Orbital space station Mir. The history of the Mir space station (5 photos)

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Mir is a Soviet (later Russian) manned research orbital complex that operated from February 20, 1986 to March 23, 2001. The most important scientific discoveries, implemented unique technical and technological solutions. The principles laid down in the design of the Mir orbital complex and its onboard systems (modular construction, phased deployment, the ability to perform operational maintenance and preventive measures, regular transport and technical supply) have become a classic approach to the creation of promising manned orbital complexes of the future.

Lead developer of the Mir orbital complex, developer of the base unit and modules of the orbital complex, developer and manufacturer of most of their onboard systems, developer and manufacturer spaceships"Soyuz" and "Progress" - Rocket and Space Corporation "Energy" named after. S. P. Koroleva. The developer and manufacturer of the base unit and modules of the orbital complex "Mir", part of their onboard systems - the State Space Research and Production Center. M. V. Khrunichev. About 200 enterprises and organizations also took part in the development and manufacture of the base unit and modules of the Mir orbital complex, the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, their on-board systems and ground infrastructure, including: Center "TsSKB-Progress", Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Design Bureau of General Mechanical Engineering. V. P. Barmina, Russian Research Institute of Space Instrumentation, Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments, Cosmonaut Training Center. Yu. A. Gagarina, Russian Academy Sciences. The control of the orbital complex "Mir" was carried out by the Mission Control Center of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering.

Base unit - the main link of the whole orbital station, which unites its modules into a single complex. The base unit contained control equipment for service systems to ensure the life of the MIR-Shuttle crew. During 1995-1998, joint Russian-American work was carried out at the Mir station under the Mir-Shuttle and Mir-NASA programs. Orbital station and shuttle station and scientific instrumentation, as well as crew rest areas. The base unit consisted of a transition compartment with five passive docking units (one axial and four lateral), a working compartment, an intermediate chamber with one docking unit, and an unpressurized aggregate compartment. All docking units are of the passive type of the "pin-cone" system.

Module "Quantum" was intended for astrophysical and other scientific research and experiments. The module consisted of a laboratory compartment with a transition chamber and an unpressurized compartment scientific instruments. The maneuvering of the module in orbit was provided with the help of a service unit equipped with a propulsion system and detachable after the module docked with the station. The module had two docking units located along its longitudinal axis - active and passive. In an autonomous flight, the passive unit was closed by a service unit. The Kvant module was docked to the intermediate chamber of the base unit (X axis). After the mechanical coupling, the retraction process could not be completed due to the fact that a foreign object appeared in the receiving cone of the docking unit of the station. To eliminate this object, it was necessary for the crew to go to outer space, which took place on 11-12.04.1986.

Module "Kvant-2" It was intended to equip the station with scientific instruments, equipment and provide spacewalks for the crew, as well as to conduct various scientific research and experiments. The module consisted of three hermetic compartments: instrument-cargo, instrument-scientific and airlock special with an outward-opening exit hatch with a diameter of 1000 mm. The module had one active docking unit installed along its longitudinal axis on the instrument-cargo compartment. The Kvant-2 module and all subsequent modules docked to the axial docking assembly of the transfer compartment of the base unit (X-axis), then, using the manipulator, the module was transferred to the side docking assembly of the transition compartment. The standard position of the Kvant-2 module as part of the Mir station is the Y axis.

Module "Crystal" was designed to conduct technological and other scientific research and experiments and to provide docking with ships equipped with androgynous-peripheral docking units. The module consisted of two pressurized compartments: instrument-cargo and transition-docking. The module had three docking units: an axial active one - on the instrument-cargo compartment and two androgynous-peripheral types - on the transition-docking compartment (axial and lateral). Until May 27, 1995, the Kristall module was located on the side docking assembly intended for the Spektr module (Y axis). Then it was transferred to the axial docking unit (-X axis) and on 05/30/1995 moved to its regular place (-Z axis). 06/10/1995 was again transferred to the axial unit (X-axis) to ensure docking with American ship"Atlantis" STS-71, 07/17/1995 returned to its regular place (-Z axis).

