Emblem of the Russian Mir Space Station which spent fifteen years in earth orbit. Mir, Russian for 'peace', is the world's longest surviving space station and although it had its troubles, the craft achieved a remarkable record.
The station completed over 86,325 trips around the Earth. The core module was launched in 1986 and was intended to last five or six years. The Station was brought back to Earth in a fiery blaze on March 22, 2001 and now rests in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
The Mir space station in earth orbit as photographed from the Space Shuttle during the STS-86 mission.
The Mir space station in earth orbit as photographed from the Space Shuttle during a "fly around" inspection.
