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Orbital station Mir – Roskosmos
Орбитальная станция «Мир»

On this page are English computer translations of the International Space Station Russian segment modules descriptions from the Roskosmos website. As that website has been intermittently geoblocked since Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in 2022, I have stored these translations locally (and there are no English equivalents on their website). I have linked to the Roskosmos page for each module also (directly, and archived pages). Photos and diagrams are not included.

The manned orbital station Mir was a multi-purpose international center, which for more than 15 years had been the only space laboratory in the world for testing and working out the main directions for the intended use of future manned stations and complexes that provide humanity with access to the wealth and secrets of the Universe. International research programs were implemented at the station since 1987. Cosmonauts from France, Syria, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Kazakhstan, Austria, the USA, Canada and countries belonging to the European Space Agency took part in the implementation of these programs directly on board the station.

During 1995-1998, joint Russian-American work was carried out at the Mir station under the Mir-Shuttle and Mir-NASA programs. Research equipment and instruments were on board the station.

The Mir Orbital Complex was the world’s first modular orbital station. The fully assembled orbital complex included: the base unit (it was launched into orbit in February 1986), the Kvant astrophysical module (April 1987), the Kvant retrofit module (December 1989), the Kristall technological module (June 1990), the Spektr research module (May 1995), the Priroda (Nature) research module (April 1996), the docking compartment, the Soyuz TM spacecraft and the Progress-M spacecraft. Progress-M was a more advanced TKG, which was created on the basis of the Progress TKG and the Soyuz TM spacecraft. The orbital complex Mir was intended for long-term flights of crews of 2-3 cosmonauts in order to conduct technological experiments to develop the processes of semi-industrial production of semiconductor materials and medical preparations, as well as to conduct technical, biomedical, geophysical, astrophysical and other experiments and research. The Mir complex was operated in a permanent manned mode, the change of expeditions was carried out directly on board the complex. The total mass of the complex (in full assembly) was more than 125 tonnes, the total volume of sealed compartments was approximately 400 cubic meters.

The base unit of the complex was developed and created in the early 80s at NPO Energiya under the leadership of General Designer V.P. Glushko. Modules for the complex began to be developed at the Salyut Design Bureau at the same time.

After the launch of the Mir base unit into the Earth’s orbit in 1986, it was initially operated as a monoblock manned orbital station. In April 1987, the first experimental module Kvant was docked to the base unit. From that moment, the assembly of the manned orbital complex Mir began. It was assumed that the complex would be fully assembled within a few years. Due to the delay in the development and manufacture of modules and insufficient funding, the assembly of the Mir complex was delayed.

The base unit Mir (17KS) was the basis for building a multi-purpose permanently operating manned modular complex (orbital station of the 3rd generation). As part of the orbital complex, the Mir base unit was used for docking modules, transport manned and automatic cargo ships, and provided the necessary conditions for the work and rest of cosmonauts. The main part of the apparatus and equipment of the motion control systems and power supply of the complex, the propulsion system and the radio equipment complex was located on the base unit. The Mir base unit was launched into orbit on February 19, 1986.

The experimental astrophysical module Kvant (37KE) was designed to carry out a program of astrophysical and other scientific research and experiments. The Kvant module was launched into orbit on March 31, 1987. Docking with the base unit was made on April 9, 1987.

Retrofit module Kvant (77KSD). The development of the module began in 1982. The module was intended to equip the Mir orbital complex with equipment and apparatus, which included: life support and spacewalks for cosmonauts, a power supply system, a set of gyrodines and orientation thrusters for the complex’s motion control system. In addition, the retrofit module was designed to deliver fuel supplies and consumable materials and components to the Mir complex. The Kvant module was launched into orbit on November 26, 1989, and docked with the Mir orbital complex on December 6, 1989.

The docking and technological module Kristall (77KST) was designed to carry out a program of pilot production of semiconductor materials and biological products, scientific experiments and work to improve space technology, as well as to ensure docking with the Buran spacecraft and the Soyuz TM rescue ship. The Kristall module was launched into orbit on May 31, 1990, and docked with the Mir orbital complex on June 10, 1990.

The Spektr research module (77KSO) was launched on May 20, 1995. Scientific equipment “Spektra” was intended 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 and outer space and in the upper layers of the earth’s atmosphere, cosmic radiation, medical and biological research, studying the behavior of various materials in open space conditions. The module consisted of a pressurized instrument-cargo and non-pressurized compartments.

