their assistance, but there were no practical plans for
a rescue mission in space and U.S. and Soviet space-
craft were not compatible for rendezvous and dock-
ing. The success of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission
changed all of that and opened the door for interna-
tional cooperation in space.
By the 1990’s, the European Space Agency, Can-
ada, and Japan had become important partners in
space exploration with the United States, and Rus-
sian Soyuz flights often carried mixed-nationality
crews. The 1990’s were highlighted by the 1995 STS-
63 (Discover y) rendezvous and the STS-71 (Atlantis)
docking missions with the Mir space station. Subse-
quent missions between Mir and several space shut-
tles saw U.S. astronauts being launched with Russian
cosmonauts in their Soyuz capsules and Russians re-
turning from Mir on a U.S. shuttle.
Impact The sixty-four successful space shuttle
flights of the 1990’s achieved many goals. Coopera-
tion in space between the United States and the for-
mer Soviet Union took a giant leap forward with
shuttle flights to the Russian Mir space station. To-
ward the end of the decade, space shuttle mission
planners saw the eventual end of the Mir space sta-
tion and the beginning of the long-awaited Interna-
tional Space Station, the assembly of which began in
1998.
Throughout the 1990’s, shuttle after shuttle com-
pleted its mission, and the vivid memories of the
1986 loss of space shuttleChallengerfaded into the
past. It seems that a false sense of confidence settled
in at NASA as officials believed that all the problems
that befellChallengerhad been resolved. It was de-
cided that the shuttle could serve as the U.S. space
transportation system well into the future.
Plans continued for the construction of the Inter-
national Space Station, with most of the component
modules being taken into orbit by the shuttle. Al-
though the space station was behind schedule, the
new timetable was still well within the operational
lifetime of the space shuttles. Everything looked pos-
itive for the new decade as the final STS-103 (Discov-
er y) mission lifted off in December, 1999.
Subsequent Events The disintegration of the shut-
tleColumbiaupon reentry in February, 2003, would
demonstrate that dangers still existed, and the pro-
gram was suspended for more than two years.
Further Reading
Duggins, Pat.Final Countdown. Gainesville: Univer-
sity Press of Florida, 2007. The author presents
the history of NASA’s space shuttle program from
its initial planning stage through the individual
missions and to its planned conclusion in 2010.
Godwin, Robert.Space Shuttle Fact Archive. Burling-
ton, Ont.: Collectors Guide, 2007. Godwin pre-
sents a concise yet comprehensive collection of
facts pertaining to the space shuttle program. It
serves as a very handy reference source.
Linenger, Jerry M.Off the Planet. New York: McGraw-
Hill, 2000. A harrowing tale of the five-month ex-
periences of U.S. astronaut Linenger aboard the
space station Mir. His vivid recollections of daily
routine pale in comparison to his description of
the near tragic fire that threatened his life.
Mullane, Mike.Riding Rockets. New York: Scribner,- Astronaut Mullane describes the space
shuttle program as only an insider can as he re-
veals the often-controversial side of NASA.
Paul P. Sipiera
See also Astronomy; Bondar, Roberta; Glenn,
John; Hubble Space Telescope; Lucid, Shannon;
Science and technology; Space exploration. Spam
Definition An unsolicited message sent to a large
number of recipients, often transmitted over
the Internet as e-mail
As the Internet became a pervasive system in the 1990’s, it
became possible to send bulk e-mails to large numbers of peo-
ple. This allowed inexpensive access to customers for mar-
keting, but on the other hand, it meant that many e-mail us-
ers were flooded with unwanted ads. Regardless of one’s
viewpoint, spam changed the way products were marketed.
The first spam messages were sent by telegraph in
the 1860’s. The early online and Usenet bulletin
board users often got many messages posted to their
accounts, and this was another early form of spam.
Today, most spam comes as electronic mail, or e-mail,
but instant messaging and Web 2 feeds are also spam
producers.
It is important to understand the development of
e-mail to see why spam became such a problem in
the 1990’s and into the next decade. Electronic796 Spam The Nineties in America