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Credit & Copyright: STS-76 Crew,
NASA
Explanation:
This dream-like image
of Mir was recorded
by astronauts as
the Space Shuttle
Atlantis
approached the Russian space station
prior to docking during
the STS-76 mission.
Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels,
Mir resembles a whimsical flying insect hovering about 350 kilometers
above New Zealand's
South Island and the city
of Nelson,
near Cook Strait.
In late March 1996, Atlantis shuttled astronaut
Shannon W.
Lucid to Mir for a five month visit,
increasing Mir's occupancy from 2 to 3.
It returned to pick Lucid up and drop off
astronaut John Blaha during
the STS-79 mission
in August of that year.
Since becoming operational in 1986,
Mir has
been visited by over 100 spacefarers from
the nations of planet Earth including,
Russia, the United States, Great Britain,
Germany, France, Japan, Austria,
Kazakhstan and Slovakia.
After joint
Shuttle-Mir
training missions in support of the
International
Space Station, continuous occupation of Mir ended in August 1999.
Mir is still in orbit and its operation is now being pursued by
commercial
interests.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mir - space shuttle - space station - New Zealand - space shuttle Atlantis
Publications with words: Mir - space shuttle - space station - New Zealand - space shuttle Atlantis
See also: