Russia's Mir Space Station
(Rendezvous)
Russia's Mir Space Station has been in orbit for over 10 years. The first element of the station was launched on February 20, 1986 at an inclination of 51.6 degrees. The current Mir Space Station is actually a complex of different modules that have been pieced together. The Mir module, the first Module of the complex placed in orbit, is the main module of the station. It provides docking ports for the other modules to attach to. There are five docking ports on the transfer compartment of the Mir module. One along the long axis of the module, and 4 along the radius in 90 degree increments. There is another docking port on the aft end of the Mir module. The various modules that are attached to the docking ports can be moved around to different configurations. Rendezvous The Soyuz-TM spacecraft is used to transport crews and cargo to and from the Mir Space Station. The Soyuz can dock on the axial docking port on the transfer compartment. The Progress-M spacecraft is a cargo and resupply vehicle used to send science equipment and data to and from Mir. It can also be used to conduct experiments either while attached to the complex, or during free-flight. When sent back to Earth, it can also be used to remove waste materials from the Space Station. To view pictures and virtual reality clips of the Mir space station, visit our RKA Pictures page. To see where the Mir is right now, visit our new Java applet, Liftoff's Spacecraft Tracking System, or our current Mir location page.
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