February 20, 1986 The first module of the Mir station was launched into orbit, which for many years became a symbol of Soviet and then Russian space exploration. It has not existed for more than ten years, but its memory will remain in history. And today we will tell you about the most significant facts and events concerning orbital station "Mir".
Mir orbital station - all-Union shock construction
The traditions of all-Union construction projects of the fifties and seventies, during which the country's largest and most significant facilities were erected, continued in the eighties with the creation of the Mir orbital station. True, it was not low-skilled Komsomol members brought from different parts of the USSR who worked on it, but the best production capacity of the state. In total, about 280 enterprises operating under the auspices of 20 ministries and departments worked on this project.The Mir station project began to be developed back in 1976. It was supposed to become a fundamentally new man-made space object - a real orbital city where people could live and work for a long time. Moreover, not only cosmonauts from Eastern Bloc countries, but also from Western countries.
Active work on the construction of the orbital station began in 1979, but was temporarily suspended in 1984 - all the forces of the space industry of the Soviet Union were spent on creating the Buran shuttle. However, the intervention of senior party officials, who planned to launch the facility by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU (February 25 - March 6, 1986), made it possible to complete the work in a short time and launch Mir into orbit on February 20, 1986.
Mir station structure
However, on February 20, 1986, a completely different Mir station than we knew appeared in orbit. This was only the base block, which was eventually joined by several other modules, turning Mir into a huge orbital complex connecting residential blocks, scientific laboratories and technical premises, including a module for docking the Russian station with the American space shuttles "At the end of the nineties, the Mir orbital station consisted of the following elements: base block, modules “Kvant-1” (scientific), “Kvant-2” (household), “Kristall” (docking and technological), “Spectrum” (scientific ), "Nature" (scientific), as well as a docking module for American shuttles.
It was planned that the assembly of the Mir station would be completed by 1990. But economic problems in the Soviet Union, and then the collapse of the state, prevented the implementation of these plans, and as a result, the last module was added only in 1996.
Purpose of the Mir orbital station
The Mir orbital station is, first of all, a scientific object that allows it to conduct unique experiments that are not available on Earth. This includes astrophysical research and the study of our planet itself, the processes occurring on it, in its atmosphere and near space.An important role at the Mir station was played by experiments related to human behavior under conditions of prolonged exposure to weightlessness, as well as in the cramped conditions of a spacecraft. Here the reaction of the human body and psyche to future flights to other planets, and indeed to life in space in general, the exploration of which is impossible without this kind of research, was studied.
And, of course, the Mir orbital station served as a symbol of the Russian presence in Space, the domestic space program, and, over time, the friendship of cosmonauts from different countries.
Mir - the first international space station
The possibility of attracting cosmonauts from other countries, including non-Soviet countries, to work on the Mir orbital station was included in the project concept from the very beginning. However, these plans were realized only in the nineties, when the Russian space program was experiencing financial difficulties, and therefore it was decided to invite foreign countries to work at the Mir station.But the first foreign cosmonaut arrived at the Mir station much earlier - in July 1987. It was the Syrian Mohammed Faris. Later, representatives from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Great Britain, Canada and Slovakia visited the site. But most of the foreigners on the Mir orbital station were from the United States of America.
In the early 1990s, the United States did not have its own long-term orbital station, and therefore they decided to join the Russian Mir project. The first American to be there was Norman Thagard on March 16, 1995. This happened as part of the Mir-Shuttle program, but the flight itself was carried out on the domestic Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft.
Already in June 1995, five American astronauts flew to the Mir station at once. They got there on the Atlantis shuttle. In total, US representatives appeared on this Russian space object fifty times (34 different astronauts).
Space records at the Mir station
The Mir orbital station is itself a record holder. It was originally planned that it would last only five years and would be replaced by the Mir-2 facility. But funding cuts led to its service life being extended for fifteen years. And the time of continuous stay of people on it is estimated at 3642 days - from September 5, 1989 to August 26, 1999, almost ten years (the ISS beat this achievement in 2010).During this time, the Mir station became a witness and “home” to many space records. More than 23 thousand scientific experiments were carried out there. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, while on board, spent 438 days in space continuously (from January 8, 1994 to March 22, 1995), which is still a record achievement in history. And a similar record was set there for women - American Shannon Lucid stayed in outer space for 188 days in 1996 (already broken on the ISS).
