STS Mission Highlights
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-60 Mission Highlights: February 3-11, 1994
First Shuttle flight of 1994 marked the first flight of Russian cosmonaut on U.S. Space Shuttle as first element in implementing Agreement on NASA/Russian Space Agency Cooperation in Human Space Flight. Mission also marked second flight of SPACEHAB pressurized module and 100th Get Away Special payload to fly in space. Also onboard was Wake Shield Facility-1 (WSF-1), making first in a planned series of flights.
SPACEHAB-2 activated shortly after reaching orbit. Taking up about one quarter of payload bay, the 1,100 cubic foot- (31 cu.m.) module carried 12 experiments. Four of these involved materials science topics, seven life sciences investigations, and a space dust collection experiment.
On flight day three, crew made first attempt to deploy WSF-1 using remote manipulator system arm. WSF-1 is deployable/retrievable experiment platform designed to leave a vacuum wake in low Earth orbit that is 10,000 times greater than achievable on Earth. In this ultra-vacuum environment, defect-free thin-film layers of gallium arsenide and other semiconductor materials can be grown. First deploy attempt waved off due to radio interference and difficulty reading status signs on WSF-1. After second deploy attempt on flight day four waved off due to problems with WSF-1 attitude control system, five out of seven planned films grown with WSF-1 platform suspended at end of RMS arm. WSF-1 berthed in cargo bay on flight day six.
Crew also conducted first NASA-Russian Space Agency joint in-flight medical and radiological investigations. Krikalev communicated with amateur radio operators in Moscow using Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) equipment. On Feb. 7, crew talked with President Clinton during latter's tour of Mission Control in Houston, and on Feb. 9 Bolden and Krikalev talked with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, calling from Mission Control in Moscow.
Crew also deployed two payloads from Get Away Special canisters mounted on GAS bridge assembly in payload bay: six Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS) ranging in size from two to six inches (5-15 centimeters) to aid calibration of radar tracking systems worldwide, and University of Bremen's BREMSAT, which measured conditions such as acceleration forces affecting satellite.
Other payloads: Capillary Pumped Loop Experiment (CAPL) mounted on top of GAS Bridge Assembly; three additional GAS experiments; and Auroral Photography Experiment-Phase B (APE-B).
STS-60
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-63 Mission Highlights: February 3-10, 1995
First Shuttle flight of 1995 included several history- making achievements: First flight of a female Shuttle pilot and, as part of Phase I of international space station program, second flight of Russian cosmonaut on Shuttle and first approach and flyaround by Shuttle with Russian space station Mir.
Beginning on flight day one, series of thruster burns performed daily to bring Discovery in line with Mir. Original plan called for orbiter to approach to no closer than 10 meters, or 32.8 feet, from Mir, and then complete flyaround of Russian space station. However, three of 44 orbiter Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters -- small firing jets used for on-orbit maneuvering -- sprang leaks prior to rendezvous. Shortly after main engine cutoff, two leaks occurred in aft primary thrusters, one of which -- called R1U -- was key to rendezvous. Third leak occurred later in flight in forward primary thruster, but crew was able to fix problem.
After extensive negotiations and technical information exchanges between U.S. and Russian space teams, Russians concluded close approach could be safely achieved and STS-63 crew given 'go' to proceed. R1U thruster manifold was closed and backup thruster selected for approach. Ship-to-ship radio contact with Mir achieved well ahead of time, and Titov, who lived on Mir for more than a year, communicated excitedly with three cosmonauts aboard space station: Mir 17 Commander Aleksandr Viktorenko; Flight Engineer Elena Kondakova; and Valeri Polyakov, a physician who has broken Titov's record for extended time in space. After stationkeeping at a distance of 400 feet (122 meters) from Mir and with Wetherbee manually controlling orbiter, Discovery flown to 37 feet from Russian space station. "As we are bringing our spaceships closer together, we are bringing our nations closer together," Wetherbee said after Discovery was at point of closest approach. "The next time we approach, we will shake your hand and together we will lead our world into the next millenium."
"We are one. We are human," Viktorenko responded. Wetherbee then backed away to 400 feet (122 meters) and performed one and a quarter-loop flyaround of Mir while station was filmed and photographed. The Mir crew reported no vibrations or solar array movement as result of the approach.
