Shuttle-Mir History/Shuttle Flights & Mir Increments/STS-74

STS-74: A New Docking Module

November 12-20, 1995

Space Shuttle: Atlantis

Crew: Cameron, Halsell, Hadfield, Ross, McArthur

STS-74 marked the second docking of the U.S. space shuttle to Russian Space Station Mir and illustrated the international flavor of the space station effort. The shuttle crew included Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian mission specialist. Awaiting aboard Mir were two Russian cosmonauts and a German cosmonaut, along with Russian and European Space Agency research samples and equipment.

The mission's primary payload was the Russian-built Docking Module (DM), designed to become a permanent extension on Mir to afford better clearances for Shuttle-Mir linkups. Unlike the STS-71 crew exchange flight, this second docking focused on delivery of equipment to Mir. Hadfield operated the shuttle's robot arm to lift the DM from the payload bay, rotate it to vertical, and move it to within five inches above the Shuttle Orbital Docking System, which would serve as the passageway between the two spacecraft. Cameron then fired downward steering jets to push Atlantis against the DM. On the next day, Atlantis caught up with and docked with Mir.

Nearly 1,000 pounds of water were transferred to Mir and experiment samples -- including blood, urine and saliva -- were moved to the shuttle for return to Earth. The shuttle crew also delivered gifts, including Canadian maple sugar candies and the second guitar on Mir.

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