Photographed from [ http://shuttle-mir.…esc/Flightday09/ ] the approaching Space Shuttle Endeavour [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], the Mir space station floats above the clouds of planet Earth. Mir's modular construction [ http://www.hq.nasa.…], bristling with solar panels and antennas, lends it a slightly whimsical [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], insect-like appearance. Astronaut Andrew Thomas [ http://www.jsc.nasa…] was dropped off at Mir by Endeavour in January and recently picked up by the Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-91 [ http://www.imoc.com…], the ninth and last Mir docking mission. Thomas' 4 1/2 month stay culminates the shuttle-Mir program [ http://shuttle-mir.…] in which seven U.S. astronauts spent a total of 977 days with Russian crews on board Mir. The experience gained will be applied toward the construction [ http://station.nasa…] of the International Space Station [ http://station.nasa…] scheduled to begin with launches in November and December 1998 [ http://station.nasa…].
Explanation
Photographed from [ http://shuttle-mir.…esc/Flightday09/ ] the approaching Space Shuttle Endeavour [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], the Mir space station floats above the clouds of planet Earth. Mir's modular construction [ http://www.hq.nasa.…], bristling with solar panels and antennas, lends it a slightly whimsical [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], insect-like appearance. Astronaut Andrew Thomas [ http://www.jsc.nasa…] was dropped off at Mir by Endeavour in January and recently picked up by the Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-91 [ http://www.imoc.com…], the ninth and last Mir docking mission. Thomas' 4 1/2 month stay culminates the shuttle-Mir program [ http://shuttle-mir.…] in which seven U.S. astronauts spent a total of 977 days with Russian crews on board Mir. The experience gained will be applied toward the construction [ http://station.nasa…] of the International Space Station [ http://station.nasa…] scheduled to begin with launches in November and December 1998 [ http://station.nasa…].
