FILE PHOTO:Russia's Mir Space Station backdropped against a cloud-covered Earth was photographed during a fly-around by the Space Shuttle Atlantis. On August 28, 1999 after 13 1/2 years, more than 77,000 loops around the earth and 1,600 breakdowns, Mir bid farewell to its last full-time crew and embark on a tragic trajectory to fall to earth. (Courtesy of NASA)
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