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 |
| 1995 Jan 11 |
08:59 |
Soyuz TM-20 undocks from Mir with Malenchov, Musabeyev and Merbold aboard |
| 1995 Jan 11 |
09:27 |
Soyuz TM-20 re-docks with Mir's forward-facing port after testing 'Kurs' docking system - there is no repeat of the excessive yaw motion experinced in the original docking manoeuvre - orbit is 391 x 393 kilometres |
| 1995 Feb 15 |
16:48 |
Progress M-26 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 188 x 224 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1995 Feb 16 |
13:03 |
Progress M-25 undocks from Mir |
| 1995 Feb 16 |
16:45 |
After a retro-firing of its manoeuvring engine, Progress M-25 enters the upper atmosphere and burns up as a result of frictional heating |
| 1995 Feb 17 |
18:21 |
Progress M-26 docks automatically with the rear port of Kvant - orbit is 391 x 397 kilometres |
| 1995 Mar 14 |
06:11 |
Soyuz TM-21 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 191 x 221 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination with cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov, Vladimir Strekalov and Norman Thagard (NASA) aboard |
| 1995 Mar 15 |
02:26 |
Progress M-26 undocks from Mir |
| 1995 Mar 15 |
06:15 |
After a retro-firing of its manoeuvring engine, Progress M-26 enters the upper atmosphere and burns up as a result of frictional heating |
| 1995 Mar 16 |
07:45 |
Soyuz TM-21 docks with the rear port of Kvant - orbit is 391 x 396 kilometres |
| 1995 Mar 22 |
00:43 |
Soyuz TM-20 undocks from Mir with Viktorenko, Kondakova and Polyakov aboard |
| 1995 Mar 22 |
03:08 |
Soyuz TM-20 makes its retro-fire |
| 1995 Mar 22 |
03:37 |
Soyuz TM-20 descent module separates |
| 1995 Mar 22 |
03:40 |
Soyuz TM-20 descent module enters the Earth's atmosphere |
| 1995 Mar 22 |
04:04 |
Soyuz TM-20 lands |
| 1995 Apr 9 |
19:34 |
Progress M-27 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 187 x 221 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1995 Apr 11 |
21:00 |
Progress M-27 docks automatically with Mir's forward-facing port - orbit is 389 x 396 kilometres |
| 1995 Apr 19 |
19:12 |
GFZ-1 geodetic microsatellite, carried to Mir by Progress M-27, released from an airlock aboard Mir - orbit is 383 x 394 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1995 May 12 |
04:20 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov start a space walk to to prepare for removal of a Kristall solar panel and transfer to the Kvant module |
| 1995 May 12 |
10:35 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov finish their space walk after 6 hours 14 minutes |
| 1995 May 17 |
02:38 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov start a space walk to move the Kristall solar panel to the Kvant module - it is left lashed into place on Kvant as time runs out |
| 1995 May 17 |
09:20 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov finish their space walk after 6 hours 42 minutes |
| 1995 May 20 |
03:33 |
Spektr launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Proton rocket into 216 x 317 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination, on reaching orbit - controllers discover that the module is short of battery power (it has no solar panels) and will only be able to make one docking attempt with Mir |
| 1995 May 22 |
00:10 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov start a space walk to complete attachment of the solar panel to Kvant, Kristall's second solar panel is folded away |
| 1995 May 22 |
05:25 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov finish their space walk after 5 hours 15 minutes |
| 1995 May 22 |
23:42 |
Progress M-27 undocks from Mir |
| 1995 May 23 |
02:40 |
Progress M-27 fires its retro-rocket |
| 1995 May 23 |
03:27 |
Progress M-27 enters the upper atmosphere and burns up as a result of frictional heating |
| 1995 May 26 |
|
Using Mir's 'Ljappa' manipulator arm, Kristall is detached from Mir's lower forward docking port and moved to the front port on the forward-facing docking hub |
| 1995 May 28 |
