View source for Mir Docking Module

{{Short description|Russian storage and crew access module for the Shuttle-Mir Program}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Mir'' Docking Module}}
{{Infobox space station module
 | module                 = ''Mir'' Docking Module
 | module_image           = Docking Module (STS-74).jpg
 | module_image_size      = 
 | module_image_caption   = The docking module seen in the payload bay of the {{OV|104}} on [[STS-74]], prior to docking with ''[[Mir]]''.
 | NSSDC_ID               = 
 | station                = ''[[Mir]]''
 | launch                 = 12 November 1995
 | launch_vehicle         = {{OV|104}} ([[STS-74]])
 | docked                 = 15 November 1995
 | undocked               =
 | reentry                = 23 March 2001
 | mass                   = {{cvt|6134|kg}}
 | length                 = {{cvt|4.7|m}}
 | width                  = 
 | height                 = 
 | diameter               = {{cvt|2.2|m}}
 | volume                 = 
 | stats_ref              = <ref name="BIS">{{cite book|title=The History of Mir 1986–2000|year=2000|publisher=[[British Interplanetary Society]]|location=London|isbn=0-9506597-4-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmir19860000unse/page/3 3–20]|author=Hendrickx, Bart|editor=Hall, Rex|chapter=The Development of Mir and its Modules|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmir19860000unse/page/3}}</ref><ref name="Astronautica">{{cite web|title=Mir-Shuttle Docking Module |url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/mirodule.htm |publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica |author=Wade, Mark |accessdate=19 March 2011 |date=5 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108043835/http://astronautix.com/craft/mirodule.htm |archivedate=8 January 2010 }}</ref><ref name="RSW">{{cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir_docking.html|publisher=Russian Space Web|accessdate=19 March 2011|title=Mir: Docking compartment|date=26 January 2010|first=Anatoly|last=Zak}}</ref>
 | configuration_image    = Mir Docking Module drawing.svg
 | configuration_size     = 
 | configuration_caption  = The docking module shown isolated in its basic configuration. Various additional external fixtures are not shown.
}}
The '''''Mir'' Docking Module''', formally known as the '''Stykovochnyy Otsek''' ('''SO'''; {{langx|ru|стыковочный отсек|lit=Docking compartment}}; designation: '''316GK'''), was the sixth module of the Russian space station ''[[Mir]]'', launched in November 1995 aboard the {{OV|104}}.<ref name="SSSM">{{cite book|author=Harland, David|title=The Story of Space Station Mir|publisher=Springer-Verlag New York Inc|date=30 November 2004|location=New York|isbn=978-0-387-23011-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofspacestat0000harl}}</ref> The module, built by [[Energia (corporation)|Energia]], was designed to help simplify space shuttle dockings to ''Mir'' during the [[Shuttle-Mir Program|Shuttle-''Mir'' program]], preventing the need for the periodic relocation of the ''[[Kristall]]'' module necessary for dockings prior to the compartment's arrival.<ref name="RSW"/> The module was also used to transport two new [[photovoltaic array]]s to the station, as a mounting point for external experiments, and as a storage module when not in use for dockings.<ref name="BIS"/>

==Development==
[[File:Mir-Shuttle diagram.svg|thumb|The final configuration of ''Mir'', showing the docking module (brown) with a docked Space Shuttle.]]
[[File:STS079-350-003.jpg|thumb|Interior of Docking Module]]
[[File:Docking Module cutaway.png|thumb|Docking Module cutaway]]
[[File:ISS-26_Oleg_Skripochka_works_in_the_Rassvet_module.jpg|thumb|Interior view of [[Rassvet (ISS module)|''Rassvet'']], compared to the Mir Docking Module above]]
[[File:STS132 MRM1 Astrotech1.jpg|thumb|Rassvet is a mirror image of the Mir Docking Module]]
The docking module originated in the 1992 design version of the cancelled [[Mir-2|''Mir''-2]] space station, which featured a combined docking compartment and airlock to facilitate docking missions during the Soviet [[Buran program|''Buran'']] space shuttle programme (this module, SO-1, was eventually incorporated into the [[Russian Orbital Segment]] of the [[International Space Station]] as [[Pirs (ISS module)|''Pirs'']]). When the [[Shuttle-Mir Program|Shuttle-''Mir'' programme]] began, engineers realised that in order to enable US space shuttles to dock to ''Mir'', the ''[[Kristall]]'' module would have to be relocated to the forward port of the [[Mir Core Module|core module]] and back to its own lateral port each time a shuttle docked, a process which was not only time consuming but would also be entirely reliant on ''Kristall'''s [[Lyappa arm]], which, should it fail, would prevent any further shuttle missions to the station. Adding a small extension to ''Kristall'', however, would provide the shuttles the clearance they needed to dock without necessitating the relocation of the module on each occasion, and it was decided to base the design of the new module loosely on that of the ''Mir''-2 docking compartment.<ref name="BIS"/>

