Docking With Mir :: essays research papers

Docking With MirLast year something amazing took place, but it wasnt in a laboratory. Itwasnt down the stairs the ocean, and it wasnt on the land. It was in space. The tying up of the United Statess Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Russian SpaceStation Mir was an important step towards international cooperation in space.This is not the for the first time time the U.S. has been in contact with Russia inspace matters. In 1965, an American Apollo capsule and a Russian Soyuz modulewere locked in orbital tango 245 miles to a higher place the earth, both crews tense withthe feeling of peace and rivalry at the same time. In the past few years,American astronauts have used the Russian fostering facility at the Cosmodrome toprepare for work on the Mir space station. We couldnt give up the hope of peaceand freedom.Launch Day had arrived June 29, 1995. During launch and ascent, therewasnt more to think about except the thrill of the ride. Then the tension rose.In less than thirty-six hours, they would have to close a gap of four kmiles at an altitude of 245 miles while traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, onlyto have to move within three inches and two degrees of a quickly moving, very fallible object in space. One small thrust of a poorly aligned engine could costone of four space-worthy shuttles and the worlds first and only long-run spacestation.Docking was over with soon, and was followed by the cosmonauts of Mirgreeting the astronauts of Atlantis. Gifts of flowers, candy and fruit weregiven by the Americans, who in return, following a Russian tradition, receivedgifts of wampumpeag and salt. Knowing the importance of the mission, the Russians, aswell as the Americans, forced the good nature of the mission to be seen. Afteran exchange in the crew of Mir, Atlantis disengaged the docking clamps, andreturned home.This mission was important to the future of the conquest of space, forthe American scientists need help with the design of the planned International