View source for Astronomy:Shuttle–Mir Program

{{short description|Space program between Russia and the United States}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Shuttle–''Mir'' Program}}
[[Image:Shuttle-Mir Patch.svg|thumb|right|The Shuttle-Mir insignia|alt=An illustration showing a space shuttle docked to a space station above a stylized version of the Earth. The Sun is rising over the Earth, and the image is surrounded by ribbon in red, white and blue. The words NASA, Shuttle, РКА and Мир are written around the image.]]
{{United States space program sidebar}}
{{Soviet space program sidebar}}

The '''Shuttle–''Mir'' Program''' was a collaborative space program between Russia and the United States, which involved American [[Engineering:Space Shuttle|Space Shuttle]]s visiting the Russian space station [[Astronomy:Mir|Mir]], Russian cosmonauts flying on the shuttle, and an American astronaut flying aboard a [[Engineering:Soyuz (spacecraft)|Soyuz spacecraft]] to engage in long-duration expeditions aboard Mir.

The project, sometimes called "Phase One", was intended to allow the United States to learn from Russian experience with long-duration spaceflight and to foster a spirit of cooperation between the two nations and their space agencies, the US [[Organization:National Aeronautics and Space Administration|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos). The project helped to prepare the way for further cooperative space ventures; specifically, "Phase Two" of the joint project, the construction of the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]] (ISS). The program was announced in 1993, the first mission started in 1994 and the project continued until its scheduled completion in 1998. Eleven Space Shuttle missions, a joint Soyuz flight and almost 1000 cumulative days in space for American astronauts occurred over the course of seven long-duration expeditions.

During the four-year program, many firsts in [[Engineering:Spaceflight|spaceflight]] were achieved by the two nations, including the first American astronaut to launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, the largest [[Engineering:Spacecraft|spacecraft]] ever to have been assembled at that time in history, and the first American spacewalk using a Russian Orlan spacesuit.

The program was marred by various concerns, notably the safety of Mir following a fire and a collision, financial issues with the cash-strapped Russian Space Program and worries from astronauts about the attitudes of the program administrators. Nevertheless, a large amount of science, expertise in space station construction and knowledge in working in a cooperative space venture was gained from the combined operations, allowing the construction of the ISS to proceed much more smoothly than would have otherwise been the case.

==Background==
[[File:Salyut docked with shuttle.svg|thumb|Following the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, a "Shuttle-Salyut" program was proposed in the 1970s, yet never realized. This graphical rendering depicts a Space Shuttle docked to a second generation Salyut space station, with a Soyuz spacecraft docked to Salyut's aft port.]]
The origins of the Shuttle–Mir Program can be traced back to the [[Engineering:Apollo–Soyuz Test Project|Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]], that resulted in a joint US/Soviet mission during the détente period of the [[History:Cold War|Cold War]] and the docking between a US Apollo spacecraft and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1975. This was followed by the talks between [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] and Intercosmos in the 1970s about a "Shuttle-Salyut" program to fly [[Engineering:Space Shuttle|Space Shuttle]] missions to a [[Engineering:Salyut programme|Salyut space station]], with later talks in the 1980s even considering flights of the future Soviet shuttles from the [[Engineering:Buran programme|Buran programme]] to a future US space station – this "Shuttle-Salyut" program never materialized however during the existence of the Soviet Intercosmos program.<ref name=MIRheritage>s:Mir Hardware Heritage/Part 2 - Almaz, Salyut, and Mir#2.1.6 Shuttle-Salyut (1973-1978; 1980s)</ref>

This changed after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union: the end of Cold War and [[Astronomy:Space Race|Space Race]] resulted in funding for the US modular space station (originally named [[Astronomy:Space Station Freedom|''Freedom'']]), which was planned since the early 1980s, being slashed.<ref name="SSSM">{{cite book |author= David Harland |title= The Story of Space Station Mir |publisher= Springer-Verlag New York Inc |date= November 30, 2004 |location= New York |url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0387230114/ref=ord_cart_shr/202-3649698-1866219?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE |isbn= 978-0-387-23011-5 }}</ref>
Similar budgetary difficulties were being faced by other nations with space station projects, prompting American government officials to start negotiations with partners in Europe, Russia, Japan, and Canada in the early 1990s to begin a collaborative, multi-national, space station project.<ref name="SSSM"/>
In the {{wipe|Russia}}, as the successor to much of the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] and its space program, the deteriorating economic situation in the post-Soviet economic chaos led to growing financial problems of the now Russian space station program. The construction of the Mir-2 space station as a replacement for the aging Mir became illusionary, though only after its base block, DOS-8, had been built.<ref name="SSSM"/>
These developments resulted in bringing the former adversaries together with the Shuttle–Mir Program, which would pave the way to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]], a joint project with several international partners.

[[Image:Atlantis Docked to Mir.jpg|thumb|left|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' docked to ''Mir'' on STS-71|alt=A cluster of cylindrical modules with projecting feathery solar arrays and a space shuttle docked to the lower module. In the background is the blackness of space, and in the lower right corner is Earth.]]
In June 1992, American President George H. W. Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin agreed to co-operate on [[Astronomy:Space exploration|space exploration]] by signing the ''Agreement between the United States of America and the Russian Federation Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes''. This agreement called for setting up a short, joint space project, during which one American [[Astronaut|astronaut]] would board the Russian space station ''Mir'' and two Russian [[Astronaut#Russian|cosmonauts]] would board a Space Shuttle.<ref name="SSSM"/>

In September 1993, American Vice-President Al Gore, Jr., and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin announced plans for a new space station, which eventually became the International Space Station.<ref name="gao">{{cite web |url= http://archive.gao.gov/t2pbat3/151975.pdf|title=''Space Station: Impact of the Expanded Russian Role on Funding and Research'' |accessdate= November 3, 2006 |author= Donna Heivilin |date= June 21, 1994 |format=PDF |publisher= [[Engineering:Government Accountability Office|Government Accountability Office]]}}</ref> They also agreed, in preparation for this new project, that the United States would be heavily involved in the Mir project in the years ahead, under the code name "Phase One" (the construction of the ISS being "Phase Two").<ref>{{cite web |title= Shuttle–Mir History/Background/How "Phase 1" Started |publisher= NASA |date=April 4, 2004 |author= Kim Dismukes |url= http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/history/h-b-start.htm |accessdate= April 12, 2007}}</ref>