The research module Priroda (77KSI) was launched on April 23, 1996. The main purpose was to study the surface and atmosphere of the Earth, the atmosphere in the immediate vicinity of Mir, the effect of cosmic radiation on the human body, the study of the behavior of various materials in outer space, as well as the production of highly pure drugs under weightlessness. The airtight instrument-cargo compartment – the basis of the design of the Priroda module – served to accommodate service systems, scientific equipment, and delivered cargo.

Under the Mir program:

The first flight to the Mir station was made by the main expedition consisting of L.D. Kizim and V.A. Solovyov, in the period from March 13, 1986 to July 16, 1986. Flight duration – 125 days. The last flight to the Mir station was made by the main expedition consisting of S.V. Zalyotin and A.Yu. Kaleri, in the period from April 4, 2000 to June 16, 2000. Flight duration – 72 days 19 hours.

The duration of the stay of the main expeditions at the DOS Mir was more than 12,348 days. 16 flights were carried out as part of international crews. The operation of DOS Mir in orbit continued from February 22, 1986 to March 23, 2001.

The Russian space station Mir ceased to exist on March 23, 2001. It entered the dense layers of the atmosphere, where it began to burn and break into pieces. The wreckage of the station fell in the northwestern part of the station’s estimated flooding area in the South Pacific. The solar panels were the first to begin to collapse, then the body was heated and it was destroyed into fragments. During its existence, the station made 86,331 revolutions around the Earth. The region where debris from the Russian space station Mir fell is 40 degrees south latitude 160 degrees west longitude plus or minus 1000 km along the flight path.

The Mir-Space Shuttle program and the Mir-NASA program

The Mir-Shuttle program and the Mir-NASA program were joint space programs of the Russian Federation and the United States, in which Russian cosmonauts and cargo were delivered to orbit by Shuttles, and American cosmonauts carried out expeditions to the Mir orbital station. The purpose of these programs was to help strengthen the spirit of cooperation between NASA and the RSA and to transfer Russian experience in long-term flights to the United States. The programs served as preparation for a joint project to build the International Space Station.

In July 1992, RSA and NASA agreed to conduct the first-ever docking of a shuttle with Mir, the first launch took place in 1995, and before its completion in 1998, 11 shuttle launches and a joint launch of Soyuz TM-21 were made. American cosmonauts in total spent more than 1000 days in space in 7 expeditions. Within the framework of these programs, 7 short-term visiting expeditions were carried out with the help of the Atlantis spacecraft and one with the help of the Endeavor spacecraft, during which 34 cosmonauts visited the station.

Within the framework of the programs, three modules were docked:

International expeditions of the orbital station Mir
Международные экспедиции орбитальной странции «Мир»

International expeditions of the orbital station Mir
Year of flight 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Austria 1 cosmonaut 8 days 🇦🇹
Afghanistan 1 cosmonaut 9 days 🇦🇫
Bulgaria 1 cosmonaut 10 days 🇧🇬
Great Britain 1 cosmonaut 8 days 🇬🇧
Germany 2 cosmonauts 28 days 🇩🇪 🇩🇪
ESA 2 cosmonauts 209 days 🇪🇺 🇪🇺
Kazakhstan 2 cosmonauts 340 days 🇰🇿 🇰🇿 🇰🇿
Syria 1 cosmonaut 8 days 🇸🇾
Slovakia 1 cosmonaut 8 days 🇸🇰

USA Canada

53 cosmonauts, including 1 – Canada 1127 days

 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
France 5 cosmonauts 264 days 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷
Japan 1 cosmonaut 9 days 🇯🇵

Space records on the orbital station Mir
Космические рекорды на орбитальной станции «Мир»

During the operation of the Mir station, absolute world records were set for the duration of continuous human stay in space flight conditions:

In 1995, Valerii Polyakov also became the absolute world record holder for the total time spent in space, in 1999 Sergei Avdeev exceeded his achievement:

Among women, world records for the duration of space flight were set by:

Of the foreign citizens, the longest flights under the Mir program were made by:

Spacewalks

On the Mir OS, 78 EVAs (including three EVAs to the depressurized Spektr module) were performed with a total duration of 359 hours and 12 minutes.

