Mir station assembly and Soviet-era operations (1986–1991)

1. Mir core module reaches orbit

   Feb 19, 1986Labels: Mir core, Soviet space

   • NASA History
   • Britannica

2. First crew boards Mir and activates systems

   Mar 15, 1986Labels: Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov

   • NASA History
   • WorldSpaceFlight

3. Mir temporarily left uncrewed after EO-1

   Jul 16, 1986Labels: EO-1 crew, Uncrewed Mir

   • NASA History
   • Mir Expeditions

4. Mir reoccupied by Soyuz TM-2 crew

   Feb 5, 1987Labels: Soyuz TM-2, Continuous occupation

   • Mir Expeditions
   • Mir Crews

5. Kvant-1 docks, beginning Mir’s modular assembly

   Apr 9, 1987Labels: Kvant-1 module, Astrophysics module

   • Kvant 1
   • Britannica

6. Emergency EVA clears debris blocking Kvant-1 seal

   Apr 11, 1987Labels: Emergency EVA, Kvant-1 docking

   • Mir EO 2
   • Kvant 1

7. Year-long Mir EO-3 mission begins

   Dec 21, 1987Labels: EO-3 mission, Long-duration flight

   • WorldSpaceFlight
   • Mir EO 3

8. Titov and Manarov set recognized endurance record

   Dec 14, 1988Labels: Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov

   • UPI Archives
   • Mir EO 4

9. Mir reoccupied for EO-5 after vacancy

   Sep 7, 1989Labels: Soyuz TM-8, EO-5 mission

   • WorldSpaceFlight
   • Mir EO 5

10. Kvant-2 adds airlock and upgraded life support

    Dec 6, 1989Labels: Kvant-2 module, Airlock

    • ESA Mir FAQ
    • Kvant 2

11. Kristall module docks, expanding research and docking options

    Jun 10, 1990Labels: Kristall module, Materials lab

    • Kristall
    • SpaceFacts

12. Commercially funded Japanese visitor reaches Mir

    Dec 4, 1990Labels: Toyohiro Akiyama, Commercial flight

    • Soyuz TM 11
    • UPI Archives

13. Soviet Union dissolves; Mir enters a new political era

    Dec 26, 1991Labels: Soviet Union, Russian Federation

    • Soviet Dissolution
    • Britannica