The first Space Shuttle flight to Mir was a rendezvous mission without docking on [[Engineering:STS-63|STS-63]]. This was followed during the course of the project by a total of 9 Shuttle-Mir docking missions, from [[Engineering:STS-71|STS-71]] to [[Engineering:STS-91|STS-91]]. The Shuttle rotated crews and delivered supplies, and one mission, [[Engineering:STS-74|STS-74]], carried a docking module and a pair of solar arrays to Mir. Various scientific experiments were also conducted, both on shuttle flights and long-term aboard the station. The project also saw the launch of two new modules, ''[[Astronomy:Spektr|Spektr]]'' and ''[[Astronomy:Priroda|Priroda]]'', to ''Mir'', which were used by American astronauts as living quarters and laboratories to conduct the majority of their science aboard the station. These missions allowed NASA and the Roskosmos to learn a great deal about how best to work with international partners in space and how to minimize the risks associated with assembling a large space station in orbit, as would have to be done with the ISS.<ref>{{cite web |title= Shuttle–Mir History/Welcome/Goals |publisher= NASA |url= http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/welcome/w-g-goals.htm |date= April 4, 2004 |author= Kim Dismukes |accessdate= April 12, 2007}}</ref><ref name="JointReport">{{cite journal |author= George C. Nield |author2= Pavel Mikhailovich Vorobiev |last-author-amp=yes |title= Phase One Program Joint Report |publisher= NASA |date= January 1999 |url= http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/references/documents/phase1-joint-report.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate= March 30, 2007}}</ref>

The project also served as a political ruse on the part of the American government, providing a diplomatic channel for NASA to take part in the funding of the cripplingly under-funded Russian space program. This in turn allowed the newly fledged Russian government to keep ''Mir'' operating, in addition to the Russian space program as a whole, ensuring the Russian government remained (and remains) friendly towards the United States.<ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref name="OffPlanet"/>

[[Image:Shuttle-Mir Astronauts.jpg|thumb|The seven American astronauts who carried out long-duration Increments on ''Mir''|alt=A portrait of six men and one woman, arranged in two rows, four sitting at the front and three standing at the back. They are each wearing tan trousers and a blue polo shirt with a patch and their name on it, and the US and NASA flags are visible in the background.]]

===Increments===
In addition to the flights of the Shuttle to ''Mir'', Phase One also featured seven "Increments" aboard the station, long-duration flights aboard ''Mir'' by American astronauts. The seven astronauts who took part in the Increments, Norman Thagard, Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, Michael Foale, David Wolf and Andrew Thomas, were each flown in turn to [[Astronomy:Star City, Russia|Star City]], {{wipe|Russia}}, to undergo training in various aspects of the operation of ''Mir'' and the Soyuz spacecraft used for transport to and from the Station. The astronauts also received practice in carrying out spacewalks outside ''Mir'' and lessons in the [[Social:Russian language|Russian language]], which would be used throughout their missions to talk with the other cosmonauts aboard the station and Mission Control in Russia, the TsUP.<ref name="OffPlanet"/>

During their expeditions aboard ''Mir'', the astronauts carried out various experiments, including growth of crops and crystals, and took hundreds of photographs of the [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]] spinning serenely beneath them. They also assisted in the maintenance and repair of the aging station, following various incidents with fires, collisions, power losses, uncontrolled spins and toxic leaks. In all, the American astronauts would spend almost a thousand days aboard ''Mir'', allowing NASA to learn a great deal about long-duration spaceflight, particularly in the areas of astronaut psychology and how best to arrange experiment schedules for crews aboard space stations.<ref name="Dragonfly">{{cite book|author=Bryan Burrough|date=January 7, 1998|title = Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir|place=London, UK|publisher = Fourth Estate Ltd.|isbn=978-1-84115-087-1|id= {{ASIN|1841150878|country=uk}}}}</ref><ref name="OffPlanet">{{cite book|last=Linenger|first=Jerry|date=January 1, 2001|title=Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir|place=New York, USA|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0-07-137230-5|id= {{ASIN|007137230X|country=uk}}}}</ref>

[[Image:Mir on 12 June 1998edit1.jpg|left|thumb|The view of ''Mir'' from Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' as it left the station during STS-91|alt=A cluster of cylindrical modules with projecting feathery solar arrays, with Earth's horizon visible in the background.]]

===''Mir''===
{{Main|Astronomy:Mir}}
''Mir'' was constructed between 1986 and 1996 and was the world's first modular space station. It was the first consistently inhabited long-term [[Research station|research station]] in space, and previously held the record for longest continuous human presence in space, at eight days short of ten years. ''Mir's'' purpose was to provide a large and habitable scientific laboratory in space, and, through a number of collaborations, including Intercosmos and Shuttle-''Mir'', was made internationally accessible to cosmonauts and astronauts of many different countries. The station existed until March 23, 2001, at which point it was deliberately deorbited, and broke apart during atmospheric re-entry.<ref name="SSSM"/>

''Mir'' was based upon the Salyut series of space stations previously launched by the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] (seven Salyut space stations had been launched since 1971), and was mainly serviced by Russian-manned Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo ships. The [[Engineering:Buran (spacecraft)|Buran]] space shuttle was anticipated to visit ''Mir'', but its program was canceled after its first unmanned spaceflight. Visiting US Space Shuttles used an [[Astronomy:Androgynous Peripheral Attach System|Androgynous Peripheral Attach System]] docking collar originally designed for Buran, mounted on a bracket originally designed for use with the American [[Astronomy:Space Station Freedom|Space Station Freedom]].<ref name="SSSM"/>

With the Space Shuttle docked to ''Mir'', the temporary enlargements of living and working areas amounted to a complex that was the world's largest [[Engineering:Spacecraft|spacecraft]] at that time, with a combined mass of {{convert|250|MT|lk=on}}.<ref name="SSSM"/><ref>{{cite journal|author=David S. F. Portree |title=Mir Hardware Heritage |publisher=NASA |date=March 1995 |url=http://ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/RP1357.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=March 30, 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5il9QixAg?url=http://ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/RP1357.pdf |archivedate=3 August 2009|df= }}</ref>

[[Image:STS-79 rollout.jpg|thumb|An overhead view of ''Atlantis'' as it sits atop the [[Engineering:Mobile Launcher Platform|Mobile Launcher Platform]] (MLP) before STS-79|alt=An overhead view of a spaceplane, coloured white on its topside and black on its underside, attached to a large orange tank, to which two slender white rockets are also attached. A gray platform supporting this stack serves as the background.]]

