Mir (space station) - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

History

It was built orbits about it by connecting various modules, each one launched separately starting from the February 19th 1986 and until in 1996. The Mir station was based on the series of the space stations Salyut previously launched by the Soviet Union. During the program Mir Shuttle, the Russian station Mir combined its possibilities with those of the space shuttles of the United States. The Mir orbit station provided large and livable scientific laboratory in space. The space shuttles visiting provided transport and the provisioning, as well as the provisional enlargings of the places of life and the sites of work, creating the largest spaceship of the history, with a combined mass of 250 tons. The shuttles visiting of the the United States used a collar of modified coupling conceived for the Soviet shuttle Buran which was in the beginning designed to maintain the station.

With its 100 tons, the Mir station was as large as six buses. Inside, it resembled a narrow labyrinth, invaded pipes, cables and scientific instruments, as well as objects of the daily life, such as photographs, drawings of children, books and a guitar. It generally placed three men of crew, but it sometimes accommodated six of them for one month.

Except for two short periods, the Mir station was inhabited without interruption until August 1999.

The fifteen years of voyage from the Russian space station finish the March 23rd 2001, when the Mir station penetrates in the terrestrial atmosphere close to Nadi (Fiji) and fall into the ocean from the Southern Pacific. Slowed down by the dense layers of the atmosphere, Mir melts and burns mainly and the remainder of materials (between 20 and 25 tons) falls in rain in the ocean.

Towards the end of his career, one reveals several private projects aiming at repurchasing the Mir station, probably to use it as first orbital studio of television/cinema but the station is finally considered to be too unstable to be employed without risk. Much in the community space always estimates that at least part of Mir was recoverable. Considering the extremely high costs of entry of the material in orbit, to get rid simply of the station Mir could be regarded as wasting.

Phase a

The first launching for the station July 16th, 1986.

Phase Two

In June 1992, the President of the United States, George H.W. Bush and the Russian president Boris Eltsine agreed to join for the exploration of space: an astronaut of the United States would embark on the station Mir and two Russian cosmonauts would embark in a space shuttle.

In September 1993, the Vice-president of the United States Al Gore and Russian the Prime Minister Viktor Tchernomyrdine announced plans for a new space station, which later would be called the International space station (ISS). They also were appropriate that, for this new project, the United States would be largely associated with the Mir project in the years to come, under the name of code Phase One (phase one), the ISS being Phase Two (phase two). The space shuttles would take part in the transport of the provisioning and the crews. American astronauts would live on lasting board of the months. Thus, the United States could divide and benefit from the single experiment held by Russia with its stays of long life in space.

Beginning in March 1995, seven astronauts of the United States consecutively spent twenty-eight month on board the Mir station. During these years, the space station passed by hard periods and several acute urgencies occurred, in particular a fire which has occurred the February 23rd 1997, and a collision with a cargo liner Progress (not controlled) the June 25th of the same year. In both cases, the complete evacuation of the Mir station (there was a Soyuz help for the return to earth) was avoided with a narrow margin. The second disaster left a hole in the module Spektr , which then was isolated from the remainder of the station. Several exits in space were necessary to give in order the Mir station (ironically, one of the exits was done inside the module Spektr of which all the air was escaped).

The co-operation between the United States and Russia was far from being easy. Mistrust, lack of coordination, problems of language, interest and difference in opinion posed many problems. After the disasters, the Congress of the United States and NASA planned to give up the program. The administrator of NASA, Daniel S. Goldin, decided to continue.

Modules of Mir

The Mir space station was built by connecting several modules, each one placed orbits about it separately. With final, the space station was made up:

of the core of Mir (launched in 1986), which provided the place of life and ordering of the station;
of Kvant I (1987) and Kvant II (1989), containing scientific instruments and the shower of the crew;
of Kristall (1990), which prolonged the scientific possibilities of Mir;
of Spektr (1995), which was used as place of life and operating area to the American astronauts;
of Priroda (1996), which was useful for the teledetection of the Ground;
of the module of mooring (1996), which provided a sure and stable port for the Space shuttle. Front, during and after the program Shuttle Mir, Mir was restocked via the not inhabited capsules inhabited Soyuz and vehicles Progress.

The modules of Mir and the vehicles of service had similar names. Kvant means “Quantum”, drifting name of its goal to help research in astrophysics by measuring electromagnetic spectra and emissions of X-ray. Kristall of which the principal goal is to develop bioengineerings and of production of materials in the space environment. Spektr , meaning “spectrum”, thus called for its atmospheric probes. Priroda means “natural”. Progress means progress. Soyuz means “union”, thus called for the Soviet Union ( Sovietskii Soyuz = Soviet-union) and because the spaceship was a union of three smaller modules.

Exits extravéhiculaires

Here the list of the various cosmonauts having carried out left extravéhiculaires at the time of the Mir program.

Manned flights towards the Mir station

List various manned flights and of their crew towards the Mir station with the name of the spaceship, the name of the mission, the date of takeoff and return as well as the crew: