Shuttle rendezvous with Mir. Artwork depicting a US Space Shuttle close to the Russian Mir Space Station. The first such rendezvous is due to take place in February 1995 during Shuttle Mission STS- 63, where the Shuttle will make a close approach to Mir. This will act as a final rehearsal for Mission STS-71 in June 1995, when the Shuttle will dock with Mir. STS-71 will be the first of ten US visits to Mir, with Russian and US astronauts sharing launch facilities in both countries. The only previous docking of US and Russian spacecraft in orbit was in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) of 1975.