Editing Mir (section)

====Shuttle–''Mir''====
{{Main|Shuttle–Mir Program}}
{{See also|Spektr|Priroda|Mir Docking Module}}
{{stack|[[File:Atlantis docked to MIR - GPN-2000-001315.jpg|thumb|{{OV|104}} docked to ''Mir'' on [[STS-71]].]]}}
On 3 February 1995, the launch of {{OV|103}}, flying [[STS-63]], opened operations on ''Mir''. Referred to as the "near-''Mir''" mission, the mission saw the first rendezvous of a Space Shuttle with ''Mir'' as the orbiter approached within {{convert|37|ft|m}} of the station as a dress rehearsal for later docking missions and for equipment testing.<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|access-date=2007-03-30 |archive-date=2015-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928151002/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/history/h-flights.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-63 Mission Summary |first=Jim |last=Dumoulin |publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29 |url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-63/mission-sts-63.html|access-date=30 March 2007|archive-date=20 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320085830/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-63/mission-sts-63.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Kathy |last=Sawyer |title=US & Russia Find Common Ground in Space – Nations Overcome Hurdles in Ambitious Partnership|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=a1|date=29 January 1995 |publisher= [[NewsBank]]}}</ref> Five weeks after ''Discovery''{{'s}} departure, the [[Mir EO-18|EO-18]] crew, including the first US cosmonaut [[Norman Thagard]], arrived in [[Soyuz TM-21]]. The EO-17 crew left a few days later, with Polyakov completing his record-breaking 437-day spaceflight. During EO-18, the ''[[Spektr]]'' science module (which served as living and working space for American astronauts) was launched aboard a [[Proton rocket]] and docked to the station, carrying research equipment from America and other nations. The expedition's crew returned to Earth aboard {{OV|104}} following the first Shuttle–''Mir'' docking mission, [[STS-71]].<ref name="SSSM"/><ref name="Dragonfly">{{cite book |first=Bryan |last=Burrough |date=7 January 1998 |title=Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir|place=London, UK|publisher=Fourth Estate Ltd.|isbn=978-1-84115-087-1}}{{page needed|date=February 2021}}</ref>{{page needed|date= February 2021}} ''Atlantis'', launched on 27 June 1995, successfully docked with ''Mir'' on 29 June becoming the first US spacecraft to dock with a Russian spacecraft since the [[Apollo-Soyuz Test Project|ASTP]] in 1975.<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Scott |first2=Alexei |last2=Leonov |title=Two Sides of the Moon|publisher=Pocket Books |date=2005-04-30 |isbn= 978-0-7434-5067-6}}</ref> The orbiter delivered the [[Mir EO-19|EO-19]] crew and returned the EO-18 crew to Earth.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-71 Mission Summary |first=Jim |last= Dumoulin |publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-71/mission-sts-71.html|access-date=30 March 2007|archive-date=29 March 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150329042625/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-71/mission-sts-71.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Nuttall |title= Shuttle homes in for Mir docking|newspaper=The Times|date=29 June 1995|publisher=NewsBank}}</ref> The [[Mir EO-20|EO-20]] crew were launched on 3 September, followed in November by the arrival of the docking module during [[STS-74]].<ref name="STS-74">{{cite web|title=STS-74 Mission Summary|first=Jim |last=Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url-status= dead|url= http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-74/mission-sts-74.html |archive-date=2016-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220034436/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-74/mission-sts-74.html}}</ref><ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=CSA – STS-74 – Daily Reports |publisher=Canadian Space Agency |date=1999-10-30 |url=http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/missions/sts-074/reports.asp |access-date=2009-09-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716061546/http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/missions/sts-074/reports.asp |archive-date=2011-07-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=William |last=Harwood|title=Space Shuttle docks with Mir – Atlantis uses manoeuvres similar to those needed for construction|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=a3|date=1995-11-15|publisher=NewsBank}}</ref>