Crew also worked extensively with payloads aboard Discovery. Flying in forward payload bay and activated on flight day one was SPACEHAB-3. The commercially-developed module was making its third flight on the Shuttle and carried 20 experiments: 11 biotechnology experiments; three advanced materials development experiments; four technology demonstrations; and two pieces of supporting hardware measuring on-orbit accelerations. Improvements made to SPACEHAB system to reduce demand on crew time. New video switch added to lessen need for astronaut involvement in video operations, and experiment interface added to telemetry system to allow experiment investigator to link directly via computer with onboard experiment to receive data and monitor status. Charlotte, an experimental robotic device being flown for first time, also will reduce crew workload by taking over simple tasks such as changing experiment samples.
Among plant growth experiments were Astroculture, flying for fourth time on Shuttle. Objective of Astroculture is to validate performance of plant growth technologies in microgravity environment of space for application to a life support system in space. Investigation has applications on Earth, since it covers such topics as energy-efficient lighting and removal of pollutants from indoor air. One of the pharmaceutical experiments, Immune, also has Earth applications. Exploiting known tendency of spaceflight to suppress immune system, Immune experiment tested ability of a particular substance to prevent or reduce this suppression. Clinical applications could include treatment of individuals suffering from such immunosuppressant diseases as AIDS.
On flight day two, crew deployed Orbital Debris Radar Calibration System-II (ODERACS-II) to help characterize orbital debris environment for objects smaller than 10 centimeters (about four inches) in diameter. Complement of six target objects of known dimensions and with limited orbital lifespans released into orbit and tracked by ground- based radars, allowing precise calibration of radars so they can more accurately track smaller pieces of space debris in low Earth orbit.
Also on flight day two, crew lifted with orbiter remote manipulator system arm the SPARTAN-204 from its support structure in payload bay. SPARTAN remained suspended on arm for observation of orbiter glow phenomenon and thruster jet firings. SPARTAN-204 later released from arm to complete about 40 hours of free-flight, during which time its Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph instrument studied celestial targets in the interstellar medium, the gas and dust which fills the space between the stars and which is the material from which new stars and planets are formed.
SPARTAN-204 also used for extravehicular activity (EVA) near end of flight. Foale and Harris began EVA suspended at end of robot arm, away from payload bay, to test modifications to their spacesuits to keep spacewalkers warmer in extreme cold of space. Two astronauts were then scheduled to practice handling approximately 2,500-pound (1,134-kilogram) SPARTAN to rehearse space station assembly techniques, but both astronauts reported they were becoming very cold -- this portion of walk performed during a night pass -- and mass handling curtailed. 29th Shuttle spacewalk lasted 4 hours, 38 minutes. Harris first African-American to walk in space.
Other payloads: Along with ODERACS-II, Cryo System Experiment (CSE) and Shuttle Glow (GLO-2) paylods were mounted on Hitchhiker support assembly in cargo bay; an IMAX camera also located here. In middeck, Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) flew for eighth time. Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) test requires no onboard hardware.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-71 Mission Highlights: June 27 - July 7, 1995
STS-71 marked a number of historic firsts in human spaceflight history: 100th U.S. human space launch conducted from Cape; first U.S. Space Shuttle-Russian Space Station Mir docking and joint on-orbit operations; largest spacecraft ever in orbit; and first on-orbit changeout of Shuttle crew.
Docking occurred at 9 a.m. EDT, June 29, using R-Bar or Earth radius vector approach, with Atlantis closing in on Mir from directly below. R-bar approach allows natural forces to brake orbiter's approach more than would occur along standard approach directly in front of space station; also, R-bar approach minimizes number of orbiter jet firings needed for approach. Manual phase of docking began with Atlantis about a half-mile below Mir, with Gibson at controls on aft flight deck. Stationkeeping performed when orbiter was about 250 feet from Mir, pending approval from Russian and U.S. flight directors to proceed. Gibson then maneuvered orbiter to a point at about 30 feet from Mir before beginning final approach to station. Closing rate was close to targeted 0.1 feet per second and closing velocity was approximately 0.107 feet per second at contact. Interface contact was nearly flawless: less than one inch lateral misalignment and an angular misalignment of less than 0.5-degrees per axis. Docking occurred about 216 nautical miles above Lake Baykal region of the Russian Federation. Orbiter Docking System (ODS) with Androgynous Peripheral Docking System served as actual connection point to a similar interface on the docking port on Mir's Krystall module. ODS located in forward payload bay of Atlantis, performed flawlessly during docking sequence.
