Editing Shuttle–Mir program (section)

===''Priroda'' (1996)===
Continuous US presence aboard ''Mir'' started in 1996 with the March 22 launch of ''Atlantis'' on mission [[STS-76]], when the Second Increment astronaut [[Shannon Lucid]] was transferred to the station. STS-76 was the third docking mission to ''Mir'', which also demonstrated logistics capabilities through deployment of a [[Spacehab]] module, and placed experiment packages aboard ''Mir''{{'s}} docking module, which marked the first [[spacewalk]] which occurred around docked vehicles. The spacewalks, carried out from ''Atlantis''{{'s}} crew cabin, provided valuable experience for astronauts in order to prepare for later assembly missions to the [[International Space Station]].<ref>{{cite news|author=William Harwood|title=Shuttle becomes hard-hat area; spacewalking astronauts practice tasks necessary to build station|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a3|date=March 28, 1996|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank
}}</ref>

Lucid became the first American woman to live on station, and, following a six-week extension to her Increment due to issues with Shuttle [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster|Solid Rocket Boosters]], her 188-day mission set the US single spaceflight record. During Lucid's time aboard ''Mir'', the ''[[Priroda]]'' module, with about {{convert|2200|lb|kg}} of US science hardware, was docked to ''Mir''. Lucid made use of both ''Priroda'' and ''Spektr'' to carry out 28 different science experiments and as living quarters.<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-76 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-76/mission-sts-76.html|access-date=March 30, 2007|archive-date=August 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806102139/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-76/mission-sts-76.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Image:STS-81 Atlantis at Mir.jpg|thumb|left|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' docked to ''Mir'' during [[STS-81]]. The crew compartment, nose and a portion of the payload bay of ''Atlantis'' are visible, behind ''Mir''{{'s}} ''Kristall'' and Docking Modules.|alt=A view showing a module covered in white insulation with a smaller module, covered in orange insulation, connected to the end of it. Part of a space shuttle can be seen attached to the orange module, and a number of folded and unfolded solar arrays are visible. The limb of the Earth forms the backdrop.]]
Her stay aboard ''Mir'' ended with the flight of ''Atlantis'' on [[STS-79]], which launched on September 16. STS-79 was the first Shuttle mission to carry a double Spacehab module. More than {{convert|4000|lb|kg}} of supplies were transferred to ''Mir'', including water generated by ''Atlantis''{{'s}} [[fuel cell]]s, and experiments that included investigations into [[Superconductivity|superconductors]], [[cartilage]] development, and other biology studies. About {{convert|2000|lb|kg}} of experiment samples and equipment were also transferred back from ''Mir'' to ''Atlantis'', making the total transfer the most extensive yet.<ref>{{cite news|author=William Harwood|title=Lucid transfers from Mir to Space Shuttle|newspaper=Washington Post|page=a3|date=September 20, 1996|publisher=Retrieved March 9, 2007 from NewsBank}}</ref>

This, the fourth docking, also saw [[John Blaha]] transferring onto ''Mir'' to take his place as resident Increment astronaut. His stay on the station improved operations in several areas, including transfer procedures for a docked space shuttle, "hand-over" procedures for long-duration American crew members and "Ham" [[amateur radio]] communications.

Two spacewalks were carried out during his time aboard. Their aim was to remove [[Electric power|electrical power]] connectors from a 12-year-old [[solar power]] array on the base block and reconnect the cables to the more efficient new solar power arrays. In all, Blaha spent four months with the Mir-22 cosmonaut crew conducting [[material science]], [[Fluid mechanics|fluid science]], and [[life science]] research, before returning to Earth the next year aboard ''Atlantis'' on [[STS-81]].<ref name="SMH Flights"/><ref>{{cite web|title=STS-79 Mission Summary|author=Jim Dumoulin|publisher=NASA|date=June 29, 2001|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html|access-date=March 30, 2007|archive-date=May 18, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518135705/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html|url-status=live}}</ref>