Discussions on providing a docking module for the Shuttle-''Mir'' programme began in May 1993 and approval was granted on 1 November, with the draft plan being developed by December. The module consisted of what were essentially two [[Soyuz TM-16]] type [[Soyuz (spacecraft)#Orbital module|Soyuz orbital modules]] cut in half, with a cylindrical central portion mounted in the center of the two halves which incorporated docking apparatus (the other two halves were not used). An [[Androgynous Peripheral Attach System#APAS-89|APAS-89]] docking port was mounted on each end. Mounting points were also provided for two boxes (containing new solar arrays) and other external experiments, and the module was provided with its own thermal control, television transmission, and telemetry systems. Rather than being covered in a newly-manufactured white thermal blanket, the module was flown with an unusual orange blanket, which was selected from pre-existing stock for financial reasons.<ref>{{cite book|author=Linenger, Jerry|date=1 January 2001|title=Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir|place=New York, USA|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0-07-137230-5|pages=79–80}}</ref> Development of the simplified module was given priority over the more complex ''Mir''-2 type SO-1, and the flight model, the first to make use of NASA's new [[Space Station Processing Facility]], was delivered to [[Kennedy Space Center]] on 7 June 1995 alongside the new solar arrays which were to be launched with it.<ref name="BIS"/>

The module was launched aboard the {{OV|104}} on 12 November 1995 on mission [[STS-74]] and both the module and ''Atlantis'' docked to ''Mir'' on 15 November, leaving [[STS-71]] as the only Shuttle-''Mir'' docking mission requiring ''Kristall'' to be relocated.<ref name="STS-74">{{cite web|title=STS-74|publisher=NASA|accessdate=20 March 2011|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-74.html|date=1 April 2010}}</ref>

The module resembles the pressure hull for the cancelled [[Science Power Platform]] intended for ''Mir-2'' and the [[International Space Station]], the test article for which was turned into the [[Rassvet (ISS module)|''Rassvet'' Mini-Research Module 1]] and launched in 2010 aboard ''Atlantis'', on mission [[STS-132]].

==Solar arrays and MEEP==
{{main|Mir Environmental Effects Payload}}
In addition to simplifying space shuttle docking missions, ''Mir'''s docking module was also used as a carrier for two new [[photovoltaic array]]s, mounted to the module in boxes, which were later deployed on [[Kvant-1|''Kvant''-1]] during spacewalks. The first, the ''Mir'' Cooperative Solar Array, was jointly designed by [[NASA]] and Russia in order to test designs for the future [[International Space Station]]. The array was 42&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> in area, and provided 6.7&nbsp;kW of power when installed on the station during expedition [[Mir EO-21|EO-21]] in 1996.<ref name="Astronautica"/><ref name="SSSM"/> The array consisted of 42 US-built panels arranged in a 2.7&nbsp;m (9&nbsp;ft) wide and 18&nbsp;m (59&nbsp;ft) long array mounted to a Russian-built frame, and was instrumented to provide data for models being used to design the solar arrays for the ISS.<ref name="MCSA">{{cite web|url=http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/RT1996/6000/6910s.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923120044/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/RT1996/6000/6910s.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 September 2008|title=Mir Cooperative Solar Array|accessdate=20 March 2011|publisher=NASA|date=1 May 1997}}</ref> The second array was the Russian-built MSB array, which had originally been intended to be launched as part of ''[[Priroda]]'' before the redesign of the module deleted it.<ref name="BIS"/> It was installed on ''Kvant''-1 during EVA 5 of [[Mir EO-24|EO-24]], replacing the ''Kristall'' array which had previously been mounted there.<ref name="SSSM"/>