When linked, Atlantis and Mir formed largest spacecraft ever in orbit, with a total mass of almost one-half million pounds (about 225 tons) orbiting some 218 nautical miles above the Earth. After hatches on each side opened, STS-71 crew passed into Mir for welcoming ceremony. On same day, Mir-18 crew officially transferred responsibility for station to Mir 19 crew, and two crews switched spacecraft.
For next five days, about 100 hours total, joint U.S.-Russian operations conducted, including biomedical investigations, and transfer of equipment to and from Mir. Fifteen separate biomedical and scientific investigations were conducted, using Spacelab module installed in aft portion of Atlantis' payload bay, and covering seven different disciplines: cardiovascular and pulmonary functions; human metabolism; neuroscience; hygiene, sanitation and radiation; behavioral performance and biology; fundamental biology; and microgravity research. Mir-18 crew served as test subjects for investigations. Three Mir-18 crew members also carried out intensive program of exercise and other measures to prepare for re-entry into gravity environment after more than three months in space.
Numerous medical samples as well as disks and cassettes transferred to Atlantis from Mir, including more than 100 urine and saliva samples, about 30 blood samples, 20 surface samples, 12 air samples, several water samples and numerous breath samples taken from Mir-18 crew members. Also moved into orbiter was a broken Salyut-5 computer. Transferred to Mir were more than 1,000 pounds of water generated by the orbiter for waste system flushing and electrolysis; specially designed spacewalking tools for use by the Mir 19 crew during a spacewalk to repair a jammed solar array on the Spektr module; and transfer of oxygen and nitrogen from Shuttle's environmental control system to raise air pressure on the station, requested by Russians to improve Mir consumables margin.
Spacecraft undocked on July 4, following a farewell ceremony, with Mir hatch closing at 3:32 p.m. EDT. July 3 and hatch on Orbiter Docking System shut 16 minutes later. Gibson compared separation sequence to a "cosmic" ballet: Prior to Mir-Atlantis undocking, Mir 19 crew temporarily abandoned station, flying away from it in their Soyuz spacecraft so they could record images of Atlantis and Mir separating. Soyuz unlatched at 6:55 a.m. EDT, and Gibson undocked Atlantis from Mir at 7:10 a.m. EDT.
Returning crew of eight equaled largest crew (STS-61A, October 1985) in Shuttle history. To ease their re-entry into gravity environment after more than 100 days in space, Mir-18 crew members Thagard, Dezhurov and Strekalov lay supine in custom-made recumbent seats installed prior to landing in orbiter middeck.
Inflight problems included a glitch with General Purpose Computer 4 (GPC 4), which was declared failed when it did not synchronize with GPC 1; subsequent troubleshooting indicated it was an isolated event, and GPC 4 operated satisfactorily for remainder of mission.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-74 Mission Highlights: November 12-20, 1995
STS-74 marked second docking of U.S. Space Shuttle to Russian Space Station Mir, continuing Phase I activities leading to construction of international space station later this decade. Mission illustrated international flavor of space station effort: Shuttle crew included Hadfield, fourth Canadian to fly on Shuttle but first Canadian mission specialist. Hardware in payload bay included Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, U.S.-built Orbiter Docking System (ODS), Russian-built docking module and solar array and U.S.-Russian-built solar array. Awaiting Atlantis aboard Mir were two Russian cosmonauts and a German cosmonaut, along with Russian and European Space Agency research samples and equipment.
Unlike first docking flight during which crew exchange took place, second docking focused on delivery of equipment to Mir. Primary payload of mission was Russian-built Docking Module (DM), designed to become permanent extension on Mir to afford better clearances for Shuttle-Mir linkups. Two solar arrays were stowed on DM for later transfer to Mir by spacewalking cosmonauts.
On flight day three, Hadfield operated RMS robot arm to lift DM from stowed position in aft section of payload bay, rotated it to vertical, and moved it to within five inches above ODS in forward part of bay. ODS is being flown on all Shuttle-Mir docking flights and serves as passageway between two spacecraft. Cameron then fired downward steering jets to push Atlantis against DM. Once mating confirmed, robot arm ungrappled from DM, hatches between DM and ODS opened, and centerline camera mounted inside top hatch of DM.
