Mir (Russian: Мир, IPA: [ˈmʲir]; lit. 'peace' or 'world') was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russian Federation. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft. At the time it was the largest artificial satellite in orbit, succeeded by the International Space Station (ISS) after Mir's orbit decayed. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.
Following the success of the
Salyut programme,
Mir represented the next stage in the Soviet Union's space station programme. The first module of the station, known as the
core module or base block, was launched in 1986 and followed by six further modules.
Proton rockets were used to launch all of its components except for the
docking module, which was installed by US
Space Shuttle mission
STS-74 in 1995. When complete, the station consisted of seven pressurised modules and several unpressurised components. Power was provided by several
photovoltaic arrays attached directly to the modules. The station was
maintained at an orbit between 296 km (184 mi) and 421 km (262 mi) altitude and travelled at an average speed of 27,700 km/h (17,200 mph), completing 15.7 orbits per day.
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