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  "path": "/history/165932-mir-space-station-orbital-laboratory-legacy/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-20T14:19:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://english.pravda.ru",
  "tags": [
    "History, traditions"
  ],
  "textContent": "On February 20, 1986, the Soviet Union launched the orbital scientific station Mir, a project that succeeded the earlier Salyut stations and soon became the only permanently crewed space laboratory in the world. For more than a decade and a half, Mir served as a unique platform for long-duration scientific and technological experiments, as well as groundbreaking studies of the human body in space.\nA New Generation of Orbital Stations\n\nThe station functioned as a core module designed for the gradual construction of a multipurpose, continuously operating crewed complex. Engineers envisioned a modular system capable of supporting specialized research and applied missions. Over time, the complex expanded as additional modules docked with the base block, including Kvant, Kvant-2, Kristall, and Spektr. Each module introduced new scientific capabilities and significantly broadened the station's operational scope.\nCompletion of the Mir Complex\n\nThe construction of the orbital complex concluded on April 26, 1996, when the fifth and final expansion module, Priroda, joined the station. Equipped with sophisticated scientific instruments, the module marked the completion of Mir's full configuration. With the base block and five modules combined, the total mass of the complex reached nearly 129 tons, an extraordinary achievement for orbital engineering at the time.",
  "title": "Mir Space Complex: Fifteen Years as Humanity’s Only Permanent Home in Orbit"
}