The Docking Module was designed to provide more clearance for Shuttles in order to prevent any collisions with Mir's solar arrays during docking, a problem which had been overcome during STS-71 by relocating the station's Kristall module to a different location on the station.
Sammenkoblingsmodulet var designet til at give mere plads til rumfærgerne for at forhindre kollisioner med Mir's solcellepaneler under sammenkoblingen, et problem der var blevet løst under STS-71 ved at flytte Kristall-modulet til en anden placering på stationen.