The Shuttle–Mir program was a collaborative 11-mission space program between Russia and the United States, which involved American Space Shuttles visiting the Russian space station Mir, Russian cosmonauts flying on the Shuttle, an American astronaut flying aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to engage in long-duration expeditions aboard Mir. The project, sometimes called "Phase One", was intended to allow the United States to learn from Russian experience with long-duration spaceflight and to foster a spirit of cooperation between the two nations and their space agencies, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Russian Federal Space Agency; the project helped to prepare the way for further cooperative space ventures. The program was announced in 1993, the first mission started in 1994 and the project continued until its scheduled completion in 1998. Eleven Space Shuttle missions, a joint Soyuz flight and 1000 cumulative days in space for American astronauts occurred over the course of seven long-duration expeditions.

During the four-year program, many firsts in spaceflight were achieved by the two nations, including the first American astronaut to launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, the largest spacecraft to have been assembled at that time in history, the first American spacewalk using a Russian Orlan spacesuit. The program was marred by various concerns, notably the safety of Mir following a fire and a collision, financial issues with the cash-strapped Russian Space Program and worries from astronauts about the attitudes of the program administrators. A large amount of science, expertise in space station construction and knowledge in working in a cooperative space venture was gained from the combined operations, allowing the construction of the ISS to proceed much more smoothly than would have otherwise been the case; the origins of the Shuttle–Mir Program can be traced back to the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, that resulted in a joint US/Soviet mission during the détente period of the Cold War and the docking between a US Apollo spacecraft and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft.

This was followed by the talks between NASA and Intercosmos in the 1970s about a "Shuttle-Salyut" program to fly Space Shuttle missions to a Salyut space station, with talks in the 1980s considering flights of the future Soviet shuttles from the Buran programme to a future US space station – this "Shuttle-Salyut" program never materialized however during the existence of the Soviet Intercosmos program. This changed after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union: the end of Cold War and Space Race resulted in funding for the US modular space station, planned since the early 1980s, being slashed. Similar budgetary difficulties were being faced by other nations with space station projects, prompting American government officials to start negotiations with partners in Europe, Russia and Canada in the early 1990s to begin a collaborative, multi-national, space station project. In the Russian Federation, as the successor to much of the Soviet Union and its space program, the deteriorating economic situation in the post-Soviet economic chaos led to growing financial problems of the now Russian space station program.

The construction of the Mir-2 space station as a replacement for the aging Mir became illusionary, though only after its base block, DOS-8, had been built. These developments resulted in bringing the former adversaries together with the Shuttle–Mir Program, which would pave the way to the International Space Station, a joint project with several international partners. In June 1992, American President George H. W. Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin agreed to co-operate on space exploration by signing the Agreement between the United States of America and the Russian Federation Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes; this agreement called for setting up a short, joint space project, during which one American astronaut would board the Russian space station Mir and two Russian cosmonauts would board a Space Shuttle. In September 1993, American Vice-President Al Gore, Jr. and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin announced plans for a new space station, which became the International Space Station.

They agreed, in preparation for this new project, that the United States would be involved in the Mir project in the years ahead, under the code name "Phase One". The first Space Shuttle flight to Mir was a rendezvous mission without docking on STS-63; this was followed during the course of the project by a total of 9 Shuttle-Mir docking missions, from STS-71 to STS-91. The Shuttle rotated crews and delivered supplies, one mission, STS-74, carried a docking module and a pair of solar arrays to Mir. Various scientific experiments were conducted, both on shuttle flights and long-term aboard the station; the project saw the launch of two new modules and Priroda, to Mir, which were used by American astronauts as living quarters and laboratories to conduct the majority of their science aboard the station. These missions allowed NASA and the Roskosmos to learn a great deal about how best to work with international partners in space and how to minimize the risks associated with assembling a large space station in orbit, as would have to be done with the ISS.

The project served as a political ruse on the part of the American government, providing a diplomatic channel for NASA to take part in the funding of the cripplingly under-funded Russian space program. This in turn allowed the newly fledged Russian government to keep Mir operating, in addition to the Russia

En Purushan Ethir Veetu Ponnu is a 2004 Tamil comedy-drama film directed by Barani Kumar. The film features Pandiarajan, Radhika Chaudhari and Abhinayashree in lead roles, with Paravai Muniyamma, Chaplin Balu and Balu Anand playing supporting roles; the low-budget film, produced by Aroor Amutha, had musical score by S. P. Bhoopathy and had a low-key release in 2004. Pandian is a milkman in his village, he takes care of his grandmother. Pandian is friend with his neighbour and college student Rekha, she considers Pandian as her uncle. Pandian's uncle Manikkam, who lives in the next village, is a drunkard and has two daughters: Parvathy and Meenakshi; the eldest Parvathy is a soft-spoken woman. A few months ago and Parvathy got married and lived together happily. To celebrate his wedding, Pandian arranged a party with his friends. Pandian drank a lot of alcohol and was plastered, back home, he tried to misbehave with Parvathy's sister Meenakshi; the heart-struck Parvathy went back to her father's home with Meenakshi.

