An artist’s rendition of Atlantis docked to the Kristall module of the Russian Mir Space Station in 1995.
Image: © NASA.

In 1995 on this date, Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on STS-71. Carrying a crew of seven, Atlantis would dock with the Russian Mir space station. The crew would conduct on-orbit joint US-Russian life sciences investigations, resupply the Mir, and deliver two new Mir crewmembers.