===Space Shuttle===
{{Main|Engineering:Space Shuttle}}
[[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), is the {{wipe|United States}} government's most recent [[Astronomy:Human spaceflight|manned]] [[Engineering:Launch vehicle|launch vehicle]]. A total of five usable orbiters were built, of which three were in use until the program's retirement in 2011. The winged shuttle Orbiter is launched vertically, usually carrying five to seven [[Astronaut|astronaut]]s (although eight have been carried and eleven could be accommodated in an emergency) along with up to {{convert|50000|lb}} of payload into low earth orbit. When its mission is complete, it fires its manoeuvring thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. During the descent and landing, the shuttle Orbiter acts as a glider and makes a completely unpowered landing.<ref name="Basics">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS.html|title=Shuttle Basics|publisher=NASA|accessdate=September 21, 2009|date=March 5, 2006|author=Jim Wilson}}</ref><ref name="SSS">{{cite book|author=David M. Harland|title=The Story of the Space Shuttle|date=July 5, 2004|publisher=Springer-Praxis|isbn=978-1-85233-793-3}}</ref>

The Shuttle is the first orbital [[Engineering:Spacecraft|spacecraft]] designed for partial [[Astronomy:Reusable launch system|reusability]]. It carries large payloads to various orbits, and, during the Shuttle–''Mir'' and ISS programs, provides crew rotation and carries various supplies, modules and pieces of equipment to the stations. Each Shuttle was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or 10 years' operational life.<ref name="Basics"/><ref name="SSS"/>

In total 9 docking missions were flown to ''Mir'', from 1995 to 1997 during "Phase One": Space Shuttle {{OV|104|full=no}} docked 7 times to ''Mir'', with {{OV|103|full=no}} and {{OV|105|full=no}} each flying one docking mission to ''Mir''. As Space Shuttle {{OV|102|full=no}} was the oldest and heaviest of the fleet, it was not suited for efficient operations at ''Mir''{{'s}} (and later the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|ISS's]]) 51.6-degree inclination – ''Columbia'' was therefore not retrofitted with the necessary external airlock and Orbital Docking System, and never flew to a space station.<ref name="MissionChronicle">{{cite journal|author=Sue McDonald|title=Mir Mission Chronicle|publisher=NASA|date=December 1998|url=http://ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/TP-1998-208920.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=March 30, 2007|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531210016/http://ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/TP-1998-208920.pdf|archivedate=May 31, 2010|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Shuttle–Mir History/Spacecraft/Space Shuttle Orbiter|publisher=NASA|author=Kim Dismukes|date=April 4, 2004|url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/spacecraft/to-s-orb.htm|accessdate = March 30, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/features/000414overhaul/weightloss.html|publisher=Spaceflight Now|accessdate=October 29, 2009|date=April 14, 2000|author=Justin Ray|title=Columbia Weight Loss Plan}}</ref>

==Timeline==
[[Image:STS-60 Launch.jpg|thumb|left|The Shuttle–''Mir'' program begins—''Discovery'' launches on STS-60, the first flight of the program.|alt=A space shuttle launches into a dawn sky. Clouds in the sky, in the launch plume and from the flame trench, are visible, as is the scaffolding-like launchpad and some vegetation silhouetted in the foreground.]]

===New cooperation begins (1994)===
Phase One of the Shuttle–Mir Program began on February 3, 1994, with the launch of [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']] on its 18th mission, [[Engineering:STS-60|STS-60]]. The eight-day mission was the first shuttle flight of that year, the first flight of a Russian [[Biography:Cosmonaut|Cosmonaut]], [[Biography:Sergei Krikalev|Sergei Krikalev]], aboard the American shuttle, and marked the start of increased cooperation in space for the two nations, 37 years after the [[Astronomy:Space Race|Space Race]] began.<ref>{{cite news|author=William Harwood|title=Space Shuttle Launch Begins Era of US-Russian Cooperation|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a3|date=February 4, 1994|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref> Part of an international agreement on human space flight, the mission was the second flight of the Spacehab pressurized module and marked the hundredth "[[Astronomy:Getaway Special|Getaway Special]]" payload to fly in space. The primary payload for the mission was the [[Organization:Wake Shield Facility|Wake Shield Facility]] (or WSF), a device designed to generate new semiconductor films for advanced electronics. The WSF was flown at the end of ''Discovery'''s robotic arm over the course of the flight. During the mission, the astronauts aboard ''Discovery'' also carried out various experiments aboard the Spacehab module in the Orbiter's payload bay, and took part in a live bi-directional audio and downlink video hookup between themselves and the three Cosmonauts on board ''Mir'', [[Biography:Valeri Polyakov|Valeri Polyakov]], Viktor Afanasyev and Yury Usachev (flying ''Mir'' expeditions LD-4 and EO-15).<ref name="MissionChronicle"/><ref name="SMH Flights">
{{cite web|title=Shuttle–Mir History/Shuttle Flights and Mir Increments|publisher=NASA|url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/history/h-flights.htm|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-60 Mission Summary|publisher=NASA|author=Jim Dumoulin|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-60/mission-sts-60.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Earth & Mir (STS-71).jpg|thumb|A view of ''Mir'' following ''Atlantis'''s undocking at the end of STS-71|alt=A cluster of modules and feathery solar arrays floats in the middle distance before an image of the Earth and the blackness of space above its horizon. Sunrays project from the top centre of the image.]]

===America arrives at ''Mir'' (1995)===
1995 began with the launch of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on February 3. Discovery's mission, [[Engineering:STS-63|STS-63]], was the second Space Shuttle flight in the program and the first flight of the shuttle with a female pilot, Eileen Collins. Referred to as the "near-''Mir''" mission, the eight-day flight saw the first rendezvous of a Space Shuttle with ''Mir'', as Russian Cosmonaut Vladimir Titov and the rest of ''Discovery'''s crew approached within {{convert|37|ft|m}} of ''Mir''. Following the rendezvous, Collins performed a flyaround of the station. The mission, a dress rehearsal for the first docked mission in the program, [[Engineering:STS-71|STS-71]], also carried out testing of various techniques and pieces of equipment that would be used during the docking missions that followed.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>
{{cite web|title=STS-63 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-63/mission-sts-63.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author= Kathy Sawyer|title=US & Russia Find Common Ground in Space – Nations Overcome Hurdles in Ambitious Partnership|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a1|date=January 29, 1995|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref>

{{anchor|Thagard increment}}
Five weeks after ''Discovery'''s flight, the March 14 launch of [[Engineering:Soyuz TM-21|Soyuz TM-21]] carried expedition EO-18 to ''Mir''. The crew consisted of Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and [[Biography:Gennady Strekalov|Gennady Strekalov]] and NASA Astronaut Norman Thagard, who became the first American to fly into space aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. During the course of their 115-day expedition, the ''[[Astronomy:Spektr|Spektr]]'' science module (which served as living and working space for American astronauts) was launched aboard a Proton rocket and docked to ''Mir''. Spektr carried more than {{convert|1500|lb|kg}} of research equipment from America and other nations. The expedition's crew returned to Earth aboard [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'']] following the first Shuttle–''Mir'' docking during mission [[Engineering:STS-71|STS-71]].<ref name="SSSM"/><ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref name ="LoME">List of Mir Expeditions</ref>

[[Image:Docking Module (STS-74).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Astronomy:Mir Docking Module|''Mir'' Docking Module]], positioned in ''Atlantis'''s payload bay on STS-74, ready to be docked to ''Kristall''|alt=A space shuttle payload bay, covered in white insulation, with a small, cylindrical orange module at one end, supported by the shuttle's robotic arm. The blackness of space and the Earth serve as the backdrop.]]

