18 crew.22 

February 17 - 

March 15, 1995

February 16-17, 1995

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
9

March 15-16, 1995

Mir Principal Expedition 18 

Commander Vladimir Dezhurov (1st flight)

Flight engineer Gennadiy Strekalov (5th)

Cosmonaut-Researcher Norman Thagard 

(U.S. astronaut) (5th)

Code name Uragan 

Launched in Soyuz-TM 21, March 14, 1995

Landed in Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis, 

July 7, 1995

115 days in space

Highlights: The major objectives of the Mir 18

mission were to conduct joint U.S.-Russian

medical research and weightlessness effects

investigations and to reconfigure the station

for the arrival of the Spektr science module

and the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The historic

mission saw the addition of the first new

module (Spektr) since Kristall arrived in 1990,

the first American (Thagard) to be part of a

Mir crew, and the first docking of a U.S.

spacecraft with the Mir complex. 

Soyuz-TM 21 launches new crew. On March 14, Soyuz-TM 21 launched from Baikonur with

Dezhurov, Strekalov, and Thagard set to relieve the Mir 17 crew. Three hours after launch, the

cosmonauts began a series of maneuvering burns to bring Soyuz-TM 21 to a rendezvous orbit.

During the 2-day trip, they checked systems and collected biomedical data on the effects of

microgravity on the human body.23

Record number of humans in orbit. The launch of the Mir 18 crew brought to thirteen the number

of men and women in space at the same time. This new record included the Mir 17 and 18

crews of three each and the STS-67 crew of seven aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched

March 2. (Endeavour landed at Edwards Air force Base on March 18, surpassing previous Space

Shuttle mission durations with its 16 days, 15 hr, and 08 min in space.)

Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 20 - Mir - Kvant 

Kristall 

Progress-M 26 clears Kvant docking port for new Soyuz-TM.

Progress-M 26 separated from the complex on March 15 and

made a destructive reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 20 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Kristall 

New Soyuz-TM 21 docks. Soyuz-TM 21 docked by automatic

control at the Kvant docking port on the first try at 0745 UTC

March 16.24 The new arrivals were greeted by the Mir 17 crew

with traditional Russian gifts of salt and bread, and shortly thereafter were congratulated on a successful docking and transfer by

Russian Space Agency (RSA) Director General Yuri Koptev and

NASA Associate Administrator Wayne Littles. The crew spent

much of the day transferring equipment and supplies from Soyuz

to Mir. Thagard spoke with STS-67 Commander Steve Oswald

in a radio hookup, exchanging congratulations on their respective

TM

March 16-22, 1995

Principal Expedition 18 
10

flights and discussing the symbolic importance of Thagard’s

venture as the first American to visit Mir.25 

More congratulations. On March 17, Russian Prime Minister

Viktor Chernomyrdin stopped by the TsUP to congratulate 

the crew. Later, in a televised communication with ground

controllers, Thagard said he hoped his visit to Mir would be the

start of long-term space cooperation between the two nations.

He and Polyakov agreed that the present joint research might be

the foundation for ultimate joint flights to Mars.26

Joint crew occupancy. During the next few days, the Mir 18

crew took their body mass measurements as a baseline for

investigations throughout the mission and were briefed by the

Mir 17 crew on the status of the complex and ongoing studies.

The outgoing crew stowed equipment and experiment samples

in Soyuz-TM 20 for their return and checked out the vehicle

systems.27

Kvant 2

Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Kristall 

Mir 17 mission ends. Viktorenko, Kondakova, and Polyakov

entered Soyuz-TM 20 on March 21 and departed from Mir on

March 22, landing safely on the same day about 50 km from

Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Polyakov had set a new record for spaceflight duration: he had been on Mir since January 8, 1994—for

438 straight days. This trip, added to his Mir stay in 1988, brought

his total days in space to 679. He was, however, strong enough

to walk to the chairs that rescue crews provided for the cosmonauts’ transport to a field hospital. He said his fit condition was a

positive indication that humans could withstand a trip to Mars.28 

Mir 18 crew on their own. The Mir 18 crew settled into their

daily routine, collecting body fluid samples for the seven

metabolic experiments to be performed during their mission.

They also took air and water samples for four hygiene, sanitation,

and radiation experiments which would determine the role of the

Mir environment in human health, safety, and efficiency.29 Each

crewman spent time in the Chibis suit for measurement of cardiovascular system responses to lower body negative pressure. In

the absence of gravity, blood pools in the upper torso and head,

causing cardiovascular deconditioning. The Chibis suit seals at

the waist and incrementally induces a partial vacuum, or negative

pressure, which draws body fluids back to the lower extremities.

Dezhurov and Strekalov also changed out a condenser in the air

conditioning system, part of a long-term maintenance program to

prolong the life of the station.30 

March 16-22, 1995

Concluded

TM

March 22, 1995 - 

April 11, 1995

TM

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
11

Kvant 2

Progress-M 27 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Kristall

Progress-M 27 goes to Mir. Progress-M 27 was launched

from Baikonur on April 9. It docked with the Mir base block

on April 11 at 21:00 UTC under flawless control by the automatic Kurs system, although Dezhurov was ready to take over

by manual control if Kurs malfunctions recurred.31 This

Progress module carried with it a Raduga return capsule.

Cosmonautics day observed on April 12. On the 34th

anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight in a Vostok capsule, the Mir

crew had a light schedule for Cosmonautics Day, a Russian

national holiday. Activities included press conferences through

the Russian and U.S. mission control centers.32

Progress cargo unloaded. On April 13, the crew began unloading

the Progress cargo of food, water, fuel, repair materials for life

support systems, and equipment for medical and environmental

research. Among the biological experiments were some Japanese

quail eggs. These, the crew put into an incubator on April 14.33

GFZ-1 microsatellite launched from Mir. Progress-M 27 also

brought a new international experiment in the form of GFZ-1, a

spherical satellite with a mass of 20 kg and a diameter of 21 cm.

The German satellite was built by the German firm Kayser-Threde.

Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam would coordinate the satellite’s

transmission of geodetic measurements by means of laser

reflection to about 25 observatories around the globe. GFZ-1 was

successfully launched by the Mir crew from the base block airlock

on April 19. (Two days before, the crew had launched a container

with garbage as a practice run for the operation.)34 

Interior station work. Late in April, the crew learned that

extravehicular activities (EVAs) for solar array work, scheduled

to start on April 28, had been postponed due to a delay in launch

of the Spektr module. (One reason for the delay was that equipment to interface with Mir’s manual control system was added

to Spektr in case the Kurs system failed again.)35 The crew

continued routine experiment work, defrosted the ESA freezer,

replaced a humidity control fan with one from Progress-M 27,

installed a battery unit in the Kristall module, and began removing an unused shower in the Kvant module to make room for a

new set of gyrodynes to support the upcoming Atlantis docking.

They dismantled the shower and cut it into small pieces for

stowage on the Progress module, then installed the gyrodynes.36 

Injury jeopardizes EVA plans. ITAR-TASS reported on May 5

that Strekalov had scratched his hand earlier during cleaning

tasks. The scratch became inflamed and caused some concern

about Strekalov’s ability to do the EVA work. Medical specialists

on the ground viewed downlink video of the hand and prescribed

TM

April 11 - May 22, 1995

Principal Expedition 18 
12

a medication to be administered by Thagard. The injury healed

and EVA plans proceeded.37

EVA preparations. In the first week of May, the cosmonauts

began preparing their EVA equipment and Orlan-DMA suits, taking

inventory of connectors and cables needed for the EVA, and checking out communications systems. They installed power cables

between Kvant and Kristall for transmission of power from the

solar array that they would move from Kristall to Kvant on their

second space walk. The Kristall batteries would be left in that

module and would receive solar power through the new cables.38 

First Mir 18 EVA. On May 12, Dezhurov and Strekalov began

their first EVA to prepare the station for Spektr’s arrival, exiting

the Kvant 2 airlock at 4:20 UTC and transferring to the Kvant

astrophysics module by means of the Strela boom. There they

installed electrical cable attachments and adjusted solar array

actuators. Then they moved to Kristall and practiced folding three

panels of the solar array to be moved to Kvant. Thagard supported

the crew from inside Mir by relaying instructions from the ground

or from reference manuals when the station was not in range of

ground communications.39 Lasting 6 hr and 15 min, the excursion

had already exceeded the allotted time, so a third scheduled task,

removal of American experiment TREK’s space radiation

detectors, had to be postponed until the next space walk.40 

Problems on second EVA. In their second space walk, on

May 17, the cosmonauts successfully folded the solar array

panels, assisted by Thagard, who controlled servomotor switches

from inside Kristall. The spacewalkers disconnected the array

from Kristall, attached it to the Strela boom, and moved it to

Kvant. The work took so much time that, having already almost

used the oxygen available through their suits, they were forced to

secure the array to Kvant with tool tethers and postpone electrical connection. Even so, the EVA lasted 6 hr and 52 min.41,42

Power supply inside the station suffered without the connection

of the array, necessitating interim augmentation by Progress-M 27

and Soyuz-TM 21 solar arrays.43

Spektr launch. The Spektr science module was launched from

Baikonur atop a Proton-K rocket at 3:33 UTC on May 20. The

initial orbit was 337 by 221 km, period 89.8 min. In the 13 days

until the docking of Spektr, the crew would be busy reconfiguring the complete to accommodate the new module.

Solar array redeployed in Mir 18 third EVA. On their May 22

walk of 5 hr, 15 min, Dezhurov and Strekalov successfully

connected the solar array to Kvant, and Thagard commanded its

redeployment from inside the station. The cosmonauts then

returned to Kristall, where they retracted 13 panels of another

solar array to provide clearance for rotation of Kristall during its

relocation to make room for Spektr. Approximately 60% of that

array was still available as a power source.44 

TM

April 11 - May 22, 1995

Concluded

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
Kvant 2

Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Kristall 

Progress-M 27 frees -X port. Progress-M 27 left Mir at 23:42

UTC on May 22 and made a destructive reentry into the Pacific

on May 23. Thus the -Y port was freed for use in the multiple

module relocation that would be necessary for the docking and

ultimate permanent placement of Spektr.

Preparation for Kristall shifts. The crew began moving

umbilicals, cables, and control panels for space suit servicing from

Kvant 2 to the base block transfer compartment, which would be

depressurized and used as the airlock for the next two EVAs.45

Kvant 2

Kristall - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

First Kristall move and fourth EVA. From inside the station,

Dezhurov controlled the undocking of Kristall on May 26 from

the -Y port (lower lateral port of the base block). Then the

module was moved by means of its Lyappa arm to the -X port

just vacated by Progress-M 27. Figure 5 shows the configuration

on May 26 after the Kristall move. On May 28, in their fourth

EVA of the mission, Dezhurov and Strekalov moved a docking

cone (Konus), from the -X port to the -Z port to serve as the

docking receptacle for Kristall in its next move. The space-suited

cosmonauts did this work from inside the depressurized base

block transfer compartment.46,47

Kristall Kvant 2 

- Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Second Kristall move. In another undocking and relocation

sequence controlled from inside the station, on May 30 Kristall

was moved from the -X port to the -Z port. Because of a 

temporary failure in hydraulic connections, the docking was 

not successful until the third attempt.48

TM

May 22-26, 1995

Mir K

K2

Kr TM

May 26-30, 1995

Mir K TM

K2 Kr

May 30 - June 1, 1995

13

Principal Expedition 18 
14

Spektr

Specifications 

mass-19640 kg

length-14.4 m

maximum diameter-4.35 m

pressurized vol-61.9 m3

solar array area-132 m2

power output-6.9 kW

Description

The Spektr science module (fig. 4), designed by RKK Energia and built by the Khrunichev 

factory in Moscow, was the first new permanent module to join the Mir complex since

Kristall was added in June 1990.49 It was originally intended for addition to the complex 

in the 1990-1992 time frame.50

The module was equipped with orbit correction and rendezvous engines and attitude control

and docking thrusters. A Kurs guidance system provided automatic rendezvous and docking

guidance. Like all other Mir modules, Spektr has a Lyappa manipulator arm for repositioning

the module to other ports after initial docking. 

The original module design included two solar panels, but after Mir’s power problems became

acute, the design was changed to incorporate four solar panels. The pair on the pressurized

compartment supplies power for the module’s own systems; the V-shaped pair on the

unpressurized compartment were added to supplement power to the station complex. 

Spektr has an unpressurized compartment (5.6 m long), primarily for autonomous Earth

sensors, and a pressurized compartment (8.8 m long) which provides 61.9 m3 of work area.

This pressurized area provides experiment accommodations such as electrical connectors,

power supply switching units, thermoelectric installation sites, workstations and tables, Velcro

pads, and cargo containers. Other items to support the crew as they work in the module are a

low-noise headset, a clock, a loudspeaker, and a jet foam fire extinguisher. 

Most of the Russian and international experiments and sensors aboard are for Earth 

observation, orbital environment sampling, and Earth atmosphere analysis. These include

• Astra-2 for atmospheric trace constituent monitoring 

• Faza spectrometer for Earth surface studies 

• Feniks infrared spectrometer for Earth surface studies 

• Grif equipment for studying electromagnetic radiation and charged particle flows 

• Komza interstellar gas detector (Swiss) 

• Lira instrument complex for atmospheric research

• Mir Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer (MIRAS) for studying interactions between solar

radiation and the Earth’s atmosphere, to be deployed on the exterior of the module during 

an EVA (Belgian-French) 

• Pion optical complex for atmospheric research 

• Priroda-5 Earth imaging system 

• Ryabina-4P cosmic ray sensor 

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
15

• Taurus system for studying electromagnetic radiation and charged particle flows 

• European Space Exposure Facility (ESEF) for sensors that would be installed on the exterior

of the module during a Euromir 95 EVA. Until installation, the mounting sites had covers

that themselves contained instruments to monitor radiation in the orbital environment. 

U.S. equipment aboard was largely for biomedical experiments that would be conducted on Mir

18 by Norm Thagard and on future missions by other American astronauts.51,52,53,54,55,56

Figure 4a. Spektr, the science module that was

added to Mir in May 1995. The module is shown

here with solar arrays deployed, a configuration

finally achieved on July 14, 1995.

Figure 4b. Spektr after installation.

Clouds over Brazil form the backdrop for

this 70mm image of the module and other

Mir components taken from Atlantis while

docked with Mir on March 23, 1996.

Principal Expedition 18 
16

+Y

-Y

-Z

-X +Z

+x

Figure 5. Mir space station configuration on May 26, 1995, after Kristall relocation to

the -X port. Kristall is shown without solar arrays, one having been moved to Kvant on

May 17, the other retracted on May 22 to provide clearance for Kristall relocation.

Port orientations are diagrammed at lower right.

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

Sp

June 2-10, 1995

Kristall Kvant 2 

Spektr - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr docking and fifth EVA. Despite anxieties about the

automatic docking, the Spektr module successfully docked to

the -X port under control of the Kurs system on June 1. The

next day, in their fifth EVA, the cosmonauts again entered the

depressurized base block transfer compartment and moved the

Konus from the -Z to the -Y port.57 

Kristall Kvant 2

- Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr

Spektr relocated. With the Mir crew and TsUP ground 

controllers in joint control of the Spektr Lyappa arm, the 

module was moved to the -Y port on June 2. 

K2

Mir K TM

Kr

Sp

June 1-2, 1995

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
17

Spektr solar array fails to extend fully. After the redocking,

the crew began checking out and activating the new module’s

systems and transferring new supplies of food, fuel, and equipment from Spektr to other parts of the complex. On June 5, one

of Spektr’s four solar arrays failed to fully unfurl because a

restraint that held it in place for launch failed to release, and the

crew was unable to extend it by sending pulses of power to the

motor or by firing Mir’s thrusters. TsUP controllers, aided by

videos transmitted to them by the crew, began plans for a sixth

EVA so that the cosmonauts could release the stuck array.58

Thagard surpasses previous American record. Norm Thagard

held a press conference on June 6, the day he surpassed the

long-held record of U.S. human spaceflight duration of 84 days

(set by the Skylab 4 crew from November 16, 1973 to

February 8, 1974).59

Kvant 2 

Kristall - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr

Kristall relocated again. Before its last scheduled move of the

Mir 18 mission, the cosmonauts had to install two new batteries

in Kristall to boost its power supply enough to accomplish the

undocking and redocking.60 Then on June 10, the module was

undocked from the -Z port, and again with use of the Lyappa,

moved to the -X port.

American experiments activated. Thagard activated the

American equipment inside Spektr, including two freezers for

biomedical sample storage. On June 12 he began transferring

previously collected samples to the freezers.61 

Sixth EVA plans abandoned. After several discussions of an

EVA to correct solar array problems on Spektr and Kvant 2, and

to inspect the -Z port seal, NASA and RSA officials abandoned

the plans for this mission. Reasons cited were insufficient 

planning time for the activities and lack of the proper tools for

the solar array work. The two agencies jointly decided that there

would still be enough power for the upcoming Atlantis docking

and announced that launch of Atlantis on the STS-71 mission

would take place on June 23.62,63 In the meantime, joint work on

the creation, testing, and certification of new tools began. The

Mir 19 crew was trained in the use of these tools before their

launch to the station.64 

Mir 18 crew prepares for departure. Dezhurov, Strekalov, and

Thagard began to prepare for their return to Earth, packing up

experiments, biomedical samples, and other items to take back

aboard Atlantis. They also concentrated on microgravity countermeasure exercises and spent time in the Chibis suit to prepare

their cardiovascular systems for return to normal gravity.65

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

Sp

June 2-10, 1995

Concluded

Mir K

Sp

K2

Kr TM

June 10-29, 1995

Principal Expedition 18 
18

Orbiter Docking System

For the docking at the Mir complex, a new Orbiter Docking System (ODS) had been installed

on Atlantis on March 13. Although similar in design and operation to the docking system

used for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 197566, this docking system (fig. 6) is more complex,

having more capability to accommodate larger space structures with greater center of gravity

offset. The ODS structure can withstand 1000 kg of axial loads in the docked mode. The

system weighs over 3500 lb, is 15 ft wide, 6.5 ft long, and 13.5 ft high. Mounted in Atlantis’s

payload bay, it includes a docking mechanism mated to a docking base attached to an external

airlock, all of which is supported by a truss structure.67 A camera is mounted on the center line

of the system to transmit television images of the Kristall docking port during Atlantis’s

approach as an aid to the Atlantis commander during the manual phase of docking.68

The 632-lb docking mechanism is an androgynous peripheral assembly system (APAS) built by

RSC Energia in Russia and purchased for NASA by Rockwell International. The unit is

alternately referred to as an androgynous peripheral docking assembly or system (APDA or

APDS). The mechanism, based on a concept developed for the Buran space shuttle, will

connect to the APAS-89 unit on the Kristall module.69 It includes a capture ring and three

guide petals, each with two capture latches. The capture ring is mounted to a base ring by six

ball-screw shock absorbers that allow 6-degrees-of-freedom movement of the ring, and serve

to damp out residual motion after capture, or soft docking. Twelve structural hooks on the

base ring secure the mechanism to the docking unit on the other vehicle. The guide petals

interact with those on the target APAS to align the two systems. After capture, the latches on

the guide petals secure the two units, which are sealed by redundant silicone rubber O-rings.

In the undocking procedure the latches are disengaged by a control switch on the Orbiter flight

deck, and the two units are slowly pushed apart by preloaded springs.70

Figure 6. Orbiter Docking System is

shown mounted in the payload bay of

Atlantis. The dark circular structure in

the foreground covers the androgenous

peripheral assembly system, mounted

on the docking base that protrudes

from the supporting truss. 

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
19

Atlantis launched on STS-71 mission. After 4 days of delays

caused by bad weather at Kennedy Space Center, Atlantis was

launched on June 27 at 3:32 p.m. EDT. About 3 hr after launch,

Gibson began a series of orbital maneuvering system (OMS) 

firings that would, through the next 2 days, take Atlantis to Mir’s

orbit, gradually decreasing the closing rate as well as the 

distance.71 On the second mission day, as they moved toward

the station, Gibson, Precourt, and Dunbar began activating the

Spacelab module in preparation for life sciences investigations.

The crew extended the ODS docking ring to the docking 

position and found it in excellent working order.72

Rendezvous techniques. After Gibson fired the terminal 

initiation burn, Atlantis was in a position to close in on Mir

along the R-bar, or the line of the radius vector from Mir’s 

center of mass to Earth. (The R-Bar approach had been 

successfully tested by Atlantis in retrieval of the German

Crista-Spas satellite on STS-66 in November of 1994.) In 

this approach, gravity serves to slow the Orbiter’s advance, 

thus reducing the need for jet firings and possible damage to

Mir’s solar arrays.73 Atlantis jet firings in close proximity with

Mir were done in low-Z with the use of jets on the nose and tail

that, because of their offset position, would not fire directly at

Mir. For Mir’s part, its solar arrays were turned edge-on to

minimize the effect of plumes. As Atlantis completed its final

approach maneuvers, Mir’s attitude was adjusted so that

Kristall was in the correct docking position. At about 8 nmi

below the station, Gibson took manual control of approach

maneuvers, stopping at a distance of 250 ft from Mir to await a

“go” for docking from ground controllers of both nations.74 

Dual ground control teams. Prefiguring the cooperation

needed for ISS missions, a team of NASA flight controllers

worked with TsUP controllers as consultants on Space Shuttle

Orbiter systems and as liaisons between the U.S. and Russian

ground support teams. In Houston, Russian flight controllers

served similar functions in the NASA Mission Control Center.

NASA Administrator Dan Goldin and RSA Director General

Yuri Koptev, along with other Russian dignitaries, observed

the docking from the TsUP.

Mir K

Sp

K2

Kr TM

June 10-29, 1995

Concluded

Principal Expedition 18 
20

A Kvant 2

t - Kristall - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

l Spektr

Historic docking. On June 29 at 13:00 UTC, Gibson guided

Atlantis to the docking port on the Kristall module and

Harbaugh engaged the docking mechanism. The two spacecraft

met 216 nmi above the Lake Baykal region of Russia (fig. 7).

After pressurization and leak checks of the vestibule airlock, the

two crews met and exchanged greetings and congratulations.

There were ten of them, the largest crew ever aboard a single

complex. The docked Mir and Atlantis totaled 220 tons, a

record for orbiting spacecraft mass.75,76 

Sp

K2

Mir K TM

A

T

L

Kr

June 29 - July 4, 1995

STS-71 Mission Highlights

June 27-July 7, 1995

Commander Robert L. Gibson (5th flight) 

Pilot Charles J. Precourt (2nd)

Mission Specialist Ellen S. Baker (3rd) 

Mission Specialist Bonnie J. Dunbar (4th)

Mission Specialist Greg Harbaugh (3rd)

Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev (4th)-ascent 

Cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin (1st)-ascent

Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard (5th)-descent

Highlights: On STS-71, part of the series of joint U.S.-

Russian missions comprising Phase I of the International

Space Station program, Atlantis was the first Space Shuttle

Orbiter to dock with Mir. It was the 100th human space 

mission for the U.S., the 69th Space Shuttle flight, and the

16th Atlantis flight. Major mission objectives all had

international aspects:

• First rendezvous and docking of a U.S. Space Shuttle

Orbiter with the Mir complex 

• Transport to space of the Mir 19 crew, cosmonauts

Anatoly Solovyev and Nikolai Budarin

• Return to Earth of the Mir 18 crew

• Conduct of the Shuttle-Mir Science Program, 

comprised of 28 on-orbit investigations aboard 

the Orbiter’s Spacelab and Mir

• Logistical resupply of the Mir

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
21

Figure 7. First docking of Atlantis with the Mir complex, during STS-71, June 29, 1995.

Atlantis, with the aid of the new Orbiter Docking System, is docked with Kristall. Cosmonauts

Solovyev and Budarin photographed the event from the temporarily undocked Soyuz-TM.

Principal Expedition 18 
22

Mir Principal Expedition 19 

many international elements. The first Mir

crew launched on a Space Shuttle Orbiter,

Solovyev and Budarin began their work in

conjunction with a visiting U.S. crew and

departing Mir 18 international crew. Two of

their EVAs involved deployment and retrieval

of international experiments. And they ended

their stay by welcoming an incoming international crew. 

Commander Anatoly Solovyev

Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin

Crew code name: Rodnik 

Launched in Atlantis (STS-71) June 27, 1995

Landed in Soyuz-TM 21, September 11, 1995

75 days in space

Highlights: The only complete Mir mission 

of 1995 with an all-Russian crew, Mir 19 had

Mir 19 crew officially take charge. Solovyev and Budarin officially assumed their duties aboard

Mir on June 29. The Mir 18 crew moved their quarters to Atlantis for the duration of the STS-71

mission. Once there, they would continue their investigations of the biomedical effects of 

long-term space habitation.77,78 

Triple cooperation. On June 30, the ten members of the Mir 18,

Mir 19, and STS-71 crews assembled in the Spacelab on Atlantis

for a ceremony during which they exchanged gifts and joined

two halves of a pewter medallion engraved with likenesses of

their docked spacecraft. The crews began transferring fresh 

supplies and equipment from Atlantis to Mir. They also moved

medical samples, equipment, and hardware from Mir to Atlantis

for return to Earth. New equipment included tools for an EVA to

be performed by the cosmonauts to free the jammed Spektr solar

array. Another commodity loaded onto Mir was water generated

by Atlantis fuel cells.79 

Tests of docking effects. On July 1, Gibson and Precourt fired

Atlantis’s steering jets to change the station’s attitude, to evaluate

the integrity of the Mir-Atlantis docking mechanism and tunnel

adapter during orbital maneuvers, and to test the effect of jet

plumes on the station’s solar arrays.80

Goodbye again. After a farewell ceremony aboard Mir on 

July 3, the Atlantis and Mir 18 crew departed and began

preparations on Atlantis for the next day’s undocking. After

the hatches of both spacecraft were closed, Harbaugh began

depressurizing the transfer tunnel to equalize it with the 

vacuum of space before the separation of Atlantis from Mir.

The “cosmic ballet.” On July 4, Solovyev and Budarin donned

their flight suits, entered Soyuz-TM 21, and undocked from Mir

to a stationkeeping position from which they photographed Mir

and Atlantis, still docked. About 15 min later, Atlantis

undocked from Mir when Gibson released the hooks that held

the two craft together and allowed the docking system springs

to nudge Atlantis away. As Atlantis slowly flew around the 

station, Soyuz-TM 21 redocked, and the two craft continued to

Sp

K2

Mir K TM

A

T

L

Kr

June 29 - July 4, 1995

Continued

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
23

take pictures of each other and Mir. Gibson called this set of

celestial maneuvers a “cosmic ballet.” However, the Soyuz

module had to redock a few minutes sooner than planned when

the Mir onboard computer which controls station attitude and

solar array pointing malfunctioned. The station complex, about

10° off the correct attitude, was becoming unstable and starting

to drift. The cosmonauts had to get back quickly to regain

attitude control of the station. TsUP controllers left the station

in free drift while the cosmonauts replaced attitude-control

hardware in the computer.81,82,83

Kvant 2 

Kristall - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr

Mir 18 crew completes 115-day mission. After Atlantis left

the Russian space station, the homeward-bound Mir 18 crew

continued their medical and scientific investigations in the

Spacelab module in Atlantis’ payload bay. They used the lower

body negative pressure unit and a baroreflex neck cuff to test

cardiovascular orthostatic function response to microgravity.

They also continued their daily exercise sessions on the treadmill.

During Atlantis’ reentry and landing on July 7, they rode in

special recumbent seats that allowed them to take the force of

reentry in a reclining position. After the landing at Kennedy

Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, they were flown in an

Air Force C-9 Medevac plane to Ellington Field in Houston.

They followed up their spaceborne biomedical investigations

with medical tests at Johnson Space Center.84 

First EVA of Mir 19. Before their launch, Solovyev and

Budarin had trained to use the new tools created for releasing the

stuck Spektr solar array. On July 14, they exited the Kvant 2

hatch and made their way to Spektr using the Strela boom. They

quickly cut the offending restraint, and all but one section of

Spektr’s jammed solar array deployed.85 Then they were able to

route the power input to the complex. They inspected the -Z

port docking mechanism and found no signs of damage or 

pollution, clearing the port for relocation of the Kristall module.

Before reentering the Kvant 2 hatch, they inspected one of that

module’s solar arrays which was not tracking the sun correctly.

The EVA ran 5 hr and 34 min, about 20 min over the originally

budgeted time.86,87

Sp

K2

Mir K TM

A

T

L

Kr

July 4-17, 1995

Principal Expedition 19 
24

Kristall Kvant 2 

- Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr

Kristall relocated once more. In a 90-min session on July 17,

Kristall was transferred by means of its Lyappa arm to the -Z

docking port from the -X port, where Progress-M 28 would dock

later in the month.88 The rearrangement placed Kristall in the

proper position for the next Atlantis docking, during STS-74 in

October. Figure 8 shows the resulting configuration of the

complex. Solovyev inspected the air seal at the -Z port and

found it intact.89

Problems during second Mir 19 EVA. The primary purpose of

the second space walk (July 19) was to deploy the Belgian-French

MIRAS (Mir infrared spectrometer) on the far end of the

Spektr module. But minutes after the EVA began, Solovyev’s

Orlan-DMA suit cooling system malfunctioned and the TsUP

ordered him to stay attached by an umbilical to Kvant 2. The

MIRAS deployment had to be postponed, but Budarin was able

to do some preparatory work alone. He also retrieved the

American cosmic ray detector, TREK, which had been on the

Kvant 2 surface since 1991, and switched out cassettes of sample

construction materials as part of an ongoing space exposure

experiment. His time outside totaled 3 hr, 8 min. But the troubles were not all over: After closing the Kvant 2 EVA hatch, the

cosmonauts found a 2-mm gap in the seal through which air was

escaping. They had to work with the hatch to get it tightly shut.90,91 

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

July 17-22, 1995

6-2-95 Configuration

+Y

-Y

-Z

-X +Z

+x

Figure 8. The Mir complex as 

configured after multiple relocations

of Kristall to accommodate Spektr

docking and subsequent relocation

to the -Y port on June 2, 1995.

Spektr is shown at the bottom of the

complex in this orientation.

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
25

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

July 22 - September 4, 1995

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

September 4-5, 1995

Kristall Kvant 2 

Progress-M 28 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr

Progress-M 28 arrives. Launched by a Soyuz booster from

Baikonur on July 20, Progress-M 28 module bore 2.4 t of food

and water, fuel and oxidizer, and science equipment (including

about 335 kg for use during Euromir 95). Two days later, using

the Kurs system, Progress-M 28 docked at the -X port of the

base block.92

Installation of MIRAS during third EVA. On July 21, the

cosmonauts opened the Kvant 2 hatch again and retrieved the

cooling umbilical left outside in their last EVA. Using the Strela

boom, they made their way to the Spektr module, on which they

installed the 220-kg MIRAS spectrometer. This final EVA of

Mir 19 lasted 5 hr, 35 min.93

Interior work throughout August. With their EVAs completed,

the Mir 19 crew turned their attention to experiments in life

sciences and astrophysics and smelting experiments in the

Gallar furnace. They unloaded the cargo brought by the

Progress module and monitored the automatic refueling by

Progress of the base block propellant tanks. They also performed station maintenance and repairs, including installation

in Kvant 2 of new gyrodynes brought up on Progress. They

repaired the seals on other gyrodyne cases with a lute-type sealer

called “germetik.”94,95,96 

Kristall Kvant 2

Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr

Progress-M 28 undocks. Packed with trash and obsolete 

equipment, Progress-M 28 left the -X port on September 4 

and splashed down into the Pacific, thus clearing the way for

Soyuz-TM 22 to dock with the next Mir crew. 

Principal Expedition 19 
26

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

September 11 - 

October 10, 1995

Mir 20 and Euromir 95 crew launched. Soyuz-TM 22 was launched from Baikonur on

September 3 at 08:58 UTC. Russian Space Forces controlled the launch, with a switchover to

TsUP after separation of the manned capsule from the Soyuz-U launcher. ESA Director for

Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity, Jorg Feustel-Büechl, said that the mission would “provide

European scientists with unprecedented data on long duration spaceflight and further strengthen

ESA’s relationship with the Russian space programme.”97

Mir Principal Expedition 20 and Euromir 95

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

September 5-11, 1995

Commander Yuriy Gidzenko (1st flight)

Flight Engineer Sergey Avdeyev (2nd)

ESA Cosmonaut Researcher/Flight Engineer 

Thomas Reiter (1st)

Call name Uran

Launched and landed in Soyuz-TM 22, 

September 3, 1995-February 27, 1996

179 days in space 

Highlights. Mir 20 was a harbinger of the

multinational missions that will be typical of

International Space Station. It was the second

Mir mission with a simultaneous Euromir 

designation, the second with an ESA astronaut

as part of the crew. (Ulf Merbold, the first ESA

astronaut aboard Mir, conducted Euromir 94

in October and November of 1994.) 

Thomas Reiter was the first non-Russian Mir

crew member with the designation Flight

Engineer. The scientific objectives of Euromir

95 were to study effects of microgravity on the

human body, to experiment with the development

on new materials in a space environment, to

capture samples of cosmic dust and man-made

particles in low Earth orbit, and to test new space

equipment. Mir 20 was also the second Mir

mission to include a U.S. Space Shuttle Orbiter

docking. During that phase of the mission, the

station complex housed crews from four countries, representing the Russian, Canadian, and

U.S. space agencies as well as ESA. 

Kristall Kvant 2 

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 21

Spektr

Soyuz-TM 22 docks. After 2 days of autonomous orbital flight

toward Mir, on September 5 the Soyuz spacecraft circled the

station from 90 to 120 m out, then made a successful automatic

docking at the -X docking port. About an 1.5 hr later, the crew

checked the hatch seals, removed their pressure suits, and entered

the station to be met by Solovyev and Budarin with greetings and

the traditional bread and salt.98 Then the two crews began a

week of joint work, including briefings from the Mir 19 crew to

familiarize their replacements with the status of onboard systems

and experiments. 

Kristall Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant 

Spektr

Mir 19 ends. Solovyev and Budarin ended their 75-day mission

on September 11, departing the station in the Soyuz-TM 21 that

had brought the Mir 18 crew up on March 16. Their Soyuz

made a safe landing in Kazakhstan, 302 km northeast of Arkalyk,

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
27

“far away from the aiming point.” Rescue parties, however,

found the crew in excellent condition.99

Euromir science activities begin. The Mir 20 crew began

activating and calibrating the Euromir 95 experiments on

September 13. The 41 experiments included 18 in life sciences,

5 in astrophysics, 8 in materials science, and 10 in technology. 

• Life sciences experiments were mostly investigations of

weightlessness effects on the human body, including

♦ Cardiovascular monitoring through a network of blood

pressure sensors at various points on the body 

♦ Bone-mass-loss studies done by simulating heel striking

in weightlessness

♦ Studies of the effects of weightlessness on kidney, lung,

and muscle functions

• A major astrophysics study involved capturing and analyzing

natural and man-made particles in low Earth orbit in the

European Space Exposure Facility (ESEF) on Spektr

• Technology experiments included

♦ Radiation monitoring to study the effects of the space

environment on electronic components 

♦ Methods of measuring microbial contaminants in the

station interior

♦ Measurement of disturbances produced by the movements

of a small robotic arm 

• Many of the materials science experiments involved the

processing of alloy, glass, and semiconductor samples in

TITUS, a six-zone tubular furnace capable of attaining

1250°C

An average of 4.5 hr a day was allotted for experiment work,

with the rest of the time devoted to exercise and station 

maintenance.100 The Mir 20 crew was active in the Euromir

experiments and the ESA crew member, German Thomas Reiter,

in addition to his Euromir duties, participated in Russian

experiments and, as flight engineer, helped maintain the 

station’s onboard equipment.

Kristall Kvant 2 

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 29

Spektr

Progress-M 29 arrives. Another Progress-M vehicle was

launched from Baikonur at 18:51 UTC on October 8 by a 

Soyuz-U. The cargo module docked with Mir at 20:23 UTC on

October 10 with about 2.5 t of fresh supplies and equipment for

the Mir 20 crew. Included was about 80 kg of additional

experiment hardware for Euromir 95, such as the cassettes to

be installed during an EVA in the ESEF on the exterior of Spektr.

After some problems opening the hatch, the crew entered

Progress-M 29 and began inspecting and unloading the cargo.101 

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

September 11 - 

October 10, 1995

Concluded

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

October 10 - 

November 15, 1995

Principal Expedition 20
28

Mir 20/Euromir 95 extended. ESA and Russian organizations

officially announced on October 17 the decision to add 44 days

to the joint mission, originally scheduled to be 135 days long.

The possibility of extending the mission had been discussed even

before launch. The final decision was made on October 6 at a

meeting of the RSA, ESA, RSC Energia, the Russian Central

Specialized Design Bureau (Soyuz rocket designer), and 

representatives of the Progress Plant where the Soyuz-U booster

for launch of the next crew (Mir 21) was under construction.

Postponing the Soyuz-TM 23 launch from January 15, 1996, to

February 21, 1996, would shift much of the expenditure for

launch vehicle processing to the next fiscal year, thus relieving a

strain on the RSA budget. It would also optimize resource use

by keeping the Soyuz-TM 22 module attached to the station for

its full 180-day lifetime. The extension to February 27, 1996,

would allow time for additional Euromir scientific research and

an extra EVA. In December a new Progress-M would provide

extra consumables for the crew and equipment for additional

Euromir experiments.102,103,104,105

EVA Preparations. The Mir 20 crew spent about 5 days preparing

for their first EVA-assembling and checking the hardware they

were to deploy, then placing it in an EVA bag that would keep

items from floating away during the work on the ESEF.106

First Mir 20/Euromir 95 EVA. In the first space walk by an

ESA astronaut, Reiter climbed through the Kvant 2 hatch on

October 20, with Avdeyev close behind. Reiter tethered himself

and the bag of experiment hardware to the Strela boom. Avdeyev

turned the crank at the base of the boom to move Reiter to the

forward section of the Spektr module, then climbed the length of

the boom himself. In a successful 5-hr, 11-min EVA, they

installed four elements on the ESEF—two exposure cassettes, a

spacecraft environment-monitoring package, and a control electronics box. The two clam-like cassettes could be controlled

remotely from within the station. (One would be opened to sample

space debris except during dockings, when it would be closed to

avoid contamination; the other would be opened to sample the

Draconids meteor stream when Earth passed through the tail of

comet Giacobini Zinner.) Gidzenko powered up the experiments

and tested their operability from inside Mir. The two spacewalkers

then changed the cartridges in the nearby Russian-Swiss Komza

exposure experiment, also on Spektr.107,108,109 

Coolant loop leak discovered and repaired. A leak in a coolant

line to the Kvant/core module air regeneration system was found

on November 1. Approximately 1.8 L of a solution containing

37° ethylene glycol had leaked inside the Mir module. The

coolant loop had to be shut down; thus the primary carbon dioxide

removal system in Kvant and the oxygen replenishing system

were disabled. The leak was found a few days later and repaired

with a “putty-like substance.” Meantime, a backup air scrubber

using lithium hydroxide canisters similar to those used on the U.S.

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

October 10 - 

November 15, 1995

Continued

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
29

Space Shuttle was substituted to remove the carbon dioxide. The

solid oxygen generators and the Kvant 2 alternate oxygen system

could be used for oxygen production until the mid-December

Progress-M launch. U.S. and Russian ground support teams began

immediately planning solutions. They decided that Atlantis

would bring extra Space Shuttle lithium hydroxide regeneration

canisters and a fixture developed at NASA’s Johnson Space

Center to connect the canisters to Mir’s air supply system.110,111

Dutch Biokin Air Scrubber Tested. The Biokin experiment,

an innovative air filtration system that uses microbes to convert

airborne contaminants to harmless compounds, was activated by

the crew on November 9. After a week of operation, the air

scrubber was deactivated and put in a small freezer for return to

Earth on STS-74. The 500-gm system was designed by two

Dutch companies and jointly sponsored by ESA and the Dutch

National Institute for Aerospace Programs (NIVR).112

STS-74 launch. After a one-day launch delay caused by poor

weather at the transatlantic abort site, Atlantis was launched from

Kennedy Space Center at 7:30 a.m. EST on November 12, 1995.

On the first two days of the flight, Cameron and Halsell executed

a series of reaction control jet firings to gradually bring Atlantis

closer to Mir. 

Docking Module placement preparations. The crew prepared

for on-orbit assembly of the Docking Module atop the ODS

mechanism inside the payload bay. The module had been

launched in the aft portion of the payload bay to provide 

center-of-gravity control and to allow the bay doors to close.

On mission day 1, Hadfield activated the module for a system

check. On day 2, Hadfield powered up and checked out the RMS

mechanical arm. Mission specialists Ross and McArthur checked

out their space suits in case they had to go outside the pressurized

area of Atlantis for contingency operations during either the

mating of the Docking Module to the ODS or the subsequent

docking of Atlantis with Kristall. Other crew tasks included

checkout of the ODS and the OSVS, as well as installation and

alignment of the ODS centerline camera. 

Docking Module on-orbit assembly. On mission day 3,

Hadfield powered up the OSVS. Then with McArthur's 

assistance, he grappled the Docking Module with the 50-ft RMS

and removed it from its moorings in the payload bay, lifting it

horizontally out of the bay. When it was clear of all structures, he

pivoted the module 90° to a vertical position, spun it almost 180°,

and brought it over the ODS. After Hadfield placed the arm in a

"limp" position (with no power on, no mechanical parts working),

Cameron fired Atlantis's steering thrusters to gently bring the two

docking systems together, thus engaging the hooks and latches

which locked the Docking Module to the ODS. After tests to

confirm a secure engagement and removal of the mechanical arm,

the crew mounted a centerline camera on the Docking Module's

top hatch to be used in the next day's docking with Mir.113, 114

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

October 10 - 

November 15, 1995

Concluded

Principal Expedition 20
30

STS-74 Mission Highlights 

November 12-13, 1995

Kenneth D. Cameron, Commander

(3rd flight) 

James D. Halsell, Pilot (2nd)

Jerry L. Ross, Mission Specialist (5th)

William S. McArthur, Jr, Mission Specialist

(2nd) 

Chris A. Hadfield, Mission Specialist (1st)

Highlights. STS-74 was the second in the

series of joint Shuttle-Mir missions planned

before assembly of the International Space

Station. This flight was the last of U.S. Space

Shuttle’s seven missions in 1995, three of

which had Mir rendezvous or docking among

their major objectives. It was the 15th flight

for Atlantis, the 73rd U.S. Space Shuttle flight.

When its five-member crew, including

Canadian Chris Hadfield, joined the Mir 20/

Euromir crew, four different nations-Canada,

Germany, Russia, and the U.S.-were represented

on one mission in the same orbiting complex.

In addition to the docking itself, a major

objective of the mission was to deliver a new

Russian-built Docking Module (DM) and new

solar arrays to Mir. Hadfield, using the

Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System

(RMS), attached the Docking Module to the

Mir Kristall module. The solar arrays, stowed

in containers on the shell of the docking 

module, would be deployed in later missions. 

Docking Module

Specifications

launch weight-approx. 4090 kg 

length-4.7 m 

diameter-2.2 m 

Description

Concept discussions for the module began in November 1993 and were finalized in June 1994.

It was designed and built during 1994 and 1995 in Russia by RSC Energia for the RSA. NASA

and American space contractor Rockwell Aerospace provided technical oversight. After final

assembly and functional tests in Russia, the module was delivered to Kennedy Space Center on

June 7, 1995. There it had the distinction of being the first article made flight-ready in the new

Space Station Processing Facility, which had opened in March. By September 11, it was ready

for installation in the aft payload bay of Atlantis.115, 116

The new module (figure 9) simplified U.S. Space Shuttle Orbiter dockings with Mir by

eliminating the need to move Kristall to the -X port at Mir's longitudinal axis each time an Orbiter

visits. That port is free for the Progress and Soyuz dockings, and Kristall can remain docked at the

radial port. Another consideration in the addition of the Docking Module was that Kristall's Lyappa

arm, used in its moves from port to port, would reach its design lifetime before all the planned

Orbiter dockings were accomplished. Also, the Docking Module's 4.7-m length provides extra

clearance between the Orbiter and the Mir solar arrays as the Orbiter approaches Kristall. 117, 118

The identical androgynous peripheral assembly systems (APASs) at each end of the new

module are compatible with existing systems on Kristall and Atlantis. APAS-1 is attached to

Kristall; APAS-2 will receive the Shuttle ODS in future dockings of Atlantis.119 Visiting crews

enter the pressurized interior through the APAS-2 hatch. From there they access Kristall (and

thus Mir) through the APAS-1 hatch.

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
31

The cylindrical aluminum alloy module is protected in the orbital environment by a micrometeoroid shield and a passive layer of screen vacuum thermal insulation. Further thermal 

control for the pressurized interior is provided by a coolant loop; there are also fans for the

avionics and the APAS window. 