Another unique event that occurred on board the Mir station was the first in history on January 23, 1993. Within its framework, two works by Ukrainian artist Igor Podolyak were presented.
Decommissioning and descent to Earth
Breakdowns and technical problems at the Mir station were recorded from the very beginning of its commissioning. But at the end of the nineties it became clear that its further operation would be difficult - the facility was morally and technically outdated. Moreover, at the beginning of the decade, a decision was made to build the International Space Station, in which Russia also took part. And on November 20, 1998, the Russian Federation launched the first element of the ISS - the Zarya module.In January 2001, a final decision was made on the future flooding of the Mir orbital station, despite the fact that options for its possible rescue arose, including the purchase by Iran. However, on March 23, the Mir was sunk in the Pacific Ocean, in a place called the Spaceship Graveyard - this is where objects that have expired are sent for eternal stay.
Residents of Australia that day, fearing “surprises” from the long-problematic station, jokingly placed sights on their plots of land, hinting that this is where the Russian object could fall. However, the flooding took place without unforeseen circumstances - the Mir went under water approximately in the area where it should have been.
Legacy of the Mir orbital station
Mir became the first orbital station built on a modular principle, when many other elements necessary to perform certain functions can be attached to the base unit. This gave impetus to a new round of space exploration. And even with future creation, long-term orbital modular stations will still be the basis for human presence beyond the Earth.
The modular principle, developed at the Mir orbital station, is now used at the International Space Station. At the moment, it consists of fourteen elements.
Mir space station(Salyut-8) is the world's first orbital station with a spatial modular design. The beginning of work on the project should be considered 1976, when NPO Energia developed Technical Proposals for the creation of improved orbital stations intended for long-term operation. The launch of the Mir space station took place in February 1986, when the base unit was launched into low-Earth orbit, to which 6 more modules for various purposes were added over the next 10 years. Many records were set at the Mir space station, ranging from the uniqueness and complexity of the design of the station itself, to the length of stay of crews on it. Since 1995, the station has essentially become international. It is visited by international crews, which included cosmonauts from Austria, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Slovakia, Syria, France, and Japan. The spacecraft providing communication between the Mir space station and the Earth were the manned Soyuz and the Progress cargo ship. In addition, the possibility of docking with American spacecraft was provided. According to the Mir-Shuttle program, 7 expeditions were organized on the Atlantis ship and one expedition on the Discovery ship, within which 44 cosmonauts visited the station. In total, 104 astronauts from twelve countries worked at the Mir orbital station at different times. There is no doubt that this project, which was ahead of even the United States in orbital research by a quarter of a century, was a triumph of Soviet cosmonautics.
The Mir orbital station is the world's first modular design
Before the Mir orbital station appeared in space, modularity was used, as a rule, by science fiction writers. Despite the effectiveness of the volumetric modular design, this task was extremely difficult to achieve in practice. After all, the task was not just longitudinal docking (this practice already existed), but docking in the transverse direction. This required complex maneuvers in which the docked modules could damage each other, which is a deadly phenomenon in space. But Soviet engineers found a brilliant solution by equipping the docking station with a special manipulator, which ensured the capture of the docked module and smooth docking. The advanced experience of the Mir orbital station was later used in the International Space Station (ISS).
Almost all the modules (except for the docking station) that made up the station were launched into orbit using a Proton launch vehicle. The composition of the Mir space station modules was as follows:
Base unit was delivered into orbit in 1986. Visually, it resembled the Salyut orbital station. Inside the module there was a wardroom, two cabins, a work compartment with communications equipment and a centralized control station. The base module had 6 docking ports, a portable airlock and 3 solar panels.
Module "Quantum" was launched into orbit in March 1987 and docked to the base module in April of the same year. The module included a set of instruments for astrophysical observations and biotechnological experiments.
Module "Kvant-2" was delivered into orbit in November and docked with the station in December 1989. The main purpose of the module was to provide additional comfort to the astronauts. Kvant-2 included life support equipment for the Mir space station. In addition, the module had 2 solar panels with a rotating mechanism.
