This Day in History: br US Space Shuttle Docks br With Russian Space Station June 29, 1995 The US space shuttle Atlantis br docked with the Russian br space station Mir. The event was hailed as br "a new era of friendship br and cooperation" between br the former Cold War enemies. Together, the two crafts br created the largest man-br made, earth-br orbiting satellite. The crews of each br country clasped hands to br commemorate the historic br moment and exchanged gifts. Atlantis remained br docked for five days. After the success of this br first contact, 11 more br Mir and NASA shuttle br missions followed.