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**Headline: Thirty Years Ago, US and Russia Docked Atlantis with Mir, Marking a New Era in Space Cooperation**

**By The Hindu Staff Writer**

**Published: June 29, 2025 12:09 am IST**

Thirty years ago today, the world witnessed a landmark moment in space exploration history: the docking of the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis with the Russian Mir Space Station on June 29, 1995. This event, a collaboration between former Cold War rivals, ushered in what NASA chief Daniel Goldin called “a new era of friendship and cooperation” between the United States and Russia.

The STS-71 mission, the 100th human space mission in American history, achieved its primary objective of rendezvous and docking with Mir after a series of weather-related delays. The docking, using the innovative R-Bar approach, was executed with remarkable precision, occurring just two seconds off schedule.

Commander Robert L. Gibson skillfully maneuvered Atlantis to Mir, culminating in a near-flawless connection at a distance of 400 km above the Lake Baykal region of the Russian Federation.

The linked Atlantis and Mir, weighing a combined 225 tonnes, formed the largest human-made object ever to orbit the Earth at the time. A welcoming ceremony followed, with astronauts and cosmonauts exchanging traditional gifts. The Mir 18 crew handed over the space station to the Mir 19 crew.

Over the next 100 hours, the combined crew conducted approximately 15 joint biomedical and scientific investigations, covering diverse fields from cardiovascular function to microgravity research. Samples from the Mir 18 crew, vital for understanding the long-term effects of space travel, were also transferred to Atlantis for study.

On July 4th, the vehicles undocked in a “cosmic ballet,” as described by Commander Gibson, with Mir 19 briefly flying away in their Soyuz spacecraft to capture the separation. Atlantis successfully returned to Earth on July 7th.

The STS-71 mission, lasting just over nine days, served as a powerful symbol of post-Cold War collaboration and laid the foundation for future international partnerships in space exploration, a legacy still celebrated today.

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