The primary objectives of STS-71, launched on June 27, called for the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' to rendezvous and perform the first docking between an American Space Shuttle and the station. On June 29, ''Atlantis'' successfully docked with ''Mir'', becoming the first US spacecraft to dock with a Russian spacecraft since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.<ref>{{cite book|last=Scott|first=David|last2=Leonov|first2=Alexei|title=Two Sides of the Moon|publisher=Pocket Books|date = April 30, 2005|isbn=978-0-7434-5067-6|id= {{ASIN|0743450671|country=uk}}}}</ref> ''Atlantis'' delivered Cosmonauts [[Biography:Anatoly Solovyev|Anatoly Solovyev]] and Nikolai Budarin, who would form the expedition EO-19 crew, and retrieved Astronaut Norman Thagard and Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov of the expedition EO-18 crew. ''Atlantis'' also carried out on-orbit joint US-Russian life sciences investigations aboard a [[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab]] module and performed a logistical resupply of the station.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-71 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-71/mission-sts-71.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Nick Nuttall| title = Shuttle homes in for Mir docking|newspaper=The Times|date=June 29, 1995|publisher =Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref>

The final Shuttle flight of 1995, [[Engineering:STS-74|STS-74]], began with the November 12 launch of Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', and delivered the Russian-built [[Astronomy:Mir Docking Module|Docking Module]] to ''Mir'', along with a new pair of solar arrays and other hardware upgrades for the station. The Docking Module was designed to provide more clearance for Shuttles in order to prevent any collisions with ''Mir's'' solar arrays during docking, a problem which had been overcome during [[Engineering:STS-71|STS-71]] by relocating the station's ''[[Astronomy:Kristall|Kristall]]'' module to a different location on the station. The module, attached to ''Kristall'''s docking port, prevented the need for this procedure on further missions. During the course of the flight, nearly {{convert|1000|lb|kg}} of water were transferred to ''Mir'' and experiment samples including blood, urine and saliva were moved to ''Atlantis'' for return to Earth.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>
{{cite web|title=CSA – STS-74 – Daily Reports|publisher=Canadian Space Agency|date=October 30, 1999|url=http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/missions/sts-074/reports.asp|accessdate=September 17, 2009|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716061546/http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/missions/sts-074/reports.asp|archivedate=July 16, 2011|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-74 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-74/mission-sts-74.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=William Harwood|title=Space Shuttle docks with Mir – Atlantis uses manoeuvres similar to those needed for construction|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a3|date=November 15, 1995|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref>

[[Image:S79e5219.jpg|thumb|A view of the Travers RADAR antenna on the newly launched ''Priroda'' module during STS-79|alt=A rectangular dish shape of scaffolding covered in transparent sheeting, with a white insulation-covered radio receiver and support projecting from the centre. The blackness of space serves as the backdrop.]]

===''Priroda'' (1996)===
Continuous US presence aboard ''Mir'' started in 1996 with the March 22 launch of ''Atlantis'' on mission [[Engineering:STS-76|STS-76]], when the Second Increment astronaut Shannon Lucid was transferred to the station. STS-76 was the third docking mission to ''Mir'', which also demonstrated logistics capabilities through deployment of a Spacehab module, and placed experiment packages aboard ''Mir'''s docking module, which marked the first spacewalk which occurred around docked vehicles. The spacewalks, carried out from ''Atlantis's'' crew cabin, provided valuable experience for astronauts in order to prepare for later assembly missions to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]].<ref>{{cite news|author=William Harwood|title=Shuttle becomes hard-hat area; spacewalking astronauts practice tasks necessary to build station|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a3|date=March 28, 1996|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank
}}</ref>

Lucid became the first American woman to live on station, and, following a six-week extension to her Increment due to issues with Shuttle [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster|Solid Rocket Boosters]], her 188-day mission set the US single spaceflight record. During Lucid's time aboard ''Mir'', the ''[[Astronomy:Priroda|Priroda]]'' module, with about {{convert|2200|lb|kg}} of US science hardware, was docked to ''Mir''. Lucid made use of both ''Priroda'' and ''Spektr'' to carry out 28 different science experiments and as living quarters.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>
{{cite web|title=STS-76 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-76/mission-sts-76.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:STS-81 Atlantis at Mir.jpg|thumb|left|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' docked to ''Mir'' during STS-81. The crew compartment, nose and a portion of the payload bay of ''Atlantis'' are visible, behind ''Mir'''s ''Kristall'' and Docking Modules.|alt=A view showing a module covered in white insulation with a smaller module, covered in orange insulation, connected to the end of it. Part of a space shuttle can be seen attached to the orange module, and a number of folded and unfolded solar arrays are visible. The limb of the Earth forms the backdrop.]]
Her stay aboard ''Mir'' ended with the flight of ''Atlantis'' on [[Engineering:STS-79|STS-79]], which launched on September 16. STS-79 was the first Shuttle mission to carry a double Spacehab module. More than {{convert|4000|lb|kg}} of supplies were transferred to ''Mir'', including water generated by ''Atlantis'''s [[Physics:Fuel cell|fuel cell]]s, and experiments that included investigations into [[Physics:Superconductivity|superconductors]], [[Biology:Cartilage|cartilage]] development, and other biology studies. About {{convert|2000|lb|kg}} of experiment samples and equipment were also transferred back from ''Mir'' to ''Atlantis'', making the total transfer the most extensive yet.<ref>{{cite news|author=William Harwood|title=Lucid transfers from Mir to Space Shuttle|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a3|date=September 20, 1996|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref>

This, the fourth docking, also saw John Blaha transferring onto ''Mir'' to take his place as resident Increment astronaut. His stay on the station improved operations in several areas, including transfer procedures for a docked space shuttle, "hand-over" procedures for long duration American crew members and "Ham" amateur radio communications.

Two spacewalks were carried out during his time aboard. Their aim was to remove [[Physics:Electric power|electrical power]] connectors from a 12-year-old [[Engineering:Solar power|solar power]] array on the base block and reconnect the cables to the more efficient new solar power arrays. In all, Blaha spent four months with the Mir-22 Cosmonaut crew conducting material science, [[Physics:Fluid mechanics|fluid science]], and [[Biology:Life science|life science]] research, before returning to Earth the next year aboard ''Atlantis'' on [[Engineering:STS-81|STS-81]].<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-79 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref>

===Fire and collision (1997)===
[[Image:Mir after Fire.jpg|thumb|A charred panel onboard ''Mir'' following the fire|alt=A white panel covered in buttons, which shows signs of fire damage on its bottom edge. Wiring and other pieces of hardware are arrayed beneath the panel.]]

In 1997 [[Engineering:STS-81|STS-81]] replaced Increment astronaut John Blaha with Jerry Linenger, after Blaha's 118-day stay aboard ''Mir''. During this fifth shuttle docking, the crew of ''Atlantis'' moved supplies to the station and returned to Earth the first plants to complete a life cycle in space; a crop of wheat planted by Shannon Lucid. During five days of mated operations, the crews transferred nearly {{convert|6000|lb}} of logistics to ''Mir'', and transferred {{convert|2400|lb}} of materials back to ''Atlantis'' (the most materials transferred between the two spacecraft to that date).<ref name="STS-81"/>

The STS-81 crew also tested the Shuttle Treadmill [[Physics:Vibration isolation|Vibration Isolation]] and Stabilization System (TVIS), designed for use in the ''Zvezda'' module of the International Space Station. The shuttle's small vernier jet thrusters were fired during the mated operations to gather engineering data for "reboosting" the ISS. After undocking, ''Atlantis'' performed a fly-around of ''Mir'', leaving Linenger aboard the station.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref name="STS-81">{{cite web|title=STS-81 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-81/mission-sts-81.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref>
[[File:Mir collision damage STS086-720-091.JPG|thumb|Picture of the damage caused by the collision with Progress M-34, taken by ''Atlantis'' during STS-86]]

During his Increment, Linenger became the first American to conduct a spacewalk from a foreign space station and the first to test the Russian-built Orlan-M spacesuit alongside Russian cosmonaut Vasili Tsibliyev. All three crewmembers of expedition EO-23 performed a "fly-around" in the Soyuz spacecraft, first undocking from one docking port of the station, then manually flying to and redocking the capsule at a different location. This made Linenger the first American to undock from a space station aboard two different spacecraft (Space Shuttle and Soyuz).<ref name="LoME"/>

Linenger and his Russian crewmates Vasili Tsibliyev and Aleksandr Lazutkin faced several difficulties during the mission. These included the most severe fire aboard an orbiting spacecraft (caused by a backup oxygen-generating device), failures of various on board systems, a near collision with a Progress resupply cargo ship during a long-distance manual docking system test and a total loss of station electrical power. The power failure also caused a loss of [[Astronomy:Attitude control|attitude control]], which led to an uncontrolled "tumble" through space.<ref name="SSSM"/><ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref name="OffPlanet"/><ref name="SMH Flights"/>

The next NASA astronaut to stay on ''Mir'' was Michael Foale. Foale and Russian mission specialist Elena Kondakova boarded ''Mir'' from ''Atlantis'' on mission [[Engineering:STS-84|STS-84]]. The STS-84 crew transferred 249 items between the two spacecraft, along with water, experiment samples, supplies and hardware. One of the first items transferred to ''Mir'' was an Elektron oxygen-generating unit. ''Atlantis'' was stopped three times while backing away during the undocking sequence on May 21. The aim was to collect data from a European sensor device designed for future rendezvous of ESA's [[Engineering:Automated Transfer Vehicle|Automated Transfer Vehicle]] (ATV) with the International Space Station.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-84 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-84/mission-sts-84.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Damaged Spektr solar array.jpg|thumb|left|Damaged solar arrays on ''Mir'''s ''Spektr'' module following a collision with an unmanned Progress spacecraft in September 1997|alt=A gold-coloured solar array, bent and twisted out of shape and with several holes. The edge of a module can be seen to the right of the image, and Earth is visible in the background.]]

Foale's Increment proceeded fairly normally until June 25, when a resupply ship collided with solar arrays on the ''[[Astronomy:Spektr|Spektr]]'' module during the second test of the Progress manual docking system, TORU. The module's outer shell was hit and holed, which caused the station to lose pressure. This was the first on-orbit depressurization in the history of spaceflight. The crew quickly cut cables leading to the module and closed ''Spektr's'' hatch in order to prevent the need to abandon the station in their Soyuz lifeboat. Their efforts stabilized the station's air pressure, whilst the pressure in ''Spektr'', containing many of Foale's experiments and personal effects, dropped to a vacuum. Fortunately, food, water and other vital supplies were stored in other modules, and salvage and replanning effort by Foale and the science community minimized the loss of research data and capability.<ref name ="Dragonfly"/><ref name="SMH Flights"/>

In an effort to restore some of the power and systems lost following the isolation of ''Spektr'' and to attempt to locate the leak, ''Mir's'' new commander [[Biography:Anatoly Solovyev|Anatoly Solovyev]] and [[Engineering:Flight engineer|flight engineer]] Pavel Vinogradov carried out a salvage operation later in the mission. They entered the empty module during a so-called "IVA" spacewalk, inspecting the condition of hardware and running cables through a special hatch from ''Spektr's'' systems to the rest of the station. Following these first investigations, Foale and Solovyev conducted a 6-hour EVA on the surface of ''Spektr'' to inspect the damaged module.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>
{{cite news|author=David Hoffman|title=Crucial Mir spacewalk carries high hopes – continued Western support could hinge on mission's success|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a1|date=August 22, 1997|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref>

[[Image:Mir (STS-86).jpg|thumb|A view of ''Mir'' from ''Atlantis'''s window, showing several of the station's modules and the docked Soyuz capsule|alt=A cluster of modules, covered in white insulation and projecting feathery solar arrays, with a small spacecraft covered in brown insulation docked at their centre. The image is seen through a window, with the blackness of space and the Earth forming the backdrop.]]