Module "Spectrum" was intended for scientific research and experiments on the study natural resources Earth, upper layers earth's atmosphere, own outer atmosphere of the orbital complex, geophysical processes of natural and artificial origin in near-Earth space and in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, as well as to equip the station with additional sources of electricity. The module consisted of two compartments: a pressurized instrument-cargo compartment and an unpressurized one, on which two main and two additional compartments were installed. solar panels and instruments of scientific equipment. The module had one active docking unit located along its longitudinal axis in the instrument-cargo compartment. The standard position of the "Spektr" module as part of the "Mir" station is the -Y axis. The docking compartment (created at RSC Energia named after S.P. Korolev) was designed to ensure docking of the American Space Shuttle system ships with the Mir station without changing its configuration; it was delivered into orbit on the American Atlantis STS- 74 and docked to the Kristall module (-Z axis).

Module "Nature" was designed to conduct scientific research and experiments to study the natural resources of the Earth, the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, cosmic radiation, geophysical processes of natural and artificial origin in near-Earth outer space and the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere. The module consisted of one sealed instrument-cargo compartment. The module had one active docking unit located along its longitudinal axis. The standard position of the "Priroda" module as part of the "Mir" station is the Z axis.

Specifications

Video

Although humanity has abandoned flights to the moon, nevertheless, it has learned to build real "space houses", which everyone is talking about famous project station Mir. Today I want to tell you some Interesting Facts about this space station, which worked for 15 years instead of the planned three years.

96 people visited the station. There were 70 spacewalks with a total duration of 330 hours. The station was called the great achievement of the Russians. We won...if we hadn't lost.

The first 20-ton base module of the Mir station was launched into orbit in February 1986. Mir was supposed to become the embodiment of the eternal dream of science fiction writers about a space village. Initially, the station was built in such a way that it was possible to constantly add new and new modules to it. The launch of Mir was timed to coincide with the XXVII Congress of the CPSU.

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In the spring of 1987, the Kvant-1 module was launched into orbit. It has become a kind of space station for Mir. Docking with Kvant was one of the first emergency situations for Mir. In order to securely attach Kvant to the complex, the cosmonauts had to make an unplanned spacewalk.

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In June, the Kristall module was delivered into orbit. An additional docking station was installed on it, which, according to the designers, should serve as a gateway for receiving the Buran spacecraft.

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This year the station was visited by the first journalist - Japanese Toyohiro Akiyama. His live reports were broadcast on Japanese TV. In the first minutes of Toyohiro's stay in orbit, it turned out that he was suffering from "space sickness" - a kind of sea sickness. So his flight was not particularly productive. In March of the same year, Mir experienced another shock. Only miraculously managed to avoid a collision with the "space truck" "Progress". The distance between the devices at some point was only a few meters - and this is at a cosmic speed of eight kilometers per second.

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In December, a huge "star sail" was deployed on the Progress automatic ship. Thus began the experiment "Znamya-2". Russian scientists hoped that the rays of the sun reflected from this sail would be able to illuminate large areas of the earth. However, the eight panels that made up the "sail" did not fully open. Because of this, the area was illuminated much weaker than scientists expected.

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In January, the Soyuz TM-17 spacecraft leaving the station collided with the Kristall module. Later it turned out that the cause of the accident was an overload: the cosmonauts returning to earth took too many souvenirs from the station with them, and the Soyuz lost control

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Year 1995. In February, an American reusable ship"Discovery". On board the "shuttle" was a new docking port to receive NASA spacecraft. In May, the Mir docked with the Spektr module with equipment for Earth exploration from space. During its short history, Spectrum has experienced several emergency situations and one fatal catastrophe.

