Space Shuttle Discovery

(3 June 1998) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery approaches Russia's Mir space station in this 70mm photograph taken from the Mir. The nadir perspective affords a clear look at the layout of the cargo bay, revealing the open bay doors; the docking apparatus for connecting to Mir (near cabin), the tunnel; the SPACEHAB module (second element from aft); the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (near aft firewall); and the Ku-band antenna for communications (near cabin). Affixed to the lower right corner of the top of SPACEHAB is the
external antenna for the SPACEHAB universal communications system (SHUCS). Discovery is the third Shuttle to visit Mir in a series of ten rendezvous (including nine docking) missions.

Photo Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.