22:22 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov start a space walk inside Mir to move a docking cone between locations in the forward docking unit to allow the re-docking of Kristall |
| 1995 May 28 |
22:43 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov finish their space walk after 21 minutes |
| 1995 May 29 |
|
Using Mir's 'Ljappa' manipulator arm, Kristall is detached from Mir's front forward docking port and moved to the right hand (as viewed from inside Mir) port on the forward-facing docking hub - the lower docking port is now free for the already-orbiting Spektr module |
| 1995 Jun 1 |
00:58 |
Spektr docks with Mir forward port - orbit is 391 x 396 kilometres |
| 1995 Jun 2 |
|
Using Mir's 'Ljappa' manipulator arm, Spektr is detached from Mir forward port and moved to the lower port on the forward-facing docking hub, opposite Kvant 2 |
| 1995 Jun 2 |
22:05 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov start a space walk inside Mir to move a docking cone back to its original location in the forward docking following the re-docking of Kristall |
| 1995 Jun 2 |
22:28 |
Dezhurov and Strekalov finish their space walk after 23 minutes |
| 1995 Jun 10 |
|
Using Mir's 'Ljappa' manipulator arm, Kristall is detached from Mir's right hand forward docking port and moved to the forward port on the forward-facing docking hub - the purpose is to allow Space Shuttle Atlantis, on mision STS-71, to dock in line with Mir's main axis and also use the APAS androgynous docking port |
| 1995 Jun 17 |
|
Using Mir's 'Ljappa' manipulator arm, Kristall is detached from Mir's front forward docking port and returned to the right hand (as viewed from inside Mir) port on the forward-facing docking hub - the station is now fully re-configured after the end of the STS-71 Space Shuttle mission |
| 1995 Jun 23 |
|
Planned launch of shuttle Atlantis at 21:08:37 UTC on mission STS-74 is postponed due to thunderstorms preventing vehicle fuelling |
| 1995 Jun 24 |
21:00 |
Launch attempt for shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-74 is postponed due to bad weather |
| 1995 Jun 27 |
19:32 |
Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-71 into orbit of 294 x 385 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Robert Gibson (commander), Charles Precourt (pilot), mission specialists Ellen Baker, Gregory Harbaugh, Bonnie Dunbar, Anatoly Solovyov (Russia) and Nikolai Budarin (Russia) - it is the 100th US piloted launch |
| 1995 Jun 29 |
13:00 |
Atlantis docks with the APAS unit on Kristall (which has been moved the Mir's front port using a docking unit and tunnel fitted into the shuttle cargo bay - orbit is 392 x 400 kilometres |
| 1995 Jul 4 |
10:55 |
Soyuz TM-21 undocks from Mir with Dezhurov, Strekalov and Thagard aboard |
| 1995 Jul 4 |
11:09 |
Soyuz TM-21 re-docks with the rear port of Kvant after photographing Shuttle Atlantis as it undocks - the re-docking has to be speeded up when one of the Mir computers goes offline and the station begins to rotate - orbit is 394 x 398 kilometres |
| 1995 Jul 4 |
11:09 |
Atlantis undocks from Mir carring Gibson, Charles Precourt, Baker, Harbaugh, Dunbar, Dezhurov, Strekalov and Thagard - while backing away, the crew observes manoeuvres of Soyuz TM-21 which is also undocked from the station - Atlantis then performs a flyaround of Mir before departing |
| 1995 Jul 7 |
10:54 |
Atlantis lands on the Kennedy Space Center runway |
| 1995 Jul 7 |
10:55 |
Wheel stop - Atlantis STS-71 mission is over |
| 1995 Jul 7 |
13:45 |
Atlantis fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry |
| 1995 Jul 14 |
03:56 |
Solovyov and Budarin start a space walk to free a seized solar panel on Spektr and make an external inspection of the station |
| 1995 Jul 14 |
09:30 |
Solovyov and Budarin finish their space walk after 5 hours 34 minutes |
| 1995 Jul 19 |
00:39 |
Solovyov and Budarin start a space walk to retrieve experiments from the outside of Mir - a problem with Solovyov's spacesuit means that he works from within the airlock while only Budarin goes outside |