After these incidents, the US Congress and NASA considered whether to abandon the program out of concern for astronauts' safety but NASA administrator Daniel Goldin decided to continue the program.<ref name="OffPlanet"/> The next flight to ''Mir'', [[Engineering:STS-86|STS-86]], brought Increment astronaut David Wolf to the station.

STS-86 performed the seventh Shuttle–''Mir'' docking, the last of 1997. During ''Atlantis''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s stay crew members Titov and Parazynski conducted the first joint US–Russian extravehicular activity during a Shuttle mission, and the first in which a Russian wore a US spacesuit. During the five-hour spacewalk, the pair affixed a {{convert|121|lb|adj=on}} Solar Array Cap to the [[Astronomy:Mir Docking Module|Docking Module]], for a future attempt by crew members to seal off the leak in ''Spektr''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s hull. The mission returned Foale to Earth, along with samples, hardware, and an old Elektron oxygen generator, and dropped Wolf off on the Station ready for his 128-day Increment. Wolf had originally been scheduled to be the final ''Mir'' astronaut, but was chosen to go on the Increment instead of astronaut Wendy Lawrence. Lawrence was deemed ineligible for flight because of a change in Russian requirements after the Progress supply vehicle collision. The new rules required that all ''Mir'' crew members should be trained and ready for spacewalks, but a Russian spacesuit could not be prepared for Lawrence in time for launch.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-86 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date = June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-86/mission-sts-86.html|accessdate = March 30, 2007 }}</ref>

[[Image:STS-91 Landing.jpg|thumb|left|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' lands at the end of STS-91, bringing the Shuttle–''Mir'' program to a close.|alt=A spaceplane, coloured white on its topside and black on its underside, lands on a runway. A strip of turf is visible in the foreground, there are trees in the background and there is a cloud of smoke coming from the spaceplane's rear wheels.]]

===Phase One closes down (1998)===
The final year of Phase One began with the flight of [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Endeavour|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'']] on [[Engineering:STS-89|STS-89]]. The mission delivered Cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov to ''Mir'' and replaced David Wolf with Andy Thomas, following Wolf's 119-day Increment.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-89 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-89/mission-sts-89.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref>

During his Increment, the last of the program, Thomas worked on 27 science investigations into areas of advanced technology, [[Earth:Earth science|Earth science]]s, human life sciences, microgravity research, and ISS risk mitigation. His stay on ''Mir'', considered the smoothest of the entire Phase One program, featured weekly "Letters from the Outpost" from Thomas and passed two milestones for length of spaceflight—815 consecutive days<!--start STS-76, March 22, 1996 to STS-91 landing, June 12, 1998--> in space by American astronauts since the launch of Shannon Lucid on the STS-76 mission in March 1996, and 907 days<!--Mir increments: Thagard, Mar 16. '95 to July 4 '95 and six others at a stretch Mar 24. '96 to June 8 '98--> of ''Mir'' occupancy by American astronauts dating back to Norman Thagard's trip to ''Mir'' in March 1995.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Letters from the Outpost|first=Andrew|last=Thomas|publisher=NASA|date=September 2001|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4225/documentation/thomas-letters/letters.htm|accessdate=April 15, 2007}}</ref>

Thomas returned to Earth on the final Shuttle–''Mir'' mission, [[Engineering:STS-91|STS-91]]. The mission closed out Phase One, with the EO-25 and STS-91 crews transferring water to ''Mir'' and exchanging almost {{convert|4700|lb|kg}} of cargo experiments and supplies between the two spacecraft. Long-term American experiments that had been on board ''Mir'' were also moved into ''Discovery''. Hatches were closed for undocking at 9:07&nbsp;a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on June 8 and the spacecraft separated at 12:01&nbsp;p.m. EDT that day.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-91 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-91/mission-sts-91.html|accessdate=March 30, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=William Harwood|title=Final American returns from Mir|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a12|date=June 13, 1998|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref>

[[Image:Unity-Zarya-Zvezda STS-106.jpg|thumb|The International Space Station, Phase Two of the ISS program|alt=Three modules linked in a linear arrangement float in space with the Earth in the background. The top module is a metallic cylinder with a large white circle visible on it and a black cone at either end. The two lower modules are cylindrical and covered in white insulation, and have two blue solar arrays projecting from each. A smaller, brown spacecraft is docked to the lower module.]]

===Phases Two and Three: ISS (1998–2024)===
{{main|Astronomy:International Space Station}}
With the landing of [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Discovery|''Discovery'']] on June 12, 1998, the Phase One program concluded. Techniques and equipment developed during the program assisted the development of Phase Two: initial assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). The arrival of the ''Destiny'' Laboratory Module in 2001 marked the end of Phase Two and the start of Phase Three, the final outfitting of the station, completed in 2012.<ref name = "ISS Phases">
{{Cite web
 | last1        = Esquivel
 | first1       = Gerald
 | title        = ISS Phases I, II and III
 | date         = 23 March 2003
 | publisher    = NASA
 | url          = http://pdlprod3.hosc.msfc.nasa.gov/D-aboutiss/D1.html
 | accessdate   = 2007-06-27
 | archiveurl   = https://web.archive.org/web/20071214221840/http://pdlprod3.hosc.msfc.nasa.gov/D-aboutiss/D1.html
 | archivedate  = 2007-12-14
 | deadurl      = yes
}}
</ref> In 2015, a reconfiguration of the American segment was completed to allow its docking ports to accommodate NASA-sponsored commercial crew vehicles, that were expected to start visiting the ISS in 2018.<ref name="ISS Recongfig 2015">
{{cite news
 |last1=Harding
 |first1=Pete
 |url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/05/iss-program-station-reconfiguration-future-crew-vehicles/
 |title=ISS relocates PMM in reconfiguration for future crew vehicles
 |work=NASA Spaceflight.com
 |date=26 May 2015
 |accessdate=2015-06-13
 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6ZGIg6U6g?url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/05/iss-program-station-reconfiguration-future-crew-vehicles/
 |archivedate=13 June 2015
 |deadurl=no
 |ref=harv
 |df=
}}
</ref>

{{As of|June 2015}}, the ISS has a pressurized volume of {{convert|915|m3}}, and its pressurized modules total {{convert|51|m}} in length, plus a large truss structure that spans {{convert|109|m}}, making it the largest spacecraft ever assembled.<ref name="ISS facts & figures">
{{cite web
 |last1=Garcia
 |first1=Mark
 |title=ISS Facts and Figures
 |publisher=NASA
 |work=International Space Station
 |date=30 April 2015
 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/onthestation/facts_and_figures.html
 |accessdate=2015-06-13
 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6ZGK71UZ4?url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/onthestation/facts_and_figures.html
 |archivedate=13 June 2015
 |deadurl=no
 |ref=harv
 |df=
}}
</ref> The completed station consists of five laboratories and is able to support six crew members. With over {{convert|332|m3}} of habitable volume and a mass of {{convert|400000|kg}} the completed station is almost twice the size of the combined Shuttle–''Mir'' spacecraft.<ref name="ISS facts & figures"/>

