Mir Docking Module

Mir Docking Module
The docking module seen in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-74, prior to docking with Mir.
Module statistics
Part ofMir
Launch date12 November 1995
Launch vehicleSpace Shuttle Atlantis
(STS-74)
Docked15 November 1995
Reentry23 March 2001
Mass4.3 tonnes
Length4.7 metres
Diameter2.9 metres
References: [1][2][3]
Configuration

The docking module shown isolated in its basic configuration. Various additional external fixtures are not shown.

The Stykovochnyy Otsek (Russian: стыковочный отсек, English: Docking compartment), GRAU index 316GK, otherwise known as the Mir Docking Module or SO, was the sixth module of the Russian space station Mir, launched in November 1995 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis.[4] The module, built by RKK Energia, was designed to help simplify space shuttle dockings to Mir during the Shuttle-Mir programme, preventing the need for the periodic relocation of the Kristall module necessary for dockings prior to the compartment's arrival.[3] The module was also used to transport two new photovoltaic arrays to the station, as a mounting point for external experiments, and as a storage module when not in use for dockings.[1]

  1. ^ a b Hendrickx, Bart (2000). "The Development of Mir and its Modules". In Hall, Rex (ed.). The History of Mir 1986–2000. London: British Interplanetary Society. pp. 3–20. ISBN 0-9506597-4-6.
  2. ^ Wade, Mark (5 March 2011). "Mir-Shuttle Docking Module". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  3. ^ a b Anatoly Zak (26 January 2010). "Mir: Docking compartment". Russian Space Web. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  4. ^ Harland, David (30 November 2004). The Story of Space Station Mir. New York: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. ISBN 978-0-387-23011-5.

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