STS-81 was the fifth Shuttle-Mir docking mission. The crew patch
is shaped to represent the Roman numeral V. The Shuttle Atlantis,
OV-104, is launching toward a rendezvous with the Russian Space Station
Mir which is silhouetted in the background. Atlantis and the STS-81
crew spent several days docked to Mir during which time Astronaut
Jerry Linenger replaced Astronaut John Blaha as the U. S. crew member
onboard the Russian Space Station. Scientific experiments and logistics
were also transferred between Atlantis and Mir. The U. S. and Russian
flags are depicted along the names of the Shuttle crew members.