In the early 1990s, the two world leaders of space exploration agreed
to cooperate in a series of space missions. Referred to as the Shuttle-Mir
Program, this partnership between the United States and Russia created
opportunities for an extraordinary exchange of expertise and knowledge,
producing numerous advancements to benefit future human spaceflight
expeditions.
To help document this historic time period, the Shuttle-Mir Oral History
Project began in 1998 to capture the thoughts and experiences of the
American and Russian team members. Their efforts impacted the design,
policies, and operational procedures of Phase 1, International Space
Station.
Information collected via personal interviews provides a perspective
from those who were involved in the "real life," day-to-day activities
of the joint venture. The majority of the oral history sessions were
conducted during the last six months of the Shuttle-Mir program and
should be understood in that context.
The participants in this project are just a few of the hundreds of
people who worked together to meet the challenges of this bold, global
interchange of technology and culture.
These Shuttle-Mir histories are part of a larger oral history collection
located at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.