Shuttle-Mir

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

Quick Facts

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

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

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

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

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

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

👁 View from the distance of Mir in orbit

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

NASA

👁 Cosmonaut seen through the window of Mir as seen from Discovery shuttle

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

NASA

👁 Cosmonaut with space suits

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

NASA

👁 Space shuttle docked with Mir as seen from a Soyuz spacecraft

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

👁 STS-74 crew members used an IMAX camera to document the Space Shuttle Atlantis' rendezvous and docking with the Mir Space Station.

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

👁 View of Mir from the space shuttle

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

The U.S. and Russia Share History's Highest Stage

Explore stories, photos, and more remembering the Shuttle-Mir program, an international collaboration that set the stage for the International Space Station.

Read the Publication about The U.S. and Russia Share History's Highest Stage

👁 This view of the space shuttle Atlantis still connected to Russia's Mir Space Station was photographed by the Mir-19 crew on July 4, 1995

Missions to Mir

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

STS-60

A Cosmonaut Flies on the Shuttle

👁 bhm_harris_sts-63_inflight_crew_photo

STS-63

The "near Mir" mission

👁 Ten astronauts and cosmonauts pose in circle inside Spacelab module

STS-71

The first docking with Mir

👁 STS-74 crew members wearing their orange launch and entry suits with both the American and Canadian flags in the background.

STS-74

A new docking module

👁 STS-76 crew wearing orange launch and entry suits and extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) suits. The American flag and Spirit of 76 flag are in the background.

STS-76

Starting a continuous U. S. presence

👁 STS-79 crew portrait

STS-79

The first U.S. Shuttle-Mir crew exchange

👁 STS-81 official crew portrait in orange launch and entry suits.

STS-81

The first plants to complete a life cycle in space

URL: https://www.nasa.gov/space-shuttle/shuttle-mir/

⇱ Shuttle-Mir - NASA

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Shuttle-Mir

Quick Facts

The U.S. and Russia Share History's Highest Stage

Missions to Mir

STS-60

STS-63

STS-71

STS-74

STS-76

STS-79

STS-81

STS-84

STS-86

STS-89

STS-91

Shuttle-Mir Oral Histories

Featured History

Mir Mission Chronicle: