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Designed to last three years when launched in 1986, Mir -- Russian for "Peace" -- was home to more than 100 cosmonauts and astronauts from more than a dozen countries, helping to pave the way for increased international cooperation, and a bit less competition, in space. During Mir's lifetime 23,000 experiments were conducted in technology, medicine, astronomy, Earth sciences and biology. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov set a human space endurance record on Mir, spending 438 days in orbit. Mir was plunged into the atmosphere by controllers, and its remains splashed into the South Pacific on March 23. It was 15. From This is True for 18 March 2001 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Jerry M. Linenger List Price: $18.95 Amazon Price: $12.89 Editorial Review: An inspiring, deeply moving testament to the timelessness of paternal love Dr. Jerry Linenger's 132 days aboard the decaying Russian space station Mir were beset by power outages that left the crew in total darkness and tumbling out of control, poisonous chemical leaks, and near collisions with space debris. Most terrifying of all was a raging fire that, in a matter of minutes, nearly destroyed the station and all on board. It was with that last event, when, with the crew cut off from the world below and locked in a battle for survival, Linenger's letters to his son changed from a routine chronicle of daily events into the eloquent, deeply moving serial narrative presented in Letters from Mir. Combining wise meditations on life, destiny, and the future of space exploration with wryly playful observations on everyday life, this openended conversation between a father and his beloved son is as contemporary as the latest Mars Explorer mission, yet as timeless as the paternal sentiments they express. "Dr. Jerry Linenger's 132 days aboard the decaying Russian space station Mir were beset by power outages that left the crew in total darkness and tumbling out of control, poisonous chemical leaks, and near collisions with space debris. Most terrifying of all was a raging fire that, in a matter of minutes, nearly destroyed the station and all on board. It was with that last event, when, with the crew cut off from the world below and locked in a battle for survival, Linenger's letters to his son changed from a routine chronicle of daily events into the eloquent, deeply moving serial narrative presented in Letters from Mir. Combining wise meditations on life, destiny, and the future of space exploration with wryly playful observations on everyday life, this openended conversation between a father and his beloved son is as contemporary as the latest Mars Explorer mission, yet as timeless as the paternal sentiments they express." By: Peter Chrisp List Price: $3.99 Amazon Price: $3.99 Editorial Review: This Level 4 book is appropriate for proficient readers. Space Station: Accident on Mir is written from the viewpoint of American astronaut Michael Foale who was on board the Russian space station during a near-fatal collision with a visiting supply ship in 1997. These 48-page books about fascinating subjects like pirates, mummies, and volcanoes are for proficient readers who can understand a rich vocabulary and challenging sentence structure. In addition to the stunning photographs, informative sidebars, and glossary, readers will find archival photographs and paintings. Averaging 4,500 to 5,000 words in length, Level 4 books are 40 percent pictures and 40 percent text. The Dorling Kindersley Readers combine an enticing visual layout with high-interest, easy-to-read stories to captivate and delight young bookworms who are just getting started. Written by leading children's authors and compiled in consultation with literacy experts, these engaging books build reader confidence along with a lifelong appreciation for nonfiction, classic stories, and biographies. There is a DK Reader to interest every child at every level, from preschool to grade 4.  By: David M Harland List Price: $52.95 Amazon Price: $45.01 Editorial Review: This successor edition picks up the story where the first edition left off in 1997, and runs through to Mir’s de-orbiting in March 2001, providing the definitive account of the Mir Space Station. The book reviews the origins of the Soviet space station programme, in particular the highly successful Salyuts 6 and 7, describes Mir’s structure, environment, power supply and maneuvering systems, and provides a comprehensive account of how it was assembled and how it operated in orbit. Tells how the Soviet Union's experience with a succession of Salyut space stations led to the development of Mir, which was assembled in space, piece by piece, between 1982 and 1996 and became an international research laboratory whose technology went on to form the 'core modules' of the International Space Station.  By: World Spaceflight News List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $29.95 Editorial Review: This unique electronic book on CD-ROM has an outstanding collection of the finest documents available about the fascinating history of the space program of the Soviet Union and Russia, including the Mir Space Station and the recently concluded Shuttle Mir Phase 1 program. Exclusive reproductions of major NASA and Congressional documents provide nearly 4000 pages of invaluable technical material, with over 550 images, line drawings, and schematics of satellites, rockets, and launch facilities, and 200 tables and charts! The history of the program is chronicled in six superb Congressional Research Service reports to Congress, spanning the period from Sputnik to the late 1980s. The early reports were authored by a renowned Soviet space expert, the late Dr. Charles S. Sheldon. NASA documents provide a complete review of the Mir cooperative program, along with the training manual developed by the Johnson Space Center for the Mir complex. Several documents cover the historic 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission. As another title in the World Spaceflight News American Space Encyclopedia CD-ROM series, it is truly an authoritative source for spaceflight enthusiasts!  By: Michael Cassutt List Price: $24.95 Amazon Price: $18.96 Editorial Review: Can a skilled writer still mine nuggets of suspense from the overworked streams of NASA and its back-burnered space program? Michael Cassutt, who collaborated with Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton on his autobiography, Deke!, proves it can be done. In a technothriller as sharp and scary as any in recent memory, Cassutt tells the story of rookie astronaut Mark Koskinen, whose training partner--legendary veteran Joe Buerhle--is killed in a light plane crash after exhibiting some very strange behavior. Even stranger is the way the NASA investigators looking into the crash seem to want to blame Koskinen. To save his career and quite possibly his life, Mark has to find out who inside the vast space agency wanted Buerhle out of the way. Cassutt, who also wrote the classic reference book Who's Who in Space, has enough insider knowledge to make it all seem totally believable and enough fictional talent to keep several strong plot lines floating around in space at the same time. --Dick Adler |
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