Phases Two and Three are intended to continue both international cooperation in space and zero-gravity scientific research, particularly regarding long-duration spaceflight.  By spring 2015, Roscosmos, NASA, and the [[Organization:Canadian Space Agency|Canadian Space Agency]] (CSA) have agreed to extend the ISS's mission from 2020 to 2024.<ref name="ISS mission extension">
{{cite news
 |last1=Clark
 |first1=Stephen
 |url=http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/02/24/russian-space-agency-endorses-iss-until-2024/
 |title=Russian Space Agency Endorses ISS Until 2024
 |work=Spaceflight Now
 |date=24 February 2015
 |accessdate=2015-06-14
 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6ZHuese4w?url=http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/02/24/russian-space-agency-endorses-iss-until-2024/
 |archivedate=14 June 2015
 |deadurl=no
 |df=
}}

</ref> The results of this research will provide considerable information for long-duration expeditions to the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]] and flights to [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]].<ref name="ISS International Cooperation">
{{cite web
 |last1=Garcia
 |first1=Mark
 |title=International Cooperation
 |work=International Space Station
 |publisher=NASA
 |date=30 April 2015
 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/cooperation/index.html
 |accessdate=2015-06-13
 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6ZGMYEFLN?url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/cooperation/index.html
 |archivedate=13 June 2015
 |deadurl=no
 |ref=harv
 |df=
}}
</ref>

Following the intentional deorbiting of ''Mir'' on 23 March 2001, the ISS became the only space station in orbit around Earth.<ref name="Mir deorbited">
{{cite news
 |last1=Boyle
 |first1=Alan
 |title=Russia bids farewell to Mir
 |work=NBC News
 |date=23 March 2001
 |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3077781/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/russia-bids-farewell-mir/#.VXyY2BNVhHw
 |accessdate=2015-06-13
 |location=New York
 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6ZGPJsyuS?url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3077781/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/russia-bids-farewell-mir/
 |archivedate=13 June 2015
 |deadurl=no
 |df=
}}
</ref> It retained that distinction until the launch of Chinese Tiangong-1 space laboratory on 29 September 2011.<ref name="Tiangong-1">
{{cite news
 |last1=Malik
 |first1=Tariq
 |url=http://www.space.com/13120-china-tiangong-1-space-laboratory-facts-figures.html
 |title=China's Tiangong 1 Space Lab: Questions & Answers
 |date=29 September 2011
 |work=Space.com
 |accessdate=2015-06-13
 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6ZGLBbjxO?url=http://m.space.com/13120-china-tiangong-1-space-laboratory-facts-figures.html
 |archivedate=13 June 2015
 |deadurl=no
 |ref=harv
 |df=
}}
</ref>  ''Mir''{{'}}s legacy lives on in the station, bringing together five space agencies in the cause of exploration and allowing those space agencies to prepare for their next leap into space, to the Moon, Mars and beyond.<ref name="Mir's Legacy">
{{cite news
 |last1=Cabbage
 |first1=Michael
 |title=NASA outlines plans for Moon and Mars
 |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel
 |date=31 July 2005
 |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/orl-asec-moon073105,0,3136666.htmlstory?coll=orl-home-promo
 |accessdate=2009-09-17
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312170234/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/orl-asec-moon073105%2C0%2C3136666.htmlstory?coll=orl-home-promo
 |archivedate=12 March 2007
 |deadurl=yes
 |df=
}}
</ref>

==Controversy==
[[Image:Linenger in Respirator.jpg|thumb|left|Astronaut Jerry Linenger wearing a respirator mask following the 1997 fire aboard ''Mir''|alt=A man holding a piece of hose floats in front of a selection of transient space station hardware. He is wearing a gray-and-yellow plastic mask over his mouth and nose, a pair of goggles above his eyes, and a blue jumpsuit with a name patch on it.]]

===Safety and scientific return===
Criticism of the program was primarily concerned with the safety of the aging ''Mir'', particularly following the fire aboard the station and collision with the Progress supply vessel in 1997.<ref name="OffPlanet"/>

The fire, caused by the malfunction of a backup [[Chemistry:Chemical oxygen generator#Solid oxygen generator from Mir|solid-fuel oxygen generator]] (SFOG), burned for, according to various sources, between 90 seconds and 14 minutes, and produced large amounts of toxic smoke that filled the station for around 45 minutes. This forced the crew to don respirators, but some of the respirator masks initially worn were broken. [[Engineering:Fire extinguisher|Fire extinguisher]]s mounted on the walls of the modules were immovable. The fire occurred during a crew rotation, and as such there were six men aboard the station rather than the usual three. Access to one of the docked Soyuz lifeboats was blocked, which would have prevented escape by half of the crew. A similar incident had occurred on an earlier ''Mir'' expedition, although in that case the SFOG burned for only a few seconds.<ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref name="OffPlanet"/>

The near-miss and collision incidents presented further safety issues. Both were caused by failure of the same piece of equipment, the TORU manual docking system, which was undergoing tests at the time. The tests were called in order to gauge the performance of long-distance docking in order to enable the cash-strapped Russians to remove the expensive ''Kurs'' automatic docking system from the Progress ships.

In the wake of the collision NASA and the Russian Space Agency instigated numerous safety councils who were to determine the cause of the accident. As their investigations progressed, the two space agencies results began moving in different directions. NASA's results blamed the TORU docking system, as it required the astronaut or cosmonaut in charge to dock the progress without the aide of any sort of telemetry or guidance. However, the Russian Space Agency result's blamed the accident on crew error, accusing their own cosmonaut of miscalculating the distance between the progress and the space station.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burrough|first1=Bryan|title=Dragonfly|date=1999|publisher=Fourth Estate}}</ref> The Russian Space Agencies results were heavily criticized, even by their own cosmonaut Tsibliyev, on whom they were placing the blame. During his first press conference following his return to Earth, the cosmonaut expressed his anger and disapproval by declaring, "It has been a long tradition here in Russia to look for scapegoats."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Specter|first1=Michael|title=Refusing To Play Role Of Mir's Scapegoat, Crew Fights Back|publisher=New York Times|date=17 August 1997}}</ref>

