Editing Mir (section)

====Early existence====
{{See also|Mir Core Module|Kvant-1}}
[[File:Mir-kvant.jpg|thumb|The core module with [[Kvant-1|''Kvant''-1]] and [[Soyuz TM-3]]]]
Due to pressure to launch the station on schedule, mission planners were left without Soyuz spacecraft or modules to launch to the station at first. It was decided to launch [[Soyuz T-15]] on a dual mission to both ''Mir'' and [[Salyut 7]].<ref name="Encyclopedia Astronautica">{{cite web|title=Mir complex|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|author=Mark Wade|url=http://www.astronautix.com/m/mircomplex.html|access-date=19 November 2020|archive-date=23 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323004602/http://www.astronautix.com/m/mircomplex.html|url-status=dead}}{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}

[[Leonid Kizim]] and [[Vladimir Solovyov (cosmonaut)|Vladimir Solovyov]] first docked with ''Mir'' on 15 March 1986. During their nearly 51-day stay on ''Mir'', they brought the station online and checked its systems. They unloaded two [[Progress spacecraft]] launched after their arrival, [[Progress 25]] and [[Progress 26]].<ref name="Manned Astronautics Soyuz-T15">{{cite web|title=Spacecraft "Soyuz-T15" |publisher=Manned Astronautics |author=Alexander Anikeev |url=http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/machines/st15.sht |access-date=16 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301204034/http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/machines/st15.sht |archive-date=1 March 2009 }}</ref>

On 5 May 1986, they undocked from ''Mir'' for a day-long journey to Salyut 7. They spent 51 days there and gathered 400&nbsp;kg of scientific material from Salyut 7 for return to ''Mir''. While Soyuz T-15 was at Salyut 7, the uncrewed [[Soyuz TM-1]] arrived at the unoccupied ''Mir'' and remained for 9 days, testing the new [[Soyuz spacecraft#Soyuz-TM (1986–2002)|Soyuz TM]] model. Soyuz T-15 redocked with ''Mir'' on 26 June and delivered the experiments and 20 instruments, including a multichannel [[spectrometer]]. The EO-1 crew spent their last 20 days on ''Mir'' conducting Earth observations before returning to Earth on 16 July 1986, leaving the new station unoccupied.<ref name="Encyclopedia Astronautica mireo">{{cite web|title=Mir EO-1|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|author=Mark Wade|url=http://www.astronautix.com/flights/mireo1.htm|access-date=18 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070407163641/http://astronautix.com/flights/mireo1.htm|archive-date=7 April 2007}}{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}

The second expedition to ''Mir'', [[Mir EO-2|EO-2]], launched on [[Soyuz TM-2]] on 5 February 1987. During their stay, the [[Kvant-1|''Kvant''-1]] module, launched on 30 March 1987, arrived. It was the first experimental version of a planned series of '37K' modules scheduled to be launched to ''Mir'' on ''Buran''. ''Kvant''-1 was originally planned to dock with [[Salyut 7]]; due to technical problems during its development, it was reassigned to ''Mir''. The module carried the first set of six gyroscopes for attitude<!--It's supposed to be ATTitude, meaning orientation – please don't change this to aLTitude.--> control. The module also carried instruments for X-ray and ultraviolet astrophysical observations.<ref name="MHH"/>

The initial rendezvous of the ''Kvant''-1 module with ''Mir'' on 5 April 1987 was troubled by the failure of the onboard control system. After the failure of the second attempt to dock, the resident cosmonauts, [[Yuri Romanenko]] and [[Aleksandr Laveykin]], conducted an [[Extravehicular activity|EVA]] to fix the problem. They found a trash bag which had been left in orbit after the departure of one of the previous cargo ships and was now located between the module and the station, which prevented the docking. After removing the bag, docking was completed on 12 April.<ref name="Encyclopedia Astronautica mireo2">{{cite web|title=Mir EO-2|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|author=Mark Wade|url=http://www.astronautix.com/flights/mireo2.htm|access-date=18 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409041745/http://astronautix.com/flights/mireo2.htm|archive-date=9 April 2007}}{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}<ref name="RussianSpaceweb.com Kvant-1">{{cite web|title=Spacecraft: Manned: Mir: Kvant-1 Module |publisher=RussianSpaceweb.com |author=Anatoly Zak |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir_kvant.html |access-date=16 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070424231617/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir_kvant.html |archive-date=24 April 2007 }}</ref>

The Soyuz TM-2 launch was the beginning of a string of 6 Soyuz launches and three long-duration crews between 5 February 1987 and 27 April 1989. This period also saw the first international visitors, [[Muhammed Faris]] (Syria), [[Abdul Ahad Mohmand]] (Afghanistan) and [[Jean-Loup Chrétien]] (France). With the departure of [[Mir EO-4|EO-4]] on [[Soyuz TM-7]] on 27 April 1989 the station was again left unoccupied.<ref name="SSSM"/>