On 21 February 1996, the two-man [[Mir EO-21|EO-21]] crew was launched aboard [[Soyuz TM-23]], and they were soon joined by US crew member [[Shannon Lucid]], who was brought to the station by ''Atlantis'' during [[STS-76]]. During this mission, the first joint US spacewalk on ''Mir'' took place, deploying the [[Mir Environmental Effects Payload]] package for the docking module.<ref>{{cite news |first=William |last=Harwood |title=Shuttle becomes hard-hat area; spacewalking astronauts practice tasks necessary to build station|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=a3|date=1996-03-28|publisher=NewsBank}}</ref> Lucid became the first American to carry out a long-duration mission aboard ''Mir'' with her 188-day mission, which set the US single spaceflight record. During Lucid's time aboard ''Mir'', ''[[Priroda]]'', the station's final module, arrived as did French visitor [[Claudie Haigneré]] flying the ''Cassiopée'' mission. The flight aboard [[Soyuz TM-24]] also delivered the [[Mir EO-22|EO-22]] crew of [[Valery Korzun]] and [[Aleksandr Kaleri]].<ref name="SSSM"/><ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-76 Mission Summary|first=Jim |last=Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-76/mission-sts-76.html|access-date=2007-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806102139/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-76/mission-sts-76.html|archive-date=2013-08-06|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 16 September 1996, with the launch of  ''Atlantis'' and the [[STS-79]] flight, Lucid's stay aboard ''Mir'' ended. During this fourth docking, [[John Blaha]] transferred onto ''Mir'' to take his place as resident US astronaut. His stay on the station improved operations in a number of areas, including transfer procedures for a docked space shuttle, "hand-over" procedures for long-duration American crew members, and "ham" [[amateur radio]] communications, as well as two spacewalks to reconfigure the station's power grid. Blaha spent four months with the EO-22 crew before returning to Earth aboard ''Atlantis'' on [[STS-81]] in January 1997, at which point he was replaced by [[physician]] [[Jerry Linenger]].<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-79 Mission Summary|first=Jim |last=Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html|access-date=2007-03-30|archive-date=2007-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518135705/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="STS-81">{{cite web|title=STS-81 Mission Summary|first=Jim |last=Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-81/mission-sts-81.html|access-date=30 March 2007|archive-date=20 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520090649/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-81/mission-sts-81.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During his flight, Linenger became the first American to conduct a spacewalk from a foreign space station and the first to test the Russian-built [[Orlan space suit|Orlan-M]] spacesuit alongside Russian cosmonaut [[Vasili Tsibliyev]], flying [[Mir EO-23|EO-23]]. All three crew members of EO-23 performed a "fly-around" in [[Soyuz TM-25]] spacecraft.<ref name="SSSM"/> Linenger and his Russian crewmates Vasili Tsibliyev and [[Aleksandr Lazutkin]] faced several difficulties during the mission, including the most severe fire aboard an orbiting spacecraft (caused by a malfunctioning [[Vika oxygen generator|''Vika'']]), failures of various systems, a near collision with [[Progress M-33]] during a long-distance TORU test and a total loss of station electrical power. The power failure also caused a loss of [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]], which led to an uncontrolled "tumble" through space.<ref name="SSSM"/><ref name="Dragonfly"/>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}<ref name="OffPlanet">{{cite book|first=Jerry |last=Linenger|date=1 January 2001|title=Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir|url=https://archive.org/details/offplanetsurvivi00line|url-access=registration|place=New York, US|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0-07-137230-5}}{{page needed|date=February 2021}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}<ref name="SMH Flights"/>

{{stack|[[File:Damaged Spektr solar array.jpg|thumb|Damaged solar arrays on the ''Mir'' ''[[Spektr]]'' module following a collision with [[Progress M-34]] in September 1997.]]}}
Linenger was succeeded by [[English-American|Anglo-American]] astronaut [[Michael Foale]], carried up by ''Atlantis'' on [[STS-84]], alongside Russian mission specialist [[Elena Kondakova]]. Foale's increment proceeded fairly normally until 25 June when during the second test of the ''Progress'' manual docking system, [[TORU]], [[Progress M-34]] collided with solar arrays on the ''[[Spektr]]'' module and crashed into the module's outer shell, puncturing the module and causing depressurisation on the station. Only quick actions on the part of the crew, cutting cables leading to the module and closing ''Spektr's'' hatch, prevented the crews having to abandon the station in [[Soyuz TM-25]]. Their efforts stabilised the station's air pressure, whilst the pressure in ''Spektr'', containing many of Foale's experiments and personal effects, dropped to a vacuum.<ref name="Dragonfly"/>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}<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 EO-24|EO-24]] commander [[Anatoly Solovyev]] and [[flight engineer]] [[Pavel Vinogradov]] carried out a risky salvage operation later in the flight, entering the empty module during a so-called "intra-vehicular activity" or "IVA" spacewalk and 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 outside ''Spektr'' to inspect the damage.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{Cite news|first=David |last=Hoffman|title=Crucial Mir spacewalk carries high hopes – continued Western support could hinge on mission's success|newspaper=The Washington Post|pages=a1|date=1997-08-22}}</ref>

After these incidents, the US Congress and NASA considered whether to abandon the programme out of concern for the astronauts' safety, but NASA administrator [[Daniel Goldin]] decided to continue.<ref name="OffPlanet"/>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} The next flight to ''Mir'', [[STS-86]], carried [[David Wolf (astronaut)|David Wolf]] aboard ''Atlantis''. During the orbiter's stay, Titov and Parazynski conducted a spacewalk to affix a cap to the docking module for a future attempt by crew members to seal the leak in ''Spektr''{{'}}s hull.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-86 Mission Summary |first=Jim |last=Dumoulin |publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-86/mission-sts-86.html|access-date=30 March 2007|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230243/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-86/mission-sts-86.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Wolf spent 119 days aboard ''Mir'' with the EO-24 crew and was replaced during [[STS-89]] with [[Andy Thomas]], who carried out the last US expedition on ''Mir''.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-89 Mission Summary |first=Jim |last=Dumoulin |publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-89/mission-sts-89.html|access-date=30 March 2007|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062707/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-89/mission-sts-89.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Mir EO-25|EO-25]] crew arrived in [[Soyuz TM-27]] in January 1998 before Thomas returned to Earth on the final Shuttle–''Mir'' mission, [[STS-91]].<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-91 Mission Summary |first=Jim |last=Dumoulin |publisher=NASA|date=2001-06-29|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-91/mission-sts-91.html|access-date=30 March 2007|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111001/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-91/mission-sts-91.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=William |last=Harwood|title=Final American returns from Mir|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=a12|date=1998-06-13|publisher=NewsBank}}</ref>