“The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program. And if we become extinct because we don't have a space program, it'll serve us right!”Larry Niven, quoted by Arthur Clarke in interview Space.com, 2001
The US-Russian cooperation set up in the middle of the 1990s contributed to keeping MIR operational. Nevertheless, it was a fruitful cooperation which started with several Space Shuttle launches to the Mir in 1994 and continued until 1998 (Figure 1). Twelve cooperative space missions were performed with 12 Space Shuttle Flights2.
MIR Space Station and Atlantis Space Shuttle (Images Courtesy of NASA)