Mir was based upon the Salyut series of space stations previously launched by the Soviet Union (seven Salyut space stations had been launched since 1971), and was mainly serviced by Russian-manned Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo ships.
Mir var baseret på Saljut-serien af rumstationer tidligere opsendt af Sovjetunionen (syv Saljut-rumstationer blev opsendt siden 1971), og blev hovedsageligt serviceret af russisk bemandede Sojuz-fartøjer og Progress-fragtskibe.