Module "Crystal" was a docking and technological module. It was launched into orbit in June 1990. Docked to the station in July of the same year. The module had a diverse purpose: research in the field of materials science, medical and biological research, astrophysical observations. A distinctive feature of the Crystal module was that it was equipped with a docking mechanism for ships weighing up to 100 tons. It was planned to dock with the spacecraft as part of the Buran project.
Module "Spectrum" intended for geophysical research. Docked to the Mir orbital station in June 1995. With its help, studies of the earth's surface, ocean and atmosphere were carried out.
Docking module had a narrowly targeted purpose and was intended to be able to dock American reusable spacecraft with the station. The module was delivered by the Atlantis spacecraft and docked in November 1995.
Module "Nature" contained equipment for studying human behavior during long-term flight in space. In addition, the module was used to observe the Earth's surface in various wavelength ranges. It was launched into orbit and docked in April 1996.
Why was the Mir space station flooded?
At the end of the 90s of the 21st century, serious problems began at the station with equipment, which began to fail en masse. As you know, it was decided to decommission the station by flooding it in the ocean. When asked why the Mir space station was flooded, the official answer was related to the unjustified high cost of further use and restoration of the station. However, it later became clear that there were more compelling reasons for such a decision. In particular, the cause of massive equipment breakdowns was mutated microorganisms that settled in a wide variety of places at the station. They then damaged wiring and various equipment. The scale of this phenomenon turned out to be so large that, despite various projects to save the station, it was decided not to take risks, but to destroy it along with its uninvited inhabitants. In March 2001, the Mir station was sunk in the Pacific Ocean.
Exactly 20 years ago, a series of strange accidents at the Russian Mir station led to the decision to begin decommissioning it, followed by flooding. This unique anniversary would have gone unnoticed if not for the premiere of yet another Hollywood “space horror” film. The fantastic blockbuster “Alive” tells about the tragic death of the ISS crew in the fight against an unusual Martian microorganism. This rather hackneyed theme, brilliantly explored by Riddy Scott in the epic about “alien” monsters and by John Bruno in “Virus,” unexpectedly received an original continuation. The intrigue was generated by the words of the creator of “Alive,” Daniel Espinosa, that the plot was inspired by one of the versions of the death of the predecessor of the ISS, the Mir station.
"Domino effect" in emergency situations
At the end of July 1997, one of the leaders of the Mir program, Sergei Krikalev, held a sensational press conference. On it, he spoke about a series of mysterious accidents.
It all started on February 23, 1997, when a fire broke out during a crew change. The reason was a substandard pyrolysis bomb, used to replenish oxygen, which was lit after six people had accumulated on board. Although the fire was extinguished, the thermoregulation system began to malfunction. As a result, the new crew consisting of Vasily Tsibliev, Alexander Lazutkin and Jerry Linenger had to inhale refrigerant vapors for a week and “steam” at a temperature of 30 degrees. The thermal control system was repaired only by mid-June.
On June 25, 1997, during maneuvers of the Progress M-34 truck, it collided with the Spectr scientific module. As a result, a crack formed through which air began to escape. I had to batten down the passage hatch to the Spectrum, but then the voltage at the station began to drop. It turned out that the cables and solar panels of the Spectrum were damaged, giving almost
a third of electricity.
The next morning the astronauts woke up in darkness and cold. It turned out that at night the on-board computer lost contact with the position sensors and switched to emergency mode, turning off the heating and orientation system. So the station lost the optimal arrangement of solar panels, and the batteries were discharged.
In the end, the station was able to be oriented by the engines of the moored Soyuz TM-25 spacecraft, and the solar panels recharged the batteries.
What about the on-board computer?
On August 5, Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov arrived to replace Tsibliev and Lazutkin with repair equipment to restore the Mir. The new shift encountered difficulties already during docking, when the automation did not work and Solovyov had to dock manually. He carried out a maneuver and managed to save the situation by taking over control during the next computer failure while redocking the Progress M-35.
Then the astronauts began to repair the on-board computer, recalling the HAL 9000 supercomputer, which destroyed almost the entire crew of the spaceship in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The computer was debugged and work began on repairing the electrolysis generator to produce oxygen.