Year 1996. With the inclusion of the "Nature" module into the complex, the installation of the station was completed. It took ten years - three times longer than the estimated time of Mir's operation in orbit.

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It became the most difficult year for the entire Mir complex. In 1997, the station almost suffered a catastrophe several times. In January, a fire broke out on board - the astronauts were forced to wear breathing masks. The smoke even spread on board the Soyuz spacecraft. The fire was extinguished a few seconds before the decision to evacuate was made. And in June, the Progress unmanned cargo ship veered off course and crashed into the Spektr module. The station has lost its tightness. The team managed to block the Spektr (close the hatch leading into it) before the pressure on the station dropped to critically low. In July, Mir was almost left without power - one of the crew members accidentally disconnected the on-board computer cable, and the station went into uncontrolled drift. In August, the oxygen generators failed - the crew had to use emergency air supplies. the aging station should be transferred to unmanned mode.

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In Russia, many did not even want to think about abandoning the operation of Mir. The search for foreign investors began. However, foreign countries were in no hurry to help Mir. In August, the cosmonauts of the 27th expedition transferred the Mir station to an unmanned mode. The reason is the lack of government funding.

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All eyes were turned this year on the American entrepreneur Walt Andersson. He announced his readiness to invest $20 million in the creation of MirCorp, a company that intended to engage in the commercial operation of the station. famous Mir. The sponsor was found really quickly. A certain wealthy Welshman, Peter Llewellyn, said that he was ready not only to pay for his trip to Mir and back, but also to allocate an amount sufficient to ensure the operation of the complex in manned mode for a year. That is at least $200 million. The euphoria from the rapid success was so great that the leaders of the Russian space industry did not pay attention to skeptical remarks in the Western press, where Llewellyn was called an adventurer. The press was right. The "tourist" arrived at the Cosmonaut Training Center and began training, although not a penny was credited to the agency's account. When Llewellyn was reminded of his obligations, he took offense and left. The adventure ended ingloriously. What happened next is well known. Mir was transferred to unmanned mode, the Mir Rescue Fund was created, which collected a small amount of donations. Although the proposals for its use were very different. There was such a thing - to establish a space sex industry. Some sources indicate that in zero gravity, males function fantastically smoothly. But it did not work out to make the Mir station commercial - the MirCorp project failed miserably due to the lack of customers. It was also not possible to collect money from ordinary Russians - mostly meager transfers from pensioners were transferred to a specially opened account. The Government of the Russian Federation has made an official decision to complete the project. The authorities announced that the "Mir" will be flooded in pacific ocean in March 2001.

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Year 2001. On March 23, the station was deorbited. At 05:23 Moscow time, Mir's engines were ordered to slow down. At around 6 am GMT, Mir entered the atmosphere several thousand kilometers east of Australia. Most of The 140-ton structure burned up on re-entry. Only fragments of the station reached the ground. Some were comparable in size to a subcompact car. The wreckage of Mir fell into the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile. About 1,500 pieces of debris splashed down in an area of ​​​​several thousand square kilometers - in a kind of cemetery of Russian spacecraft. Since 1978, 85 orbital structures have ended their existence in this region, including several space stations. Witnesses of the fall of red-hot debris into the ocean waters were the passengers of two aircraft. Tickets for these unique flights cost up to 10 thousand dollars. Among the spectators were several Russian and American cosmonauts who had previously been on Mir

Nowadays, many agree that automata controlled from the Earth are much better than a “live” person in coping with the functions of a space laboratory assistant, signalman, and even a spy. In this sense, the end of the work of the Mir station was a landmark event, designed to mark the end of the next stage of manned orbital cosmonautics.

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15 expeditions worked on Mir. 14 - with international crews from the USA, Syria, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, France, Japan, Great Britain, Austria and Germany. During the operation of Mir, an absolute world record was set for the duration of a person's stay in space flight conditions (Valery Polyakov - 438 days). Among women, the world record for the duration of a space flight was set by American Shannon Lucid (188 days).

