The Mir Space Station

Mir is the pride of the Russian Space Operations, and has been on orbit for 14 years, longer than any other long-duration space laboratory. It has recently been saved from a firey ending by a group of investors who have funded a renovation mission, in which two Russian Cosmonauts revived the station, making repairs to the cooling system and finding a leak which has plagued Mir since 1997, when a Progress resupply ship collided with the Spektr Science Module.

Mir consists of six modules docked around a central node. The main 'Core' module is the main living quarters for a crew of three, life support, and station reboost and refueling capability. The Kvant Astrophysics module is joined to the one end of the core module, where automated Progress resupply ships dock with the station, and the other end isjoined to the node. Off the node are the Spektr Science module, joined to the station later in its life and brought up by the Space Shuttle; Piroda, another science module supplied by the U.S.; Kristall, which includes the docking module for the Shuttle, and finally Kvant 2. Also attached to the node is a Soyuz Earth-return vehicle, which seats three...

The solar arrays on Mir supply a total of 11 KiloWatts to the station, and track the sun while on orbit. One of the arrays is an experimental system designed for use on ISS, which was tested extensively on its Russian counterpart.The 14-year old station bristles with external experiments and solar panels, which earned it the nickname 'dragonfly'.

A total of five U.S. Astronauts have flown aboard Mir, during the Shuttle-Mir missions in the 90's, where NASA and the Russian Space Agency learned to co-operate in orbital missions, and the United States astronauts learned a great deal about long-duration space flight. Mir has been the scene of several space dramas, including a fire in the Kvant module, and A collision with a Progress unmanned resupply vessel which resulted in the first ever orbital decompression of a spacecraft in the history of space flight...Still, Mir thrives as a microgravity laboratory

In 1999, Amsterdam-based MirCorp leased Mir in a deal worth $200 million. They have essentially ressurected the space station, financing a mission in March 2000 in which two cosmonauts journeyed to Mir aboard their Soyuz spacecraft, reviving the dormant outpost. They fixed the station's cooling systems, and located a small leak. Mir is now open for business, and 2001 will mark a return to permanent crews, including the first ever 'citizen' explorers in space. It will cap an amazing comeback for Mir, and the beginning of commercial operation for a once government-owned and operated facility. The lessons learned aboard Mir in next next several years may pave the way for new commercial ventures in space, and bring space travel and exploration closer to the average individual.

Mir has also drawn much attention for its being deemed unsafe by many people who were involved in the Shuttle-Mir missions, including some of the U.S. astronauts who stayed aboard the station. The Spektr science module on Mir is now sealed up, unused after the collision of a Progress frieghter punctured a hole in the module, and damaged one of the solar arrays. The remaining arrays on Spektr were later re-attached to the station's power system by cables on the exterior of Mir. The repair work was carried out by two spacewalking cosmonauts on a later stay.They also installed a plate over the interior hatch to Spektr, during a rather unique 'inside spacewalk'...

Mir Links

MirCorp Mir Portal