Three shuttle flights support the Mir 21/NASA 2 mission: STS-74, STS-76, and STS-79. On November 11, 1995 the STS-74 space shuttle Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center to rendezvous with the Mir space station. STS-74, carrying five crewmembers, was a nine day mission that delivered solar arrays to the Mir as well as a docking assembly to facilitate future shuttle/Mir dockings. Water, food, and other resupply items along with Mir 21/NASA 2 science hardware and equipment was transferred to the Mir. STS-74 returned to Earth with Russian, ESA, and U.S. science samples and hardware. STS-76, scheduled to launch in late March, is a Mir resupply/return mission similar to STS-74, but will also carry the Spacehab module in its cargo bay for the support of shuttle-based science.

Approximately 4” Diameter