On flight day four, Atlantis caught up with Mir. Terminal Phase Initiation (TI) burn started with Atlantis eight nautical miles (9.2 statute miles/14.8 kilometers) behind Mir to begin final phase of rendezvous. Air-to-air communications between Atlantis and Mir 20 crew began around this time also. Approach to Mir same as for STS-71, along the R-bar, with Atlantis closing in on station from directly below. Handheld lasers used by Shuttle crew during final approach to supplement distance and closing rates made by orbiter navigational equipment.
Manual phase of rendezvous began when Atlantis was about half-mile (804.7 meters) from Mir, with Cameron taking control of orbiter using aft flight deck controls. At 170 feet (51.8 meters) from Mir, Cameron halted approach while Mir was maneuvered into alignment for docking. After go from flight directors in Moscow and Houston, Cameron moved Atlantis to 30 feet (9.1 meters) from Mir, and then halted momentarily again to make final adjustments. Key camera for final approach was elbow camera on RMS arm.
Hatches between Mir and Atlantis were opened at 4:02 a.m. EST, Nov. 15. Control of DM transferred to Mir 20 crew. During mated operations, nearly 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) of water transferred to Mir. Numerous experiment samples, including blood, urine and saliva, were moved to orbiter for return to Earth. Shuttle crew also brought up gifts, including Canadian maple sugar candies and a guitar (second guitar on Mir). Lithium hydroxide canisters -- a late addition -- were transferred to Mir in case faulty environmental control system failed again and station's air needed to be "scrubbed."
Two spacecraft separated at 4:15 a.m. EST, Nov. 18, after which flyaround of station was initiated when Atlantis was 400 feet (121.9 meters) away.
No significant problems occurred with orbiter or any of cargo bay equipment.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-76 Mission Highlights: March 22-31, 1996
Third linkup between U.S. Space Shuttle and Russian Space Station Mir highlighted by transfer of veteran astronaut Shannon Lucid to Mir to become first American woman to live on station. Her approximately four-and-a-half month stay also will eclipse long-duration U.S. spaceflight record set by first American to live on Mir, Norm Thagard. Lucid will be succeeded by astronaut John Blaha during STS-79 in August, giving her distinction of membership in four different flight crews -- two U.S. and two Russian -- and her stay on Mir kicks off continuous U.S. presence in space for next two years.
Payload bay configuration included Orbiter Docking System in forward area and SPACEHAB single module toward the aft. STS-76 marked first flight of SPACEHAB pressurized module to support Shuttle-Mir dockings; single module primarily served as stowage area for large supply of equipment slated for transfer to space station, but also carried European Space AgencyÆs Biorack experiment rack for on-orbit research.
Atlantis hooked up with Mir on flight day 3, following same R-bar approach employed on STS-74. Actual connection between Orbiter Docking System and Docking Module attached to Kristall module docking port occurred at 9:34 p.m. EST, March 24. Hatches opened a little less than two hours later. Awaiting AtlantisÆ arrival were Mir-21 Commander Yuri Onufriyenko and Flight Engineer Yury Usachev, who were launched to Mir on Feb. 21. In July, they will be joined by Mir-22 Commander Gennadi Manakov, Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov and French Space Agency cosmonaut researcher Claudie Andre-Deshays. After two-week stay Andre-Deshays will return to Earth with Onufriyenko and Usachev while Manakov and Vinogradov remain onboard with Lucid.
During five days of docked operations, about 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms) of water and two tons of scientific equipment, logistical material and resupply items transferred to Mir; experiment samples and miscellaneous equipment brought over to orbiter. In Biorack, 11 separate scientific investigations were conducted. Study topics included effect of microgravity and cosmic radiation on plants, tissues, cells, bacteria and insects and effects of microgravity on bone loss. Also transferred to station were Mir Glovebox Stowage (MGBX) equipment to replenish glovebox already on station; QueenÆs University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion (QUELD) flown in orbiter middeck locker; and High Temperature Liquid Phase Sintering (LPS) experiment.
On flight day six, Godwin and Clifford conducted first U.S. extravehicular activity (EVA) around two mated spacecraft. During six-hour, two-minute, 28-second EVA, they attached four Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) experiments to stationÆs Docking Module. Experiments designed to characterize environment around Mir over an 18-month period. Two spacewalkers wore Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER) propulsive devices first flight-tested during STS-64.