Because the docked module obscured the Orbiter commander's line of sight to his Kristall

docking port target, a new Orbiter space vision system (OSVS) was tested on STS-74. It consisted of a series of large dots on both the Docking Module and the ODS.120

STS-74 Solar Array Package

Two solar array containers are attached to the exterior of the Docking Module for later

deployment. In one is stowed the Mir Cooperative Solar Array (MCSA), in the other an 

all-Russian solar array. The MCSA, designed as part of the International Space Station Phase 1

program, uses a Russian structural frame and 80 NASA silicon photovoltaic cells. It will 

provide 6 kW of power through 42 segments that will measure 9 by 60 ft when deployed. Solar

arrays on the International Space Station will use the same type of U.S.-made silicon cells.121, 122

Figure 9a. The Russian-designed Docking

Module which was added to Kristall in

November 1995 to accommodate future

Space Shuttle dockings with the Mir complex.

An APAS mechanism shows at the end of the

module (left side of drawing). The module

was transported to Mir by Atlantis on 

STS-74. 

Figure 9b. The Docking Module in Atlantis'

payload bay before launch of the STS-74 

mission.

Principal Expedition 20
Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

November 15-18, 1995

32

Atlantis

Kristall Kvant 2 

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 29

Spektr

Second Shuttle-Mir docking. As Atlantis approached Mir on

the fourth day of the STS-74 mission, the crew augmented

Atlantis's navigation computer and trajectory control system laser

with a handheld laser to provide precise targeting information.

With Atlantis lined up with Mir along the R-bar, approaching the

station from beneath, Cameron began manual control of the

Orbiter. The newly installed centerline camera helped him

obtain alignment coordinates with Kristall's docking port, now

obscured by the protruding Docking Module. After a "go" from

Russian and U.S. ground controllers, Cameron slowed the

Orbiter's approach to less than one in/sec and successfully

docked with the station at 1:28 a.m. EST on November 15 in an

orbit 216 nmi above western Mongolia.123 About 2.5 hr later,

after docking verification and seal checkouts, Cameron opened

the Docking Module hatch and met Mir Commander Gidzenko

inside the new module. A handshake between the two 

commanders signaled the formation of a multinational crew.124

Multinational crew activities. After traditional greetings, the

crews got to work transferring cargo items between the visiting

Orbiter and Mir. Supplies carried into the station during the

3 days the two vehicles were docked included over 300 lb of

food, over 700 lb of experiment equipment, about 900 lb of 

by-product water from fuel cells in Atlantis,125 and 20 lithium

hydroxide canisters to serve as backups to Mir's recently

repaired primary carbon dioxide removal system. From Mir,

the crews removed about 800 lb of research samples collected

during Euromir 95 and experiment equipment no longer needed

on the station. In addition to talking to the press on the ground,

the crews received congratulations from Russian Prime Minister

Viktor Chernomyrdin, Canadian Industry Minister John Manley,

NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, and U.N. Secretary General

Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali.126, 127

Joint spacecraft experiments. While the space vehicles were

docked, the crews cooperated in medical experiments and

environmental investigations designed as part of International

Space Station Phase I research. Examples of the studies 

conducted by the Shuttle and Mir crews were

• The Photogrammetric Appendage Structural Dynamics

Experiment (PASDE), a set of three photogrammetric

instruments located throughout the Orbiter payload bay,

recorded Mir solar array structural dynamics during 

docking and the docked phase of the mission, gathering

data for future missions. 

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
33

• International Space Station Risk Mitigation Experiments

evaluated the acoustic environment aboard Mir, remote

communications systems, and the alignment stability of the

Atlantis-Mir docked configuration. 

• Inflight radiation measurements, for which both crews

wore passive dosimeters. They gathered data about the

orbital radiation environment and compared the techniques

and equipment used by NASA with those used by the

Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems.

• A series of jet firings by both Mir and Atlantis evaluated

the dynamics of the complicated structure of the docked

spacecraft, which, at more than 500,000 lb, set a new

record for conjoined orbital mass.128, 129

Kristall Kvant 2 

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 29

Spektr

Docking phase ends. Early on the morning of November 18,

Cameron activated the springs to push the ODS free of the

Docking Module and slowly undocked Atlantis. At two ft out,

he activated the reaction control system to move the Orbiter

away from the Mir complex. At about 525 ft out, he began a 

fly-around. Atlantis circled Mir twice, taking a photographic

survey of the station (fig. 10). Four and a half hr after

undocking, Cameron fired the orbital maneuvering system 

to lower Atlantis to another orbit. 

STS-74 mission ends. After their successful Mir mission, the

crew of Atlantis, on their own once again, began closing down

their experiments and stowing equipment that had been used in

flight. On November 20, at 12:02 p.m. EST, they landed at

Kennedy Space Center, Florida, ending their 129-orbit mission

after 8 d, 4 hr, and 31 min. 

Euromir experiments resume. After the departure of Atlantis,

the Mir 20 crew continued with Euromir 95 activities, including

medical tests and materials processing experiments. In addition

to the equipment brought to Mir expressly for Euromir, Reiter

used the Austrian Optovert equipment that had been on Mir

since the Austro-Mir mission in October 1991. With it he

investigated the effects of weightlessness on human motor 

system performance and the interactions of the vestibular system

and visual organs.130

Gyrodyne maintenance. The cosmonauts did preventive

maintenance on the Kvant 2 gyrodynes in late November, using

the attitude control jets to maintain station orientation while the

gyrodynes were inactive.131

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

November 15-18, 1995

Concluded

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

November 18 - 

December 19, 1995

Principal Expedition 20
34

Space art contest. On November 30, the crew announced the

three winners of an art contest sponsored by the Swiss-based

OURS foundation. Twenty of 171 entries on the theme of

"Space and Humanity" had been selected by a panel for the

journey to orbit with the Mir 20/Euromir crew. From these 20,

the crew chose the three finalists.132

Second Mir 20 EVA. On December 8, the crew reconfigured

the docking unit at the front of the Mir base block to prepare it to

receive the 1996 Priroda module. From inside the depressurized

docking unit, the Orlan DMA-suited crew moved the Konus

docking unit from the +Z to the -Z docking port, where Priroda

would dock in the spring.133

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

November 18 - 

December 19, 1995

Concluded

Figure 10. Mir with new docking module (top, center of photo) installed on the Kristall

module. The photo was taken by the departing Atlantis on STS-74. Spektr is shown at

the left, Kvant 2 at the right.

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
35

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

December 19-20, 1995

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

December 20, 1995 -

February 22, 1996

Kristall Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant 

Spektr

Progress-M 29 departs. On December 19, Progress-M 29

undocked from the rear Kvant port and deorbited over the

Pacific. 

Kristall Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 30

Spektr

Progress-M 30 resupplies Euromir 95. Progress-M 30 was

launched on December 18 from Baikonur on a Soyuz-U rocket.

It docked at the vacated Kvant port on December 20 with 2300 kg

of fuel, crew supplies, and research and medical equipment for

use on the extended Euromir 95 mission.134 This was the last of

five Progress-M dockings at Mir in 1995. 

Experimentation continues into new year. As 1996 began,

the crew continued their experiments. Reiter took biomedical

samples and measurements and tested the capacity of uncooled

melts in the TITUS materials processing furnace. The Russian

cosmonauts studied microgravity effects on hydrodynamics

with the Volna-2 device, using models of spacecraft fuel 

system elements. With the Maria magnetic spectrometer, they

investigated possible links between terrestrial seismic activity

and high-energy charged cosmic particle fluxes.135

Reactivation of Kvant coolant loop. Between January 12

and 16, 1996, the cosmonauts resumed work on the cooling

system leak that had begun in November. They hermetically

sealed a manifold on the coolant line, then refilled the loop

with ethylene glycol that had been sent up on Progress-M 30

to replace that lost at the onset of the leak. Following the

repair, they continued their Euromir 95 materials processing

experiments with melting and recrystallization of metals.136

Third Mir 20 (second Euromir 95) EVA. At the beginning

of their EVA on February 8, Reiter and Gidzenko moved a

maneuvering unit, referred to as the SPK or YMK, stored

inside the Kvant 2 airlock and attached it to the exterior of the

module. (The large unit, which had not been used since it was

tested in 1990, was in the way of spacewalkers preparing to exit

the airlock.)137, 138 The cosmonauts then climbed out the Kvant 2

hatch and again used the Strela boom to maneuver to the forward

end of Spektr, where they retrieved the two cassettes they had

Principal Expedition 20
36

Concluded

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

February 22 -23, 1996

deployed in October on the ESEF. They installed a new cassette

in the facility and, with Adeyev's assistance from inside the

station, verified that it would operate. Their work took only 

3 hr and 6 min. Originally scheduled to last about 5.5 hr, the

EVA was shortened by an aborted task on a Kristall antenna.

The TsUP canceled the antenna work when the cosmonauts

were unable to loosen the bolts on a joint of the antenna.139, 140

Tenth anniversary of base block launch. As the Mir base

block marked the 10th anniversary of its launch to orbit on

February 19 (February 20 in Moscow), ITAR-TASS reported a

"holiday atmosphere" aboard the complex. Having already

remained in orbit four years longer than was originally intended,

the base block, with its complement of docked modules, held the

promise of at least three more orbiting anniversaries.141

Kristall Kvant 2 

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant 

Spektr

Progress-M 30 undocked and Soyuz-TM 23 launched. On

February 21, Soyuz-TM 23 was launched from Baikonur with

the Russian crew members for Mir Principal Expedition 21.

Progress-M 30 was undocked on February 22 and commanded 

to a destructive reentry over the Pacific.142

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

December 20, 1995 -

February 22, 1996

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
37

Commander Yuri Onufrienko (1st flight)

Flight Engineer Yuri Usachev (2nd)

Launched and landed in Soyuz-TM 23-

February 21 - September 2, 1996

194 days in space

Cosmonaut Researcher Shannon Lucid (5th)

Launched on Atlantis (STS-76)-March 22, 1996 

Landed in Atlantis (STS-79)-Sept. 26, 1996

188 days in space

Crew code name: Skif

Mir Principal Expedition 21

Highlights: Onufrienko and Usachev began

their mission without the third crew member,

American astronaut Shannon Lucid, who would

join them in late March during STS-76, the third

Atlantis-Mir docking mission. On one of the

seven EVAs of Mir 21, U.S. astronauts walked

outside Mir for the first time; on two others,

the cosmonauts installed a new solar array on

the Kvant module. The last permanent module

was added to the complex—Priroda, with its

large complement of Earth science experiments. 

Kristall Kvant 2 

Soyuz-TM 22 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr

Soyuz-TM 23 delivers Mir 21 crew. The Soyuz module

docked on February 23 at the +X docking port at the rear of the

Kvant module. About an hr and a half after docking, the hatches

were opened and Onufrienko and Usachev were greeted by the

Mir 20/Euromir 95 crew, who would remain with them a week

to familiarize them with current conditions and projects on the

station. The week of joint operations also included work with crop

breeding experiments and Earth observation spectrometry. The

Mir 20 crew made preparations for their departure, including

checks of Soyuz-TM 22 systems and sessions in the Chibis 

negative-pressure suit to condition them for return to Earth 

gravity.143 Two days before the return flight, a water leak

appeared in the Mir base block, but the cosmonauts solved it

with advice from ground support.144

Kristall Kvant 

- Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr

Mir 20/Euromir Mission ends. On February 29, Gidzenko,

Avdeyev, and Reiter donned their Sokol launch and entry suits

and entered Soyuz-TM 22. They landed safely about 105 km

from Arkalyk. Recovery teams had erected facilities for rapid

medical tests before the crew was returned to Star City that

evening. Their mission had lasted 179 days, 1 hr, and 42 min.145

Reiter thus achieved a record for spaceflight duration by a West

European.

First EVA for Mir 21. On March 15, Onufrienko and Usachev

exited the Kvant 2 EVA hatch for their first space walk. Because

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

TM

February 23-29, 1996

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

February 29 - March 23, 1996

Principal Expedition 21
38

the existing Strela could not be used to reach the Kristall module

in its current location, they installed a second Strela boom on the

Mir base block, on the side opposite the Strela already in place.

In the 5-hr, 51-min EVA, they also prepared cables and electrical

connectors on the surface of the Kvant module for the May

installation of the Mir Cooperative Solar Array.146, 147 The array

was stored on the surface of Docking Module that was installed

on Kristall last November. 

STS-76 Mission Highlights

March 22 - 31, 1996

Kevin Chilton, Commander 

Rick Searfoss, Pilot 

Ron Sega, Payload Commander, Mission Specialist 

Rich Clifford, Mission Specialist 

Linda Godwin, Mission Specialist 

Shannon Lucid, Mission Specialist (joins the Mir 21 crew 

as Cosmonaut Researcher)

Highlights: The chief objectives of STS-76 were its third

docking of Atlantis with the Mir station, the first space walk

by U.S. astronauts during a Shuttle-Mir docking, and the

delivery to the station of a new Mir-21 crew member, biochemist/pilot Shannon Lucid. Lucid was the first American

woman to serve as a Mir station researcher. 

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

February 29 - March 23, 1996

Atlantis launched. The U.S. Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis was

launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 22 at 7:00 a.m.

CST for its sixteenth flight. During the ascent phase, flight

controllers detected a small leak in one of Atlantis's three

redundant hydraulic systems, but after the system was shut off

when Atlantis reached orbit, the leak stopped. The approximately 20% loss of that one system's hydraulic fluid would not

adversely affect the mission because the hydraulic system

would not be used again till the descent phase.148

Preparations for docking. During the first two days of the

mission, Chilton and Searfoss began jet firings to guide Atlantis's

journey toward Mir. The crew prepared for the docking by checking out communications equipment and docking and alignment

aids. They also activated Spacehab and began orbital operations

for Biorack experiments. Godwin and Clifford checked out the

space suits and equipment for their upcoming EVA.149

Atlantis approaches Mir. On mission day 3, when Atlantis

was within 8 miles of the station, Chilton fired the orbital

maneuvering system engines in the terminal phase initiation (TI)

burn. As the two spacecraft completed another orbit, Atlantis

approached Mir from below along the R-bar, using rendezvous

radar to track its approach rate and measure its distance.150

Concluded

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
39

Atlantis

Kristall Kvant 2

- Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr

Third Atlantis/Mir docking. Chilton took manual control at

one-half mile below the Mir, executing a 180° yaw rotation to

align Atlantis with the Docking Module on Kristall. He used the

ODS centerline camera as an aid in refining and maintaining the

alignment. At 8:34 p.m. CST on March 23, he achieved contact,

adding Atlantis to a space station complex that then totaled 230 t.