The module was also used as a mounting point for the [[Mir Environmental Effects Payload|''Mir'' Environmental Effects Payload]] (MEEP), a set of four experiments intended to study the effects of space debris impacts and exposure to the space environment on a variety of materials.<ref name="MEEP PR">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/releases/1996/Mar96/96_13.html|accessdate=8 March 2011|date=March 1996|title=STS-76 Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP)|publisher=NASA}}</ref> The materials used in the experiments were being considered for use on the ISS, and by exposing them at a similar orbital altitude to that flown by the station, the experiments provided an assessment of the performance of those materials in a similar space environment.<ref name="MEEP PR"/> MEEP also fulfilled the need to examine the occurrence and effects of man-made debris and natural [[micrometeoroid]]s through capture and impact studies.<ref name="MEEP PR"/> The experiments were installed on the docking module during [[STS-76]],<ref name="STS-76">{{cite web|title=STS-76 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=29 June 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-76/mission-sts-76.html|accessdate=30 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806102139/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-76/mission-sts-76.html|archive-date=6 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and retrieved during [[STS-86]].<ref name="STS-86">{{cite web|title=STS-86 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=29 June 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-86/mission-sts-86.html|accessdate=30 March 2007|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230243/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-86/mission-sts-86.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Docking missions==
{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sticky-header"
|-
! style="width:5%;"| Orbiter
! style="width:5%;"| Mission
! style="width:15%;"| Date docked ([[UTC]])
! style="width:15%;"| Date undocked (UTC)
! Notes
|-
| {{OV|104|full=no}}
| [[STS-74]]
| 14 November 1995 07:17
| 18 November 1995 08:15:44
| The module was docked to ''Atlantis'''s orbiter docking system by the orbiter's [[Canadarm|SRMS robotic arm]] on 14 November, then both ''Atlantis'' and the module docked to the station the next day.<ref name="STS-74"/>
|-
| {{OV|104|full=no}}
| [[STS-76]]
| 24 March 1996 02:34:05
| 29 March 1996 01:08:03
| The crew of ''Atlantis'' installed the [[Mir Environmental Effects Payload]] (MEEP) on the exterior of the docking module.<ref name="STS-76"/>
|-
| {{OV|104|full=no}}
| [[STS-79]]
| 19 September 1996 03:13:18
| 24 September 1996 01:31:34
| <ref name="STS-79">{{cite web|title=STS-79|publisher=NASA|accessdate=18 April 2011|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-79.html|date=23 November 2007}}</ref>
|-
| {{OV|104|full=no}}
| [[STS-81]]
| 15 January 1997 03:54:49
| 20 January 1997 02:15:44
| <ref name="STS-81">{{cite web|title=STS-81|publisher=NASA|accessdate=18 April 2011|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-81.html|date=23 November 2007}}</ref>
|-
| {{OV|104|full=no}}
| [[STS-84]]
| 17 May 1997 02:33:20
| 22 May 1997 01:03:56
| <ref name="STS-84">{{cite web|title=STS-84|publisher=NASA|accessdate=18 April 2011|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-84.html|date=23 November 2007}}</ref>
|-
| {{OV|104|full=no}}
| [[STS-86]]
| 27 September 1997 19:58
| 3 October 1997 17:28:15
| The crew of ''Atlantis'' retrieved the [[Mir Environmental Effects Payload]] (MEEP) from the exterior of the docking module.<ref name="STS-86"/>
|-
| {{OV|105|full=no}}
| [[STS-89]]
| 24 January 1998 20:14:15
| 29 January 1998 16:56
| <ref name="STS-89">{{cite web|title=STS-89|publisher=NASA|accessdate=18 April 2011|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-89.html|date=23 November 2007}}</ref>
|-
| {{OV|103|full=no}}
| [[STS-91]]
| 4 June 1998 16:58
| 8 June 1998 16:01
| <ref name="STS-91">{{cite web|title=STS-91|publisher=NASA|accessdate=18 April 2011|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-89.html|date=23 November 2007}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
{{commons category|Mir Docking Module}}
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
* [[Pirs (ISS module)]]
* [[Poisk (ISS module)]]
* [[Rassvet (ISS module)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Mir modules}}
{{Orbital launches in 1995}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}

[[Category:Mir]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1995]]
[[Category:Spacecraft which reentered in 2001]]