Spacelab missions continued well into the 1990s

ESA's Spacelab module continued to fly aboard the Space Shuttle until 1998. This is a picture from STS-71 in 1995, showing the Space Shuttle Atlantis' aft cargo bay and Spacelab science module, photographed through a window on the Mir Space Station. A 70mm camera, carried into space by the STS-71 crew aboard Atlantis, was used to expose the image. The linkup enabled the seven STS-71 crew members to visit Mir and it allowed the three Mir-18 crew members, in space since March of this year, access to Spacelab. That module was quite busy with tests and data collection involving the three until Atlantis brought them home on July 7, 1995.