After this, the cosmonauts put on their spacesuits and entered the depressurized module through the docking port's transition gate. They managed to restore the cables leading to the Spectra's solar panels. Now it was necessary to find out how many holes the station received. However, checking suspicious places yielded nothing. The search for an air leak had to be continued. At this time, the main computer failures resumed. They managed to assemble it from two faulty ones, but the problems followed one after another, as if the spirit of HAL 9000 had truly entered the computer...
All these events led to the curtailment of work at the station. According to the official version, the situation at the station was considered by major space technology experts together with designers and manufacturers. They came to the conclusion that “Mir” had long ago exhausted its resources, and further stay on it was simply becoming dangerous.
Alternative version
Many alternative space historians believe that the cause of the death of the Mir station was the events during the 14th main expedition, which lasted from July 1, 1993 to January 14, 1994. Then Vasily Tsibliev, Alexander Serebrov and the Frenchman Jean-Pierre Haignere arrived at the station.
While checking equipment for spacewalks left over from the previous crew, flight engineer Serebrov opened the backpack of one of the spacesuits, and it was immediately enveloped in a cloud of greenish dust. It turned out that several layers of strange mold had formed on the inner surface of the suit.
The team had to spend a long time cleaning the compartment where the spacesuits were stored using improvised means. Finally, almost all the mold spores from the air and the suit were sent to the dust collector. However, after a few hours, the water from the regeneration system acquired a putrid taste, and a musty smell appeared in the compartments.
The astronauts sent a request to the Mission Control Center to change the regeneration column, but on Earth the situation was not considered critical. Then the astronauts themselves disassembled the column and saw that the replaceable filter was clogged with yellow-green crumbs.
Subsequently, the mold, which mutated in weightlessness and under the influence of cosmic radiation, began to destroy the station’s equipment. Fire detectors and air analyzers were particularly affected. This is indirectly confirmed by analyzes from the laboratory of environmental microbiology and antimicrobial protection of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in which extensive traces of mold were found on some of the instruments returned from the station.
Biorisk program
The Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences launched a targeted program to study the behavior of microorganisms in space conditions. It was called "Biorisk".
During the experiments, spores of microscopic fungi were sent into space as the most resistant to an airless environment and radiation. They were placed on metal structures that made up the outer shell of the spacecraft. The samples were then placed in a Petri dish, separated from the vacuum by a membrane filter. The disputes spent a year and a half in space conditions. When they were returned to Earth and placed in a nutrient medium, the spores immediately began to grow and multiply.
All this shed new light on the old problem of disinfection of space technology. Indeed, in the event of the return of expeditions that have visited various parts of the solar system, terrestrial microorganisms may change significantly.
Space infection
After returning to Earth, the astronauts of the 14th expedition developed symptoms of a strange disease. They manifested themselves especially strongly in Serebrov, who complained of abdominal pain, nausea and constant weakness. The astronaut turned to the Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology for help, but doctors were unable to give him an accurate diagnosis.
On March 23, 2001, the record-breaking station, which operated three times longer than originally planned, was sunk in the Pacific Ocean, near the Fiji Islands. Scientists assured that the station underwent heat treatment during flight through the atmosphere. Not a single microbe can survive in such an oven. But they admitted: the properties of the mold that mutated in weightlessness are not fully known. What if the space microorganisms on the flooded station survived? Is there a threat that an unknown infection will come to earth from the depths of the water?
Mutants or conspiracy theories?
A couple of years ago, many media reported the sensational discovery of traces of some microorganisms on the external structures of the ISS. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that these organisms were plankton, which in an unknown way got onto the lining of the station.
Astrobiologists who study all life in space have put forward a theory according to which plankton reached the ISS on one of the spacecraft. For example, this could well happen at NASA's main rocket launch site in Florida at Cape Canaveral, where strong winds often blow from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
According to another hypothesis, expressed many years ago by the patriarch of British science fiction, Brian Aldiss, in the novel “The Long Twilight of the Earth,” microorganisms are constantly carried tens of kilometers upward by atmospheric currents and travel thousands of kilometers.
Nevertheless, the mysteries of mold on the Mir station and plankton on the ISS have never found explanations that would suit everyone.