Other payloads: Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX); KidSat, a project that gives middle school students opportunity to participate in space exploration; and Trapped Ions in Space (TRIS), a Naval Research Laboratory experiment flown in Get Away Special canister in cargo bay.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-79 Mission Highlights: August 16 - 26, 1996
STS-79 highlighted by return to Earth of U.S. astronaut Lucid after 188 days in space, first U.S. crew exchange aboard Russian Space Station Mir, and fourth Shuttle-Mir docking. LucidÆs long-duration spaceflight set new U.S. record as well as world record for a woman. She embarked to Mir March 22 with STS-76 mission. Succeeding her on Mir for an approximately four-month stay is Blaha, who will return in January 1997 with STS-81 crew; U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger will replace him.
STS-79 also marked second flight of SPACEHAB module in support of Shuttle-Mir activities and first flight of SPACEHAB Double Module configuration. Shuttle-Mir linkup occurred at 11:13 p.m. EDT, Sept. 18, following R-bar approach. Hatches opened at 1:40 a.m., Sept. 19, and Blaha and Lucid exchanged places at 7 a.m. EDT. Awaiting Blaha on Mir were Valeri Korzun, Mir-22 commander, and Alexander Kaleri, flight engineer.
During five days of mated operations, two crews transferred more than 4,000 pounds (1,814 kilograms) of supplies to Mir, including logistics, food and water generated by orbiter fuel cells. Three experiments also were transferred: Biotechnology System (BTS) for study of cartilage development; Material in Devices as Superconductors (MIDAS) to measure electrical properties of high-temperature superconductor materials; and Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), containing several smaller experiments, including self-contained aquatic systems.
About 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of experiment samples and equipment transferred from Mir to Atlantis; total logistical transfer to and from station of more than 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) was most extensive to date. During her approximately six-month stay on Mir, Lucid conducted research in following fields: advanced technology, Earth sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences, microgravity research and space sciences. Specific experiments included: Environmental Radiation Measurements to ascertain ionizing radiation levels aboard Mir; Greenhouse-Integrated Plant Experiments, to study effect of microgravity on plants, specifically dwarf wheat; and Assessment of Humoral Immune Function During Long-Duration Space Flight, to gather data on effect of long-term spaceflight on the human immune system and involving collection of blood serum and saliva samples. Some research conducted in newest and final Mir module, Priroda, which arrived at station during LucidÆs stay.
Three experiments remained on Atlantis: Extreme Temperature Translation Furnace (ETTF), a new furnace design allowing space-based processing up to 871 degrees Fahrenheit (1,600 degrees Centigrade) and above; Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) complement of 128 individual samples involving 12 different proteins; and Mechanics of Granular Materials, designed to further understanding of behavior of cohesionless granular materials, which could in turn lead to better understanding of how EarthÆs surface responds during earthquakes and landslides.
As with all Shuttle-Mir flights, risk-mitigation experiments were conducted to help reduce development risk for the International Space Station. Flying for first time was the Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS), an experiment rack designed to cushion payloads from vibration and other disturbances.
Conducted near end of flight was test using orbiterÆs small vernier jets to lower AtlantisÆ orbit. Similar maneuver may be employed at end of second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, STS-82, to re-boost Hubble to a higher orbit while still in orbiter payload bay.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-81 Mission Highlights: January 12 - 22, 1997
First Shuttle flight of 1997 highlighted by return of U.S. astronaut John Blaha to Earth after 118-day stay aboard Russian Space Station Mir and the largest transfer to date of logistics between the two spacecraft. Atlantis also returned carrying the first plants to complete a life cycle in space -- a crop of wheat grown from seed to seed. This fifth of nine planned dockings continued Phase 1B of the NASA/Russian Space Agency cooperative effort, with Linenger becoming the third U.S. astronaut in succession to live on Mir. Same payload configuration flown on previous docking flight -- featuring SPACEHAB Double module -- flown again.
Blaha joined Mir-22 crew of Commander Valeri Korzun and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri on Sept. 19, 1996, when he arrived there with the crew of STS-79. Linenger was to work with the Mir-22 crew until the arrival in February of the Mir-23 crew of Commander Vasily Tsibliev, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Lazutkin and German researcher Reinhold Ewald. Ewald was to return to Earth with the Mir-22 cosmonauts after a brief stay on the station. Astronaut Michael Foale will replace Linenger on Mir when the STS-84 mission arrives in May 1997.
