A Chronology of mission events in orbit and on the ground. Mir existed for fifteen years growing from the original 20 tonne core module to a massive 130+ tonnes.
| Date |
Time (UTC) |
Event |
| 1991 Jan 7 |
17:03 |
Afanasev and Manarov start a space walk to continue repairs the Kvant 2 hatch - they are equipped with new tools and succeed in replacing the damaged hinge, they then attach a fitment to Mir hull in preparation for mounting a crane on the exterior of the station |
| 1991 Jan 7 |
22:21 |
Afanasev and Manarov finish their space walk after 5 hrs 18 mins |
| 1991 Jan 14 |
14:50 |
Progress M-6 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 188 x 205 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1991 Jan 16 |
16:35 |
Progress M-6 docks at the Mir complex Kvant docking port - orbit is 363 x 398 kilometres - its cargo includes a crane to be mounted on the outside of the space station |
| 1991 Jan 23 |
10:59 |
Afanasev and Manarov start a space walk to attach a new crane to Mir hull crane |
| 1991 Jan 23 |
16:32 |
Afanasev and Manarov finish their space walk after 5 hrs 33 mins |
| 1991 Jan 26 |
09:00 |
Afanasev and Manarov start a space walk to attach mountings to the outside of Kvant in order to accept solar panels which will be moved from Kristall during a subsequent space walk - they also install components of a rangefinder to be used during a planned visit to the station by the Soviet Union 'Buran' space shuttle during 1992 |
| 1991 Jan 26 |
15:20 |
Afanasev and Manarov finish their space walk after 6 hrs 20 mins |
| 1991 Mar 15 |
12:46 |
Progress M-6 undocks from Mir |
| 1991 Mar 15 |
17:14 |
Progress M-6 fires its manoeuvring engine to initiate re-entry and the spacecraft burns up as a result of frictional heating after some 40 minutes |
| 1991 Mar 19 |
13:05 |
Progress M-7 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 186 x 214 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1991 Mar 21 |
14:40 |
Approximate time - Progress M-7 approaches the Kvant docking port but the 'Kurs' automatic docking system decides that it is off course and aborts the docking |
| 1991 Mar 23 |
14:00 |
Estimated time - Progress M-7 again approaches the Kvant docking port and Kurs reports everything is OK, but mission control detects that the approach is misaligned and aborts the docking - Progress M-7 misses Kvant by 5 metres and comes close to one of Mir solar panels |
| 1991 Mar 26 |
10:12 |
Soyuz TM-11 undocks from Mir with Afanasev and Manarov aboard - they wait while the Mir complex rotates 180 degrees and allow Kurs to control an automatic approach to Kvant - the spacecraft is misaligned, thereby identifying the Kvant system as being at fault |
| 1991 Mar 26 |
10:58 |
Afanasev and Manarov execute a manual docking of Soyuz TM-11 with Kvant rear port |
| 1991 Mar 28 |
12:02 |
Progress M-7 docks with Mir forward port - orbit is 364 x 384 kilometres |
| 1991 Apr 15 |
|
Propellant is pumped from the Mir complex into Progress M-7 in order that the ferry has enough to perform its de-orbit burn |
| 1991 Apr 25 |
19:29 |
Afanasev and Manarov start a space walk to place experimental equipment on the outside of the station and to inspect the Kurs antenna on Kvant - they discover that its reflector dish is miss ing! |
| 1991 Apr 25 |
23:03 |
Afanasev and Manarov finish their space walk after 3 hrs 34 mins |
| 1991 May 6 |
22:59 |
Progress M-7 undocks from Mir |
| 1991 May 7 |
15:24 |
Progress M-7 fires its manoeuvring engine to initiate re-entry and the main spacecraft burns up as a result of frictional heating after some 40 minutes - its Raduga recoverable capsule is not found, either it has not separated froMPROGRESS or its recovery location beacon has failed |
| 1991 May 18 |
12:50 |
Soyuz TM-12 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 187 x 203 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination with cosmonauts Anatoli Artsebarski, Sergei Krikalyov and Helen Sharman (UK) aboard |
| 1991 May 20 |
14:50 |
Soyuz TM-12 docks with Mir forward-facing port after a manual approach necessitated by incorrect data coming from the automatic system - orbit is 375 x 396 kilometres |
| 1991 May 26 |
06:15 |
Soyuz TM-11 undocks with Afanasev, Manarov and Sharman aboard |
| 1991 May 26 |
10:04 |
Soyuz TM-11 lands |
| 1991 May 28 |
10:10 |
Soyuz TM-12 undocks from Mir with Artsebarski and Krikalyov aboard |
| 1991 May 28 |
10:52 |
After Mir has completed a 180 degree rotation, Soyuz TM-12 docks with Kvant rear port |
| 1991 May 30 |
08:04 |
Progress M-8 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 186 x 230 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1991 Jun 1 |
09:44 |
Progress M-8 docks with Mir forward-facing port - orbit is 390 x 391 kilometres |
| 1991 Jun 17 |
01:58 |
Mak 1 small satellite released from Mir airlock - the aerials fail to deploy and the satellite fails to operate - built by the Moscow Aviation Institute, it was intended to be used to make measurements of the upper atmoshpere |
| 1991 Jun 24 |
20:11 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov start a space walk to replace the miss ing reflector on the Kvant Kurs antenna - it is a delicate operation and they can only work during on the daylight portions of the orbit |
| 1991 Jun 25 |
00:09 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov finish their space walk after 4 hrs 58 min |
| 1991 Jun 28 |
19:02 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov start a space walk to set up cosmic ray detectors (delivered by Progress M-8) on the outside of Kvant 2 and to retrieve other samples from the outside of Mir |
| 1991 Jun 28 |
23:26 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov finish their space walk after 3 hrs 24 min |
| 1991 Jul 15 |
11:45 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov start a space walk to deliver and fit a work platform to the outside of Kvant which will be used for construction work on the ofora' girder |
| 1991 Jul 15 |
17:41 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov finish their space walk after 5 hrs 56 min |
| 1991 Jul 19 |
10:10 |
Fifteen minutes earlier than planned, Artsebarski and Krikalyov start a space walk to begin assembling the 14 metre long Sofora girder on the outside of Kvant |
| 1991 Jul 19 |
15:38 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov finish their space walk after 5 hrs 28 min |
| 1991 Jul 23 |
09:15 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov start a space walk to continue assembling the Sofora girder on the outside of Kvant |
| 1991 Jul 23 |
14:49 |
Artsebarski and Krikalyov finish their space walk after 5 hrs 34 min |
| 1991 Jul 27 |
08:45 |
Approximate time - Artsebarski and Krikalyov start a space walk to complete assembly of the Sofora girder on the outside of Kvant - they complete the job by attaching a hammer and sickle flag to the end of the structure |
| 1991 Jul 27 |
15:34 |
Approximate time - Artsebarski and Krikalyov finish their space walk after 6 hrs 49 min - on returning from the work area to the EVA hatch, Artsebarski helmet visor fogs up and he has to be guided back by Krikalyov |
| 1991 Aug 15 |
22:16 |
Progress M-8 undocks from Mir - an attempt to release an aluminium foil covered balloon fails when it tears during inflation - the Mir crew had placed it in the docking tunnel prior to Progress undocking |
| 1991 Aug 16 |
06:56 |
Progress M-8 fires its manoeuvring engine to initiate re-entry and the spacecraft burns up as a result of frictional heating after some 40 minutes |
| 1991 Aug 21 |
22:54 |
Progress M-9 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 186 x 230 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1991 Aug 24 |
00:54 |
Progress M-9 docks with Mir forward-facing port - orbit is 382 x 384 kilometres |
| 1991 Sep 29 |
23:53 |
Progress M-9 undocks from Mir |
| 1991 Sep 30 |
06:16 |
After separating from the main spacecraft during descent, Progress M-5 Raduga capsule lands in Khazakhstan |
| 1991 Sep 30 |
07:45 |
Approximate time - Progress M-9 fires its manoeuvring engine to initiate re-entry and the spacecraft burns up as a result of frictional heating after some 40 minutes |
| 1991 Oct 2 |
05:59 |
Soyuz TM-13 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 195 x 232 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination with cosmonauts Aleksandr Volkov, Takhtar Aubakirov (Kazakhstan) and Franz Viebock (Austria) aboard - because Aubakirov is replacing Aleksandr Kaleri, a regular cosmonaut, Krikalyov has to stay aboard Mir for a further six months |
| 1991 Oct 4 |
07:38 |
Soyuz TM-13 docks with Mir forward-facing port after a manual approach necessitated by incorrect data coming from the automatic system - orbit is 392 x 403 kilometres |
| 1991 Oct 10 |
00:55 |
Soyuz TM-12 undocks from Mir with Artsebarski, Aubakirov and Viebock aboard |
| 1991 Oct 10 |
04:12 |
Soyuz TM-12 lands |
| 1991 Oct 15 |
01:01 |
Soyuz TM-13 undocks from Mir with Volkov and Krikalyov aboard |
| 1991 Oct 15 |
02:45 |
After Mir has completed a 180 degree rotation, Soyuz TM-13 docks with Kvant rear port after making several approaches to to test the newly-repaired Kurs antenna |
| 1991 Oct 17 |
00:05 |
Progress M-10 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 185 x 217 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1991 Oct 18 |
00:00 |
Mak 1 , a small satellite released from Mir 1991 Jun 17, re-enters the Earth's atmosphere |
| 1991 Oct 19 |
01:30 |
Approximate time - Progress M-10 approaches Mir's forward-facing port but aborts an automatic docking at a distance of 150 metres |
| 1991 Oct 21 |
03:40 |
Progress M-10 docks automatically with Mir's forward-facing port at the second attempt - orbit is 395 x 401 kilometres |
| 1991 Nov 5 |
|
In anticipation of the forthcoming dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian government hands ownership of Mir to NPO Energia, a private company which has evolved from Sergei Korolyov original design bureau |