| 1995 Jul 19 |
03:47 |
Solovyov and Budarin finish their space walk after 3 hours 8 minutes |
| 1995 Jul 20 |
03:04 |
Progress M-28 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into approx 195 x 225 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1995 Jul 21 |
00:28 |
Solovyov and Budarin start a space walk to install the MIRAS infrared spectrometer on the outside of Mir |
| 1995 Jul 21 |
06:18 |
Solovyov and Budarin finish their space walk after 5 hours 50 minutes |
| 1995 Jul 22 |
04:39 |
Progress M-28 docks automatically with Mir's forward-facing port - orbit is 394 x 399 kilometres |
| 1995 Sep 3 |
09:00 |
Soyuz TM-22 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 197 x 218 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination with cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Avdeyev and Thomas Reiter (ESA astronaut - Germany) aboard |
| 1995 Sep 4 |
05:09 |
Progress M-28 undocks from Mir |
| 1995 Sep 4 |
08:58 |
After a retro-firing of its manoeuvring engine, Progress M-28 enters the upper atmosphere and burns up as a result of frictional heating |
| 1995 Sep 5 |
10:29 |
Soyuz TM-22 docks with Mir's forward-facing port - orbit is 393 x 398 kilometres |
| 1995 Sep 11 |
03:30 |
Soyuz TM-21 undocks from Mir with Solovyov and Budarin aboard |
| 1995 Sep 11 |
05:56 |
Soyuz TM-21 makes its retro-fire |
| 1995 Sep 11 |
06:52 |
Soyuz TM-21 lands |
| 1995 Oct 8 |
18:50 |
Progress M-29 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into 188 x 223 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1995 Oct 10 |
20:32 |
Progress M-29 docks automatically with the rear port of Kvant - orbit is 393 x 396 kilometres |
| 1995 Oct 20 |
11:50 |
Avdeyev and Reiter start a space walk to place scientific samples from the European Space Exposure Facility (ESEF) on the outside of Mir to be retrieved on a space walk by Reiter 1996 February |
| 1995 Oct 20 |
17:06 |
Avdeyev and Reiter finish their space walk after 5 hours 16 minutes |
| 1995 Nov 11 |
11:51 |
A launch attempt for shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-74 is postponed four minutes before planned lift-off due to bad weather at the Trans-Atlantic Abort site |
| 1995 Nov 12 |
12:30 |
Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-74 into orbit of 294 x 306 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Kenneth Cameron (commander), James Halsell (pilot), mission specialists Jerry Ross, William McArthur and James Hadfield |
| 1995 Nov 14 |
07:16 |
The crew of Atlantis connect the Russian-built Orbiter Docking System module to the docking unit in the cargo bay - it provides clearance between the station and the shuttle and is fitted with an APAS docking unit at both ends |
| 1995 Nov 15 |
06:27 |
Atlantis docks with the APAS unit on Kristall - orbit is 391 x 396 kilometres |
| 1995 Nov 18 |
18:15 |
Atlantis undocks from Mir carring Cameron, Halsell, Ross, McArthur and Hadfield - it leaves behind the shuttle Orbiter Docking System module for use by future shuttle docking missions- - Atlantis performs a flyaround of Mir before departing |
| 1995 Nov 20 |
15:58 |
Atlantis fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry |
| 1995 Nov 20 |
17:01 |
Atlantis lands on the Kennedy Space Center runway |
| 1995 Nov 20 |
17:02 |
Wheel stop - Atlantis STS-74 mission is over |
| 1995 Dec 8 |
19:23 |
Gidzenko and Adveyev start a space walk within Mir to re-position a docking cone within Mir's forward adapter |
| 1995 Dec 8 |
19:52 |
Gidzenko and Adveyev finish their space walk after 29 minutes |
| 1995 Dec 18 |
14:31 |
Progress M-30 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz rocket into approximately 195 x 230 kilometre orbit at 51.6 degrees inclination |
| 1995 Dec 19 |
09:15 |
Progress M-29 undocks from Mir |
| 1995 Dec 19 |
16:15 |
After a retro-firing of its manoeuvring engine, Progress M-29 enters the upper atmosphere and burns up as a result of frictional heating |
| 1995 Dec 20 |
16:10 |
Progress M-30 docks automatically with the rear port of Kvant - orbit is 391 x 399 kilometres |
