Shuttle–Mir program

The Shuttle–Mir program was a collaborative space program between Russia and the United States that involved American <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttles</a> visiting the Russian <a href="/facts/Space_station/2HtaLbDH">space station</a> <a href="/facts/Mir/pILadPoB">Mir</a>, Russian cosmonauts flying on the Shuttle, and an American astronaut flying aboard a <a href="/facts/Soyuz_(spacecraft)/meooRg7U">Soyuz spacecraft</a> to allow American astronauts 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 <a href="/facts/List_of_space_agencies/2Hs0qa3x">space agencies</a>, the <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">National Aeronautics and Space Administration</a> (NASA) and the <a href="/facts/Russian_Space_Agency/GzWfae7U">Russian Space Agency</a> (PKA). The project helped to prepare the way for further cooperative space ventures; specifically, "Phase Two" of the joint project, the construction of the <a href="/facts/International_Space_Station/VNPUBz9m">International Space Station</a> (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 1,000 cumulative days in space for American astronauts occurred over the course of seven long-duration expeditions. In addition to Space Shuttle launches to Mir the United States also fully funded and equipped with scientific equipment the <a href="/facts/Spektr/HcqNv2wG">Spektr</a> module (launched in 1995) and the <a href="/facts/Priroda/C92YJr7M">Priroda</a> module (launched in 1996), making them de facto U.S. modules during the duration of the Shuttle-Mir program.
During the four-year program, many firsts in <a href="/facts/Spaceflight/zPrnATzo">spaceflight</a> were achieved by the two nations, including the first American astronaut to launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, the largest <a href="/facts/Spacecraft/YQqQaUw0">spacecraft</a> ever to have been assembled at that time in history, and the first American <a href="/facts/Spacewalk/udj91j1E">spacewalk</a> using a Russian <a href="/facts/Orlan_space_suits/fBNvK8bf">Orlan spacesuit</a>.
The program was marred by various concerns, notably the safety of Mir following a fire, a Russian spacecraft colliding with Spektr rendering it uninhabitable, 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.

Shuttle–Mir program open-in-new

Shuttle–Mir program