And the strange death of the Mir station, it turns out, has a conspiracy theory. It was voiced by Czech space historian Karel Patzner in the best-selling book “The Secret Race for the Moon.” In his opinion, the reasons for the hasty destruction of the station are the most banal - corruption and embezzlement. According to Patzner, the costs of maintaining this facility went into the pockets of the leadership of the space industry, and the station accumulated many unique instruments and equipment that existed only on paper.
The tracks had to be quickly covered, and the legend of mold was used to prepare public opinion. In general, as they say in the popular series, the truth is somewhere nearby.
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February 20, 1986 The first module of the Mir station was launched into orbit, which for many years became a symbol of Soviet and then Russian space exploration. It has not existed for more than ten years, but its memory will remain in history. And today we will tell you about the most significant facts and events concerning orbital station "Mir".
Mir orbital station - all-Union shock construction
The traditions of all-Union construction projects of the fifties and seventies, during which the country's largest and most significant facilities were erected, continued in the eighties with the creation of the Mir orbital station. True, it was not low-skilled Komsomol members brought from different parts of the USSR who worked on it, but the best production capacity of the state. In total, about 280 enterprises operating under the auspices of 20 ministries and departments worked on this project. The Mir station project began to be developed back in 1976. It was supposed to become a fundamentally new man-made space object - a real orbital city where people could live and work for a long time. Moreover, not only cosmonauts from Eastern Bloc countries, but also from Western countries.
Mir station and space shuttle Buran. Active work on the construction of the orbital station began in 1979, but was temporarily suspended in 1984 - all the forces of the space industry of the Soviet Union were spent on creating the Buran shuttle. However, the intervention of senior party officials, who planned to launch the facility by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU (February 25 - March 6, 1986), made it possible to complete the work in a short time and launch Mir into orbit on February 20, 1986.
Mir station structure
However, on February 20, 1986, a completely different Mir station than we knew appeared in orbit. This was only the base block, which was eventually joined by several other modules, turning Mir into a huge orbital complex connecting residential blocks, scientific laboratories and technical premises, including a module for docking the Russian station with the American space shuttles " At the end of the nineties, the Mir orbital station consisted of the following elements: base block, modules “Kvant-1” (scientific), “Kvant-2” (household), “Kristall” (docking and technological), “Spectrum” (scientific ), "Nature" (scientific), as well as a docking module for American shuttles.
It was planned that the assembly of the Mir station would be completed by 1990. But economic problems in the Soviet Union, and then the collapse of the state, prevented the implementation of these plans, and as a result, the last module was added only in 1996.
Purpose of the Mir orbital station
The Mir orbital station is, first of all, a scientific object that allows it to conduct unique experiments that are not available on Earth. This includes astrophysical research and the study of our planet itself, the processes occurring on it, in its atmosphere and near space. An important role at the Mir station was played by experiments related to human behavior under conditions of prolonged exposure to weightlessness, as well as in the cramped conditions of a spacecraft. Here the reaction of the human body and psyche to future flights to other planets, and indeed to life in space in general, the exploration of which is impossible without this kind of research, was studied.
And, of course, the Mir orbital station served as a symbol of the Russian presence in Space, the domestic space program, and, over time, the friendship of cosmonauts from different countries.
Mir - the first international space station
The possibility of attracting cosmonauts from other countries, including non-Soviet countries, to work on the Mir orbital station was included in the project concept from the very beginning. However, these plans were realized only in the nineties, when the Russian space program was experiencing financial difficulties, and therefore it was decided to invite foreign countries to work at the Mir station. But the first foreign cosmonaut arrived at the Mir station much earlier - in July 1987. It was the Syrian Mohammed Faris. Later, representatives from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Great Britain, Canada and Slovakia visited the site. But most of the foreigners on the Mir orbital station were from the United States of America.
In the early 1990s, the United States did not have its own long-term orbital station, and therefore they decided to join the Russian Mir project. The first American to be there was Norman Thagard on March 16, 1995. This happened as part of the Mir-Shuttle program, but the flight itself was carried out on the domestic Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft.
Already in June 1995, five American astronauts flew to the Mir station at once. They got there on the Atlantis shuttle. In total, US representatives appeared on this Russian space object fifty times (34 different astronauts).
Space records at the Mir station
The Mir orbital station is itself a record holder. It was originally planned that it would last only five years and would be replaced by the Mir-2 facility. But funding cuts led to its service life being extended for fifteen years. And the time of continuous stay of people on it is estimated at 3642 days - from September 5, 1989 to August 26, 1999, almost ten years (the ISS beat this achievement in 2010). During this time, the Mir station became a witness and “home” to many space records. More than 23 thousand scientific experiments were carried out there. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, while on board, spent 438 days in space continuously (from January 8, 1994 to March 22, 1995), which is still a record achievement in history. And a similar record was set there for women - American Shannon Lucid stayed in outer space for 188 days in 1996 (already broken on the ISS).
Another unique event that took place on board the Mir station was the first ever space art exhibition on January 23, 1993. Within its framework, two works by Ukrainian artist Igor Podolyak were presented.
Decommissioning and descent to Earth
Breakdowns and technical problems at the Mir station were recorded from the very beginning of its commissioning. But at the end of the nineties it became clear that its further operation would be difficult - the facility was morally and technically outdated. Moreover, at the beginning of the decade, a decision was made to build the International Space Station, in which Russia also took part. And on November 20, 1998, the Russian Federation launched the first element of the ISS - the Zarya module. In January 2001, a final decision was made on the future flooding of the Mir orbital station, despite the fact that options for its possible rescue arose, including the purchase by Iran. However, on March 23, the Mir was sunk in the Pacific Ocean, in a place called the Spaceship Graveyard - this is where objects that have expired are sent for eternal stay.
Residents of Australia that day, fearing “surprises” from the long-problematic station, jokingly placed sights on their plots of land, hinting that this is where the Russian object could fall. However, the flooding took place without unforeseen circumstances - the Mir went under water approximately in the area where it should have been.
Legacy of the Mir orbital station
Mir became the first orbital station built on a modular principle, when many other elements necessary to perform certain functions can be attached to the base unit. This gave impetus to a new round of space exploration. And even with the future creation of permanent bases on planets and satellites, long-term orbital modular stations will still be the basis for human presence beyond the Earth.
The modular principle, developed at the Mir orbital station, is now used at the International Space Station. At the moment, it consists of fourteen elements.
On February 20, 1986, the first module of the Mir station was launched into orbit, which for many years became a symbol of Soviet and then Russian space exploration. It has not existed for more than ten years, but its memory will remain in history. And today we will tell you about the most significant facts and events concerning the Mir orbital station.
Mir orbital station - all-Union shock construction
The traditions of all-Union construction projects of the fifties and seventies, during which the country's largest and most significant facilities were erected, continued in the eighties with the creation of the Mir orbital station. True, it was not low-skilled Komsomol members brought from different parts of the USSR who worked on it, but the best production capacity of the state. In total, about 280 enterprises operating under the auspices of 20 ministries and departments worked on this project.
The Mir station project began to be developed back in 1976. It was supposed to become a fundamentally new man-made space object - a real orbital city where people could live and work for a long time. Moreover, not only cosmonauts from Eastern Bloc countries, but also from Western countries.
Mir station and space shuttle Buran.
Active work on the construction of the orbital station began in 1979, but was temporarily suspended in 1984 - all the forces of the space industry of the Soviet Union were spent on creating the Buran shuttle. However, the intervention of senior party officials, who planned to launch the facility by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU (February 25 - March 6, 1986), made it possible to complete the work in a short time and launch Mir into orbit on February 20, 1986.
The base unit of the Mir station.
Mir station structure
However, on February 20, 1986, a completely different Mir station than we knew appeared in orbit. This was only the base block, which was eventually joined by several other modules, turning Mir into a huge orbital complex connecting residential blocks, scientific laboratories and technical premises, including a module for docking the Russian station with the American space shuttles "
At the end of the nineties, the Mir orbital station consisted of the following elements: base block, modules “Kvant-1” (scientific), “Kvant-2” (household), “Kristall” (docking and technological), “Spectrum” (scientific ), "Nature" (scientific), as well as a docking module for American shuttles.
Mir orbital station in 1999.
It was planned that the assembly of the Mir station would be completed by 1990. But economic problems in the Soviet Union, and then the collapse of the state, prevented the implementation of these plans, and as a result, the last module was added only in 1996.