After confirmation of docking, leak checks, and pressurization of

the docking vestibule, the hatches were opened and the two crews

greeted each other. Shortly afterward, the Atlantis crew installed

ducts to aid in circulating air between the two spacecraft during

the docked phase.151, 152

Lucid joins Mir 21 crew. Lucid officially became a Mir 21

crew member at 7:30 a.m. CST on March 24, after a joint "go"

from the Russian and U.S. mission control centers. She became

the first in a planned continuous U.S. astronaut presence on the

station until 1998.153

New supplies brought up on Atlantis. In the joint portion of

the mission, the two crews loaded into the station more than 1 t

of U.S. science equipment, almost 2 t of Russian supplies, and

15 containers of water totaling about 1.5 t. Approximately a ton

of excess equipment, waste, and science payload was transferred

from Mir to Atlantis.154 From their vantage point in orbit, the

crews were treated to a good view of comet Hyakutake.155 Some

of the spacecraft hardware items brought up by Atlantis were a

replacement gyrodyne, a seat liner kit for Lucid to be placed in a

Soyuz module if emergency return to Earth was required, and

three Russian storage batteries which had been replenished on

Earth.156

Experiment supplies. Some of the new supplies and equipment

for onboard experiments included replacement hardware for the

Mir glovebox stowage experiments, Mir electric field characterization hardware to measure radio interference inside and around

the complex, and a liquid phase sintering experiment that would

use the Optizon furnace to bond different metals.157

Spacehab module work. On flight days 4, 5, and 7, the crew

worked on the Biorack in the Spacehab module in the Orbiter

payload bay. The Biorack contained eleven experiments to

investigate the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on

plants, animal tissues, bacteria, and insects. The various

experiments were designed by France, Germany, the U.S.,

Switzerland, and the Netherlands.158

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

March 23-28, 1996

Principal Expedition 21
40

Pre-EVA procedures. In preparation for the EVA, Atlantis's

cabin air pressure was lowered from 14.7 to 10.2 psi. The

hatches were closed between Mir and Atlantis and Atlantis and

Spacehab throughout the EVA to allow for sustained cabin

depressurization The Mir crew, including Lucid, stayed inside

Mir, and the Atlantis crew stayed inside the Orbiter cabin, with

Sega coordinating the space walk activities from inside.159

SAFER backpacks worn. Attached to their regular portable

life support system (PLSS) backpack, Godwin and Clifford

donned new self-contained backpacks with propulsion systems

to allow enough free-flight capability to return an untethered

astronaut to the spacecraft in an emergency. The device, called

the simplified aid for EVA rescue (SAFER), was designed for

EVAs on docked vehicles which would be unable to quickly

retrieve a drifting spacewalker. The backpack was test-flown on

STS-64 in September 1994.160

First EVA by U.S. astronauts at Mir. On March 27, Godwin

and Clifford performed their 6-hr EVA in Atlantis's cargo bay

and on the exterior of the Mir Docking Module. Their major

task was to secure four experiment canisters to handrails on the

Docking Module. The experiments, collectively called the Mir

Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP), were designed to record

data on orbital debris in the environment near Mir, to collect

samples of the debris, and to test potential International Space

Station materials by exposing them to the low Earth orbit

environment. The four passive experiment canisters would 

be retrieved by a later STS crew after almost 2 years of data

collection. During their work on the Docking Module, the

astronauts also evaluated new tether hooks and foot restraints

that could be used on both Mir and Shuttle Orbiter exteriors,

prototypes of International Space Station EVA equipment. They

also retrieved the Mir-mounted camera that had been used in

docking alignment during STS-74 in November 1995.161, 162

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

March 23-28, 1996

Concluded

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
41

Kristall Kvant 2

Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr

Atlantis leaves Mir again. The STS-76 and Mir 21 crews 

bid each other farewell on the morning of March 28. They

closed the hatches to their spacecraft, and the astronauts began

preparations for undocking and return to Earth. With the

steering jets to both spacecraft shut down, Atlantis separated

from the Mir Docking Module. Then Chilton reactivated the

jets and slowly moved away from Mir. At 600 ft out, he began a

fly-around, circled the station twice while the crews took pictures of each others' spacecraft, then moved to another orbit.163

STS-76 mission ends at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Weather conditions at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on

March 30 were unfavorable for landing, so the crew instead

spent an extra day on Earth observation photography. Atlantis

landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 7:29 a.m. CST

on March 31 after a 9-day, 5-hr mission. However, on a return

home interview, Godwin remarked "Our mission won't really be

over until [Lucid lands] in August." 164, 165

Mir 21 continues with full crew. The daily flight plan, or

cyclogram, for the Russian-U.S. crew was provided 4 days ahead

of schedule by TsUP. A group of NASA science experts in

Moscow served as consultants on science activities. The first

week after Atlantis's departure, the crew focused on the Optizon

Liquid Phase Sintering Experiment (OLiPSE), processing 

70 samples of different metals at high temperatures. The crew also

conducted life sciences research and Earth observation photography.

Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) monitors were

placed throughout the station to record movements that might

disrupt experiments. Radiation dosimeters in various locations

provided another measurement of the station's internal environment. A leak in a coolant loop in the core module was detected

in mid-April, but the crew was unable to find the exact location.

That loop was turned off and the alternate loop was used.166

Priroda on the way to Mir. The long-awaited launch of Priroda,

earlier announced for March 10 so that the module would be in

place when Lucid arrived at Mir, had been moved forward at least

twice—once because of late delivery from the Khrunichev factory, and once because a commercial Proton launch in early April

took precedence.167 But on April 23, Priroda was launched from

Baikonur atop an SL-13 Proton rocket for a 3-day orbital trip to

Mir. One of the two battery-powered electrical systems on the

spacecraft dropped off-line, eliminating the backup power source

for the automatic docking system. If the primary electrical

system had also malfunctioned, the Mir crew would have

immediately initiated a manual docking.168

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

March 28 - April 26, 1996

Principal Expedition 21
42

Priroda 

Specifications

mass-19,700 kg

length-approx. 12 m 

max. diameter-4.35 m 

pressurized vol.-66 m3 

Description 

Last of the six permanent habitable Mir modules, Priroda (fig. 11) was, like Spektr, designed by

RKK Energia in the mid- to late-1980s, and was built and assembled in the Khrunichev plant

between 1989 and 1991, with launch originally planned for 1991 or 1992. 

Priroda was designed to carry a deployable solar array, but during launch delays, more solar

arrays were planned and designed for addition to other parts of Mir, so the array was not

included in the launch configuration.

The module's two propulsion systems included one for orbit correction during the flight to Mir

and rendezvous with Mir, and one for berthing and stabilization during the docking phase. 169

All other systems on Priroda, including its Kurs automatic docking system, were powered

during the independent flight phase by two redundant sets of large batteries, 168 in all. An

electrical connector failure during flight to Mir caused concern over loss of access to the

backup set of batteries, but the module docked with no problems. Once the module had been

relocated to the +Z port (with its Lyappa arm, also powered by the batteries), the electrical

systems were connected to the station's power supply from solar arrays on other modules. The

Mir 21 crew bagged the disconnected batteries shortly afterwards and later stowed them in

Progress-M 31 for destructive return into Earth's atmosphere.

The Priroda module includes an unpressurized instrument compartment and an instrument/

payload compartment, both of which are covered by a payload shroud that protected the

module and external equipment from aerodynamic effects during launch. 

The unpressurized compartment is mated to the base of the module aft of the instrument/

payload compartment, and it extends to partially surround that compartment. It contains propulsion system components, EVA restraints, and scientific equipment. On the opposite end are the

docking system and an intravehicular hatch opening into the instrument/payload compartment.

The instrument/payload compartment, the main portion of the module, has an inner habitation

and work compartment and an outer instrumentation compartment. The two are separated by

aluminum-magnesium coated plastic panels that form a fire break and contribute significantly

to the module's environmental control system by allowing conditioned air to flow through the

crew's working area before it returns to the instrumentation compartment. The compartment is

divided lengthwise into three sections, one that houses spacecraft systems and two that house

primarily payload systems and the pressurized working area for the crew.170

The Priroda mission is to conduct Earth sciences studies through a variety of remote sensing

equipment and to develop and verify remote sensing methods. The experiments were designed

to not only gather valuable data on land surface, ocean, atmosphere, and ecology, but also to

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
43

provide a basis for development of optimal methods of data gathering and analysis and optimal

combinations of instruments.171

The experiments, contributed by twelve nations, cover the microwave, visible, near infrared,

and infrared spectral regions using both active and passive sounding methods. Active

microwave equipment on board is the synthetic aperture radar (SAR), Travers III, to be

deployed after docking to Mir. 

Passive microwave equipment includes

• Radiometer complexes IKAR-N, consisting of 5 nadir-looking radiometers, and IKAR-D,

a four-channel scanning radiometer

• Panorama radiometer complex IKAR-P, a three-channel radiometer and a five-channel

radiometer

Optical Instruments are

• Infrared spectrometers ISTOK-1 (Lambda-scanning)(Russia, Czechia): MOS-A and

MOS-B, with 17 channels (Germany) 

• Spatial high resolution multispectral and stereo scanner MOMS-2P (Germany) 

• Conical scanner MSU-SK, 5 channels

• Pushbroom multichannel scanner MSU-E 

• A surveying TV camera 

• "OZONE-M," for determination of ozone profiles from occultation measurements

• Lidar "Alisa" for active optical sounding (France) 

The payload compliment also includes equipment for medical and microgravity experiments,

contributed mostly by the United States.172

Figure 11. The Priroda module, launched on

April 23, 1996, was the last permanent module

added to the Mir complex. 

Principal Expedition 21
44

Kristall Kvant 2

Priroda - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr

Successful docking. The Kurs automatic docking system on

Priroda worked flawlessly, as did the electrical system. No

problems were encountered on the April 26 docking of the new

module at the -X port at the front of the Mir base block.173

Kristall Kvant 2

Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr Priroda 

Priroda at permanent docking spot. On April 27, from inside

the station, the Mir 21 crew controlled Priroda's repositioning

with the Lyappa arm to the +Z docking port, directly across

from the Kristall module.174 Thus the Mir complex, with its six

habitable modules and Docking Module, attained its final basic

configuration. Henceforth the shape of the complex would

change only temporarily, with dockings by Progress, Soyuz, 

and Space Shuttle Orbiter vehicles.

Batteries prepared for disposal. Because of concern about

possible sulfur dioxide leaks from the malfunctioning battery

system, a test of the module's atmosphere was made before the

crew entered. Once inside Priroda, the crew's first task was to

unbolt the batteries, cap their connectors, and place them in

plastic bags—again because of possible sulfur dioxide leakage.

The 168 batteries would later be placed in Progress-M 31 for

disposal. The crew began connecting Mir power sources to

Priroda systems and troubleshooting the battery system problem.175

Sp

K2

Mir K

Kr

April 26-27, 1996

Mir K

Pr

Kr

TM

Sp

K2

April 27 - May 7, 1996

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
45

Kristall Kvant 2

Progress-M 31 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr Priroda 

Progress M-31 brings new supplies. A new Progress cargo

spacecraft was launched from Baikonur on May 5 and docked

under control of the Kurs automatic system at the -X port of Mir

on May 7 (fig. 12). For the first time in the station's history, all

ports of the base block were occupied at the same time. The

crew began unloading the vehicle that week, in addition to

continuing their science experiments and Priroda activation.

They successfully tested the new Mir interface-to-payload 

systems (MIPS) hardware for downlinking data to the ground

and replaced three nickel-cadmium batteries in the Priroda power

system. However, a power controller for the system failed, and

ground controllers began monitoring and controlling battery

charging. The crew finally isolated the coolant loop leak in the

core module, but there was no health risk associated with the

leak, and repair was not immediately scheduled.176

5-7-96 Configuration

+Y

-Y

-Z

-X +Z

+x

Figure 12. The Mir complex on May 7, 1996, with all base block ports occupied. Priroda

had docked with the station initially on April 26 and subsequently had been relocated to

the +Z port. Progress-M 31 docked at the -X port to complete the configuration. 

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

M TM

May 7 - August 1, 1996

Principal Expedition 21
46

Cooperative Solar Array installed during Mir 21 crew's

second and third EVAs. Onufrienko and Usachev left the 

station early on May 20 to remove the Mir Cooperative Solar

Array from its stowed position on the exterior of the Docking

Module at the base of Kristall. They used the new Strela boom

installed during their March 15 EVA to reach the array and move

it to the Kvant module, where they positioned its cables in

preparation for final installation during their next EVA. During the

5-hr, 20-min EVA, they inflated an aluminum and nylon model

of a Pepsi Cola can, which they filmed against the backdrop of

Earth. The soft drink company paid for the procedure and

planned to use the film in a television commercial.177, 178, 179 On

May 25, in their third space walk of the mission, the cosmonauts

were outside the station for 5 hr, 43 min, completing the solar

array installation on Kvant. After all connections were made, the

array unfurled upon command from inside the station.180

Mir 21 crew greets STS-77 crew. As the cosmonauts prepared

for yet another space walk, Lucid continued testing and activating

U.S. equipment in Priroda and Spektr. She also conducted

materials experiments, including two runs of the Liquid

Diffusion-II payload to study molten metals in space. All the

crew members exchanged greetings with the astronauts aboard

Endeavour on Shuttle mission STS-77 and held a conference

with U.S. and Russian news media.

Camera installed on Priroda exterior during fourth Mir 21

EVA. On May 30, Onufrienko and Usachev installed the Modular

Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner (MOMS), a German remote

sensing camera, on the Priroda module. The camera, designed to

collect Earth atmosphere and environment data, had been flown

earlier on two Shuttle missions, STS-7 in June 1983 and STS-41B

in February 1984. After the installation, Lucid activated the

system by remote command from inside the station. During the

5-hr EVA, the cosmonauts also installed a new handrail on

Kvant-2 to facilitate movements in future space walks.181

More experiments installed during fifth EVA. The Particle

Impact Experiment and the Mir Sample Return Experiment, U.S.

space science experiments brought to orbit inside Priroda, were

installed on the exterior of Kvant 2 during a June 6 EVA lasting

about 3.5 hr. The cosmonauts also replaced a cassette in the

Komza experiment on the surface of Spektr.182, 183

Rapana girder assembled on Kvant in sixth EVA. On June 13,

the cosmonauts spent over 5 hr outside Mir, installing and

deploying a Rapana girder on the surface of the Kvant module as

a platform for installing future experiments on the station exterior.

The 5-m structure was deployed in four sections. Another activity

during this EVA was manual deployment of the Travers radar

antenna on the exterior of Priroda. The large antenna had failed

to deploy fully by commands from inside the station.184, 185

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

M TM

May 7 - August 1, 1996

Continued

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
47

Science work continues. In addition to assisting the 

cosmonauts during EVAs from inside the station, Lucid continued

activating equipment, such as the Biotechnology System Facility

for long-term biotechnology studies, and conducting experiments

such as the Humoral Immunity experiment to study spaceflight

effects on the human immune system. The crew also monitored

various aspects of the spacecraft environment. They took air

samples in Spektr and the core module using the Solid Sorbent

Air Sampler (SSAS) and the Grab Sample Container (GSC).

They recorded effects of spacecraft motion with the SAMS

equipment and began evaluation of the Microgravity Isolation

Mount (MIM).186

Fourth Shuttle docking with Mir delayed. On July 12, NASA

announced the decision to postpone the July 31 launch of the

STS-79 mission, in which Atlantis was to dock with Mir for the

fourth time, until mid-September. In the interim, NASA planned

to replace the solid rocket boosters to be used in the launch

because of a postflight discovery that hot gas had seeped into

the joints of the boosters used in STS-78 launch in June. In

spots the gas penetrated the J-joints to, but not past, the capture

feature O-rings. An investigation revealed that the most probable

cause of the leakage was use of a new adhesive and cleaning fluid,

also used on the boosters for STS-79. Although the boosters

were judged safe to fly, a decision was made to replace them in

order further study the J-joint failure and to improve the safety

margin of the joint. 