Orbital complex "Soyuz TM-26" - "Mir" - "Progress M-37" January 29, 1998. The photo was taken from the board of the MTKK "Endeavour" during the expedition STS-89

"Mir" - manned research, which operated in near-Earth space from February 20, 1986 to March 23, 2001.

Story

The project of the station began to be outlined in 1976, when NPO Energia issued Technical Proposals for the creation of improved long-term orbital stations. In August 1978, a draft design of the new station was released. In February 1979, work began on the creation of a new generation station, work began on the base unit, onboard and scientific equipment. But by the beginning of 1984, all resources were thrown into the Buran program, and work on the station was practically frozen. The intervention of the Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Grigory Romanov, who set the task of completing work on the station by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, helped.

280 organizations worked on Mir under the auspices of 20 ministries and departments. The design of the stations of the Salyut series became the basis for the creation of the Mir orbital complex and the Russian segment. The base unit was launched into orbit on February 20, 1986. Then, over the course of 10 years, six more modules were docked one after the other with the help of the Lyappa space manipulator.

Since 1995, foreign crews began to visit the station. Also, 15 visiting expeditions visited the station, 14 of them were international, with the participation of cosmonauts from Syria, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, France (5 times), Japan, Great Britain, Austria, Germany (2 times), Slovakia, Canada.

As part of the Mir-Shuttle program, seven short-term visiting expeditions were carried out with the help of the Atlantis spacecraft, one with the help of the Endeavor spacecraft and one with the help of the Discovery spacecraft, during which 44 astronauts visited the station.

In the late 1990s, numerous problems began at the station due to the constant failure of various instruments and systems. After some time, the government of the Russian Federation, referring to the high cost of further operation, despite the numerous existing projects for saving the station, decided to flood the Mir. On March 23, 2001, the station, which had worked three times longer than originally set, was flooded in a special area in the South Pacific Ocean.

In total, 104 astronauts from 12 countries worked on the orbital station. The spacewalk was performed by 29 cosmonauts and 6 astronauts. During its existence, the Mir orbital station transmitted about 1.7 terabytes of scientific information. The total mass of cargo returned to Earth with the results of experiments is about 4.7 tons. Photographs of 125 million square kilometers of the earth's surface were made from the station. Experiments were carried out on higher plants at the station.

Station records:

  • Valery Polyakov - continuous stay in space for 437 days 17 hours 59 minutes (1994 - 1995).
  • Shannon Lucid - women's space flight record - 188 days 4 hours 1 minute (1996).
  • The number of experiments is over 23,000.

Compound

Long-term orbital station "Mir" (base unit)

The seventh long-term orbital station. Designed to provide working and rest conditions for the crew (up to six people), control the operation of on-board systems, supply electricity, provide radio communications, transmit telemetry information, television images, receive command information, control orientation and orbit correction, ensure rendezvous and docking of target modules and transport ships , maintaining a given temperature and humidity regime of the living space, structural elements and equipment, providing conditions for astronauts to enter open space, conducting scientific and applied research and experiments using the delivered target equipment.

Starting weight - 20900 kg. Geometric characteristics: hull length - 13.13 m, maximum diameter - 4.35 m, volume of sealed compartments - 90 m 3 , free volume - 76 m 3 . The design of the station included three hermetic compartments (transition, working and transition chamber) and an unpressurized aggregate compartment.

Target modules

"Quantum"

"Quantum"- experimental (astrophysical) module of the Mir orbital complex. Designed for a wide range of research, primarily in the field of extra-atmospheric astronomy.

Starting weight - 11050 kg. Geometric characteristics: hull length - 5.8 m, maximum hull diameter - 4.15 m, sealed compartment volume - 40 m 3 . The design of the module included a sealed laboratory compartment with a transition chamber and an unpressurized compartment for scientific instruments.