Docking occurred at 10:55 p.m. EST, Jan. 14, followed by hatch opening at 12:57 a.m., Jan. 15. Linenger officially traded places at 4:45 a.m. with Blaha who spent 118 days on the station and 128 days total on-orbit. During five days of mated operations, crews transferred nearly 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) of logistics to Mir, including around 1,600 pounds of water; around 1,138 pounds of U.S. science equipment; and 2,206 pounds of Russian logistical equipment. About 2,400 pounds of materials returned with Atlantis from Mir.
Crew also tested on Shuttle the Treadmill Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System (TVIS), designed for use in the Russian Service Module of the International Space Station. Another activity related to International Space Station involved firing the orbiter's small vernier jet thrusters during mated operations to gather engineering data.
Undocking occurred at 9:15 p.m. EST, Jan. 19, followed by flyaround of Mir.
No significant in-flight anomalies experienced with orbiter.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-84 Mission Highlights: May 15-24, 1997
Sixth Shuttle-Mir docking highlighted by transfer of fourth successive U.S. crew member to the Russian Space Station. U.S. astronaut Mike Foale exchanged places with Jerry Linenger, who arrived at Mir Jan. 15 with the crew of Shuttle Mission STS-81. Linenger spent 123 days on Mir and just over 132 days in space from launch to landing, placing him second behind U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid for most time spent on-orbit by an American. Another milestone reached during his stay was one-year anniversary of continuous U.S. presence in space that began with Lucid's arrival at Mir March 22, 1996.
Other significant events during Linenger's stay included first U.S.-Russian space walk. On April 29, Linenger participated in five-hour extravehicular activity (EVA) with Mir-23 Commander Vasily Tsibliev to attach a monitor to the outside of the station. The Optical Properties Monitor (OPM) was to remain on Mir for nine months to allow study of the effect of the space environment on optical properties, such as mirrors used in telescopes.
On Feb. 23, a fire broke out on the 11-year old station. It caused minimal damage but required station's inhabitants to wear protective masks for about 36 hours until cabin air was cleaned. Besides Linenger, crew members aboard Mir at the time included two Mir-22 cosmonauts and a German cosmonaut, and two Mir-23 cosmonauts.
STS-84 docking with Mir occurred May 16 at 10:33 p.m. EDT above the Adriatic Sea. Hatches between two spacecraft opened at 12:25 a.m., May 17. Greetings exchanged between STS-84 crew and Mir-23 Commander Vasily Tsibliev, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Lazutkin and Linenger, followed by a safety briefing. Linenger and Foale officially traded places at 10:15 a.m. EDT.
Transfer of items to and from Mir proceeded smoothly and was completed ahead of schedule. One of first items transferred to station was an Elektron oxygen-generating unit. Altogether about 249 items were moved between the two spacecraft, and about 1,000 pounds of water moved to Mir, for a total of about 7,500 pounds of water, experiment samples, supplies and hardware.
Research program planned for Foale featured 35 investigations total (33 on Mir, two on STS-84, and another preflight/postflight) in six disciplines: advanced technology, Earth observations and remote sensing, fundamental biology, human life sciences, space station risk mitigation, and microgravity sciences. Twenty-eight of these were conducted during previous missions and were to be continued, repeated or completed during Foale's stay. Seven new experiments were planned in biological and crystal growth studies and materials processing.
Undocking occurred at 9:04 p.m. EDT, May 21. Unlike prior dockings, no flyaround of the station by the orbiter was conducted, but orbiter was stopped three times while backing away to collect data from a European sensor device designed to assist future rendezvous of a proposed European Space Agency resupply vehicle with the International Space Station.
Other activities conducted during the mission included investigations using the Biorack facility, located in the SPACEHAB Double Module in Atlantis' payload bay, a photo survey of Mir during docked operations, environmental air samplings and radiation monitoring.
Orbiter performance was nominal from launch to landing.
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| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-86 Mission Highlights: September 25 - October 6, 1997
The seventh Mir docking mission continued the presence of a U.S. astronaut on the Russian space station with the transfer of physician David A. Wolf to Mir. Wolf became the sixth U.S. astronaut in succession to live on Mir to continue Phase 1B of the NASA/Russian Space agency cooperative effort.
Foale returned to Earth after spending 145 days in space, 134 of them aboard Mir. His estimated mileage logged was 58 million miles (93 million kilometers), making his the second longest U.S. space flight, behind Shannon Lucid's record of 188 days. His stay was marred by a collision June 25 between a Progress resupply vehicle and the station's Spektr module, damaging a radiator and one of four solar arrays on Spektr. The mishap occurred while Mir-23 Commander Vasily Tsibliev was guiding the Progress capsule to a manual docking and depressurized the station. The crew sealed the hatch to the leaking Spektr module, leaving inside Foale's personal effects and several NASA science experiments, and repressurized the remaining modules.
An internal space walk by Tsibliev and Mir-23 Flight Engineer Aleksandr Lazutkin was planned to reconnect power cables to the three undamaged solar arrays, but during a routine medical exam July 13 Tsibliev was found to have an irregular heartbeat. Foale then began training for the space walk, but during one of the training exercises a power cable was inadvertently disconnected, leaving the station without power. On July 21, it was announced that the internal space walk would not be conducted by the Mir-23 crew but their successors on Mir-24. On July 30, NASA announced that Wendy Lawrence, originally assigned to succeed Foale on Mir, was being replaced by Wolf. The change was deemed necessary to allow Wolf to act as a backup crew member for the space walks planned over the next several months to repair Spektr. Unlike Wolf, Lawrence could not fit in the Orlan suit that is used for Russian space walks and she did not undergo space walk training.
Following their arrival at the station Aug. 7, Mir-24 Commander Antaoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov conducted the internal space walk inside the depressurized Spektr module Aug. 22, reconnecting 11 power cables from the Spektr's solar arrays to a new custom-made hatch for the Spektr. During the space walk, Foale remained inside the Soyuz capsule attached to Mir, in constant communication with the cosmonauts as well as ground controllers.
On Sept. 5, Foale and Solovyev conducted a six-hour external extravehicular activity to survey damage outside Spektr and to try and pinpoint where the breach of the module's hull occurred. Two undamaged arrays were manually repositioned to better gather solar energy, and a radiation device left previously by Jerry Linenger was retrieved.
Docking of Atlantis and Mir took place at 3:58 p.m. EDT, Sept. 27, with the two mission commanders opening the spacecraft hatches at 5:45 p.m. Wolf officially joined the Mir-24 at noon EDT, Sept. 28. At the same time, Foale became a member of the STS-86 crew and began moving his personal belongings back into Atlantis. Wolf will be replaced by the seventh and last U.S. astronaut to transfer to Mir, Andrew S. W. Thomas, when the orbiter Endeavour docks with the Russian space station during the STS-89 mission in January 1998.
First joint U.S.-Russian extravehicular activity during a Shuttle mission, which was also the 39th in the Space Shuttle program, was conducted by Titov and Parazynski. During the five-hour, one-minute space walk on Oct. 1, the pair affixed a 121-pound Solar Array Cap to the docking module for future use by Mir crew members to seal off the suspected leak in Spektr's hull. Parazynski and Titov also retrieved four Mir Environmental Effects Payloads (MEEPS) from the outside of Mir and tested several components of the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) jet packs. The space walk began at 1:29 p.m. EDT and ended at 6:30 p.m.
During the six days of docked operations, the joint Mir-24 and STS-86 crews transferred more than four tons of material from the SPACEHAB Double Module to Mir, including approximately 1,700 pounds of water, experiment hardware for International Space Station Risk Mitigation experiments to monitor the Mir for crew health and safety, a gyrodyne, batteries, three air pressurization units with breathing air, an attitude control computer and many other logistics items. The new motion control computer replaced one that had experienced problems in recent months. The crew also moved experiment samples and hardware and an old Elektron oxygen generator to Atlantis for return to Earth. Undocking took place at 1:28 p.m. EDT, Oct 3. After undocking, Atlantis performed a 46-minute flyaround visual inspection of Mir. During this maneuver, Solovyev and Vinogradov opened a pressure regulation valve to allow air into the Spektr module to see if STS-86 crew members could detect seepage or debris particles that could indicate the location of the breach in the damaged module's hull.
During the flight, Wetherbee and Bloomfield fired small jet thrusters on Atlantis to provide data for the Mir Structural Dynamics Experiment (MISDE), which measures disturbances to space station components and its solar arrays. Other experiments conducted during the mission were the Commercial Protein Crystal Growth investigation; the Cell Culture Module Experiment (CCM-A), the Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM) and the Radiation Monitoring Experiment-III (RME-III); the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Local Exhaust (SIMPLE) experiment; and the Midcourse Space Experiment. Two NASA educational outreach programs were also conducted, Seeds in Space-II and Kidsat.