U.S. record surpassed and counting. On July 15, Lucid 

surpassed the space duration record for a U.S. astronaut, set by

Norm Thagard with his 115 days on Mir Principal Expedition 18

in 1995. With the delay of STS-79, her flight record would be

even longer than originally anticipated. 

Greenhouse work. The crew assembled the Svet facility for the

Fundamental Biology Greenhouse plant experiment during the

latter part of July. A temporary limitation of power in Kristall

caused a delay in the first planting, but was solved when ground

planners instructed the crew to plug an extension cord into

Spektr's power supply. Station maintenance during the last

week of July included replacement of a vacuum valve assembly

on the carbon dioxide removal system. On July 26, the oxygen

generation system began sporadic malfunctioning. The crew

activated the backup oxygen system on August 1.187

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

M TM

May 7 - August 1, 1996

Concluded

Principal Expedition 21
48

Kristall Kvant 2 

- Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr Priroda 

Progress-M 31 departs. On August 1, at 16:45 UTC,

Progress-M 31 left the -X port for destructive reentry into

Earth's atmosphere.

Kristall Kvant 2 

Progress-M 32 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr Priroda 

And Progress-M 32 arrives. Launched on July 31 with fresh

supplies and hardware for the upcoming Cassiopee mission

experiments, Progress-M 32 docked at the -X port on August 2. 

Gyrodynes refurbished. The Mir 21 crew began setting up

experiments for the upcoming mission. They also refurbished

the gyrodyne system, maintaining station attitude by thruster

firings August 5-7 while the gyrodynes were not available. 

August experiment work. The seeds for the first crop of dwarf

wheat were planted in the Greenhouse on August 5. Earth

observations were made of areas of the United States, Europe,

and Asia. Lucid continued to run experiments, including 

• Queen's University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion

(QUELD), using a furnace to analyze the formation of

alloys in space. To record the effects of the furnace 

experiment, she took SAMS data and Enhanced 

Dynamic Load Sensors (EDLS) data. 

• Candle Flame in Microgravity (CFM), to study the 

physiochemical processes of combustion. She reported 

that the appearance of flame in microgravity was quite 

different from that on Earth.

• Anticipatory Postural Activity (POSA) experiment, to

measure how muscles work in microgravity, for use in 

studies of physiological adaptations to spaceflight. 

• Forced Flow Framespread test, to examine the flamespreading properties of solid fuels.

• Solid Sorbent Air Sampler for Volatile Organic

Compounds, to evaluate the Mir environment and provide

data for development of advanced life support systems. 

• Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC), a 

radiation-dosage measurement device.188

Life on Mars? The crew was excited when they received news

from the ground about NASA's August 6 announcement of the

evidence of primitive life forms in a Martian meteorite found in

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

TM

August 1-2, 1996

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

M TM

August 2-18, 1996

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
49

TM

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

TM

August 18-19, 1996

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

TM

August 19 - 

September 2, 1996

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

TM

August 2-18, 1996 Antarctica. Lucid said in a television interview on August 12

that she and her crew mates were enthusiastic about the idea of

human flights to Mars.

Soyuz-TM 24 launched. On August 17, Soyuz-TM 24 was

launched from Baikonur with the new crew for Mir Principal

Expedition 22.

Kristall Kvant 2

Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23

Spektr Priroda 

Progress-M 32 bows out. To free the -X port for docking of

the approaching Soyuz-TM 24, the Progress module was

undocked on August 18 under automatic control and moved to a

parking orbit. There it would remain until the departure of

Soyuz-TM 23 with the homeward-bound Mir 21 crew on Sept 2. 

Kristall Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 24 - Mir - Kvant - Soyuz-TM 23 

Spektr Priroda

Mir 22 crew arrives. Soyuz-TM 24 docked at the -X port on

August 19. New arrivals were Mir 22 Commander Valery Korzun

and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Visiting French Space

Agency (CNES) Cosmonaut Researcher Claudie Andre-Deshays

accompanied them to Mir for a 2-week program of a scientific

investigations collectively called Cassiopee. She would return

to Earth with the Mir 21 crew. (A few days before the launch

of Soyuz-TM 24, the commander of the Mir 22 primary crew,

Gennady Manakov, had been grounded because of possible

heart problems. Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov would also

have to forego Mir 22 because the two had trained together.) 

Multinational activities. Once again, three nations were 

represented on Mir. Cassiopee, the fifth CNES-RSA joint 

mission, would be under the cooperative control of TsUP in

Moscow and CADMOS in France. 

Cassiopee mission. Andre-Deshays, Korzun, and Kaleri

worked on the following experiments:

• PHYSIOLAB, a study of cardiovascular physiology using

LBNP devices

Concluded

Principal Expedition 21
50

• COGNILAB, tests of neurosensory system responses in

microgravity

• FERTILE, egg-based studies to determine the role of gravity

in embryonic development

• ALICE II, experiments in fluid dynamics (hydrodynamic

and thermal properties of fluids at critical point)

• CASTOR, analyses of structural dynamics in space using 

-- DYNLAB, to measure the vibrations in the Mir modules

-- TREILLIS, a 2-m-long metallic trellis, to validate 

mathematical simulations of structural damping modes 189

Mir 21 Closeout. The Mir 21 crew continued preparations for

departure, packing items for return to Earth and handing over

responsibilities to the new crew. Lucid, who would remain on the

station until the arrival of Atlantis on STS-79 in mid-September,

also monitored continuing experiments. She reported that the

dwarf wheat crop was about 2 in. tall 3 weeks after planting.

Kristall Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 24 - Mir - Kvant 

Spektr Priroda

Mir 21 crew goes home. Onufrienko, Usachev, and 

Andre-Deshays departed Mir on September 2 in the 

Soyuz-TM 23 spacecraft and safely landed in Central Asia.

Onufrienko and Usachev had been in space 194 days, 

Andre-Deshays 17 days. 

Kristall Kvant 2

Soyuz-TM 24 - Mir - Kvant - Progress-M 32 

Spektr Priroda

Progress-M 32 redocks. A day later, September 3, Progress-M

32, which had been in a parking orbit for 2 weeks after it

undocked from the -X port to make way for Soyuz-TM 24, successfully redocked at the +X port. This configuration would

remain until the September 18 docking of Atlantis with Mir, during which John Blaha would replace Lucid as the U.S. astronaut

aboard the station. 

TM

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

TM

August 19 - 

September 2, 1996

TM

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

September 2-3, 1996

TM

Sp

K2

Mir K

Pr

Kr

September 3-18, 1996

Concluded

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
51

Appendix

Comparative Chronology of U. S. and Russian Human Space 

Missions from November 1994 through August 1996

This list of Russian and U.S. human missions is provided for quick reference. It also includes

flights of the Russian Progress-M cargo vehicles which, although they did not actually transport

humans, ferried supplies for humans on Mir missions. Launch to landing dates are shown at left;

mission descriptions are on the right. Dates of dockings and other notable milestones within a mission are included in the description column. Russian missions are indicated by bold dates and

names, U. S. missions by underlining, and joint Russian-U.S. missions by italics. 

Date Mission

October 3, 1994-March 22, 1996 Mir Principle Expedition 17. Crew: Commander

Alexandr Viktorenko, Flight Engineer Yelena Kondakova,

and cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who set a new

record for human space flight duration with his 

438-day stay. Mir 17 hosted Euromir 94, first ESA

mission aboard Mir. Space Shuttle Atlantis rendezvoused with Mir on its STS-63 mission. 

November 3-14, 1994 STS-66. Crew: Commander Donald R. McMonagle,

Pilot Curtis L. Brown, Jr., Payload Commander 

Ellen Ochoa, Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski,

Joseph R. Tanner, Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA astronaut).

Part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, the flight had

an international crew and experiments provided by

several nations. The Atmospheric Laboratory for

Applications and Sciences-03 (ATLAS-03), the 

primary payload, was flown to study the energy 

of the sun and how it affects the Earth's climate and

environment. 

November 11, 1994- Progress M-25 docked with Mir on November 13 

February 16, 1995 with crew supplies and repair parts. 

February 3-10, 1995 STS-63. U.S. Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery 

rendezvoused with Mir from February 6 through 8.

Crew members were Commander James D. Wetherbee,

Pilots Eileen M. Collins and Michael Foale, Mission

Specialists Janice E. Voss and Bernard A. Harris, Jr.,

and Russian cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov. Primary

objectives were to verify flight techniques and interfaces

between communications and navigation equipment,

and to study Shuttle Orbiter/Mir proximity operations

in preparation for the STS-71 docking mission. An

EVA during which two astronauts manipulated the

Spartan-204 free-flying retrievable platform provided

experience with manipulating large objects in space. 

Comparative Chronology
52

February 15-March 15, 1995 Progress-M 26, with a cargo that included equipment

for experiments on the Mir 18 mission, docked with

Mir on February 17.

March 2-18, 1995 STS-67. Endeavor set a Space Shuttle Orbiter record of

16 days, 15 hours in space. The primary payload was

Astro-2, a suite of three instruments flown on Spacelab

for astronomical observations in the ultraviolet 

spectrum. Crew: Commander Stephen S. Oswald,

Pilot William G. Gregory, Payload Commander

Tamara E. Jernigan (3) , Mission Specialists 

John M. Grunsfeld and Wendy B. Lawrence, Payload

Specialists Ronald A. Parise and Sammuel Durrance.

March 14-July 7, 1995 Mir Principle Expedition 18. Crew: Commander

Vladimir Dezhurov, flight engineer Gennadiy Strekalov,

Cosmonaut-Researcher Norman Thagard (U.S. 

astronaut). Joint U.S.-Russian medical research and

weightlessness effects investigations were conducted

and the station was reconfigured for the arrivals of

the Spektr science module and the Space Shuttle

Atlantis. Notable "firsts" were the addition of the

first new module (Spektr) since Kristall arrived in

1990, the first American (Thagard) to be part of a

Mir crew, and the first docking of a U.S. spacecraft

(Atlantis on STS-71) with the Mir complex. The

crew returned to Earth on Atlantis. 

March 14-September 11, 1995 Soyuz-TM 21, carrying the Mir 18 crew, docked with

Mir on March 16. Because Atlantis took that crew

home and brought up the next crew on STS-71,

Soyuz-TM 21 did not return to Earth until the end of

the 19th Principle Expedition. From March 14-18, the

thirteen space travelers aboard Mir (crews 17 and 18)

and Endeavor set a record for number of humans in

orbit at one time. 

March 22, 1995 Soyuz-TM 20, which had been launched October 3,

1994, to deliver the Principle Expedition 17 crew to

Mir, returned that crew to Earth. Physician Valeri

Polyakov, who went up on January 8, 1994 with the

Mir 15 crew, had attained a record 438 days in space. 

April 9-May 23, 1995 Progress-M 27 docked at Mir with supplies on April 11.

May 20, 1995 Spektr, launched by a Proton-K rocket on May 20,

docked with Mir's -X port on June 1 and was relocated

to the -Y port on June 2. Spektr was the first new

module to be added to Mir since 1990, bringing the

total to five permanent habitable modules.

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
53

June 27-July 7, 1995 STS-71. Atlantis docked with Mir, the first U.S. Space

Shuttle Orbiter to do so, and the first U.S. craft to

dock with a Russian one since the Apollo-Soyuz 

mission on July 17, 1975. A new Orbiter Docking

System had been installed in the payload bay for the

docking with Kristall's APAS system. The U.S. crew

members were Commander Robert L. Gibson, Pilot

Charles J. Precourt, Mission Specialists Ellen S. Baker,

Bonnie J. Dunbar, and Gregory J. Harbaugh. The

ascending crew included that of Mir 19 Commander

Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin.

The descending crew included Mir 18 Commander

Vladimir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennadiy Strekalov,

and (American) Cosmonaut Researcher Norm Thagard.

During the 5-day docking, June 29-July 4, the 

10 members of the combined crews set a record for

the most humans aboard a single space complex at

the same time. This was the 100th Space Shuttle

Orbiter flight. 

June 27-September 11, 1995 Mir Principle Expedition 19. Commander Anatoly

Solovyev and flight engineer Nikolai Budarin were

the first Mir crew launched on a Space Shuttle

Orbiter. They began their work on Mir in conjunction

with a visiting U.S. crew and a departing international

crew and ended their stay by welcoming an incoming

international crew. Two of their EVAs involved

deployment and retrieval of international experiments. 

July 13-22, 1995 STS-70. The Discovery astronauts deployed a Tracking

and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-G) completing worldwide coverage for the TDRS ground-to-satellite 

communications network, which is one of NASA's

means of contacting the shuttles. Crew members were

Commander Terence T. Henricks, Pilot Kevin R. Kregel,

Mission Specialists Nancy Jane Currie, Donald A. Thomas,

and Mary Ellen Weber. 

July 20-September 4, 1995 Progress-M 28 docked with Mir on July 22 to resupply the station and provide ESA equipment for the

Euromir 95 (Mir 20) mission.

September 3, 1995-February 29, 1996 Mir Principle Expedition 20. Soyuz-TM 22 docked with

Mir on September 5, carrying the Mir 20/Euromir 95

international crew: Commander Yuriy Gidzenko, Flight

Engineer Sergey Avdeyev, and ESA Cosmonaut

Researcher/Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter. The crew

returned in the same Soyuz-TM, 44 days later than

originally scheduled. During the Mir 20 mission,

Atlantis docked with the station on STS-74. Euromir 95

included studies of microgravity effects on the human

body and materials processing experiments.

Comparative Chronology
54

September 7-18, 1995 STS-69. Crew: Commander David M. Walker, 

Pilot Kenneth D. Cockrell, Payload Commander

James S. Voss, Mission Specialists James H. Newman

and Michael L. Gernhardt. Two free-flying experiments,

the Wake Shield Facility and the Spartan 201 astronomy

satellite, were released into orbit and retrieved

before mission end.

October 8-December 19, 1995 Progress-M 29 docked with Mir on October 10. Its

cargo included additional equipment for the extended

Euromir 95 mission.

October 20-November 5, 1995 STS-73 was the second Microgravity Laboratory flight

(USML-2). Other payloads aboard Columbia

included the Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment

(OARE) and the Midcourse Space Experiments

(MSX). Crew: Commander Kenneth D. Bowersox,

Pilot Kent Rominger, Payload Commander 

Kathryn Thornton, Mission Specialists 

Catherine Coleman and Michael Lopez-Alegria,

Payload Specialists Fred Leslie and Albert Sacco. 

November 12-20, 1995 STS-74. On its second docking with Mir, Atlantis

delivered the Russian-built Docking Module, which

was installed on Kristall for use in future Shuttle

dockings. Two new solar arrays were stowed on the

exterior of the Docking Module for deployment later.

Crew members were Commander Kenneth D. Cameron,

Pilot James D. Halsell, Mission Specialists

Jerry L. Ross, William S. McArthur, and Canadian

Chris A. Hadfield. 

December 18, 1995-February 22, 1996 Progress-M 30 docked with Mir on December 30.