Launched as part of a modular experimental transport ship on March 31, 1987 at 03:16:16 UTC from launcher No. 39 of the 200th site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome by the Proton-K launch vehicle.

"Quantum-2"

"Quantum-2"- retrofit module for the Mir orbital complex. Designed to equip the orbital complex with equipment and scientific equipment, as well as to provide astronauts with access to outer space.

Starting weight - 19565 kg. Geometric characteristics: hull length - 12.4 m, maximum diameter - 4.15 m, volume of hermetic compartments - 59 m 3 . The design of the module included three hermetic compartments: instrument-cargo, instrument-scientific and airlock special.

It was launched on November 26, 1989 at 16:01:41 UTC from launcher No. 39 of the 200th site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome by the Proton-K launch vehicle.

"Crystal"

"Crystal"- technological module of the Mir orbital complex. Designed for pilot production of semiconductor materials, purification of biologically active substances in order to obtain new drugs, growing crystals of various proteins and hybridization of cells, as well as for conducting astrophysical, geophysical and technological experiments.

Starting weight - 19640 kg. Geometric characteristics: hull length -12.02 m, maximum diameter - 4.15 m, volume of hermetic compartments - 64 m 3 . The design of the module included two sealed compartments: instrument-cargo and instrument-docking.

It was launched on May 31, 1990 at 13:33:20 UTC from launcher No. 39 of the 200th site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome by the Proton-K launch vehicle.

"Spectrum"

"Spectrum"- optical module of the Mir orbital complex. Designed to study the natural resources of the Earth, the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, the own outer atmosphere of the orbital complex, geophysical processes of natural and artificial origin in the near-Earth space and in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, cosmic radiation, biomedical research, the study of behavior various materials in open space conditions.

Starting weight - 18807 kg. Geometric characteristics: hull length - 14.44 m, maximum diameter - 4.15 m, the volume of the sealed compartment - 62 m 3 . The design of the module consists of a sealed instrument-cargo and non-pressurized compartments.

It was launched on May 20, 1995 at 06:33:22 UTC from launcher No. 23 of the 81st site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome by the Proton-K launch vehicle.

"Nature"

"Nature"- research module of the Mir orbital complex. Designed to study the surface and atmosphere of the Earth, the atmosphere in the immediate vicinity of the Mir, the effect of cosmic radiation on the human body and the behavior of various materials in outer space, as well as obtaining ultra-pure drugs under weightlessness.

Starting weight - 19340 kg. Geometric characteristics: hull length - 11.55 m, maximum diameter - 4.15 m, the volume of the sealed compartment - 65 m 3 . The design of the module included one sealed instrument-cargo compartment.

It was launched on April 23, 1996 at 14:48:50 UTC from launcher No. 23 of the 81st site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome by the Proton-K launch vehicle.

Module of the orbital complex "Mir". Designed to provide the possibility of docking the MTKK "Space Shuttle".

Weight, together with two delivered and attachment points to the cargo compartment of the MTKK "Space Shuttle" - 4350 kg. Geometric characteristics: hull length - 4.7 m, maximum length - 5.1 m, sealed compartment diameter - 2.2 m, maximum width (at the ends of the horizontal mounting pins in the shuttle cargo compartment) - 4.9 m, maximum height(from the end of the keel pin to the container of the additional SB) - 4.5 m, the volume of the sealed compartment - 14.6 m 3. The design of the module included one sealed compartment.

It was delivered into orbit by the Space Shuttle Atlantis on November 12, 1995 during the STS-74 mission. The module, along with the Shuttle, docked at the station on 15 November.

Soyuz transport ships

Soyuz TM-24 docked to the transfer compartment of the Mir orbital station. Photo taken from the Atlantis MTKK during the STS-79 expedition




February 20, 1986 the first module of the Mir station was launched into orbit, which became long years a symbol of the Soviet, and then the Russian space exploration. For more than ten years it has not existed, but the memory of it will remain in history. And today we will tell you about the most significant facts and events concerning orbital station "Mir".