Orbiter performance was nominal.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
|
| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
|
STS-89 Mission Highlights: January 22 - 31, 1998
Docking of Endeavour to Mir occurred at 3:14 p.m., Jan. 24, at an altitude of 214 nautical miles. Hatches opened at 5:25 p.m. the same day. Transfer of Andy Thomas to Mir and return of David Wolf to the U.S. orbiter occurred at 6:35 p.m., Jan. 25. Initially, Thomas thought his Sokol pressure suit did not fit, and the crew exchange was allowed to proceed only after WolfÆs suit was adjusted to fit Thomas. Once on Mir, Thomas was able to make adequate adjustments to his own suit (which would be worn should the crew need to return to Earth in the Soyuz capsule) and this remained on Mir with him. Wolf spent a total of 119 days aboard Mir, and after landing his total on-orbit time was 128 days.
Hatches between the two spacecraft closed at 5:34 p.m., Jan. 28, and two spacecraft undocked at 11:57 a.m., Jan. 29. More than 8,000 pounds (3,629 kilograms) of scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water were taken from Endeavour to Mir.
On Jan. 31, a new crew docked with Mir to begin a three-week handover. Thomas and his Mir-24 crewmates, Commander Anatoly Solvyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov, greeted Mir-25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and French researcher Leopold Eyharts following a soft docking on Jan. 31, just hours before the STS-89 crew touched down in Florida. Eyharts was to return to Earth Feb. 19 with the two Mir-24 cosmonauts, leaving Thomas, Musabayev and Budarin on Mir. Thomas, the last U.S. astronaut assigned to complete a lengthy stay on Mir, will return to Earth after a four-month stay as Phase I activities draw to a close.
| STS-60 | STS-63
| STS-71 | STS-74 | STS-76
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| STS-79 | STS-81 | STS-84
| STS-86 | STS-89 | STS-91
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STS-91 Mission Highlights: June 2 - 12, 1998
Docking of Discovery to Mir, the first for that orbiter, occurred at 12:58 p.m., June 4, at an altitude of 208 miles. Hatches opened at 2:34 p.m. the same day. At hatch opening, Andy Thomas officially became a member of DiscoveryÆs crew, completing 130 days of living and working on Mir. The transfer wrapped up a total of 907 days spent by seven U.S. astronauts aboard the Russian space station as long-duration crew members. During the next four days, the Mir-25 and STS-91 crews transferred more than 1,100 pounds of water, and almost 4,700 pounds of cargo experiments and supplies were exchanged between the two spacecraft. During this time, long-term U.S. experiments aboard the Mir were moved into DiscoveryÆs middeck locker area and the SPACEHAB single module in the orbiterÆs payload bay, including the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) and the tissue engineering co-culture (COCULT) investigations, as well as two crystal growth experiments. The crews also conducted Risk Mitigation Experiments (RMEs) and Human Life Sciences (HLS) investigations. When the hatches closed for undocking at 9:07 a.m., June 8, and the spacecraft separated at 12:01 p.m. that day, the final Shuttle-Mir docking mission was concluded and Phase 1 of the International Space Station (ISS) program came to an end.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) flew for the first time on this mission. The AMS, designed to look for dark and missing matter in the universe, was powered up on Flight Day 1. Data originally planned to be sent to ground stations through DiscoveryÆs KU-band communications system was recorded onboard because of a problem with the KU-band system that prevented it from sending high-rate communications, including television signals, to the ground. The system was able to receive uplink transmissions. On June 3 the crew was able to set up a bypass system that allowed AMS data to be downlinked via S-band/FM communications when the orbiter came within range of a ground station. Data that could not be recorded by ground stations was recorded onboard throughout the mission.
The KU-band system failure was determined to be located in a component that was not accessible to the crew. The failure prevented television transmission throughout the mission. Television broadcasts from Mir were prevented by a problem between a Russian ground station and the mission control center outside of Moscow, limiting communications to audio only on NASA television.
Other experiments conducted by the Shuttle crew during the mission included a checkout of the orbiterÆs robot arm to evaluate new electronics and software and the Orbiter Space Vision System for use during assembly missions for the ISS. Also onboard in the payload bay were eight Get Away-Special experiments, while combustion, crystal growth and radiation monitoring experiments were conducted in DiscoveryÆs middeck crew cabin area.