Participated in exits:

Cosmonauts who made six or more spacewalks on the Mir station
Cosmonaut Quantity exits Total duration
Anatolii Solovyov

16

77 hours 46 minutes
Sergei Avdeev

10

41 hours 59 minutes
Aleksandr Serebrov

10

31 hours 48 minutes
Nikolai Budarin

8

44 hours 00 minutes
Talgat Musabaev

7

41 hours 18 minutes
Viktor Afanasiev

7

38 hours 33 minutes
Sergei Krikalev

7

36 hours 29 minutes
Musa Manarov

7

34 hours 32 minutes
Anatolii Artsebarsky

6

32 hours 17 minutes
Yuri Onufrienko

6

30 hours 30 minutes
Yuri Usachev

6

30 hours 30 minutes
Gennadii Strekalov

6

21 hours 54 minutes
Aleksandr Viktorenko

6

7:39 p.m
Vasilii Tsibliyev

6

19 hours 11 minutes

Results of flight tests of the orbital manned complex Mir
Итоги летных испытаний орбитального пилотируемого комплекса «Мир»

On December 8, 2020, a meeting of the Interstate Commission for Flight Support and Operation of the Mir Manned Orbital Complex was held at the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

The results of work performed under the program of flight tests of the complex for the period 1986-2000 were considered. It was noted that:

Fulfillment of the flight program
Выполнение программы полета

In accordance with the “Program of flight tests of the permanent manned station of the Mir modular type,” the orbital complex Mir (SC Mir) was operated in orbit from February 20, 1986 (from the moment the base unit was launched) to March 23, 2001. In total, more than 100 launches of ships and modules of various types (including launches of the American Shuttle spacecraft) were carried out under the Mir complex flight program. Despite the comments, all launches were carried out successfully with 100% fulfillment of the main flight tasks.

A feature of the flight program of the Mir spacecraft was that after the launch of the base unit, a rather long period of retrofitting the complex was planned by docking new modules and increasing the technical capabilities of the onboard systems. At the initial stage of the operation of the Mir OC, its operation was possible only in the visiting mode, and the operation in the mode of a permanent station was limited due to the lack of the necessary means of the DMS and coolant.

The first manned flight to the Mir spacecraft was carried out from March 15, 1986 to May 5, 1986 (EO-1). At the first stage of the flight, work was carried out according to the “Program of flights to the Salyut-7 and Mir stations for 1986 and 1987,” which was completed in December 1987 after the launch of the Soyuz TM-4 (EO-3) spacecraft.

Operation of Orbital Complex Mir in the mode of a permanent station began on February 8, 1987 (EO-2).

In 1986-1987, the planned re-equipment of the complex with control equipment (BTsVK “Salyut-5B,” UIVK, gyrodines) and life support equipment (systems “Air,” “Electron-V,” BMP, etc.) was carried out for the transition to continuous manned operation. The deployment of the complex to the final configuration was completed on April 26, 1996 after the docking of the Priroda module. This completed the implementation of the “Program of flight tests of the permanently operating manned station of the Mir modular type.” Further, the complex was operated on the basis of the annual planning of the flight program.

In addition to the modules provided for by the above program, a docking compartment (SD) was introduced into the complex from November 25, 1995 to carry out work with the Shuttle spacecraft.

Until August 1999, Mir was operated as a permanent station with one break from April 27 to September 8, 1989 during the transition from Soyuz T manned spacecraft to the Soyuz TM series.

Since mid-1999, due to difficulties in financing the Mir spacecraft flight program, in order to save money, the operating mode of the complex was changed by including relatively long unmanned sections in the program. The first such transfer of the Mir spacecraft to unmanned flight mode after many years of continuous operation in a manned mode was carried out on August 28, 1999.

Due to the fact that when using the control mode (OBCC + gyrodynes) in the absence of a crew, the reliability of control may decrease, before switching to an unmanned flight, a backup analog control loop was introduced and tested at the Mir OK, which makes it possible to ensure the solution of the following tasks without using the OCCC COURT:

The analog circuit provided the ability to control the complex by commands from the Earth during the passage of the commands “Accident of the BTsVK.”

On the unmanned flight segment, OK Mir was operated with the BTsVK turned off, maintaining passive orientation to recharge the batteries. Maintaining the required orbit altitude at this stage to prevent the complex from deorbiting due to natural braking in the atmosphere was ensured by the issuance of corrective impulses by the Progress spacecraft that were part of the complex.

Resource characteristics

Ресурсные характеристики Initially, according to the flight test program, it was planned to operate Mir for up to five years. This indicator is exceeded three times (the service life is more than 15 years). In accordance with the flight test program, the duration of the flight of the modules as part of the Mir spacecraft was planned to be up to three years (1095 days). The actual service life of the modules as part of the orbital complex is given below.