Orbital station Mir - All-Union shock construction

The traditions of all-Union construction projects of the fifties and seventies, during which the largest and most significant objects of the country were erected, continued in the eighties with the creation of the Mir orbital station. True, not low-skilled Komsomol members, brought from different corners USSR, and the best production capacity states. 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 astronauts from the countries of the Eastern bloc, but also from the states of the West.



Active work on the construction of the orbital station began in 1979, but in 1984 they were temporarily suspended - all the forces of the space industry Soviet Union went to the creation of the shuttle "Buran". However, the intervention of senior party officials, who planned to launch the object for 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, which we knew, appeared in orbit. It was only the base unit, which was eventually joined by several other modules that turned the Mir into a huge orbital complex connecting residential blocks, scientific laboratories and technical facilities, including the module for docking the Russian station with the American space shuttles Shuttle ".

At the end of the nineties, the Mir orbital station consisted of the following elements: the base unit, the modules Kvant-1 (scientific), Kvant-2 (household), Kristall (docking-technological), Spektr (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 last module only joined in 1996.

Purpose of the Mir orbital station

Orbital station "Mir" is, first of all, a scientific object that allows to conduct unique experiments on it, which are not available on Earth. These are both astrophysical research and the study of our planet itself, the processes taking place 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 long stay in weightlessness, as well as in the cramped conditions of a spacecraft. Here they studied the reaction of the human body and psyche to future flights to other planets, and indeed to life in space, the development of which is impossible without this kind of research.



And, of course, the Mir orbital station served as a symbol of the Russian presence in space, the national space program, and, over time, the friendship of cosmonauts from different countries.

Mir is the first international space station

The possibility of attracting cosmonauts from other, including non-Soviet countries, to work on the Mir orbital station was incorporated into the concept of the project from the very beginning. However, these plans were realized only in the nineties, when the Russian space program experienced financial difficulties, and therefore it was decided to invite foreign states to work on the Mir station.

But the first foreign cosmonaut got to the Mir station much earlier - in July 1987. They became the Syrian Mohammed Faris. Later, representatives from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Great Britain, Canada and Slovakia visited the facility. 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 Russian project"World". 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 shuttle Atlantis. In total, US representatives have appeared on this Russian space object fifty times (34 different astronauts).

Space records at Mir station

Orbital station "Mir" in itself is a champion. It was originally planned that it would last only five years and be replaced by the Mir-2 facility. But the reduction in funding led to the fact that her term of service stretched for fifteen years. And the time of uninterrupted stay of people on it is estimated at 3642 days - from September 5, 1989 to August 26, 1999, almost ten years (the ISS broke this achievement in 2010).

During this time, the Mir station has become a witness and a "home" for many space records. More than 23 thousand scientific experiments were carried out there. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, being on board, spent 438 days continuously in space (from January 8, 1994 to March 22, 1995), which is still a record achievement in history. And a similar record for women was also set there - the American Shannon Lucid in 1996 stayed in outer space for 188 days (already beaten on the ISS).





Another unique event that took place 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 functioning would be difficult - the object was morally and technically obsolete. 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, the final decision was made on the future flooding of the Mir orbital station, despite the fact that there were options for its possible rescue, 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 outlived their service life are sent for eternal residence.



Residents of Australia that day, fearing "surprises" from the long-troubled station, jokingly posted on their land plots sights, hinting that this is where a Russian object could fall. However, the flooding passed without unforeseen circumstances - the Mir went under water approximately in the area where it should have been.

Heritage of the orbital station Mir

Mir became the first orbital station built on a modular basis, when base unit you can attach many other elements necessary to perform certain functions. This gave impetus to a new round of space exploration. And even with the future creation, long-term orbital modular stations will still be the basis for the human presence outside the Earth.



The modular principle worked out on the Mir orbital station is now used on the International Space Station. On the this moment, it consists of fourteen elements.