Mir Docking Module - Solar Arrays & MEEP

Solar Arrays & MEEP

In addition to simplifying space shuttle docking missions, Mir's docking module was also used as a carrier for two new photovoltaic arrays, mounted to the module in boxes, which were later deployed on Kvant-1 during spacewalks. The first, the Mir Cooperative Solar Array, was jointly designed by NASA and Russia in order to test designs for the future International Space Station. The array was 42 m² in area, and provided 6.7 kW of power when installed on the station during expedition EO-21 in 1996. The array consisted of 42 US-built panels arranged in a 2.7 m (9 ft) wide and 18 m (59 ft) long array mounted to a Russian-built frame, and was instrumented to provide data for models being used to design the solar arrays for the ISS. The second array was the Russian-built MSB array, which had originally been intended to be launched as part of Priroda before the redesign of the module deleted it. It was installed on Kvant-1 during EVA 5 of EO-24, replacing the Kristall array which had previously been mounted there.

The module was also used as a mounting point for the Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP), a set of four experiments intended to study the effects of space debris impacts and exposure to the space environment on a variety of materials. The materials used in the experiments were being considered for use on the ISS, and by exposing them at a similar orbital altitude to that flown by the station, the experiments provided an assessment of the performance of those materials in a similar space environment. MEEP also fulfilled the need to examine the occurrence and effects of man-made debris and natural micrometeoroids through capture and impact studies. The experiments were installed on the docking module during STS-76, and retrieved during STS-86.