Purpose of the Mir orbital station
The Mir orbital station is, first of all, a scientific object that allows it to conduct unique experiments that are not available on Earth. This includes astrophysical research and the study of our planet itself, the processes occurring on it, in its atmosphere and near space.
An important role at the Mir station was played by experiments related to human behavior under conditions of prolonged exposure to weightlessness, as well as in the cramped conditions of a spacecraft. Here the reaction of the human body and psyche to future flights to other planets, and indeed to life in space in general, the exploration of which is impossible without this kind of research, was studied.
Experiments at the Mir station.
And, of course, the Mir orbital station served as a symbol of the Russian presence in Space, the domestic space program, and, over time, the friendship of cosmonauts from different countries.
Mir - the first international space station
The possibility of attracting cosmonauts from other countries, including non-Soviet countries, to work on the Mir orbital station was included in the project concept from the very beginning. However, these plans were realized only in the nineties, when the Russian space program was experiencing financial difficulties, and therefore it was decided to invite foreign countries to work at the Mir station.
But the first foreign cosmonaut arrived at the Mir station much earlier - in July 1987. It was the Syrian Mohammed Faris. Later, representatives from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Great Britain, Canada and Slovakia visited the site. But most of the foreigners on the Mir orbital station were from the United States of America.
In the early 1990s, the United States did not have its own long-term orbital station, and therefore they decided to join the Russian Mir project. The first American to be there was Norman Thagard on March 16, 1995. This happened as part of the Mir-Shuttle program, but the flight itself was carried out on the domestic Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft.
The Mir orbital station and the American shuttle docked with it.
Already in June 1995, five American astronauts flew to the Mir station at once. They got there on the Atlantis shuttle. In total, US representatives appeared on this Russian space object fifty times (34 different astronauts).
Space records at the Mir station
The Mir orbital station is itself a record holder. It was originally planned that it would last only five years and would be replaced by the Mir-2 facility. But funding cuts led to its service life being extended for fifteen years. And the time of continuous stay of people on it is estimated at 3642 days - from September 5, 1989 to August 26, 1999, almost ten years (the ISS beat this achievement in 2010).
During this time, the Mir station became a witness and “home” to many space records. More than 23 thousand scientific experiments were carried out there. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, while on board, spent 438 days continuously (from January 8, 1994 to March 22, 1995), which is still a record achievement in history. And a similar record was set there for women - American Shannon Lucid stayed in outer space for 188 days in 1996 (already broken on the ISS).
Valery Polyakov at Mir station.
Shannon Lucid at Mir station.
Another unique event that took place on board the Mir station was the first ever space art exhibition on January 23, 1993. Within its framework, two works by Ukrainian artist Igor Podolyak were presented.
Works by Igor Podolyak at the Mir station.
Decommissioning and descent to Earth
Breakdowns and technical problems at the Mir station were recorded from the very beginning of its commissioning. But at the end of the nineties it became clear that its further operation would be difficult - the facility was morally and technically outdated. Moreover, at the beginning of the decade, a decision was made to build the International Space Station, in which Russia also took part. And on November 20, 1998, the Russian Federation launched the first element of the ISS - the Zarya module.
In January 2001, a final decision was made on the future flooding of the Mir orbital station, despite the fact that options for its possible rescue arose, including the purchase by Iran. However, on March 23, the Mir was sunk in the Pacific Ocean, in a place called the Spaceship Graveyard - this is where objects that have expired are sent for eternal stay.
Photo of the historic fall of the Mir orbital station into the Pacific Ocean.
Residents of Australia that day, fearing “surprises” from the long-problematic station, jokingly placed sights on their plots of land, hinting that this is where the Russian object could fall. However, the flooding took place without unforeseen circumstances - the Mir went under water approximately in the area where it should have been.
Legacy of the Mir orbital station
Mir became the first orbital station built on a modular principle, when many other elements necessary to perform certain functions can be attached to the base unit. This gave impetus to a new round of space exploration. And even with the future creation of permanent bases on planets and satellites, long-term orbital modular stations will still be the basis for human presence beyond the Earth.
International Space Station.
The modular principle, developed at the Mir orbital station, is now used at the International Space Station. At the moment, it consists of fourteen elements.