February 21-September 2, 1996 Mir Principle Expedition 21. Soyuz-TM 23

docked with Mir on February 23, delivering the two

Russian members of the Mir 21 crew, Commander

Yuri Onufrienko and Flight Engineer Yuri Usachev.

Cosmonaut Researcher Shannon Lucid (U.S. astronaut) joined them on March 22 after Atlantis docked

with Mir a third time, during the STS-76 mission.

The last permanent module, Priroda, was added to

the complex in April. 

February 22-March 9, 1996 STS-75. Columbia featured reflight of the Italian

Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1R). Although the

tether was deployed successfully, it broke as it

neared the end of its planned 12.8 mile distance. 

The international crew included ESA Mission

Specialists Maurizio Cheli and Claude Nicollier, and

Italian Payload Specialist Umberto Guidoni. U.S.

crew members were Commander Andrew M. Allen,

Mir Mission Chronicle November 1994—August 1996
55

Pilot Scott J. Horowitz, Payload Commander

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, and Mission Specialist

Jeffrey A. Hoffman.

March 22-31, 1996 STS-76. In its third U.S. Shuttle docking mission

with Mir, Atlantis delivered the third Mir 21 crew

member, U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid. Other STS-76

crew members were Commander Kevin Chilton, Pilot

Rick Searfoss, Payload Commander Ron Sega,

Mission Specialists Rich Clifford and Linda Godwin.

During the March 23-28 docking phase, Godwin and

Clifford installed the Mir Environmental Effects

Payload (MEEP) on the Docking Module in the first

Mir EVA by U.S. astronauts. 

April 23, 1996 Priroda docked flawlessly with Mir on April 26

despite concern about the battery-powered electrical

system. The module, devoted primarily to Earth

resources investigations, is the sixth (and last) 

permanent habitable Mir module.

May 5-Aug. 1 , 1996 Progress-M 31 docked with Mir on May 7.

May 19-29, 1996 STS-77. Endeavour flew microgravity research

experiments aboard the Spacehab module and

deployed and retrieved the Spartan-207/IAE

(Inflatable Antenna Experiment) satellite. Crew:

Commander John H. Casper, Pilot Curtis L. Brown Jr.,

Mission specialists Daniel W. Bursch, Mario Runco, Jr.,

Canadian Marc Garneau, and Andrew S. W. Thomas. 

June 20-July 7, 1996 STS-78. Endeavour's flight of the Life and

Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) mission set a new U.S.

Space Shuttle endurance record with its duration of

16 days, 21 hours, 47 minutes. Crew: Commander

Terence T. Henricks, Pilot Kevin R. Kregel, Flight

Engineer, Susan J. Helms, Mission Specialists

Richard M. Linnehan, Charles E. Brady, Jr., 

Payload Specialists Jean-Jacques Favier (France) 

and Robert Brent Thirsk (Canada). 

July 31, 1996- Progress-M 32 docked with Mir August 2. The

module was undocked from the -X port under 

automatic control on August 18 to make room for

Soyuz-TM 24. It was placed in a parking orbit until

the departure of Soyuz-TM 23, at which time it was

redocked at the +X port. 

August 17, 1996- Soyuz-TM 24 arrived at Mir on August 19 with the

Mir 21 crew, Commander Valery Korzun and Flight

Engineer Alexander Kaleri, and visiting French 

cosmonaut-researcher Claudie Andre-Deshays.

Comparative Chronology

57

References

1. Neville Kidger, "Mir Space Station Update," Spaceflight, v. 37, March 1995, p. 99.

2. Space Calendar, Jan. 9-15 and Jan. 23-29, 1995.

3. David S. F. Portree, "Mir Hardware Heritage," NASA RP-1357, 1995, p. 117.

4. Portree, "Heritage," p. 146-147.

5. Kidger, "Mir...Update," p. 99.

6. Chris van den Berg, "MirNews" 242, Jan. 26, 1995.

7. NASA Public Affairs Office, STS-63 Mission Report.

8. William Harwood, "Thruster Problem Prompts Team Integration," Space News, 

Feb. 13-19, 1995.

9. Space Calendar, Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 1995.

10. Portree, "Heritage," p. 194.

11. NASA Kennedy Space Center, STS-63 Mission Highlights at

(http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-63/mission-sts-63.html).

12. Harwood, "Thruster Problem...."

13. Peter B. de Selding, "Shuttle-Mir Dockings Pose Logistics Problems," Space News, 

Feb. 20-27, 1995.

14. NASA KSC, STS-63 Mission Highlights. 

15. Space News, Feb. 13-19, 1995.

16. Ben Iannotta, "Station Engineers Study Mir's Telltale Scars from Debris," Space News, 

March 22-April 2, 1995, p. 10.

17. Roelof Schuiling, "EVAs Follow Mir Rendezvous," Spaceflight, v. 37, May 1995, p. 155.

18. NASA KSC, STS-63 Mission Highlights. 

19. van den Berg, "MirNews" 244, Feb. 12, 1995.

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Space Calendar, Feb. 20-26, 1995.

23. Kaliningrad Mission Control Center, Mir 18 Status Report 1, March 14, 1995.

24. van den Berg, "MirNews" 247, March 16, 1995.

25. Kaliningrad MCC, Mir 18 Status Report 3, March 16, 1995.

26. William Harwood, "Thagard Joins Mir Cosmonauts," Space News, 

March 30-April 5, 1995.

27. Kaliningrad MCC, Mir 18 Status Report 4, March 17, 1995.

28. Neville Kidger, "Thagard Joins Cosmonauts," Spaceflight, v. 37, June 95, p. 190.

29. Neville Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans Meet with Success," Spaceflight, v. 37, 

July 95, p. 221.

30. Kaliningrad MCC, Mir 18 Status Reports 7 and 8, March 28 and 31, 1995.

31. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans...," p. 222.

32. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans...," p. 223.

33. Ibid.

34. van den Berg, "MirNews" 249, 250, 251—April 6, 12, 20, 1995.

35. van den Berg, "MirNews" 249, April 6, 1995.
58

36. NASA PAO, Mir 18 Mission Science Reports, April 19-25, 1995.

37. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans...," p. 223.

38. NASA PAO, Mir 18 Mission Science Report, May 4, 1995.

39. van den Berg, "MirNews" 253 and 254, May 15 and 16, 1995.

40. Kaliningrad MCC, Mir 18 Status Report 20, May 12, 1995.

41. van den Berg, "MirNews" 255 and 256, May 17 and 18, 1995).

42. Craig Covault, "EVA Problems Delay Mir Station Changes," Aviation Week & Space

Technology, v. 142, May 22, 1995, p. 65.

43. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans...," p. 223.

44. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans...," p. 224. 

45. NASA PAO, Mir 18 Mission Science Report, May 22 and May 24, 1995.

46. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans..., p. 224.

47. van den Berg, "MirNews" 259, May 26, 1995.

48. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans...," p. 224.

49. Anser Center for International Aerospace Cooperation, Moscow Office Report 133, 

May 26, 1995.

50. Nicholas L. Johnson, The Soviet Year in Space, 1990. Colorado Springs, Colorado, Teledyne

Brown Engineering, 1991, p. 98.

51. Mir Extension Assessment Team, "MEAT Mir Diagrams to Facilitate Joint Technical

Discussions, Vol. I: Modules and Vehicles," [Johnson Space Center], Feb. 1996.

52. Kidger, "Euromir 95," Spaceflight, v. 37, Dec. 1995, p. 404.

53. L. Van den Ableen, "A Mir Matter of Change," Spaceflight, v. 37, Aug. 1995, p. 293.

54. "Spektr Module Soon to Augment Mir Station," 957A0681B SEGODNYA, 4/27/95 p. 9; 

translated in JPRS Report, Space Science and Engineering, FBIS-UST-95-030, p. 20.

55. NASA PAO, Internet Shuttle/Mir page.

56. Anser CIAC, "Moscow Office Report" 158, Nov. 10, 1995.

57. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans...," p. 225.

58. Kaliningrad MCC, Mir 18 Mission Status Report 28, June 9, 1995.

59. Kidger, "Mir Docking Plans ...," p. 225.

60. Kaliningrad MCC, Mir 18 Mission Status Report 28, June 9, 1995.

61. Kidger, "Historic...," p. 274.

62. van den Berg, "MirNews" 264, June 17, 1995.

63. Kidger, "Historic...," p. 274.

64. NASA Advisory Council Task Force on the Shuttle-Mir Rendezvous and Docking Missions,

Fifth Report, Sept. 21, 1995, part 2, p. 6.

65. Kaliningrad MCC, Mir 18 Status Report 31, June 20, 1995.

66. Portree, "Heritage," p. 34.

67. Neville Kidger, "Development of the Orbiter Docking system," Spaceflight v. 37 

June 1995, p. 188.

68. Neville Kidger, "STS-71 Docking Plans," Spaceflight, v. 37, June 1995, p. 187.

69. Portree, "Heritage," p. 166.

70. James R. Asker, "Shuttle Docking System Performs Many Tasks," Aviation Week and Space

Technology, v. 143, July 3, 1995, p. 21.
59

71. Kidger, "Historic...," p. 275.

72. STS-71 Mission Control Center Reports, NASA STS-71 homepage, MCC Status 

Reports 1, 2, & 3, June 27-28, 1995.

73. James T. McKenna, "Atlantis Mission Verifies Mir Rendezvous Scheme," Aviation Week &

Space Technology, Nov. 21, 1994, p. 101.

74. Kidger, "Historic...," p.275.

75. STS-71MCC Status Report 4, June 29, 1995.

76. Kidger, "Historic...," pp.276-277.

77. STS-71 MCC Status Reports 5 and 6, June 29-30, 1995.

78. Kidger, "Historic...,"pp. 276-277.

79. STS-71 MCC Status Reports 7 and 8, June 30-31, 1995.

80. Kidger, "Historic...," p. 277.

81. Roelof L. Schuiling, "First Docking Mission," Spaceflight, v. 37, Oct. 1995, p. 333.

82. Ben Huset, "Mirwatch," Aug. 1995.

83. James T. McKenna, "Joint Flight Proves Shuttle-Mir Plans," Aviation Week & Space Technology,

July 10, 1995, p. 22.

84. STS-71 MCC Status Reports 16, 18, 20, July 5, 6, 7, 1995.

85. NASA Advisory Council Task Force on the Shuttle-Mir Rendezvous and Docking Missions,

Fifth Report, Sept. 21, 1995, part 2, p. 6.

86. van den Berg, "MirNews" 266, July 17, 1995.

87. Neville Kidger, "Three EVAs for Mir Duo," Spaceflight, v. 37, Sept. 95, p. 311.

88. Ibid.

89. van den Berg, "MirNews" 266, July 17, 1995.

90. Kidger, "Three EVAs...," p. 311.

91. Craig Covault, "EVAs, Station Changes Keep Cosmonauts Busy," Aviation Week and Space

Technology, July 24, pp. 62-63.

92. Kidger, "Three EVAs...," p. 311.

93. van den Berg, "MirNews" 268, July 22, 1995.

94. Space Calendar, Aug. 28-Sept 3, 1995.

95. van den Berg, "MirNews" 269, Aug. 26, 1995.

96. Kidger, "Euromir 95," p. 404.

97. ESA Press Release 23-95, Paris, Sept. 4, 1995.

98. Roelof L. Schuiling, "First Docking Mission," Spaceflight, v. 37, Oct. 1995, p. 335.

99. van den Berg, "MirNews" 272, Sept 11, 1995.

100. "ESA Astronaut Selected for Euromir 95," Spaceflight, v. 37, May 1995, p. 175.

101. Kidger, "Euromir 95," p. 403.

102. Anser CIAC, Moscow Office Report 155, Oct. 20, 1995.

103. ESA Press Releases 18-95, 42-95, and 43-95.

104. Huset, "Mirwatch," Nov. 1995.

105. Peter B. de Selding, "ESA, Russia Discuss Mir Mission Extension," Space News, 

v. 6, no. 40, Oct. 16-22, 1995.

106. ESA Press Release 42-95.

107. Kidger, "Euromir 95," p. 404.
60

108. ESA Press Releases 18-95, 42-95, and 08-96.

109. Huset, "Mirwatch," Nov. 1995.

110. Craig Covault, "Mir Crew Repairs Air Scrubbing System," Aviation Week and Space

Technology, V. 143, Nov.6, 1995, p. 27.

111. Huset, "Mirwatch ," Nov., Dec., 1995.

112. Peter B. de Selding, "Mir Cosmonauts Testing Air Cleaner that Uses Microbes to Convert

Gases," Space News, v. 6, no. 43, Nov. 6-12, 1995.

113. NASA Public Affairs Office, STS-74 Press Kit.

114. Roelof L. Schuiling, "Module for Mir," Spaceflight, v. 38, Jan 1996, p. 5.

115. William Harwood, "Canadian Astronaut to Erect Docking Module on Mir," Space News v. 6, 

no. 43, Nov. 6-12, 1995.

116. Dennis Newkirk, "New Module for Mir, Spaceflight," v. 37, Nov.1995, p. 369.

117. Portree, "Heritage," p. 166.

118. NASA PAO, STS-74 Press Kit, "Orbiter Docking System."

119. NASA PAO, STS-74 Press Kit, "Mission Summary."

120. Roelof Schuiling, "Second Shuttle Docking with Mir," Spaceflight ,v. 38, March 96, 

pp. 90-91.

121. NASA PAO, STS-74 Press Kit, "Mir Cooperative Solar Array Program."

122. Friends and Partners in Space homepage, MSCA description by Gabriel R. Katell.

123. James R. Asker, "Atlantis Passes First Space Station Assembly Test," Aviation Week 

and Space Technology, v. 143, Nov. 20, 1995, p. 91.

124. Roelof Schuiling, "Second Shuttle Docking...," p. 90.

125. Ibid.

126. Asker, "Atlantis Passes...," pp. 90.-91.

127. James R. Asker, "Module Delivery Offers Mir Image of New Station," Aviation Week and 

Space Technology, Dec. 11, 1995, pp. 60-61.

128. NASA PAO, STS-74 Press Kit.

129. Asker, "Atlantis Passes...," pp. 90-91.

130. Neville Kidger, "Mir Highlights," Spaceflight, v. 38, March 1996, p. 93.

131. Ibid.

132. Theo Pirard, "Art Exhibition in Space." Spaceflight, v. 38, Feb. 1996, p.64.

133. Kidger, "Highlights," p. 93. 

134. Ibid.

135. Neville Kidger, "Science Tasks and EVA for Crew," Spaceflight, v. 38, April 1996, p. 140.

136. Ibid.

137. Portree, "Heritage," p. 121.

138. van den Berg, "MirNews" 289, Feb. 16, 1996.

139. ESA Press Releases 08-96 and 09-96.

140. Kidger, "Science Tasks...," p. 141.

141. Kidger, "Crew Change at Mir," Spaceflight, v. 38, May 1996, p. 152.

142. Ibid.

143. Ibid.

144. van den Berg, "MirNews" 292, Feb. 29, 1996.
61

145. Kidger, "Crew Change...," p. 153.

146. Huset, "Mirwatch." April 1996.

147. van den Berg, "MirNews" 293 and 294, March 13 and 15, 1996.

148. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Reports 1 and 2, March 22, 1996.

149. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Reports 2 and 3, March 22 & 23, 1996.

150. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Report 3, March 23, 1996.

151. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Report 4 March 24, 1996.

152. NASA PAO, STS-76 Press Kit, "Mir Rendezvous and Docking."

153. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Reports 4 and 5, March 24, 1996.

154. James R. Asker, "Mir Spacewalk Set for Atlantis Crew," Aviation Week & Space Technology,

March 18, 1996, p. 61.

155. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Report 8 March 26, 1996.

156. NASA PAO, STS-76 Press Kit.

157. Ibid.

158. Ibid.

159. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Reports 8 and 9, March 26, 1996.

160. NASA PAO, STS-76 Press Kit.

161. Ibid.

162. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Report 10, March 27, 1996.

163. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Report 12 March 28, 1996.

164. Johnson Space Center, Space News Roundup, April 5, 1996, p. 4.

165. NASA PAO, STS-76 Mission Status Report 17, March 30, 1996.

166. Moscow Mission Control Center, Mir Status Reports 1,2 and 3, April 5, 12, 

and 19, 1996.

167. "Russians Delay Launch of Priroda Module," Aviation Week and Space Technology, 

Feb. 5, 1996, p. 64.

168. Joseph C. Anselmo, "Priroda, Mir Dock," Aviation Week & Space Technology, 

May 6, 1996, p. 63.

169. Mir Extension Assessment Team, p. 7-9.

170. Gary H. Kitmacher, "Integration of Systems on Mir Processes and Comparisons," 

presented at the 33rd Space Congress, [Location?] April 23-26, 1996.

171. "The Priroda Mission,"(http://www.ba.dlr.de/NE-WS/ws5/priroda.html).

172. Anser CIAC, Moscow Office Report 183.

173. van den Berg, "MirNews" 300, April 26, 1996.

174. Ibid.

175. Moscow MCC, Mir Status Report 5, May 3, 1996) (Mir 21 Weekly Update from NASA Home

Page, June 14, 1996.

176. Mission Control Center, Moscow, Mir Status Reports 6 and 7, May 10 and May 17, 1996.

177. "News breaks," Aviation Week and Space Technology, May 27, 1996, p. 16.

178. Moscow MCC, Mir Status Report 8, May 24, 1996.

179. van den Berg, "MirNews" 305, May 21, 1996.

180. Florida Today, "Space Today," May 25, 1996.

181. Moscow MCC, Mir Status Report 9, May 31, 1996.
62

182. Moscow MCC, Mir Status Report 10, June 7, 1996.

183. van den Berg, "MirNews" 309, June 7, 1996.

184. Moscow MCC, Mir Status Report [11] June 14, 1996.

185. van den Berg, "MirNews" 310, June 13, 1996.

186. Moscow MCC, Mir Status Reports [11], [12], and 13, June 14, 21, and 28, 1996.

187. Moscow MCC, Mir Weekly Update, Aug. 2, 1996.

188. Moscow MCC, Mir Status Report 19, Aug. 9, 1996.

189. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Cassiopee press releases, Aug. 21-Sept. 17, 1996.

(www.cnes.fr/IO_Vol_habit/cas)
63

A

air supply systems 10, 29, 39, 42, 47

ALICE II experiment 50

Alisa lidar 43

Andre-Deshays, Claudie 49, 50

androgynous peripheral assembly system

(APAS) 18, 20, 30

anniversaries

–Gagarin flight 11

–Mir launch, 10th anniversary 36

–Mir launch, 9th anniversary 8

Anticipatory Postural Activity (POSA) 

experiment 48

APAS; APDA; APDS. 

See androgynous peripheral assembly 

system

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project 18

art contest 33

Astra-2 14

Astro-2 52

astrophysics experiments 3, 8, 27

Atlantis (Space Shuttle). 

See STS-71, STS-74, and STS-76

Atlas-03 51

automatic docking systems. See Kurs

Avdeyev, Sergey 26, 28

B

backpacks 40

Baker, Ellen S. 20

batteries, electric 39, 41, 42, 44, 45

Biokin air scrubber 29

biomedical samples 17, 22, 35

Biorack experiments 38, 39

Biotechnology System Facility 47

Boutrous-Ghali, Boutrous 32

Budarin, Nikolai 20-23, 26

C

CADMOS 49 

Cameron, Kenneth D. 29, 30, 32 

Canadian participation at Mir 26, 30, 32 

Candle Flame in Microgravity (CFM) 48 

cardiovascular system 10, 17, 23, 27, 49 

Cassiopee mission 48-50

CASTOR 50

Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales.

See CNES

Chernomyrdin, Viktor 10, 32

Chibis suit 10, 17, 37 

Chilton, Kevin 38, 41

Clifford, Rich 38, 40

CNES 49 

COGNILAB 50

Collins, Eileen M. 5, 6

comet Giacobini Zinner 28

comet Hyakutake 39

computer malfunction 23

cooling systems 28, 35 

See also air supply systems

cooperative solar array 

See Mir cooperative Solar Array 

countermeasures exercises 17, 23

crops 37, 48, 50

D

Dezhurov, Vladimir 9, 12, 13

Discovery (Space Shuttle). 

See STS-63

Docking Module 1, 32, 38

–description 30

–EVA on exterior 40

–on-orbit assembly 19

–illustrations 31, 34

docking systems. See androgynous peripheral

assembly system (APAS)

dockings with Mir See also redockings

–Atlantis 20, 32, 39

–Priroda 44 

–Progress-M modules 8, 11, 25, 27, 

35, 45, 48, 50

–Spektr 16

–Soyuz-TM modules 9, 26, 37, 49 

Dunbar, Bonnie J. 20

Dutch participation at Mir 29, 39 

DYNALAB 50

E

eggs, quail 11

Earth observations 4, 14, 37, 41 

Earth science studies 42, 46 

Endeavour (Space Shuttle) 9

Enhanced Dynamic Load Sensors 48

ESA. See European Space Agency 

ESEF. See European Space Exposure Facility

Euromir 94 3

Euromir 95 25, 26, 32, 53

–experiments 27, 33, 35

–mission extension 28

European Space Agency 1, 3, 26, 28, 51, 54

European Space Exposure Facility 15, 27,

28, 36

Index
64

Extravehicular activity (EVA) 

–ESA (at Mir) 28

–Mir 18 12, 13, 16, 17

–Mir 19 23-25

–Mir 20 28, 34, 35

–Mir 21 37, 40, 46

–on Docking Module exterior 40

–on Priroda exterior 46

–restraints for 40, 42, 46 

–solar array work. See solar arrays

–STS-63 7, 51

–U.S. (at Mir) 37, 38, 40

F

Faza spectrometer 14 

Feniks spectrometer 14

FERTILE 50

Feustel-Buechl, Jorg 26

fluid dynamics experiment 50

fly-arounds 6, 41

Foale, Michael 5, 7 

foot restraints, EVA 40

Forced Flow Flamespread test 48

freezers 17

French participation at Mir 3, 14, 39, 43,

49-50

French Space Agency (CNES) 49

fuels tests 48

Fundamental Biology Greenhouse.

See greenhouse 

G

Gallar furnace 4, 25

German participation at Mir 11, 26, 27, 30,

39, 43, 46

germetik sealant 25

GFZ-1 satellite 11

Gibson, Robert L. 19, 20

Gidzenko, Yuriy 26, 28

glovebox stowage 39

Godwin, Linda 38, 40, 41

Goldin, Daniel 19, 32

Grab Sample Container (GSC) 47

greenhouse 47, 48 

Grif equipment 14 

gyrodynes 11, 25, 33, 39, 48

H

Hadfield, Chris A. 29, 30

Halsell, James D. 29, 30

handrails 40, 46 

Harbaugh, Greg 20

Harris, Bernard A, Jr. 5, 7

hooks, tether 40

Humoral Immunity Experiment 47 

I

Icon key 2

IKAR (radiometers) 43

International Space Station 

–EVA equipment tests 40

–Phase 1 1, 5, 31, 32

–Risk Mitigation Experiments 33

–solar array materials 31

ISTOK-1 43

K

Kaleri, Alexander 49

Kobe (Japan) earthquake 4

Komza interstellar gas detector 14, 46

Kondakova, Yelena 3

Konus (docking cone) 13, 16, 34

Koptev, Yuri 9, 19

Korzun, Valery 49

Kristall

–antenna work 36

–batteries 12, 17

–relocations 13, 17, 24

Kurs docking systems

–control of dockings 8, 11, 16, 25, 45

–on Priroda 42, 44

–on Spektr 14

–test 4

L

laser docking aid, handheld 32

leaks 

–coolant loop 28, 35, 41, 45

–gas (on Space Shuttle) 4, 47 

–hydraulic (on Atlantis) 38

–water 37

life sciences research 27, 41

Liquid Diffusion-II payload 46

Lira equipment 14

lithium hydroxide 28, 32

Littles, Wayne 9

Luch-1 satellite 4

Lucid, Shannon 37-39, 46, 47

Lyappa arm

–on Kristall 13, 17, 24

–on Priroda 42, 44

–on Spektr 14, 16 
65

M

maintenance work aboard Mir 4, 10, 11, 25,

28, 33, 47, 48

Maksat experiments 4

Manakov, Gennady 49

Manley, John 32

Maria equipment 4, 35

Mars missions 10 , 48

materials science 27, 33, 35, 39, 46, 48

McArthur, William S., Jr. 29, 30

medical studies 3, 5, 7, 15, 22, 23, 33, 37,

43, 47, 50 

Merbold, Ulf 3

metabolic experiments 10

microgravity effects. See weightlessness 

Microgravity Isolation Mount (MIM) 47

Midcourse Space Experiments 54

Mir 17 3-8, 51

Mir 18 9-20, 52

Mir 19 22-25, 53

Mir 20 26-36, 53

Mir 21 37-50, 54

Mir 22 49

Mir Cooperative Solar Array 31, 38, 46

Mir Environmental Effects Payload 40

Mir Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer 14,

24, 25 

Mir interface-to-payload systems 41, 45

Mir Principal Expeditions. See Mir 17, Mir

18, Mir 19, Mir 20, Mir 21, Mir 22

Mir Sample Return Experiment 46

Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner

43, 46 

MOS spectrometers 43

MSU scanners 43

N-O

Nausica apparatus 3

ODS. See Orbiter Docking System

(OLiPSE). See Optizon furnace

Onufrienko, Yuri 37

optical instruments 43

Optizon furnace 39, 47

Optovert equipment 33

orbital environment studies 3, 10, 14, 15, 26,

33, 40

Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment 54

Orbiter Docking System 18, 29, 39

Orbiter space vision system 29, 31 

Orlan-DMA suit 12, 24, 34 

Oswald, Steve 9

oxygen system 29, 47 

See also air supply systems

OZONE-M 43

P

Particle Impact Experiment 46

passive microwave equipment 43

Photogrammetric Appendage Structural

Dynamics Experiment 32

PHYSIOLAB 49

Pion optical complex 14

Polyakov, Valeri 3, 4, 7, 10

port orientation diagram 16

power supply problems 12, 47 

See also batteries, electric

Precourt, Charles J. 20

Priroda [module] 1, 37, 55

–batteries, electric 41-45

–description 42

–EVA on 46

–illustrations 43, 45

–launch 41

–preparation of Mir for 34

–relocation 44

Priroda-5 Earth imaging system 14

Progress-M 25 3, 8, 51

Progress-M 26 7-9, 52

Progress-M 27 11, 13, 52

Progress-M 28 25, 53

Progress-M 29 27, 35, 54

Progress-M 30 35, 36, 54

Progress-M 31 44, 45, 48, 55

Progress-M 32 48-50, 55

Q-R

Queen's University Experiment in Liquid

Diffusion (QUELD) 48

Radiation monitoring 3, 10, 12, 14, 15, 27,

33, 41, 48 

Rapana girder 46

R-bar approach 19, 32, 38

records

–humans in space 9

–humans on Mir 20

–human spaceflight duration 3, 10, 17,

37, 47

redockings with Mir 4, 13, 16, 17, 22, 24, 

44, 50 

refueling of base block 25

Reiter, Thomas 26, 27

Remote Manipulator System (RMS) 29

rendezvous 

–STS-63 with Mir 6

–STS-71 techniques 19

Rodnik 22
66

Roentgen Observatory 4

Ross, Jerry L. 29, 30

Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems 5, 33

Ryabina-4P cosmic ray sensor 14 

S

SAFER (backpack) 40

sample return experiment 46

Searfoss, Rick 38

Sega, Ron 38, 40

shower dismantled 11

Shuttle-Mir science program 20

simplified aid for EVA rescue 40

Skif 37

solar arrays 

–EVA work on 11, 12, 17, 23, 38

–Mir Cooperative Solar Array 30, 31, 

38, 46

–on Kristall 4, 12, 13

–on Kvant 12, 46

–on Kvant 2 23

–on Spektr 14, 17, 22, 23

–structural dynamics of 32

Solid Sorbent Air Sampler 47, 48

Solovyev, Anatoly 20-23, 26

Solovyev, Vladimir A. 6

Soyuz-TM 20 3, 4, 52

Soyuz-TM 21 9, 22, 26, 52

Soyuz-TM 22 26, 37, 53

Soyuz-TM 23 28, 36, 50, 54

Soyuz-TM 24 50, 55

Space Acceleration Measurement System 41

Space Shuttle. See STS- missions 

spacecraft environment (onboard) 10, 27,

33, 47, 48

Spacehab 5, 39, 55

Spacelab 20, 22, 23, 52, 55

Spartan-201 54

Spartan-204 5, 7, 51

Spartan-207/IAE 55

Spektr 1, 9, 52

–description 14

–docking 16

–illustrations 15, 24

–launch 12

–launch delay 11

–relocation 16

–preparation of Mir for 12

–solar arrays 17, 22, 23

SPK maneuvering unit 35 

Strekalov, Gennadiy 9, 11-13

Strela boom 12, 23, 25, 28, 35, 38

–second Strela 38, 46

STS-63 3-6, 51

STS-66 51

STS-67 9, 52

STS-69 54

STS-70 53

STS-71 17, 19-22, 53 

STS-73 54

STS-74 24, 29, 30, 32, 33, 54 

STS-75 54

STS-76 38-41, 55

STS-77 55

STS-78 55

STS-74 Solar Array Package 31

Svet facility 47

synthetic aperture radar (SAR) 43

T

Taurus system 15 

television commercial filming 46

tether hooks 40

Tethered Satellite System 54

Thagard, Norman 7, 9, 12, 17, 20

Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter 48

Titov, Vladimir 4, 5

TITUS furnace 27, 35 

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 53

Travers radar antenna 42, 46 

TREK detector 12, 24

TREILLIS 50

U

Uragan 9

Uran 26

Usachev, Yuri 37

V-W

Viktorenko, Alexandr 3, 6

Vinogradov, Pavel 49

Vityaz 3

Volna-2 35

Voss, Janice E 5

Wake Shield Facility 54

Wetherbee, James D. 5, 6 

weightlessness effects 9, 23, 26, 27, 33, 35