The accidents also added to the increasingly vocal criticism of the aging station's reliability. Astronaut Blaine Hammond claimed that his safety concerns about ''Mir'' were ignored by NASA officials, and that records of safety meetings "disappeared from a locked vault".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-02-06-space-investigate-usat_x.htm|title=Some question NASA experts' objectivity|author=Alan Levin|publisher=USA Today|date=February 6, 2003}}</ref> ''Mir'' was originally designed to fly for five years but eventually flew for three times that length of time. During Phase One and afterward, the station was showing her age—constant computer crashes, loss of power, uncontrolled tumbles through space and leaking pipes were an ever-present concern for crews. Various breakdowns of ''Mir'''s Elektron oxygen-generating system were also a concern. These breakdowns led crews to become increasingly reliant on the SFOG systems that caused the fire in 1997. SFOG systems continue to be a problem aboard the ISS.<ref name="Dragonfly"/>

Another issue of controversy was the scale of its actual scientific return, particularly following the loss of the ''Spektr'' science module. Astronauts, managers and various members of the press all complained that the benefits of the program were outweighed by the risks associated with it, especially considering the fact that most of the US science experiments had been contained within the holed module. As such, a large amount of American research was inaccessible, reducing the science that could be performed.<ref>{{cite news|author=James Oberg|title=NASA's 'Can-Do' style is clouding its vision of Mir|newspaper=Washington Post|page=C1|date=September 28, 1997|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref> The safety issues caused NASA to reconsider the future of the program at various times. The agency eventually decided to continue and came under fire from various areas of the press regarding that decision.<ref>{{cite news|author=Mark Prigg|title=Row between Nasa and the Russian Space Agency – Innovation|newspaper=The Sunday Times|page=Sport 20|date=April 20, 1997|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank|nopp=true}}</ref>

===Attitudes===
Attitudes of the Russian space program and NASA towards Phase One were also of concern to the astronauts involved. Because of Russia's financial issues, many workers at the TsUP felt that the mission hardware and continuation of ''Mir'' was more important than the lives of the cosmonauts aboard the station. As such the program was run very differently compared to American programs: cosmonauts had their days being planned for them to the minute, actions (such as docking) which would be performed manually by shuttle pilots were all carried out automatically, and cosmonauts had their pay docked if they made any errors during their flights. Americans learned aboard ''[[Engineering:Skylab|Skylab]]'' and earlier space missions that this level of control was not productive and had since made mission plans more flexible. The Russians, however, would not budge, and many felt that significant work time was lost because of this.<ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Leland F. Belew|title=9 The Third Manned Period|work=SP-400 Skylab, Our First Space Station|publisher=NASA|date=1977|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-400/ch9.htm|accessdate=April 6, 2007}}</ref>

Following the two accidents in 1997, astronaut Jerry Linenger felt that the Russian authorities attempted a cover-up to downplay the significance of the incidents, fearing that the Americans would back out of the partnership. A large part of this "cover-up" was the seeming impression that the American astronauts were not in fact "partners" aboard the station, but were instead "guests". NASA staff did not find out for several hours about the fire and collision and found themselves kept out of decision-making processes. NASA became more involved when Russian mission controllers intended to place blame for the accident entirely on Vasily Tsibliyev. It was only after the application of significant pressure from NASA that this stance was changed.<ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref name="OffPlanet"/>

At various times during the program, NASA managers and personnel found themselves limited in terms of resources and manpower, particularly as Phase Two geared up, and had a hard time getting anywhere with NASA administration. One particular area of contention was with crew assignments to missions. Many astronauts allege that the method of selection prevented the most skilled people from performing roles they were best-suited for.<ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref name = "OffPlanet"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Ben Evans|title=Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys into the Unknown|publisher=Springer-Praxis|date=2007|location=Warwickshire, United Kingdom|isbn=978-0-387-46355-1|id= {{ASIN|0387463550|country=uk}}}}</ref>

===Finances===
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union a few years earlier, the Russian economy had been slowly collapsing and the budget for space exploration was reduced by around 80%. Before and after Phase One, a great deal of Russia's space finances came from flights of astronauts from Europe and other countries, with one Japanese [[Engineering:Television station|TV station]] paying $9.5 million to have one of their reporters, Toyohiro Akiyama, flown aboard ''Mir''.<ref name="Dragonfly"/> By the start of Phase One, cosmonauts regularly found their missions extended to save money on launchers, the six-yearly flights of the Progress had been reduced to three, and there was a distinct possibility of ''Mir'' being sold for around $500 million.<ref name="Dragonfly"/>

Critics argued that the $325 million contract NASA had with Russia was the only thing keeping the Russian space program alive, and only the Space Shuttle was keeping ''Mir'' aloft. NASA also had to pay hefty fees for training manuals and equipment used by astronauts training at [[Astronomy:Star City, Russia|Star City]].<ref name="OffPlanet"/> Problems came to a head when ABC's ''Nightline'' revealed that there was a distinct possibility of embezzlement of American finances by the Russian authorities in order to build a suite of new cosmonaut houses in [[Place:Moscow|Moscow]], or else that the building projects were being funded by the Russian Mafia. NASA administrator Goldin was invited onto ''Nightline'' to defend the homes but he refused to comment. NASA's office for external affairs was quoted as saying that "What Russia does with its own money is their business."<ref name="Dragonfly"/><ref>
{{cite web
 | title = SpaceViews Update 97 May 15: Policy
 | date = May 15, 1997
 | url = http://seds.org/spaceviews/970515/pol.html
 | publisher = Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
 | accessdate = April 5, 2007| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20050312050039/http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/970515/pol.html| archivedate = March 12, 2005}}
</ref>

==See also==
* [[Engineering:List of heaviest spacecraft|List of heaviest spacecraft]]
* Skylab mutiny

==References==
{{Include-NASA}}
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/ History of Shuttle–Mir] (NASA)
* [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4225/nasa4/nasa4.htm Diary of Linenger Increment] (NASA)
* [http://www.jamesoberg.com/mirlessons.html Shuttle-Mir's Lessons for the International Space Station James Oberg, Contributing Editor, SPECTRUM magazine June 1998, pp. 28-37]
{{Shuttle-Mir}}

{{Mir modules}}
{{Manned Mir flight}}
{{Space Shuttle}}
{{Russian manned space programs}}
{{US manned space programs}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuttle-Mir Program}}
[[Category:Human spaceflight programs]]
[[Category:Mir]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle missions]]
[[Category:NASA programs]]

{{Sourceattribution|Shuttle–Mir Program|1}}