Chokku is a sick womanizer in his village who ruins many villagers lives. He tries to woo the bubbly Meenakshi but she rejects his proposals. One day, Meenakshi kills she doesn't have any other choice to kill herself. After the loss of her beloved sister, Parvathy goes back to her husband. Afterwards, Parvathy starts to suspect her husband relationship with Rekha. What transpires forms the crux of the story; the film score and the soundtrack were composed by film composer S. P. Bhoopathy; the soundtrack, released in 2004, features 5 tracks with lyrics written by Muthulingam and Ilayakamban

Del Rio is an unincorporated community in Cocke County, United States. Although it is not a census-designated place, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the ZIP Code that serves Del Rio had a population of 2,138, according to the 2000 census; as of the census of 2000, there were 2,138 people, 1,119 households, 611 families residing in the Zip Code Tabulation Area for the zip code that serves Del Rio. The racial makeup of this area was 0.1 % Native American and 0.1 % African American. Hispanics and Latinos comprise 0.7% of the population. Of the 2,091 households, 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.7% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95. 76.8 % of the population was 18 years of older with 12.4 % being 65 years of age or older.

The median age was 39.7 years. The population was 49.5 % female. The median income for a household in the area was $23,333, the median income for a family was $28,504; the per capita income for the area was $11,656. About 18.2% of families and 22.0% of the population were below the poverty line. Del Rio is located at 35°55′11″N 83°01′33″W; the community is situated around the confluence of the French Broad River and Big Creek, the latter of which has its source high in the mountains to the south. In recent years, the town's central area has shifted to the junction of U. S. Route 25/U. S. Route 70 and State Route 107, along the north side of the French Broad; the Appalachian Mountains surround Del Rio on all sides, along with the river, have been the key influence on the town's economic and cultural development. Stone Mountain rises some 2,000 feet above Del Rio to the west. Snowbird Mountain and Max Patch Bald, both of which are traversed by the Appalachian Trail, rise over 3,000 feet to the south.

The Bald Mountains are to the east, Neddy Mountain and Meadow Creek Mountain are to the north. The Cherokee National Forest borders much of Del Rio to the east. Along US 25/70, Tennessee, is just over 10 miles to the west, Hot Springs, North Carolina, is nearly 15 miles to the east. Del Rio is halfway between Knoxville and Asheville, North Carolina. SR 107 connects Del Rio to a remote valley known at the base of Max Patch Bald. Like most Appalachian communities, Del Rio has several "satellite" towns, formed as early settlers branched out over the limited bottomlands in the mountain gaps and narrow coves. Among these are Nough along Big Creek to the south, Paint Rock, further up the French Broad to the east, Harmony Grove, to the southeast. Nough is the birthplace of actress Grace Moore; the Catherine Marshall novel, takes place at Chapel Hollow, a small valley just west of Del Rio. A Native American village once occupied the site along the French Broad River where Del Rio is now situated. Frank Stokely, who lived in the area in the mid-20th century, collected a large number of artifacts left by the natives of this village and displayed them in a small museum.

The Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Archaeological Society conducted excavations in the area. The first European settler in what is now Del Rio was John Huff, a veteran of the American Revolution, his wife Mary Corder. Huff, a hunter and trapper, received a 400-acre land grant at the confluence of Long Creek and the French Broad. Arriving around 1784, the Huffs erected a small blockhouse known as Huff's Fort, which would serve as a stopping post for stagecoaches traveling between Knoxville and Warm Springs in North Carolina; the community that arose in the vicinity became known as Big Creek. Shortly after the Huffs arrived, another Revolutionary War veteran, Jehu Stokely, settled in the Big Creek area. According to family lore, Stokely was impressed into the British navy, but escaped and fought under American captain John Paul Jones. Stokely's tract was just over 3 miles east of Huff's Fort. John Fugate a veteran of the Revolution, settled in the Paint Rock area. In 1986, the community held a ceremony marking Fugate's grave as a Revolutionary War hero.

In the decade following Huff's arrival, the constant stream of Euro-American settlers into East Tennessee agitated the Cherokee, who had lived and hunted in the region for centuries. Cattle were stolen, some settlers were scalped and murdered, leading to massive reprisal attacks on Cherokee villages. Between 1783, a series of forts sprang in Cocke County along the Pigeon River and the French Broad, one being Wood's Fort near modern Edwina, just west of Del Rio. Historian J. G. M. Ramsey reports that by 1793, a series of blockhouses lined the French Broad, including the previously-mentioned Huff's, one at Paint Rock, one at Burnt Cane, another at Warm Springs. Guards stationed at the blockhouses patrolled the area. A treaty at the Tellico Blockhouse in 1794 eased much of the violence, although sporadic attacks occurred for years afterward; as the threat of Cherokee attacks declined, Big Creek transformed itself into a stopping point for pioneers crossing the mountains en route to Tennessee. The Huff family converted their fort to an inn, Jehu's son, opened a frontier trading post.

Throughout the 19th century, the Allen family operated a 13-room log inn at nearby Wolf Cre