Space Station and Shuttle Russia's manned spaceflight program is centered on development of a permanently manned space station.
The current Mir ("Peace") station (a modified version of the earlier Salyut) orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 360 km (224 mi) and an inclination of 52 degrees. Small, private bedrooms are located at one end of the main module, along with dining facilities, shower, toilet, exercise apparatuses, and other crew-related
equipment. At the other end of the module is control and communications equipment. The normal crew size aboard Mir is two: a pilot and flight engineer. The station (and its equipment) was designed for a five-year lifetime but has been extended with vigorous maintenance. While cosmonauts travel to and from the space station on Soyuz spacecraft, supplies and personal mail are sent up aboard unmanned, robot freighters of the Progress series. Specialized scientific laboratories, workshops, and observatories can be
launched for attachment to docking ports on the side of the main module. The first specialized module, called Kvant ("Quantum"), was launched in 1987; fortuitously, it carried X-ray telescopes that were in position in time to observe the supernova that had flared up early that year in a neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. In 1989 and 1990, two more modules were added to the station, and the last two modules, which were called Spektr and Priroda, were added in 1995Ð96. Shortcomings of the present Mir system include its low levels of electrical power, the ability of the Soyuz to transport only about 150 kg (330 lb) of material back to Earth in addition to the crew, and the very restricted access to the system that is available to scientists and other technical specialists. These problems are being vigorously addressed in a number of ways. Space-assembly techniques allow the installation of additional solar panels to the complex, thus providing more electrical power; add-on sections provide research facilities. Some of the Progress supply ships now carry a small return capsule called Raduga. New solar panels were brought up in 1995 aboard the Spektr module and on the Atlantis Space Shuttle. The Russian decision in 1994 to take part in the International Space Station project with NASA and its international partners means that Russian space hardware will be at the heart of the joint project. A "Functional Cargo Block" (FGB in Russian), based on the Mir add-on modules, will be the first station element to be launched, followed by a modernized Mir module and other equipment. Modules from NASA, Europe, and Japan, aided by a special robot arm built by Canada, will complete this space facility.