STS-71

STS-71 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis from June 27 to July 7, 1995. It was notable for being the first Shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Mir space station.

Mission Highlights:

The primary objective of STS-71 was the first docking of a U.S. Space Shuttle with the Russian Mir space station. Atlantis delivered a relief crew (the Mir EO-19 crew) to Mir and returned the Mir EO-18 crew to Earth. This marked the beginning of a new phase of the Shuttle-Mir Program, focused on long-duration research in space and international cooperation.

During the docked phase, joint US-Russian scientific experiments were conducted aboard both Atlantis and Mir. These experiments covered a wide range of disciplines, including biomedical research, life sciences, material science, and Earth observations.

The mission also carried the Spacelab module in Atlantis' payload bay, facilitating the research activities. After several days of joint operations, Atlantis undocked from Mir and returned to Earth, successfully completing its primary objectives and setting the stage for future Shuttle-Mir missions.