Module Designation Exploitation as part of Orbital Complex, (day)
base unit

17KS № 12701

 5510
“Quantum” 37KE No. 37010 5106
“Quantum-2” 77KSD No. 17101 4134
“Crystal” 77KST No. 17201 3948
“Spectrum” 77KSO No. 17301 2134 (749 – before depressurization)
Priroda 77KSI No. 17401 1794

Most of the onboard systems have significantly exceeded the resource characteristics established in the forms for components, devices, assemblies and systems as a whole. Some devices have accumulated a resource that is more than ten times higher than originally installed.

To ensure the long-term operation of the Mir OC, a procedure was adopted that provides for an annual extension of its service life with the issuance of the necessary partial conclusions on the systems and the general conclusion of the general designer. At the same time, systems with an exhausted resource were allowed to operate and their operation to failure while ensuring the required level of reliability and safety.

Scientific and applied research
Научно-прикладные исследования

By the middle of 1996, after the launch and docking of the Priroda module with the Mir spacecraft, its final appearance was formed as a research complex equipped with unique scientific equipment. The complex included 7 modules, in which during the operation scientific equipment of more than 240 items manufactured by 27 countries with a total weight of 11.5 tonnes was placed, and taking into account auxiliary equipment and means of support, the total mass of the target load complex was 14 tonnes.

This set of scientific equipment made it possible to carry out fundamental and scientific-applied research in nine areas in various fields of science and technology.

In particular, the unique complex of scientific equipment included:

Distribution of the scientific program by modules

The creation of such an unprecedented, even by today’s standards, orbital research complex became possible thanks to the integrated approach to its modular construction laid down at the design stage of the Mir orbital station.

This approach was not a random choice, but was the result of 35 years of experience in the creation and targeted use of manned orbital spacecraft and stations, as well as the intensive use of the fundamental backlog accumulated over decades in all areas of scientific and engineering activities in space. Many enterprises and organizations of the former Soviet Union, institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences and foreign participating countries played a significant role in creating such a backlog.

Distribution of the scientific program by areas of research

The formation of the station flight program by combining the main expeditions, which ensure the constant presence of the crew on board, with shorter visiting expeditions, made it possible to quickly plan research programs depending on the specified priorities of the tasks being solved and the readiness of the equipment. Thanks to this, it was possible, at the request of customers and experimenters, to quickly change the directions of research and expand them already during the flight of the station, taking into account the interests of other scientific organizations and states.

During the entire period of operation of the station, the implementation of experiments was carried out in accordance with long-term programs of scientific and applied research approved by the decision-making bodies. In 2000, the experiments were carried out in accordance with the “Agreement …” between RSC Energiya and MirCorp on the lease of Mir resources. Funding for the flight of the twenty-eighth main expedition was carried out on a commercial basis. Due to the lack of funding for the continuation of the manned flight from mid-June 2000, Mir was transferred to the autonomous flight mode. Development and approval of the latest Federal program of scientific and applied research planned on the orbital complex Mir in the period 1997 – 1999. was held in close cooperation with the Coordinating Scientific and Technical Council, which was established in 1994 by a joint decision of the RSA and the Russian Academy of Sciences. The CSTC RCA and RAS included 10 sections headed by leading Russian scientists and heads of leading scientific organizations.

Shares of different countries in the supply of scientific equipment

In practice, the manned space station Mir not only concentrated experience in solving various applied problems in orbital flight, but also significantly expanded the scope of application of scientific methods in the field of space, which was previously inaccessible to Mankind.

From 1.5 tonnes of scientific equipment for carrying out only astrophysical observations at the world’s first orbital station "Salyut" to 11.5 tonnes of the target load complex of the Mir station for research, a difficult and thorny path has been passed.

The Mir station has in practice become an international orbital scientific laboratory. In the medical, biological and biotechnological areas of research, most of the experiments were carried out within the framework of international cooperation. were performed using foreign equipment More than 7,500 sessions out of a total of 31,200.

Research results

The main results of the research carried out at the Mir station in various fields are:

The main results of the work of the orbital station Mir
Основные результаты работ орбитальной станции «Мир»

The contribution of the Mir station to the creation of the International Space Station
Вклад станции «Мир» в создание Международной космической станции

The Mir station has become a kind of flight ground for testing in real conditions many technical solutions and technological processes used on the International Space Station – ISS.

Linked from Mir space station